August 3 is day 215 of the Gregorian Calendar year, Setting Orange, Confusion 69, 3186 YOLD (Discordian) And let us not forget 13.0.7.13.2 mlc (the Mayan Long Count)
The Siege of Algeciras began on this date in 1342 and lasted almost two years. The port of Algeciras is the monster port and harbor located down next door to the city of Gibraltar. Then as now, it was a key port. It was part of "Moorish Spain", which was not monolithic. The Umayyad Caliphate conquered Visigothic Spain starting in 711. Eventually, a chunk of the southern coast, up to and including Algeciras became the Emirate of Grenada. In 1329 it was conquered by and became part of the Marinid Sultanate out of Morocco. In retrospect this was probably a dumb move because it weakened both the Sultanate and Grenada during the early days of the Spanish Reconquista. Grenada did send troops to help during the siege, which was undertaken by forces of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, as well as the Republic of Genoa. Needless to say, the "Spanish" prevailed, as they did throughout "Spain". (And here you probably thought that Spain was a thing.). The Reconquista, fwiw, is traditionally deemed to have ended in January 1492 when the united kingdoms of Aragon (Ferdinand) and Castile (Isabella) finally whupped Grenada (and segue into Christoforo Colombo or whoever he was sailing on this date for mostly Isabella from Palos de Frontera). It is some sort of mileage marker of historical waypoint that this was the first known use of gunpowder in a military conflict in Europe.
On this day in history:
1342 – The Siege of Algeciras began; the first use of gunpowder in combat in Europe 1492 – Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain. 1527 – The first known letter from North America was sent 1678 – Robert LaSalle built Le Griffon, the first known ship built on the Great Lakes. 1778 – Milan's La Scala theater was inaugurated 1795 – Treaty of Greenville was signed, ending the Northwest Indian War in the Ohio Country. 1829 – The Treaty of Lewistown was signed by the Shawnee and Seneca peoples, exchanging their land in Ohio for land west of the Mississippi River. 1859 – The American Dental Association was founded 1921 – Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirmed the ban of eight Chicago Black Sox players 1936 – Jesse Owens won the 100 meter dash at the Berlin Olympics. 1948 – Whittaker Chambers accused Alger Hiss of being a communist and a spy for the Soviet Union. 1958 – The USS Nautilus, became the first vessel to complete a submerged transit of the geographical North Pole. 1972 – The United States Senate ratified the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The US appears to have actually followed this treaty for almost 11 whole years. Amazing. 1977 – Tandy Corporation announced the TRS-80 2007 – Former Deputy Director of the Chilean secret police Raúl Iturriaga was captured
Born this day in:
“I furnished the body that was needed to sit in the defendant's chair. ~~ John Thomas Scopes
1811 – Elisha Otis, businessman, 1900 – Ernie Pyle, soldier and journalist 1900 – John T. Scopes, educator 1904 – Clifford D. Simak, journalist and author 1907 – Lawrence Brown, trombonist and composer 1909 – Walter Van Tilburg Clark, author and educator 1917 – Les Elgart, A trumpet player and bandleader 1918 – Eddie Jefferson, singer and songwriter 1920 – P. D. James, author 1920 – Charlie Shavers, trumpet player and composer 1924 – Connie Converse, musician, singer, and songwriter 1924 – Leon Uris, Asoldier and author 1926 – Tony Bennett, singer and actor 1934 – Michael Chapman, bassoon player 1934 – Jonas Savimbi, founded UNITA ( 1935 – Vic Vogel, pianist, composer, and bandleader 1939 – Jimmie Nicol, English drummer 1940 – James Tyler, guitarist and songwriter 1941 – Beverly Lee, singer 1944 – Nino Bravo, singer 1946 – Syreeta Wright, singer and songwriter 1946 – John York, bass player, songwriter, and producer 1949 – B. B. Dickerson, bass player and songwriter 1953 – Ian Bairnson, saxophonist and keyboard player 1953 – Marlene Dumas, painter 1956 – Kirk Brandon, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1956 – Dave Cloud, singer, songwriter ,and actor 1959 – Martin Atkins, drummer and producer 1961 – Lee Rocker, bassist 1963 – Tasmin Archer, pop singer 1963 – James Hetfield, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1963 – Ed Roland, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1964 – Lucky Dube, singer and keyboard player 1966 – Gizz Butt, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1967 – Skin, singer and guitarist 1970 – Stephen Carpenter, guitarist and songwriter 1970 – Gina G, singer and songwriter 1984 – Chris Maurer, singer and bass player
Died this day in:
“Take away the right to say ‘fuck’ and you take away the right to say ‘fuck the government.” ~~ Lenny Bruce
11780 – Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, epistemiologist and philosopher 1879 – Joseph Severn, painter 1894 – George Inness, painter 1916 – Roger Casement, poet and activist 1917 – Ferdinand Georg Frobenius, mathematician and academic 1924 – Joseph Conrad, novelist 1929 – Emile Berliner, inventor and businessman, invented the phonograph 1929 – Thorstein Veblen, economist and sociologist ( 1936 – Konstantin Konik, surgeon and politician 1942 – Richard Willstätter, organic chemist and academic 1954 – Colette, novelist and journalist ( 1961 – Hilda Rix Nicholas, artist 1964 – Flannery O'Connor, short story writer and novelist 1966 – Lenny Bruce, comedian, actor, and screenwriter 2003 – Roger Voudouris, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 2004 – Henri Cartier-Bresson, photographer and painter 2006 – Arthur Lee, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 2008 – Erik Darling, singer and songwriter 2008 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, novelist, dramatist and historian 2010 – Bobby Hebb, singer and songwriter 2014 – Kenny Drew, Jr., pianist and composer
Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: Grab Some Nuts Day International Beer Day Assistance Dog Day Clean Your Floors Day
Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies ;-)
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