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While adjusting a picture on the wall of his home in St. Joseph, Missouri, American outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed by Robert Ford (pictured) on April 3, 1882.

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Several readers wrote to mention this sad news: Last USS Arizona Sailor Who Survived Pearl Harbor Attack Passes Away at 102.

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This is the birthday of Washington Irving, an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for short stories like Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he also wrote several biographies and served as the US Ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846.

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Today we present another entry for Round 112 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. But first, we are posting the results of the judging for Round 111.

On April 2, 1968, Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey had its world premiere in Washington, D.C.. The movie became a classic, setting the benchmark for sci-fi films. The film also gave one of the first cinematic warnings about artificial intelligence.

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On April 2, 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León landed on the coast of Florida.

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Today is the birthday of Sergei Ivanovich Mosin (April 2, 1849 – February 8, 1902. He was a Russian military officer, engineer, and a co-designer of the Mosin–Nagant rifle.

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This is the birthday of Émile François Zola, a novelist and essayist. He is most often remembered as the author of J’accuse (I Accuse!), his lengthy open letter to president Félix Faure, which accused the French government of anti-semitism.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 112 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. 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 $2,000.
2. 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),
3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $359 value),
4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
5. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
2. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
3. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 112 ends on May 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 survival have an advantage in the judging.

Created this day in 1999 by carving a vast region from Canada‘s Northwest Territories, the Canadian territory of Nunavut stretches across much of the Canadian Arctic and encompasses the traditional lands of the Inuit.

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On April 1, 1621, at the Plymouth settlement in present-day Massachusetts, the leaders of the Plymouth colonists, acting on behalf of King James I, make a defensive alliance with Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags. The agreement, in which both parties promised to not “doe hurt” to one another, was the first treaty between a Native American tribe and a group of American colonists. According to the treaty, if a Wampanoag broke the peace, he would be sent to Plymouth for punishment; if a colonist broke the law, he would likewise be sent to the Wampanoags.

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April 1st is both April Fool’s Day and (unofficially) Molly Ivins Day. The latter refers to this key verse: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1 KJV)

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April 1st, 1886 was the birthday of Arthur W. Pink, who died 15 July 1952 and was an English Christian evangelist and excellent Reformed Biblical scholar. It was his meticulously referenced arguments in his book  The Sovereignty of God, that first convinced me of the truth of the doctrine of Election.

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Today’s feature article is a review conducted by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

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We are now seeking entries for Round 112 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 112 ends on May 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 survival have an advantage in the judging.