Avatar Posted by duke 52 days ago (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com)
Category: This Day in History
In November of 1947, the UN voted on a Partition Plan for Palestine, calling for the formation of two states, one Jewish and one Arab, in what had been a British-administered territory. The Arab leadership rejected this plan, arguing that it violated the rights of the 67 percent of the population who were not Jewish. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was declared in the territory that the Partition Plan allotted. The next day, five Arab states declared war on Israel. How did this war end?
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Avatar Posted by duke 53 days ago (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com)
Category: This Day in History
Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, Ecuador was controlled by the Inca empire. Francisco Pizarro's subordinate, Benalcazar, entered the area in 1533. Not finding the wealth of the mythical El Dorado, he and other conquistadors moved restlessly on, and the region became a colonial backwater. After an abortive independence movement in 1809, the region remained under Spanish control. It was liberated by Antonio Jose de Sucre and was joined to Greater Colombia by what famous revolutionary?
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Avatar Posted by duke 54 days ago (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com)
Category: This Day in History
Luna 5 was an unmanned Soviet spacecraft designed to continue investigations of a lunar soft landing. On May 10, the spacecraft began spinning around its main axis due to a problem in a flotation gyroscope in the I-100 guidance system unit. An attempt to fire the main engine failed because of a ground control error, and Luna 5 crashed into the moon. It was the second investigatory Soviet spacecraft to "land" on the Moon. What was the first?
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Avatar Posted by duke 55 days ago (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com)
Category: This Day in History
Born in a small Jamaican village and raised in the slums of Kingston's Trenchtown, Marley overcame tremendous hardship to become a groundbreaking singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He propelled reggae to worldwide popularity, creating music that reflects his commitment to nonviolence and the Rastafarian religion. In 1975, Marley released "No Woman, No Cry," a song that brought him international success. Marley was diagnosed with cancer in 1977 but refused the recommended medical treatment; why?
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Avatar Posted by duke 56 days ago (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com)
Category: This Day in History
As FBI director from 1924 until his death in 1972, Hoover built a more efficient crime-fighting agency and established a centralized fingerprint file, a crime laboratory, and a training school for police. After WWII, he turned to the perceived threat of Communist subversion with a focus that his many critics considered obsessive. It has been verified that he orchestrated systematic harassment of political dissenters and activists, including what celebrated civil-rights leader?
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Avatar Posted by duke 57 days ago (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com)
Category: This Day in History
Blood was an Irish-born adventurer who served under Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. In 1663 he tried to seize the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from Dublin Castle, and in 1670 he attempted to assassinate the Duke of Ormonde. A year later, Blood and three accomplices made an infamous attempt to steal the Crown Jewels of England. Having befriended the jewel keeper, Blood arranged a private viewing, during which time the men made off with the treasures. Why did the king pardon Blood?
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Avatar Posted by duke 58 days ago (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com)
Category: This Day in History
Lavoisier was a French nobleman known today as the "father of modern chemistry." He stated the first version of the Law of Conservation of Matter, co-discovered and named oxygen, wrote the first detailed list of elements, and introduced the metric system. Lavoisier also worked to improve economic and social conditions in France, holding various government posts. He was beheaded during the Reign of Terror because, as a member of the farmers general, one of his duties was to do what?
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Avatar Posted by duke 59 days ago (http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com)
Category: This Day in History
The Lusitania was a British ocean liner that was sunk off the Irish coast by a German u-boat during WWI. The ship sank quickly—its submersion took only 18 minutes—and resulted in the loss of nearly 1,200 lives, among them approximately 100 children. The question of whether contraband munitions were being transported aboard the vessel when it was attacked, causing a possible secondary explosion, has been a hotly debated issue. What have dive teams recently revealed about the ship's cargo?
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