Good Morning & God Bless To Every One !
Today is February 7, the 38th day of 2014 and there are 327 days left this year where it is a Blessed Day in the work for our Lord here at:
For God’s Glory Alone Ministries !!!
Sorry I’m a little late this morning my friends. Without going into details, health has been an issue for a day or two and getting this put together this morning was a little more tasking than normal. I’ll try not to be so late in the future! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy today’s journey with Today In History and more importantly, with our Lord!
So, What Happened Today In 1812 ?
Following earthquake activity near Missouri, the Mississippi River flows backwards
The most violent of a series of earthquakes near Missouri causes a so-called fluvial tsunami in the Mississippi River, actually making the river run backward for several hours. The series of tremors, which took place between December 1811 and March 1812, were the most powerful in the history of the United States.
The unusual seismic activity began at about 2 a.m. on December 16, 1811, when a strong tremor rocked the New Madrid region. The city of New Madrid, located near the Mississippi River in present-day Arkansas, had about 1,000 residents at the time, mostly farmers, hunters and fur trappers. At 7:15 a.m., an even more powerful quake erupted, now estimated to have had a magnitude of 8.6. This tremor literally knocked people off their feet and many people experienced nausea from the extensive rolling of the earth. Given that the area was sparsely populated and there weren’t many multi-story structures, the death toll was relatively low. However, the quake did cause landslides that destroyed several communities, including Little Prairie, Missouri.
The earthquake also caused fissures–some as much as several hundred feet long–to open on the earth’s surface. Large trees were snapped in two. Sulfur leaked out from underground pockets and river banks vanished, flooding thousands of acres of forests. On January 23, 1812, an estimated 8.4-magnitude quake struck in nearly the same location, causing disastrous effects. Reportedly, the president’s wife Dolley Madison, was awoken by the tremor in Washington D.C. Fortunately, the death toll was smaller, as most of the survivors of the first earthquake were now living in tents, in which they could not be crushed.
The strongest of the tremors followed on February 7. This one was estimated at an amazing 8.8-magnitude and was probably one of the strongest quakes in human history. Church bells rang in Boston, thousands of miles away, from the shaking. Brick walls were toppled in Cincinnati. In the Mississippi River, water turned brown and whirlpools developed suddenly from the depressions created in the riverbed. Waterfalls were created in an instant; in one report, 30 boats were helplessly thrown over falls, killing the people on board. Many of the small islands in the middle of the river, often used as bases by river pirates, permanently disappeared. Large lakes, such as Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee and Big Lake at the Arkansas-Missouri border, were created by the earthquake as river water poured into new depressions.
This series of large earthquakes ended in March, although there were aftershocks for a few more years. In all, it is believed that approximately 1,000 people died because of the earthquakes, though an accurate count is difficult to determine because of a lack of an accurate record of the Native American population in the area at the time.
Other Memorable Or Interesting Events Occurring On February 7 In History:
1775 – Benjamin Franklin publishes ‘An Imaginary Speech’ in defense of American courage. Franklin’s speech was intended to counter an unnamed officer’s comments to Parliament that the British need not fear the colonial rebels, because “Americans are unequal to the People of this Country [Britain] in Devotion to Women, and in Courage, and worse than all, they are religious.”;
1795 – The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution, dealing with states’ sovereign immunity, was ratified affirming the power of the states;
1857 – A French court acquitted author Gustave Flaubert of obscenity for his serialized novel “Madame Bovary.”;
1862 – In the American Civil War, one day after the fall of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, commander of Rebel forces in the West, orders 15,000 reinforcements to Fort Donelson which lies on the Cumberland River just a few miles from Fort Henry. Johnston’s decision turned out to be a mistake as many of the troops were captured when the Fort Donelson fell to the Yankees on February 16;
1904 – In Baltimore, Maryland, a small fire in the business district is wind-whipped into an uncontrollable conflagration that engulfs a large portion of the city by evening. When the blaze finally burned down after 31 hours, an 80-block area of the downtown area, stretching from the waterfront to Mount Vernon on Charles Street, had been destroyed. More than 1,500 buildings were completely leveled, and some 1,000 severely damaged, bringing property loss from the disaster to an estimated $100 million. Miraculously, no homes or lives were lost, and Baltimore’s domed City Hall, built in 1867, was preserved. The Great Baltimore Fire was the most destructive fire in the United States since the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed most of the city and caused an estimated $200 million in property damage;
1905 – Oklahoma is admitted to statehood;
1907 – Over 3,000 women trudged through the cold and rutty streets of London, England from Hyde Park to Exeter Hall to advocate for women’s suffrage. The “Mud March” was the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS);
1915 – In World War I, in a blinding snowstorm, General Fritz von Below and Germany s Eighth Army launch a surprise attack against the Russian lines just north of the Masurian Lakes on the Eastern Front, beginning the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes (also known as the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes). Despite a German victory at the Masurian Lakes, it ended up having little strategic impact on the Eastern Front;
1926 – Negro History Week, originated by Carter G. Woodson, is observed for the first time. Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926, first as “Negro History Week” and later as “Black History Month.” What you might not know is that black history had barely begun to be studied-or even documented-when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America at least as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a respectable presence in the history books;
1928 – The United States signs an arbitration treaty with France;
1943 – During World War II, shoe rationing begins in United States. Customers may purchase up to 3 more pairs in 1943;
1948 – General Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Army chief of staff; he was succeeded by General Omar Bradley;
1950 – The United States officially recognizes Vietnam under the leadership of Emperor Bao Dai, not Ho Chi Minh who is recognized by the Soviets;
1962 – President Kennedy orders the beginning of the blockade of Cuba and also imposes a full trade embargo;
1964 – On the same day that Baskin-Robbins introduces ‘Beatle Nut ice cream’, a Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight from London lands at New York’s Kennedy Airport and “Beatlemania” arrives. It was the first visit to the United States by the Beatles, a British rock-and-roll quartet. At Kennedy, the “Fab Four”, dressed in mod suits and sporting their trademark pudding bowl haircuts were greeted by 3,000 screaming fans who caused a near riot when the boys stepped off their plane and onto American soil. Two days later, Paul McCartney, age 21, Ringo Starr, 23, John Lennon, 23, and George Harrison, 20, made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, a popular television variety show;
1965 – In the Vietnamese War, as part of Operation Flaming Dart, 49 U.S. Navy jets from the 7th Fleet Attack Aircraft Carriers USS Coral Sea and USS Hancock drop bombs and rockets on the barracks and staging areas at Dong Hoi, a guerrilla training camp in North Vietnam. Escorted by U.S. jets, a follow-up raid by South Vietnamese planes bombed a North Vietnamese military communications center. These strikes were in retaliation for communist attacks on the U.S. installation at Camp Holloway and the adjacent Pleiku airfield in the Central Highlands, which killed eight U.S. servicemen, wounded 109, and destroyed or damaged 20 aircraft;
1971 – During the Vietnam War, Operation Dewey Canyon II ends, but U.S. units continue to provide support for South Vietnamese army operations in Laos. Operation Dewey Canyon II began on January 30 as the initial phase of Lam Son 719, the South Vietnamese invasion of Laos that was to commence on February 8. The purpose of the South Vietnamese operation was to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail, advance to Tchepone in Laos, and destroy the North Vietnamese supply dumps in the area;
1974 – The island nation of Grenada won their independence from Great Britain;
1979 – Long after the end of World War II, Dr. Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi doctor, commonly referred to as “The Angel Of Death,” who performed medical experiments at the Auschwitz death camps, dies of a stroke while swimming in Brazil although his death was not verified until 1985;
1984 – While in orbit 170 miles above Earth, Navy Captain Bruce McCandless becomes the first human being to fly untethered in space when he exits the U.S. space shuttle Challenger and maneuvers freely, using a bulky white rocket pack of his own design;
1990 – Very close to the end of the Cold War, the Central Committee of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party agrees to endorse President Mikhail Gorbachev’s recommendation that the party give up its 70-year long monopoly of political power. The Committee’s decision to allow political challenges to the party’s dominance in Russia was yet another signal of the impending collapse of the Soviet system;
2002 – President George W. Bush announces his plan to federally fund faith-based initiatives. Bush started his day at a National Prayer Breakfast held in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel, where he explained the basic philosophy behind his plan. In service to others, he said, we find deep human fulfillment. And as acts of service are multiplied, our nation becomes a more welcoming place. Later that day, he announced the new policy from the Oval Office with leading members of Congress and the press in attendance. Bush proposed that faith-based organizations should assume a greater role in providing social-service programs without breaching the separation of church and state;
2006 – An Egyptian ferry, Al Salam Boccaccio, sinks killing over 1200 people in the Red Sea;
2012 – California’s Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in that state was overturned by the U.S. States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit;
2013 – It was one year ago TODAY !
Now, Off To The Fun Stuff !!!
Today’s Inspiration:
Today’s Thought For The Day:
“Do not read as children do to enjoy themselves, or, as the ambitious do to educate themselves. No, read to live.”
– Gustave Flaubert, French author (1821-1880).
Today’s Founder’s Quote:
“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
– George Washington
Today’s ‘AWE of GOD’ Picture:
Today’s Amazing Video:
A flight over America – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcuDdPo0WZk&feature=player_embedded
Today’s ‘Funny Animals’ Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VQXa_X1ZpvY
Today’s ‘Dog’s Theory’:
Today’s Product Label Instruction:
On Tesco’s Tiramisu desert – Do not turn upside down. (Printed on the bottom of the box.)
Today’s ‘Astute Visionary’:
“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”
– Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962
Today’s ‘Can You Find The Animal Trying To Hide From You?’:
Today’s Proverb:
He who lives without discipline dies without honor.
Today’s Lexophile Word Play:
A boiled egg is hard to beat.
Today’s ‘Love Is’ Picture:
Today’s Joke Of The Day:
‘Adam & Eve From A Child’s Perspective –
The story of Adam and Eve was being carefully explained in the children’s Sunday School Class.
Following the story, the children were asked to draw some picture that would illustrate the story.
Little Bobby was most interested and drew a picture of a car with three people in it.
In the front seat, behind the wheel was a man and in the back seat, a man and a woman.
The teacher was at a loss to understand how this illustrated the lesson of Adam and Eve.
But little Bobby was prompt with his explanation.
“Why, this is God driving Adam and Eve out of the garden!”
Today’s ‘This Is What Cameras Are Made For’ Picture:
Today’s Inspirational Quote:
There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.
– John Calvin
Today’s Inspiration Music Video:
Overcomer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b8VoUYtx0kw
Today’s Verse & Prayer:
Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
– Psalm 97:10
Dear and Almighty God, make my heart pained by the evil in my world. Give me a holy revulsion to things opposed to your will and character. Yet Father, just as you redeemed me by grace, and rescued me while a captive to sin, give me courage to care about those who are in the Evil One’s embrace. Through my Savior and your Son Jesus I pray. Amen
Today’s Funny Church Sign:
Off To My Nap:
So, Until Tomorrow – America, BLESS GOD !!!
