Category: Note

On January 4, 871, the Viking Great Heathen Army defeated a Wessex force led by King Æthelred and his brother Alfred, in the First Battle of Reading. — January 4, 1896: Following Mormon abandonment of sanctioned polygamy, Utah was belatedly admitted as the 45th US state.  Settlers had first petitioned Congress for statehood in 1849. Several of Utah’s less populous neighboring territories had been admitted to statehood years earlier than Utah. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy …

On January 3, 1521,  Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church for failing to recant parts of his Ninety-Five Theses, which started the Protestant Reformation. — January 3, 1749: Benning Wentworth issued the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont. — On January 3, 1892, English author and scholar J.R.R. Tolkien, who was perhaps best known for his richly inventive epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), was born in South Africa. — January 3, 1944: Top US flying ace Major Pappy Boyington was shot down in his …

On January 2, 1890, a record 19.2-foot alligator was reportedly shot in Louisiana by American businessman Edward Avery McIlhenny. That claim is now disputed. — January 2,1906: Willis Carrier receives a US patent for an “Apparatus for Treating Air,” the world’s first modern air conditioner. — And on January 2, 1974, a nationwide speed limit of 55 mph was imposed by President Richard Nixon. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for …

On January 1st, 722, Frankish Hofmeister Charles Martel fled from Bishop Willibrord. Ten years later, Martel’s army defeated the Muslim army at Poitiers. — January 1, 1785: John Walter published the first issue of his newspaper “The Daily Universal Register,” which was renamed “The Times” of London in 1788. — And on January 1, 1928, the first US air-conditioned office building opened, in San Antonio, Texas. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can …

On December 31, 406, “The Great Invasion” sent a vast mixed horde of barbarians that included Vandals, Alans, and Suebians across the Rhine River, at Mainz (pictured). Thus began the invasion of Gallia. — December 31st 1564: William I of Orange demands freedom of religious conscience for his subjects in dramatic speech to the Council of State. — December 31st is the birthday of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008). — December 31st, 1851 was the birthday of Frederick Selous. (He died on January 4th, 1917.) — The 20th Anniversary SurvivalBlog 2005-2025 Waterproof/EMP-Resistant Archive USB sticks are available for Pre-Ordering.  This year, we …

On December 30, 1861, Associated Banks in New York City — innovators in credit clearing circles (pictured above) — halted gold payments to government and investors, to disrupt Abraham Lincoln‘s US bank reform program. — December 30, 1865 was the birthday of Rudyard Kipling. — Today’s feature article is a product review, written by Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson. — We need more entries for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $978,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 122 ends on January 31st, 2026, so get busy writing and …

December 29, 1812: The USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captured the HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle. — This is also the birthday of inventor Charles Goodyear (1800–1860.) — The 20th Anniversary SurvivalBlog 2005-2025 Waterproof/EMP-Resistant Archive USB sticks are now available for Pre-Ordering!  This year, we are also offering a limited number of them in steel keepsake tins, with keychains.  Orders should start to be mailed in the third week of January.  To be sure that you get yours, order soon! — With the exceptionally large moves in the silver market, …

On December 28, 1867, the United States claimed Midway Island, the first territory annexed outside continental limits. — December 28, 1793 was the day that Thomas Paine was arrested in France for treason. The charges against him were never fully detailed, but he was tried in absentia on December 26 and convicted. Best known as the author of Common Sense, he moved to Paris to be part of the French revolution. Initially welcomed, the tide soon turned against him, because he was opposed to the death penalty and the French revolutionaries were sending hundreds to the Guillotine. — SurvivalBlog Writing …

A special update on the silver market, from JWR: Spot silver jumped 10.35% in just ONE DAY, on Friday. (December 26, 2025.) So, today set new all-time highs for silver, platinum, and gold. Amazingly, the melt value of one U.S. pre-1965 silver dime is now $5.76.  Today’s silver rally dropped the silver-to-gold price ratio to near 57-to-1. Seeing this happen on a Friday was particularly surprising, since Fridays are the usual “Mischief Days” for the Comex short-selling co-conspirators. Clearly, the Shorts have lost control. You may be asking: What will happen next week?  Look for insanely high new margin requirements, …

On December 26th, 1776, after crossing the Delaware River, Washington led his men against Hessian soldiers garrisoned at Trenton. After a brief battle, nearly the entire Hessian force was captured, with negligible losses to the Americans, significantly boosting their flagging morale. — December 26, 2004: The Indian Ocean region Tsunami took more than 250,000 lives. — And on December 26, 1848, the first gold seekers arrived in Panama en route to San Francisco. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A …

To those who are celebrating the Advent of our Lord and Savior, the team at SurvivalBlog wishes you a peaceful and meaningful Christmas. For those who choose to celebrate our Lord through the Biblical feasts, stay safe and warm. Our prayer is that each and every one of you enjoy the family time and stay safe on the roads. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, …

On December 24, 1651, Jan van Riebeeck departed for the Cape of Good Hope to˜found the first permanent European settlement in southern Africa. — And on December 24, 1818, the Christmas carol “Silent Night” composed by Franz Xaver Gruber was first sung at St. Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A Peak …

On December 23, 1913,  US President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law, creating the central banking Federal Reserve System. This law granted extraordinary monetary and economic power to a private banking cartel. The destruction of the purchasing power of the U.S. Dollar was a key result. (It has declined 98%, since 1913.)  I recommend the book The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve. – JWR — December 23rd is the birthday of Founding Father and Supreme Court Justice John Jay. (Born 1745, died May 17, 1829.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we …

December 22nd 1849: The planned execution of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky by firing squad was called off, at the last second. JWR’s Comment: Novelists tend to thrive on drama, but that was a bit too intense. — December 22nd is also the anniversary of the death of SP4 James T. Davis, the first uniformed American combat casualty of the Vietnam War, in 1961. This ASA soldier (of the 3rd Radio Research Unit) was killed in a Viet Cong ambush on a road outside Saigon. — For those who have been waiting, the special 20th Anniversary SurvivalBlog 2005-2025 Waterproof/EMP-Resistant Archive USB …

Today marks the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere and the first day of winter. The Winter Solstice is the day of minimum insolation, each year. The painting above, titled Winter, is by Ivan Shishkin, circa 1890.  Because of Seasonal Lag, even though the days will start getting longer tomorrow, the coldest days of the year are typically in January. — On December 21, 1620, William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round …