Archive Digger

1399 – Henry IV is named King of England. Like all English monarchs, he is a descendant of  William the Conqueror. Interesting fact, at his coronation, Henry IV was the first king to make his address in English since 1066.

1791 – French Revolution: The National Constituent Assembly in Paris is dissolved; and Parisians proclaim  Robespierre an “incorruptible patriot”. And then the “Reign of Terror” began.

1901 – The best thing ever to happen to carpets: Hubert Cecil Booth patents the vacuum cleaner.

1938 – In a move to “appease” the Germans, at 2:00 am, Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, thus permitting Germany to occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. The move was meant to satisfy German expansion, but Hitler violates the agreement when he invades Poland—thus beginning WWII.

1955 – The embodiment of “live fast, die young” iconic film “rebel” James Dean, 24, dies in a road accident.

1991 – Haiti’s first freely-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide is deposed from his office by a military coup.

2004 – They exist! The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken in waters off of Tokyo.

2005 – Danish newspaper prints controversial Muhammad cartoon.