Sunday Open Thread: June 24 was a date for prodigious battles and much more

and it is also Sweetmorn, Confusion 15, 3184 YOLD (for you Discordians out there)

World History this day

217 BC - Hannible pulled history's greatest ambush and first known turning movement at Lake Trasimene 0637 - The Battle of Moira (Ireland's largest) 1314 - The Battle of Bannockburn (if you don't know, ask a Scot) 1340 - The Battle of Sluys - annihilation of the French Fleet 1374 - An outbreak of St. John's Dance in Aachen (or this the arts?) 1497 - John Cabot landed in Newfoundland and began to talk funny 1597 - The first Dutch voyage to the East Indies reached Java. 1622 - Battle of Macau: the Dutch failed to steal Macau from the Portuguese 1779 - The Great Siege of Gibraltar began 1793 - France's first Republican constitution was adopted 1812 - Napoleon's Grande Armee crossed the Neman, invading Russia. 1821 - The Battle of Carabobo paved the way for Venezuela's independence. 1932 - A bloodless revolution overthrew King Prajadhipok of Siam 1948 - The start of the Berlin Blockade 1950 - South Africa passed the Group Areas Act formally segregating races 1954 - The Viet Minh hammered the French at the Battle of Mang Yang Pass 2010 - Julia Gillard became the first female Prime Minister of Australia.

US History this day

1922 - The APFA renamed itself the NFL 1943 - The Battle of Bamber Bridge pitted racist white US MPs against black US soldiers 1947 - Kenneth Arnold saw 9 UFOs near Mount Rainier, the first widely reported UFO sighting* 1949 - Hopalong Cassidy was first aired on NBC, the first TV "Western" 1957 - Ther Supremes held that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. (Roth v US) ** 1973 - Thirty two people were killed in an arson attack on a second floor gay bar, The UpStairs Lounge. 2004 - Capital punishment was declared unconstitutional in New York.

*doing an estimated 1200 mph, no less ** establishging a precedent for outlawing and punishing behavior one cannot define, a miserable farce of a decision.

Science & Technology this day

0109 - Trajan inaugurated the Aqua Traiana 1981 - The Humber Bridge, then the world's longest, opened for traffic

The Arts this day

1880 - First performance of O Canada, eh. But is it art?

Misc. this day

1717 - The first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world,The Premier Grand Lodge of England, was founded 2012 - Lonesome George, the last known Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, died

Birthdays of Note this day

1771 - Eleuthere Irenee du Pont, founded DuPont and made a fortune making gunpowder 1813 - Henry Ward Beecher, minister, accused adulterer, abolitionist, suffragest 1842 - Ambrose Bierce, author, essayist and journalist 1883 - Victor Francis Hess, physicist, discovered cosmic rays 1901 - Harry Partch, composer and music theorist who used just ntonation 1904 - Phil Harris, singer, songwriter and actor 1917 - Ramblin' Tommy Scott, singer and guitarist 1917 - Joan Clarke, cryptanalyst 1929 - Carolyn S. Shoemaker, astronomer, comet hunter, co-discoverer of Shoemaker-Levy 9 1942 - Arthur Brown, singer and songwriter from a crazy world 1944 - Jeff Beck, guitarist and songwriter 1944 - Chris Wood, saxophonist, flautist 1945 - Colin Blunstone, singer and songwriter 1947 - Mick Fleetwood, drummer 1947 - Peter Weller, Buckaroo Banzai 1949 - John Illsley, singer, songwriter, bass player, and producer 1959 - Andy McCluskey, singe, songwriter, bass player, and producer 1960 - Siedah Garrett, singer, songwriter, and pianist 1961 - Curt Smith, English singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1967 - Jeff Cease, guitarist (black crows) 1986 - Solange Knowles, singer, songwriter, and actress

Deaths of Note this day

1519 - Lucrezia Borgia, politician 1969 - Frank King, cartoonist 1969 - Willy Ley, author, historian, space exploration advocate 2010 - Fred Anderson, saxophonist 2013 - Alan Myers, dummer 2014 - Eli Wallach, Tuco, et. al.

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So now some music

Arthur Brown

Jeff Beck  

Chris Wood  

Colin Blunstone  

Mick Fleetwood  

John Illsley  

Andy McCluskey  

Siedah Garrett  

Jeff Cease  

Solange Knowles  

Fred Anderson  

Alan Myers  

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Photo: Statue of Robert the Bruce in Bannockburn, public domain

It's an open thread, so do your thing

Crossposted from http://caucus99percent.com