This Day in History March 22, 1979

What a sad remembrance for the UK.  On this date in 1979, British ambassador to Holland, Sir Richard Sykes, was assassinated by the IRA.  He and his footman had left Sykes' residence, and they were headed to the 5-minute drive to the embassy.  They were both shot in the head, and both died at the hospital.  At first, no one knew anything about who had done this horrible deed.  It seemed to be carried out by the IRA, and I struggle to find out if someone  was finally arrested for this deed.

For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/22/newsid_2543000/2543867.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/1979/mar/23/fromthearchive
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sykes_(diplomat)

This Day in History March 2, 1127

Today, we go far back into history for our featured person--Charles I, Count of Flanders.  He was born the only son of three children to King Canute IV (Saint Canute) and Adela of Flanders.  He was the Danish prince, and his father was assassinated in 1086.  At that point, Charles was only three (or five, not sure which).  He grew up in the court of his uncle and grandfather.  His cousin ( who was childless), named him successor, and that came to pass after his cousin's death in 1119.

Charles I was a lover of peace during his reign.  He very much respected priests and religion.  He tried to put an end to weapons being used by his subjects by enacting the "Truce of God."  He was very much sympathetic to the poor by donating clothing and walking barefoot.  He also worked very hard to do what he felt was right during the terrible famine of 1125.

Unfortunately, the poor, unsuspecting Charles I had no idea how many people were against him.  On March 2, 1127, he went to the church of Saint-Donatien as was his custom.  He was kneeling in prayer, and a group of knights entered the church and hacked him to Charles I to death with broadswords.  And so Charles I became a martyr, and these same knights who had assassinated him were arrested and tortured to death.

For more information:
http://www.historytoday.com/norman-housley/crisis-flanders-1127-28-murder-charles-good
http://theblackcordelias.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/blessed-charles-the-good-march-2/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I,_Count_of_Flanders

This Day in History July 2, 1881

As the video explains, it was this date in 1881 that President James Garfield was assassinated.  Charles Guiteau suffered from mental illness and began to stalk the president since things were not going as he had planned.  As the president was preparing to leave on summer vacation, Guiteau shot him at point blank range.  Guiteau was immediately apprehended, and the president was carried back to the White House with a bullet still lodged in his body (that the doctors had been unable to find).

President Garfield's condition continued to fluctuate.  Doctors continued to search for the bullet with unwashed hands (they didn't know that germs were an issue).  He suffered through many different kinds of infections.  It was on September 19, 1881, that the president finally succumbed to blood poisoning and pneumonia.  He probably would have survived had the doctors been more knowledgeable, and it is a testament to him that he lived as long as he did.  This is one of the true tragedies of American presidential history.

For more information, please check out:
http://www.historybuff.com/library/refgarfield.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57464503/how-doctors-killed-president-garfield/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield_assassination
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul02.html

This Day in History April 15, 1865

Well, this was a terrible date in our history.  On this date in 1865, President Lincoln died from the gunshot wound he received nine hours before.  You might know the story how he and his wife were watching a show in Ford's Theater.  John Wilkes Booth shot him in the back.  And it was about 1 P.M. the next day when this revered sixteenth president died.

If ever I am asked who my favorite president is, indeed I will say Abraham Lincoln.  I don't live in a dream world where I worship him or say that he did everything perfectly.  I have learned a lot about him through the years, and sometimes I hear disturbing things.  But when it comes down to it, I feel that he was the finest president we ever had, and it is a terrible shame that his life was snuffed out so early.

For more information, please check out:
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=858
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lincoln-dies-from-an-assassins-bullet

This Day in History November 22, 1963

I am sure that if you were alive during this day in history that you know where you were when you heard about the event.


Yes, it was this date in 1963 when the 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was assassinated.  On at least three occasions, I have visited the memorial in Dallas (when I lived in Texas), and I have seen the actual spot on the road where he was shot.  Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor of the Texas Depository building at 12:30 P.M.  President Kennedy was declared dead 30 minutes later at the age of 46. Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president at 2:39 P.M.

I could share a lot more about it, but I think if you click here, you can fill in the details you may not know or may have forgotten.  It is one of those stories that shocked our nation then and still shocks us to this date.  No matter what you may think of JFK, I think all of us can agree that it was a horrendous act, and no one deserved to die the way he did.

This Day in History September 6, 1901

This was a bad day for this man back in 1901.  And our current president thinks he had it bad!  Just read on.

William McKinley was born on January 29, 1843, in Niles, Ohio.  He taught for a short time before going off to fight in the Civil War. Following the war, he practiced law in Canton, Ohio and got married.

At the age of 34, he was elected to Congress and served for 14 years in the House of Representatives.  He was very well liked, and he championed the tariff issue (McKinley tariff of 1890).  He then served as the governor of Ohio for two terms.

McKinley went on to be elected in 1896, thus becoming the 25th president of the United States.  He was president during the Spanish-American War and the annexation of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. He also fought hard against trusts and industrial monopolies.  While he had his issues, he defeated Bryan in 1900 and was elected to a second term.

Labor issues are what led to Leon Czolgosz making the decision that government must be dismantled.  It was on this day in 1901 that this young anarchist got his chance to carry out his plans.  President McKinley was standing in a receiving line at the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition, and Czolgosz shot the president twice at point blank range.  The president was mortally wounded, but lived for 8 days.  He finally succumbed to blood poisoning, and he became the third president to be assassinated.  His unapologetic assassin was electrocuted October 29, 1901.

For more information, check out these sites:

• http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williammckinley/
• http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/william-mckinley-is-born