Category: Note

On February 27th, 1902 Harry ‘Breaker’ Harbord Morant (pictured) was executed in Pretoria. On February 27th, 1900 Felix Hoffman patented acetylsalicylic acid, better known as aspirin. — I just noticed that we’ve now archived more than 37,000 SurvivalBlog articles, columns, and quotes. I started writing the blog in August, 2005. Please let your friends know that the entire SurvivalBlog archive is available free of charge. Subscriptions are entirely voluntary. The archive can be accessed by date, by category, or with our search box. — Today’s feature article was penned by SurvivalBlog Filed Gear Editor Thomas Christianson.

After being forced to abdicate as French emperor in 1814, Napoleon escaped from exile on the island of Elba this day in 1815. Then, gathering support en route, retook power on his return to Paris on March 20, ushering in the Hundred Days. — Today’s feature article was written by SurvivalBlog’s founder, James Wesley, Rawles (JWR). — We are in need of entries for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 105 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember …

On February 25, 1948, communists seized control of the government of Czechoslovakia. Two decades later, in August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People’s Republic, the People’s Republic of Bulgaria and the Hungarian People’s Republic. The invasion stopped Alexander Dubček‘s Prague Spring liberalization reforms and strengthened the authoritarian wing of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ). The bloodless Velvet Revolution (17 November – 28 November 1989) finaly led to the end of the rule of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. On December 31, 1992, the dissolution of Czechoslovakia took …

On February 24, 1803, in the landmark Marbury v. Madison decision, the U.S. Supreme Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional, thus establishing the doctrine of judicial review. In Marbury, Chief Justice Marshall famously wrote:  “A Law repugnant to the Constitution is void.” — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three …

February 23 1685 was the birthday of composer George Frideric Handel, a leading figure of late Baroque music. February 23 is the day that six Marines from E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines raised the American flag atop Mount Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima. Today is the anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836). February 23rd is also the birthday of Captain Isaac Davis (February 23, 1745 – April 19, 1775), a militia officer and gunsmith who commanded a Minute Company in Acton, Massachusetts during the Battle of Concord.

February 22, 1857 was the birthday of Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist who was the first to broadcast and receive radio waves and helped to invent radar technology. On this day in 1943, Sophie Scholl was executed by beheading for organizing the White Rose group–a student resistance to the Hitler regime. She had been convicted of high treason, after having been found distributing anti-war leaflets at the University of Munich (LMU) with her brother, Hans. She was 21 years old. On this day in 1732, George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the second son from the second marriage …

February 21st is the birthday of Group Captain Douglas Bader (born 1910, died 5 September 1982). He was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter ace during the Second World War. He lost his legs in a pre-war flying accident, but that didn’t stop him from re-entering the RAF when war broke out. He was credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable, and 11 enemy aircraft damaged. Bader was eventually shot down and became a POW in Germany.  Bader’s autobiography Reach for the Sky is a must for those studying aviation in World War II. …

Today is the birthday of novelist and screenwriter Richard Matheson (1926–2013). He wrote many sci-fi television scripts. His novella I Am Legend later was adapted into three different movies over the course of five decades, and his story Bid Time Return became the charming movie Somewhere In Time. — Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — A new listing that I spotted over at my #1 Son’s SurvivalRealty.com website, near Sandpoint, Idaho: Off Grid Custom Home + Cabin on 37.7 Acres With 3 Year-Round Creeks / Borders BLM Land.

Today is the birthday of Lee Marvin (1924–1987), who you may remember from The Professionals and The Big Red One. — Today’s feature article from The Rutherford Institute is a guest post, selected by JWR.  It is reposted with permission. — We are still seeking entries for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 105 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for …

Today is the birthday of astronaut Theodore Cordy “Ted” Freeman (February 18, 1930 – October 31, 1964.) Ted Freeman and his wife Faith were friends of my mother and father. Both my father and Ted Freeman were stationed at Bryan Air Force base in the early 1950s, and they rented houses three blocks apart, in College Station, Texas. About ten years later, while training as an astronaut in the Gemini space program, Ted was killed in a birdstrike flying accident, while flying a T-38 Talon jet trainer. He was the first casualty of NASA’s manned space program. Fittingly, Ted Freeman’s …

On February 17, 2021, talk radio personality and author Rush Limbaugh died at age 70.  His network radio time slot has been ably filled by The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their …

February 16th is the birthday of Edgar John Bergen, (1903-1978) an American actor, comedian, and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. He is also the father of actress Candice Bergen. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course …

Gun developer Richard “Dick” Casull was born on February 15, 1931. Casull passed away on May 6, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Dick Casull is most famous for his design of the .454 Casull revolver, along with many other handgun and rifle designs. He held 17 firearm patents. And February 15, 1809 was the birthday of Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor of a mechanical reaper. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  …

On February 14, 1946, the first general-purpose high-speed electronic digital computer, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), was demonstrated to the public by its creators, J. Presper Eckert, Jr., and John W. Mauchly. — Today, we wish a happy birthday to our Editor-At-Large, Michael Z. Williamson.

Today is the birthday of General Chuck Yeager (born, 1923), the first man to break the sound barrier. He passed away December 7, 2020. February 13th is also the birthday of Robert Charles R.C. Sproul (born 1939, died December 14, 2017), a well-respected American Calvinist theologian. — A special request from JWR: A relative of mine will soon be attending a school that is south of Hamilton, Montana.  That relative will need to rent garage space to store a vehicle for about a year. Ideally, it would be a spot with an outlet available for a trickle charger, and that …