Lost and Found – January 22nd Edition

What to remember about January 22nd…

• 1740  Patriot General and spy Noah Phelps is born in Simsbury, Connecticut; infiltrated Ft. Ticonderoga alone to help plan its capture
• 1840  1st British settlers arrive in New Zealand near Auckland
• 1879  Battle of Rorke’s Drift; 139 British troops hold off over 4000 Zulu warriors
• 1890  United Mine Workers of America is founded in Ohio
• 1901  Queen Victoria of Great Britain dies ending her 63-year reign
• 1917  In his address to the U.S. Senate, President Woodrow Wilson proposes “peace without victory” in effort to end World War I
• 1957  George P. “Mad Bomber” Metesky arrested in Connecticut; planted more than 30 bombs in New York area over 16 years
• 1970  Boeing 747 “jumbo jet” makes 1st scheduled commercial flight
• 1973  Supreme Court rules to decriminalize abortion with their decision in Roe v. Wade; over 50 million abortions since this decision
• 1973  Former President Lyndon B. Johnson dies at home in Texas (b. 1908)
• 1998  Murderer and serial bomber Theodore “Ted” J. Kaczynski pleads guilty to 17 years of Unabomber attacks; sentenced to life in prison
• 2008  Australian-born, Oscar-nominated actor Heath Ledger dies abusing prescription medications
• 2009  President Barack Hussein Obama II announces he will sign an order to close Guantanamo Bay detention center for terrorist suspects within the year UPDATE At the end of Obama’s 8 years in office, Guantanamo Bay facility remains in operation.

Lost and Found – January 13th Edition

What to remember about January 13th…

• 1776  British marines raid Rhode Island to steal sheep and supplies; ambushed by Minutemen, redcoats go home empty-handed
• 1842  Lone British survivor reaches friendly guard post; 16,000 British and allied troops were ambushed and slaughtered in Afghanistan
• 1847  Treaty of Cahuenga ends hostilities in Mexican-American War; Treaty of Hidalgo will cede California in 1848
• 1910  Opera performance at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York becomes first public radio broadcast
• 1966  President Lyndon Johnson appoints Robert C. Weaver as head of Department of Housing and Urban Development; 1st African-American cabinet member
• 1968  Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom Prison; the recording is an unexpected smash hit
• 1990  Douglas Wilder becomes takes office in Virginia as 1st African-American governor
• 1999  Legendary basketball player Michael Jordan retires for the second time; he’ll return to the sport in 2001
• 2002  President George W. Bush chokes on a pretzel and passes out while watching Miami Dolphins-Baltimore Ravens game

Lost and Found – January 8th Edition

What to remember about January 8th…

• 1642  Italian astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei dies (b. 1564); considered by many the “Father of Modern Science”
• 1790  In New York City, President Washington delivers the nations 1st State of the Union speech to Congress
• 1815  2-weeks after end of the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson’s militia defeat British forces at Battle of New Orleans
• 1867  Republican Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson’s veto; 1st law in nation granting African-American men the right to vote is passed
• 1964  President Lyndon Johnson announces his “war on poverty” at State of the Union address; birth of the American welfare state
• 1973  Watergate trial begins for 7 men accused of breaking into and bugging Democrat Party headquarters
• 2002  President George W. Bush signs “No Child Left Behind Act”
•  2011  Jared Lee Loughner goes on shooting rampage in Arizona; 6 killed and 13 wounded including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords

Lost and Found – January 4th Edition

What to remember about January 4th…

• 1847  Texas Rangers order 1000 .44 revolvers from Samuel Colt for use in Mexican-American War; Colt Firearms born
• 1865  New York Stock Exchange moves into its 1st permanent home at 10–12 Broad Street in New York City
• 1884  Fabian Society founded in London; socialist society promoting internationalism, eugenics, and infiltration of governments
• 1896  Utah is admitted to the Union as the 46th state
• 1951  Communist forces of China and North Korea capture Seoul
• 1965 President Lyndon Johnson unveils his plan for a Great Society at State of the Union address
• 1974  President Nixon refuses to turn over materials subpoenaed by Senate committee investigating Watergate
• 1995  104th Congress begins when Newt Gingrich becomes Speaker; 1st Republican Congress since Eisenhower
• 1999  Resulting from 1992 Maastricht Treaty on European union, the Euro debuts as universal currency in 11 nations
• 2004  NASA’s MER-A Spirit rover explorer lands on Mars
• 2007  110th Congress elects Nancy Pelosi (D – Ca) as the 1st female Speaker of the House

Lost and Found – November 29th Edition

What to remember about November 29th…

• 1775  Continental Congress establishes Committee of Secret Correspondence to elicit aid from European nations
• 1864  Aspiring Colorado politician John Chivington leads militia band in massacre of Native Americans at Sand Creek
• 1929  American explorer Admiral Richard Byrd and 3 companions make 1st flight over the South Pole
• 1947  United Nations approves the partition of Palestine and creation of Israel, an independent Jewish State
• 1963  President Johnson appoints Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy
• 1972  Atari Corporation announces the release of Pong; 1st commercially successful video game
• 1981  Actress Natalie Wood drowns in controversial boating accident off Catalina Island, California (b. 1938)
• 1990  United Nations passes resolution requiring Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, 1991 or face “all means necessary” for their removal by allied nations
• 2004  Godzilla receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Lost and Found – November 25th Edition

What to remember about November 25th…

• 1783  3 months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the last British troops withdraw from New York
• 1863  Union troops crush Rebels at Battle of Missionary Ridge; Confederates forced to withdraw from Chattanooga, Tennessee
• 1864  Confederate “Copperhead” sympathizers start over 20 fires in attempt to burn down New York City
• 1947  After being cited for contempt of Congress, the “Hollywood 10” are blacklisted by the major studios
• 1963  Johnson proclamation declares a day of national mourning as President Kennedy is buried in Arlington Cemetary
• 1985  Former National Security Agency (NSA) employee Ronald W. Pelton is arrested for attempting to sell secrets to the Soviets
• 1986  Attorney General Edwin Meese reveals that profits from arms sales to Iran used to supply arms to Nicaraguan Contra rebels
• 1999  International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women established by the United Nations
• 2002  President Bush signs bill creating Department of Homeland Security
• UPDATE:  2016  Murderous communist dictator Fidel Castro dies in Havana, Cuba (b. 1926); celebrations break out in communities of Cuban exiles and refugees – especially in Miami, Florida

Lost and Found – October 31st Edition

What to remember about October 31st…

• 1517  Martin Luther, Instigator of the Protestant Reformation, sends his letter and The Ninety-Five Thesis to his bishop
• 1776  In speech to parliament, King George III acknowledges that war in America is going badly
• 1864  Nevada is admitted to the Union as 36th state
• 1926  Master escape artist and magician Harry Houdini dies in Detroit, Michigan of a ruptured appendix
• 1941  Work ends on the carvings at Mt. Rushmore
• 1941  USS Reuben James is torpedoed by German U-Boat; is 1st U.S. Navy vessel sunk in enemy action of WWII
• 1959  Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald attempts to renounce his U.S. citizenship at embassy in Moscow, U.S.S.R.
• 1968  President Johnson halts bombing of North Vietnam days before the election citing progress at peace talks
• 2000  Russian Soyuz TM-31 launches with 1st resident crew for the International Space Station
• 2003  While surfing, 13-year old Bethany Hamilton loses her arm in shark attack; her autobiography Soul Surfer becomes film in 2011
• 2005  President George W. Bush nominates Judge Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court

Lost and Found – October 26th Edition

What to remember about October 26th…

• 1775  King George III speaks to parliament declaring the American colonies to be in rebellion; authorizes military force to end it
• 1776  Benjamin Franklin sets sail from Philadelphia for France to negotiate aid and an alliance
• 1825  360 mile Erie Canal is completed after 4 years
• 1861  The Pony Express officially ends operations; replaced by modern transcontinental telegraph system
• 1881  In Tombstone, Arizona the Earp brothers confront the Clanton-McLaury gang in a legendary gunfight at the OK Corral
• 1940  Maiden flight of the P-51 Mustang fighter
• 1944  At the end of 4 days of air-naval conflict, Battle of Leyte gulf leaves Japanese fleet devastated and on the run
• 1966  President Johnson makes surprise visit to troops in Vietnam
• 2001  In response to 9/11/01 attacks, President George W. Bush signs controversial anti-terrorism law; The USA Patriot Act
• 2002  Moscow theater siege ends with 50 Chechen terrorists and 150 hostages killed during Russian commando assault

Presidential Trivia – Lyndon Baines Johnson

Think you know a lot about the President of the United States?  Let us dig down into the dustbin of history and see what we can find.

Our candidate today is:  Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States

• Born: August 27, 1908 near Stonewall, Texas
• Died: January 22, 1973 of a heart attack; he died on a plane flying to a San Antonio hospital from the same LBJ family ranch he was born on
• Height: 6’0″
• Childhood and school activities:  baseball, public speaking
• Education:  Graduated from Southwest Texas State Teachers’ College in 1930, edited the college newspaper
• Military Service:  United States Navy 1941-1942, final rank Lieutenant Commander, awarded the Silver Star
• Civilian profession: Teacher, Congressional aide, politician
• Married to Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Taylor (December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) on November 17, 1934, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas
• The ring that LBJ gave Mrs. Johnson on their wedding day was bought at Sears for $2.50
• Children: daughters Lynda and Luci
• Political Party – Democrat
• Term of office:  November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969
• Became Vice-President to President John F. Kennedy in a compromise to win southern “Dixie-crats” despite the acrimony with all the Kennedy family
• As Vice-President, Kennedy kept LBJ busy making him head of the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities and as Chairman of the National Aeronautics Space Council
• Sworn in as President aboard Air Force One in Dallas, Texas just 2 hours after the assassination of President Kennedy

• President Johnson was the only President to take Oath of Office on an airplane (Air Force One)
• He was the only President to be administered the oath by a woman (Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes)
• He was the only President to take the oath with a woman serving as his witness (Jacqueline Kennedy).
• Johnson steadily escalated U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, increasing the number of American troops from 16,000 when he first took office in 1963 to over 500,000
• Famous quote: “Just like the Alamo, somebody damn well needed to go to their aid. Well, by God, I’m going to Vietnam’s aid.”
• Despite passing massive civil rights legislation racial unrest, riots, and violent demonstrations were commonplace throughout his presidency
• President and Mrs. Johnson received the first Medicare cards upon his signing of the enacting legislation
• Despite his Christian upbringing, LBJ was famous for his profanity, streams of cursing could often be heard through the oval office door during meetings
• Not only were President Johnson’s initials LBJ, so were the initials of his wife and both daughters
• Famous quotes:

You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered.

Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.

There are no favorites in my office. I treat them all with the same general inconsideration.

The fact that a man is a newspaper reporter is evidence of some flaw of character.

The men who have guided the destiny of the United States have found the strength for their tasks by going to their knees. This private unity of public men and their God is an enduring source of reassurance for the people of America.

Lost and Found – August 27th Edition

What to remember about August 27th…

• 1776  British forces defeat General Washington’s continental forces in Battle of Brooklyn Heights
• 1859  Petroleum is discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania; 1st successful well and birth of the oil industry
• 1883  The Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia explodes; most powerful eruption in recorded history
• 1908  President Lyndon Baines Johnson is born on a farm near Stonewall, Texas; gained office after the assassination of President Kennedy
• 1928  Kellogg–Briand Pact (World Peace Act) outlawing war was signed
• 1962  NASA launches space probe Mariner 2 on voyage to Venus
• 1990  American blues guitarist and singer Stephen “Stevie Ray” Vaughan dies in helicopter crash
• 2001  Work begins in Washington D.C. preparing the site for the National WWII Memorial
• 2007  NFL quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick pleads guilty in dogfighting case; after less than 2 years i prison he is allowed to return to football
• 2011  Hurricane Irene makes landfall in North Carolina