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The John Birch Society was founded in 1958 by Robert H. Welch, Jr., a retired candymaker, to combat communism and promote ultraconservative causes in the US. It was named for an American missionary and army intelligence officer killed by Chinese communists in 1945, considered by the society the first hero of the Cold War. Its membership reached more than 70,000 in the 1960s. Since then, it has promoted many objectives, including pressing for the US to withdraw from what organisation? More...
Historic Trivia pick
In England in the 1500s, you could be put to death for wearing the wrong feather in your hat.
In 16th century England, sumptuary laws — laws which attempted to create class distinctions and define social norms — regulated the feathers that each class was allowed to wear. First of all, everyone over the age of 13 was required to wear a hat. Lower classes were relegated to wearing goose, duck, chicken or grouse feathers, while upper classes were allowed to wear peacock, ostrich, egret, swan or pheasant feathers. Anyone from a lower class spotted wearing a pheasant feather was labeled an imposter and could be put to death.
John Birch Society Founded
The John Birch Society was founded in 1958 by Robert H. Welch, Jr., a retired candymaker, to combat communism and promote ultraconservative causes in the US. It was named for an American missionary and army intelligence officer killed by Chinese communists in 1945, considered by the society the first hero of the Cold War. Its membership reached more than 70,000 in the 1960s. Since then, it has promoted many objectives, including pressing for the US to withdraw from what organisation? More...
- 1979 - Smallpox declared eradicated
The World Health Organization officially certified that after a number of concentrated vaccination campaigns around the world smallpox had been eradicated. Only two infectious diseases have been completely eradicated in history; the other is Rinderpest, which is an infectious disease of cattle that was eradicated in 2011. - 1965 - Charlie Brown Christmas makes airs for the first time on television
The popular animated musical special about Christmas was based on Charles M. Schulz's comic strip called Peanuts. The special was critically acclaimed as a telling commentary on the loss of the spirit of Christmas among Americans. It is now screened every year at Christmas time around the world. - 1961 - Tanganyika gains independence
The Republic of Tanganyika was administered by the British from 1916 until 1961. Part of German East Africa, the territory was officially handed over to the British by League of Nations mandate in 1922. The Republic was short-lived. In April 1964, it joined the People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which became the United Republic of Tanzania in 1965. - 1960 - First episode of Coronation Street airs
The longest running TV soap opera, this British production follows the life of people living on Coronation Street, a fictional street in a fictional suburb of Manchester. - 1893 - Auguste Vaillant bombs the French Chamber of Deputies
Auguste Vaillant, a French anarchist, bombed the French Chamber of Deputies. No one was hurt in the attack, but Vaillant was sentenced and executed for his actions.
Historic Trivia pickIn England in the 1500s, you could be put to death for wearing the wrong feather in your hat.
In 16th century England, sumptuary laws — laws which attempted to create class distinctions and define social norms — regulated the feathers that each class was allowed to wear. First of all, everyone over the age of 13 was required to wear a hat. Lower classes were relegated to wearing goose, duck, chicken or grouse feathers, while upper classes were allowed to wear peacock, ostrich, egret, swan or pheasant feathers. Anyone from a lower class spotted wearing a pheasant feather was labeled an imposter and could be put to death.
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61-BLUES
