History Aficionado

Just random bits of History, the Gov't, Quotes, Facts, Trivia, and OTDs.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

Hello~ This is a sideblog to @sasa-chan

You may call me Sasa. I absolutely love learning about history. I find it fascinating learning new bits of History, and there's always something new to learn about it.

George Santayana said "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." And I absolutely agree with him. If we do not know our history, how ever are we supposed to not repeat history's many, many mistakes?

I'll be posting about famous people, places and events in history. About the history behind holidays. About American history. About World History. About the government. About the history of states and countries. About battles and wars.

I'll also try to do OTDs - On This Day in History everyday. I'll also try to regularly do a few famous people who were born or died on this day.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a yearly celebration held on May 05, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza. It is observed by Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and people of non-Mexican heritage. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with parades, food, music, folkloric dancing, and battle reenactments.

Cinco de Mayo parade in Orizaba, Veracruz, 2017

More popular in the United States than Mexico, Cinco de Mayo has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture. Celebrations began in California, where they have been observed annually since 1863. The day gained nationwide popularity beyond those of Mexican-American heritage in the 1980s due to advertising campaigns by beer, wine, and tequila companies; today, Cinco de Mayo generates beer sales on par with the Super Bowl. In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial, such as through military parades or battle reenactments. The city of Puebla marks the event with various festivals and reenactments of the battle.

Cinco de Mayo dancers in Washington D.C.

Many people outside Mexico mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican independence, which was declared more than 50 years before the Battle of Puebla.

Cinco de Mayo celebration in Saint Paul, Minnesota

Cinco de Mayo dancers

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

February 02

506: Alaric II, King of the Visigoths, promulgates the Lex Romana Visigothorum (or Breviary of Alaric), a collection of Roman Law.

1878: Greece declared war on Turkey (the Ottoman Empire); this brief conflict is often referred to as the "Greco-Turkish War of 1878".

1901: Queen Victoria's funeral takes place in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England.

[The funeral cortege of Queen Victoria outside St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on February 02, 1901.]

1208: James I of Aragon 'James the Conqueror', King of Aragon and Catalonia (1213-1276), was born in Montpellier, County of Toulouse.

1494: Bona Sforza, Queen Consort of Poland and Grand Duchess Consort of Lithuania (1518-1548), Duchess Regnant of Bari (1524-1557), was born in Vigevano, Duchy of Milan.

1977: Shakira, Colombian pop singer, was born in Barranquilla, Colombia.

1987: Victoria Song, Chinese singer, actress, and dancer (f(x)), was born in Qingdao, China.

1804: George Walton, American lawyer, soldier, and politician (Governor of Georgia and youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence), died.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

February 01

1587: Queen Elizabeth I of England signed the death warrant for her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots.

1865: US President Lincoln signs 13th Amendment of US Constitution, abolishing slavery in US; celebrated as National Freedom Day.

1967: Meg Cabot, American author, was born in Bloomington, Indiana.

1969: Brian Krause, American actor (Charmed), was born in El Toro, California.

1971: Michael C. Hall, American actor (Dexter, Six Feet Under), was born in Raleigh, North Carolina.

1994: Harry Styles, British pop singer (One Direction member), was born in Redditch, Worcestershire, England.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only President of the United States to serve more than 2 terms in office. In response to this unprecedented achievement, the 22nd Amendment limiting Presidential terms was passed by Congress in 1947 and ratified by the states in 1951.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 31

1981: Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter and actor, born in Memphis, Tennessee.

1606: Guy Fawkes, English Catholic conspirator convicted in the "Gunpowder Plot" to blow up the British Parliament, hanged at 35.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

The minutemen were among the first to fight in the American Revolution. Their teams constituted about a quarter of the entire militia and were known for being ready at a minute's notice.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 30

1698: English pirate William Kidd takes his greatest prize, the Indian merchant ship Quedagh Merchant, upsetting English trade and causing a global manhunt.

1815: Burned US Library of Congress re-established with Thomas Jefferson's 6,500 volumes.

1974: Christian Bale, British actor was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

1990: Jake Thomas, American actor was born in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1836: Betsy Ross, American seamstress widely credited with making the first American flag, died at 84.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 29

1785: In a surprising announcement, John Hancock resigned as Governor of Massachusetts, allegedly due to his failing health.

1737: Thomas Paine, English American writer and political essayist (Age of Reason, Common Sense), born in Thetford, England.

1756: Henry Lee III "Light Horse Harry", American Congressman, Governor of Virginia and American General, born on Leesylvania Plantation, Colony of Virginia.

1820: George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland and King/Elector of Hanover (1760-1820), dies after years of mental illness at 81.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 28

1671: Welsh pirate Henry Morgan captured Panama City from its Spanish defenders.

1770: Frederick North becomes Prime Minister after Augustus FitzRoy resigns.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 27

1816: Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral in the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary War, died at 92.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 26

1837: Michigan was admitted as the 26th US state.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 25

1777: Americans drag a cannon up a hill of Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx, New York to fight the British, giving added significance to the area's historic name of Great Gunn Hill; the name of the road was changed to Gun Hill Road in 1875.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty on December 16, 1773. The demonstrators, some disguised as Native Americans, in defiance of the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company. The British government responded harshly and it escalated into the American Revolution.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 24

1733: Benjamin Lincoln, American military officer (Battles of Saratoga, Charleston and Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War), was born in Hingham, Massachusetts.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 17

1781: Battle of Cowpens: American Revolutionary forces led by Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat the British under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton in a decisive double envelopment near the town of Cowpens, a turning point in the American reconquest of South Carolina.

1706: Benjamin Franklin, US Founding Father, inventor, ambassador and writer, born in Boston, Massachusetts.

1726: Hugh Mercer, Scottish military officer (fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War), born in Scotland.

[nerdyhistoryfangirl]

January 11

1785: The Continental Congress convened in New York City.

1755 or 1757: Alexander Hamilton, US Founding Father, economist, politician, philosopher, and 1st Secretary of the Treasury (1789-95), was born in Charlestown, Nevis, West Indies.

1788: Comte de Grasse, French Admiral who commanded the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake, died.

1797: Francis Lightfoot Lee, American advocate for independence, signer of the US Declaration of Independence, died.