Today in History….Stanislav Petrov: The man who may have saved the world

Added more original wartime material to the site.  I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend -

Sincerely,

Site Manager

The War You Know

thewaryouknow.com

Nice!
Think of me when you are standing by where AS Johnston died through blood loss. He is undoubtedly one of the war’s great enigmas and what ifs.
Forrest came to the fore at this battle and one of my favourite generals was present too: Patrick R Cleburne, commanding a Brigade.
Hope the weather is not to bad.

The rivalry between cities that goes back to medieval times still exists in Italy. It can be seen in sport nowadays, certainly in  football.
I like it. I like how your place of birth can give you a sense of pride.
I never feel better than when I return to Florence and walk the historic streets, see the Palazzo Vecchio, cathedral, the  city walls and the river.
I will be there in give weeks. October is a good month too.

Nice. Thank you Herr KaLeun.
He was never having our feet!

Today in 117AD Hadrian, the adopted son of  Trajan, became the new Roman Emperor. Trajan had ruled for nearly twenty years and had enlarged the Empire greatly. Hadrian in his twenty one year rule would be just as good for Rome. He left behind four great building works, which remain today.
The first was to rebuild Agrippa’s Pantheon, adding the 141ft diameter Dome. It has massive bronze doors and now a church, has buried two of Italy’s kings and the artist Raphael amongst others.
On the river Tiber is the Castel San Angelo, another stone dome building, this one built as his own tomb. It has been used as a fortress by more than one Pope when Rome has been threatened. It housed Pope Clement VII when the forces of the (Spanish)Holy Roman Empire sacked the city in 1527. It is well worth a visit if you ever go to Rome. A coffee from the battlements’ cafe’ is a good end to a walk around the military museum it is now.
The third monument is the beautiful Villa at Tivoli.
Lastly is the wall he had constructed in the North of England to keep out those pesky Picts(Scots). It was 15ft high and stretched 73 miles from coast tocoast and there was a fort every five miles.
Hadrian had been unwell for some time and despite seeking death and requesting it of his adopted son Pius, who refused to aid him, he died  aged 62 in his villa at Baie on the Bay of Naples.

Today,the 19th May, in 1536 Anne Boleyn was executed for adultery.
She received the death sentence because her husband was Henry VIII, king of England.
She was accused of adultery with five men, all were known to her, one was her brother.
Only one of the men admitted to the deed, all were tortured and beheaded. (An indication, if one was needed, that they were innocent: treason, for which they were accused, was punished by hanging, drawing and quartering.
Of course,  Anne’s only crime was not to bear the 44 year old king with a son. She had had a daughter, Elizabeth, destined to be one of England’s greatest monarchs, but he wanted a son and had already lined up a new bride. He remarried on the 29th,  a Howard family member, Katherine.
Mercifully for the Queen who forever changed England’s future with her Protestantism, Henry imported a well known French executioner, who used a sword, severing her head in one blow,  so she did not suffer as some did under a drunken executioner or one bribed to make a mess.

@Yanny:

The Spanish thoroughly wiped out the entire native Med. Sea population, along with most of Mexico’s.

Then why do they still speak Greek, Arabic, Farsi, Italian and Spanish instead of todos hablan Espanol!?! :P

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

ah