First Confidential

THIS DAY IN HISTORY - SEPTEMBER 9th

Walt Whitman, Quote

“The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first; Be not discouraged — keep on — there are divine things, well envelop'd; I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell.”

~ Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass

Wikiquote (Walt Whitman (Walter "Walt" Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.)

This Day in History

September 9th, 337

Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans I succeed their father Constantine I as co-emperors. The Roman Empire is divided between the three Augusti

Roman Empire:
Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans I succeed their father Constantine I as co-emperors. The Roman Empire is divided between the three Augusti.

Wikipedia  Image: Fresco from Monastery of St. Jovan, above the village Gornji Matejevac near Nis. depicting St. Constantine the Great and his wife, holding the cross; Bronze statue of Constantine I in York, England, near the spot where he was proclaimed Augustus in 306; Constantine the Great, mosaic in Hagia Sophia, 1000.

September 9th, 533

Byzantine Empire Collage

Byzantine Empire (East Roman Empire):
533 - Byzantine army (15,000 men) under Belisarius lands at Caput Vada (modern Tunisia) and marches to Carthage.

Wikipedia  Image: The Baptism of Constantine painted by Raphael's pupils (1520–1524, fresco, Vatican City, Apostolic Palace); Mural of Saints Cyril and Methodius, 19th century, Troyan Monastery, Bulgaria; Justinian I depicted on one of the famous mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna; The Greek fire was first used by the Byzantine Navy during the Byzantine-Arab Wars (from the Madrid Skylitzes, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid); Alexios I, founder of the Komnenos dynasty.

September 9th, 1543

Mary, Queen of Scots, (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen regnant of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December 1560

Mary Stuart, at nine months old, is crowned "Queen of Scots" in the central Scottish town of Stirling.

Wikipedia  Painting: Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen regnant of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December 1560.

September 9th, 1850

California is admitted as the thirty-first U.S. state

California is admitted as the thirty-first U.S. state.

Wikipedia  Photo: The Super Trees, by Michael Nichols; Fog shrouds redwoods in California's Humboldt Redwoods State Park, by Michael Nichols; Los Angeles; A cruise ship under the Golden Gate Bridge, by Rubberball / Getty Images; Anacapa Island, in Channel Islands National Park, 15 miles (24 kilometers) off the Malibu Coast, by Michael Gaines; Dams, pumps, and canals can’t stave off a water crisis, by Edward Burtynsky. credit National Gergraphics.

September 9th, 1850

Compromise of 1850 transfers a third of Texas's claimed territory (now parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Wyoming) to federal control in return for the U.S. federal government assuming $10 million of Texas's pre-annexation debt

Compromise of 1850 transfers a third of Texas's claimed territory (now parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wyoming) to federal control in return for the U.S. federal government assuming $10 million of Texas's pre-annexation debt.

Wikipedia  Map: Map of Mexico. S. Augustus Mitchell, Philadelphia, 1847. New California is depicted with a north-eastern border at the meridian leading north of the Rio Grande headwaters.

September 9th, 1863

Lincoln Memorial: an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln - located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. across from the Washington Monument American Civil War: Battle of Antietam; Stone Bridge at Antietam Battlefield - Sharpsburg, Maryland American Civil War: American Civil War: First Battle Between Ironclads; CSS Virginia/Merrimac (left) vs. USS Monitor, in 1862 at the Battle of Hampton Roads

American Civil War:
1863 - Union army enters Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Wikipedia  Image: ● Lincoln Memorial; an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln - located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. across from the Washington Monument.
● The northern army led by George McClellan and the southern army led by Robert E. Lee met at Antietam Creek, Maryland in September, 1862. It was a bloody battle where 13,000 Confederates and 12,000 Union troops died in just one day. McClellan had hesitated to attack before the battle thus letting the southern troops regroup. Also, he had saved reserves and refused to use them at the end of the battle thinking that Lee was holding reserves for a counterattack, even though those reserves didn't exist. The Union victory stopped Lee's northward advance and was a turning point in the war.
● Battle of Antietam / Stone Bridge at Antietam Battlefield - Sharpsburg, Maryland
● First Battle Between Ironclads: CSS Virginia/Merrimac (left) vs. USS Monitor, in 1862 at the Battle of Hampton Roads.
● Although photography was still in its infancy, war correspondents produced thousands of images, bringing the harsh realities of the frontlines to those on the home front in a new and visceral way. The Atlantic.

September 9th, 1940

World War II: George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer

World War II: George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.

Wikipedia  Photo: George Stibitz portrait, pioneers the first remote operation of a computer

September 9th, 1942

World War II: Japanese floatplane drops incendiary bombs on Oregon

World War II: Japanese floatplane drops incendiary bombs on Oregon.

Wikipedia  Photo: Nobuo Fujita (1911–30 September 1997) was a Warrant Flying Officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy who flew a floatplane from the long-range submarine aircraft carrier I-25, and conducted the only wartime aircraft-dropped bombing on the continental United States, which became known as the Lookout Air Raid.

September 9th, 1943

World War II: Allies land at Salerno and Taranto, Italy

World War II: Allies land at Salerno and Taranto, Italy.

Wikipedia  Photo: Troops and vehicles being landed under shell fire during the invasion of mainland Italy at Salerno, September 1943.

September 9th, 1944

World War II: Fatherland Front takes power in Bulgaria through a military coup in the capital and armed rebellion in the country - a new pro-Soviet government is established

World War II: Fatherland Front takes power in Bulgaria through a military coup in the capital and armed rebellion in the country - a new pro-Soviet government is established.

Wikipedia  Photo: A defeated demoralised German army withdraws from Russia. 1944

September 9th, 1945

Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan formally surrenders to China

Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan formally surrenders to China is liberated from Germany.

Wikipedia  Photo: Chinese Army General Chen Cheng during a victory celebration immediately after the Japanese surrender, China, Aug 1945

September 9th, 1965

Hurricane Collage: (A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low-pressure center surrounded by a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain)

1965 - Hurricane Betsy makes its second landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, leaving 76 dead and $1.42 billion ($10–12 billion in 2005 dollars) in damages, becoming the first hurricane to top $1 billion in unadjusted damages.

Wikipedia  Image: Hurricane Andrew sequence, NASA ● Hurricane Mitch at peak intensity (formed October 22, 1998 - Dissipated November 5, 1998) ● Hurricane Katrina taken on August 28, 2005, at 11:45 AM EDT by NOAA when the storm was a Category Five hurricane ● Hurricane Jeanne September 23, 2004, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ● PDC Global Hazards Atlas displaying 3 hour precipitation accumulation, typhoon Evan (04P), with JTWC positions, segments, and winds...over the South Pacific Ocean ● Satellite imagery provided by NOAA and taken by the Japan Meteorological Agency's MTSAT weather satellite shows Typhoon Roke as it approaches Japan, September 20, 2011. Over 1.3 million ordered to evacuate in Japan ahead of Typhoon Roke.

September 9th, 2012

List of modern conflicts in the Middle East

Modern conflicts in the Middle East, social unrest and terrorist attacks:
2012 - September 9, 2012 Iraq attacks; A wave of attacks kill more than 108 people and injure 351 others in Iraq.
2004 - Australian embassy bombing; A bomb explodes outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, killing 10 people.
2001 - Ahmed Shah Massoud, leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, is assassinated in Afghanistan by two al Qaeda assassins who claimed to be Arab journalists wanting an interview.

Wikipedia  Photo: Middle East satellite image, NASA. ● Camels are seen early morning on a beach in the Marina area of Dubai October 16, 2008. (Steve Crisp, Reuters) ● A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad burns during clashes between rebels and Syrian troops in Selehattin, near Aleppo, on July 23, 2012. (Bulent Kilic, AFP / GettyImages) ● Egyptians gather in their thousands in Tahrir Square to mark the one year anniversary of the revolution on Jan. 25, 2012 in Cairo Egypt. Tens of thousands have gathered in the square on the first anniversary of the Arab uprising which toppled President Hosni Mubarak. (Jeff J Mitchell, Getty Images) ● Black smoke rises above the Tehran skyline as supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi burn tires and other material in the streets as they fight running battles with police to protest the declared results of the Iranian presidential election in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 13, 2009. (Ben Curtis, AP) ● The Iron Dome defense system fires to interecpt incoming missiles from Gaza in the port town of Ashdod, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. (Tsafrir Abayov, AP)

September 9th, 2016

The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it “maniacal recklessness”.

North Korean nuclear test: The government of North Korea conducts its fifth and reportedly biggest nuclear test. World leaders condemn the act, with South Korea calling it “maniacal recklessness”.

Wikipedia  Image: Ri Chun-hee broadcasting on North Korea TV