Category: Note

On January 25, 1971, Idi Amin Dada seized power in Uganda. His rule from 1971 to 1979 was characterized by human rights abuse, political repression, and corruption. On January 25, 1915: In New York, Alexander Graham Bell spoke to his assistant in San Francisco, inaugurating the first transcontinental telephone service. Today is the birthday of celebrated Scottish poet Robert “Bobby” Burns. He was born on January 25, 1759. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum …

On January 24, 1984, Apple Computer unveiled its original Macintosh personal computer. January 24th is the birthday of René Barjavel (born 1911, died November 24, 1985). This prescient French science fiction author wrote several books with survivalist themes, including Ravage, which was titled Ashes, Ashes in its English translation. Today is also the birthday of Tamara K., the editor of the long-running View From The Porch blog. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest …

Birthday of Larry Dean Olsen (January 23, 1939 — December 26, 2018.) He died December 26, 2018 at Miracle Hot Springs in Buhl, Idaho. He was born in Wendell, Idaho, on January 23, 1939, to parents Dean and Lola Olsen and grew up in Jerome, Idaho. Larry was widely recognized as the father of modern primitive survival education. He was the author of the international bestseller Outdoor Survival Skills, which was first printed in 1967 and widely considered the classic definitive book on the subject. On January 23, 1556, an earthquake in Shaanxi, China, killing an estimated 830,000 people. Counting …

January 22, 1879: In the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, a British garrison of 139 soldiers held off an estimated 4,000 Zulu warriors. Eleven Victoria Crosses and a number of other decorations were awarded to the defenders. The image above is a still from the well-known 1964 movie Zulu, that fairly accurately showed the Battle of Rorke’s Drift. On January 22, 1944, Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy. — The 2005-2023 SurvivalBlog Archive USB sticks are selling very quickly. Many folks are ordering 2, 3, or more. One reader ordered ten sticks. Last week, I posted a list of the …

On January 21, 1506, Swiss Guards first arrived at the Vatican as watchmen for the pope. On January 21, 1525, the Swiss Anabaptist Movement began when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manz’s mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. This movement led to great consternation in the Catholic church, persecution, and the eventual dislocation of many Anabaptist dissidents, including the followers of Jakob Ammann – The “Amish.” Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson was born on January 21, 1824 in Clarksburg, West Virginia. His statue …

On January 20, 1778 British explorer James Cook landed at Waimea, on Kauai island, becoming the first European to visit Hawaii. — On January 20, 1981 the Iran hostage crisis ended when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini released  American hostages were released by the Iranian government, following 444 days of captivity, to be reunited with their families. Not coincidentally, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President, the same day. — January 20th, 1993, Bill Clinton was first sworn in as President. That was the day that I resigned my commission as a U.S. Army Captain. I did so, because my service obligation …

On January 19, 1978, the last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany left VW’s plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America would continue until 2003. — And on January 19, 1746, “Bonnie Prince Charlie“, Prince Charles Edward Stuart’s Jacobite army occupied Stirling, Scotland. — This is also is the birthday of the late Carla Emery (born 1939, died October 11, 2005). She is well known in self-sufficiency circles as the author of The Encyclopedia of Country Living. (This book was re-released in a 40th Anniversary edition.) — January 19th is the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. — SurvivalBlog Writing …

On January 18, 1943, at the height of the Second World War,  the United States banned the sale of presliced bread. The move was intended to cut down any ancillary charges, following the recent increase in the cost of flour — thus lessening or preventing increases in the retail price of bread. — The German Empire, forged as a result of diplomacy rather than an outpouring of popular nationalist feeling, was founded on January 18, 1871 in the aftermath of three successful wars by the North German state of Prussia. — January 18th 1813 was the birthday Joseph Glidden, who …

On January 17, 1995, a large-scale earthquake struck the Ōsaka-Kōbe (Hanshin) metropolitan area, killing an estimated 6,400 people and causing major damage. 30 years ago today, (January 17, 1994) the 6.7 magnitude Northridge Earthquake struck Los Angeles. It caused about $20 billion in damage and killed 61 people. On January 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect, establishing Prohibition. By one account, 286 distilleries, 992 breweries, and more than 300,000 bars and saloons were closed. And today is the anniversary of the Battle of Cowpens in 1781. This small battle was the turning point …

The Persian Gulf War, triggered by Iraq‘s occupation of Kuwait in August 1990, began on this day in 1991 with a U.S.-led air offensive against Iraq that continued until a cease-fire was declared on February 28. — On January 16, 1556, Charles V, Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain, renounced his claim to Spain. — The Persian Gulf War, triggered by Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait in August 1990, began on this day in 1991 with a U.S.-led air offensive against Iraq that continued until a cease-fire was declared on February 28. — The Space Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy …

On January 15, 1919 a storage tank collapsed in Boston, sending more than two million gallons (eight million litres) of molasses flowing through the city’s North End; the Great Molasses Flood, as it became known, caused extensive damage and killed 21 people. This is the anniversary of the 2009 “Miracle On The Hudson” engines-out emergency water landing. And this is the birthday of Dr. Edward Teller who co-invented the H-bomb and worked on the Manhattan Project. He was born January 15, 1908 in Budapest. He died September 9, 2003 (aged 95). — I just heard that Natchez Shooters Supplies (one …

On January 14th, 1526, the Treaty of Madrid was signed by the Habsburg emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain — pictured) and his prisoner Francis I, king of France, who had been captured during the Battle of Pavia in February 1525 and held prisoner until the conclusion of the treaty, when he was allowed to return to France. — On January 14th, 1784, the Continental Congress ratified the Second Treaty of Paris, ending the War for Independence. In the document, which was known as the Second Treaty of Paris or the Peace of Paris because the Treaty of Paris …

On January 13, 1928, Swedish-American inventor Ernst F.W. Alexanderson (pictured, right), of General Electric, demonstrated the first television receiver at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, New York. On January 13, 1978, radical guerrillas held 72 hostages and shot at police outside the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru. — NOTE: I recommend that my readers set aside 22 minutes to watch a new video from Dr. John Campbell: New Brain Virus.  (It was twice removed from YouTube, but is still available on Rumble.) He shares some frightening news of a new lab-created virus causing encephalitis that has an extremely high lethality rate. …

On this day in 2010, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti, especially Port-au-Prince, killing more than 200,000 people and leaving more than 1,000,000 homeless and touching off a massive international relief effort. — Today is the birthday of Edmund Burke. (Born 1729, died 9 July 1797.) — On January 12, 1888, the “Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” killed 235 people. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 110 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 …

January 11, 1915 was the birthday of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair “Paddy” Mayne, DSO and Three Bars (died 14 December 1955) was a British Army officer from Newtownards, capped for Ireland and the British Lions at rugby union, lawyer, amateur boxer, and a founding member of the British Special Air Service (SAS). — Today is also the birthday of famed big game hunter and writer Peter Hathaway Capstick (1940-1996.) — I just heard that Ready Made Resources is running a special on L3 Aviation Grade Binocular NVDs with a 10-year warranty! These are full mil-spec White Phosphor, 2300+ min FOM, …