Category: Note

On October 8, 1690 in the Siege of Belgrade, Ottoman troops captured Belgrade. — October 8,1860, the first telegraph line between Los Angeles and San Francisco was activated. — And October 8th is the birthday of economist and libertarian commentator J. Orlin Grabbe. (Born, 1947, died March 15, 2008.) — Oral arguments are scheduled to begin today before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Vanderstock “Frames and Receivers” case. Please pray that the court affirmatively and decisively defends our long-standing right to make our own guns without government intrusiveness and “Mother May I?” paperwork nonsense! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today …

October 7, 1571: The Battle of Lepanto. The Holy League of southern European nations formed by Pope Pius V destroyed an Ottoman fleet, off the coast of Western Greece. — And on October 7, 1765, the Stamp Act Congress (First Congress of the American Colonies) convened in New York City to devise a unified protest against new British taxation. — We are running a 3-week-long sale at Elk Creek Company.  Until October 11th, 2024, all of our blackpowder revolvers, all of our M1891 Argentine Mauser rifles, and all of our sporters have their prices deeply discounted.  Take a look! — …

On October 6, 1866: The first reported train robbery on a moving train in the United States. Brothers John and Simeon Reno took $13,000. The train was traveling on the Ohio and Mississippi railroad. The train was robbed in Jackson County, Indiana. — October 6th, 1960: The American adventure film Spartacus, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas, had its world premiere; it won several Academy Awards, including best supporting actor for Peter Ustinov. — On this day in 1973, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, which suffered heavy casualties, but Israeli …

Important Solar Flare Alert: A CME Double Whammy: An X7 on Wednesday and now a X9.1. Keep your electronics Faraday-protected for at least a few more days. And watch for auroras on Friday night and Saturday night. SpaceWeather.com posted this on Thursday: THE STRONGEST FLARE YET: Sunspot AR3842 exploded again today, producing the strongest solar flare of Solar Cycle 25 so far. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the X9.1-category blast: Radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth’s atmosphere and caused a deep shortwave blackout over Africa and the South Atlantic. Ham radio operators in the area may have …

On October 3, 1712, the Duke of Montrose issued a warrant for the arrest of Rob Roy MacGregor. — Today is the 31st anniversary of the Mogadishu, Somalia raid. 18 Americans were killed. The Somalis killed were unnamed and un-numbered, but estimates range from 315 to 2,000 KIAs. The events of October 3, 1993 were memorialized in the movie Black Hawk Down. — We are running a 3-week-long sale at Elk Creek Company.  Until October 11th, 2024, all of our blackpowder revolvers, all of our M1891 Argentine Mauser rifles, and all of our sporter rifles are deeply discounted.  Take a …

Solar Flare Update: An X7.1 category solar flare was detected on Tuesday.  It is unknown whether the flare’s CME will be a direct strike or a glancing blow to Earth.  The main effects are expected between Friday and Saturday, October 4th-5th. I recommend disconnecting antennas and putting all of your spare radios and other sensitive electronics into Faraday containers for at least a few days. — On October 2, 1535, French explorer Jacques Cartier first visited the Iroquois settlement of Hochelaga. (Later named Montreal.) — October 2, 1835: The story of the “Come and Take It” flag began at the …

On October 1, 1880, John Philip Sousa (pictured) became the new director of the U.S. Marine Corps Band. — On October  1, 331 BC, the army of Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. — Please keep the folks inside of Tropical Storm Helene’s devastation in your prayers.  We’d appreciate reading “After Action” reports from SurvivalBlog readers in the area. There are certainly some lessons to be learned. – JWR — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the first entry for Round 115 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round …

On September 30, 1880, American amateur astronomer Henry Draper took the first-ever photograph of the Orion Nebula.  More recent images have of course been more dazzling, but Draper’s was the first.   — On this day in 1938, the short-lived Treaty of Munich was signed by Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier, and Chamberlain. This treaty forced Czechoslovakia to cede territory to Germany. — I just heard of the death of Kris Kristofferson, at age 88. First known for his music, and later for his acting, he was among America’s Larger Than Life crowd. I first became aware of him as an actor …

Please pray for everyone who was in the path of tropical storm Helene, and now dealing with the after-effects of the storm. — On September 29, 1916, American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller became the world’s first billionaire.  In terms of purchasing power, that would be the equivalent of $28,880,366,972, in inflated 2024 Dollars. — On September 29, 1668, the English expedition to Hudson Bay led by Frenchman Médard Chouart Des Groseilliers arrived at Nemiscau (Rupert) River aboard the Nonsuch. This was the beginning of the Hudson Bay Company. — The famous and controversial Twilight Zone episode “The Shelter” (Episode …

On this day in 48 BC, Pompey the Great was assassinated on orders of King Ptolemy of Egypt after landing in Egypt. — On September 28, 1066, William The Conqueror invaded England, landing at Pevensey Bay, Sussex. — And on  September 28, 1781, and estimated 9,000 American troops and 7,000 French troops began the siege of Yorktown. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 114 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 …

On September 27, 1822, French scholar Jean-François Champollion announced that he had deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone. — We are running a 3-week-long sale at Elk Creek Company.  Until October 11th, 2024, all of our Pietta brand blackpowder revolvers and all of our M1891 Argentine Mauser rifles are deeply discounted. Take a look! — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 114 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 …

September 26, 1655, at the height of the Great Plague of London, 7,165 people died throughout the previous week.  The familiar cry in the street was “Bring Out Your Dead”, as the death carts circulated through the city. On September 26, 1396, Ottoman Sultan Bajezid I ordered the beheading hundreds of Crusaders after the Battle of Nicopolis. And on September 26, 1908 an ad for the Edison Phonograph first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 114 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First …

On September 25, 1890, Sequoia National Park was established by US President Benjamin Harrison. This was California’s first national park and the country’s second. — On September 25, 1989, archaeologists opened the Titus of Rhine grave in Amsterdam. JWR’s Comment: Apparently it is no longer considered grave desecration if archaeologists do it… — On September 25th, 1789, the first Congress of the United States approved 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. — Today we feature a lengthy response to a comment to a writing contest entry. We are seeking entries for Round …

On September 24, 1529, Sultan Suleiman and his Ottoman troops arrived in Vienna, beginning a whole series of smaller sieges in the region, culminating with the Turk’s failed Second Siege, in 1683. — Today’s feature article is a short guest post by former congressman Dr. Ron Paul, selected by JWR. It is reposted with permission. — We are seeking entries for Round 114 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.  More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll …