This week in history #35

Last week's photos:
1959 Hawaii
1986 Lake Nios
79 Vesuvius
1883 Krakatoa

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #35

August 28, ____ - More than 250,000 persons attended The March on Washington, a Civil Rights rally in Washington, DC at which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his I Have a Dream speech.

August 31, ____ - Britain's Princess Diana died at age 36 after a high-speed car crash.

September 2, ____ - The Great Fire of London began in a bakery near the Tower, destroying more than 13,000 houses but claiming only six lives.

September 2, ____ - The British ended their use of the Julian calendar, switching to the Gregorian calendar. Wednesday, September 2, was followed by Thursday, September 14, resulting in rioting by people who demanded the missing eleven days back.

"Give us our 11 days!"

This week in history #34

Last week's photos:
1935 Social Security
1969 Woodstock
1896 Klondike Gold Rush
1920 19th Amendment

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #34

August 21, ____ - Hawaii became the 50th US state.

August 22, ____ - Deadly fumes from a volcanic eruption under Lake Nios in Cameroon killed more than 1500 people.

August 24, ____ - Mount Vesuvius, in southern Italy, erupted and destroyed the cities of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum.

August 26, ____ - On an Indonesian island, volcano Krakatoa [locally Krakatau] erupted, sending lava, ash, and steam to a height of 50 miles. Explosions were heard 2000 miles away. Tidal waves 120 feet high killed 36,000 people.

[Yes this must be volcano week!]

This week in history #33

 This week in history #33

Last week's photos:
1990 Desert Shield
1974 Nixon Resigned
1965 Watts Riots
1961 Berlin Wall

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #33

August 14, ____ - President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, establishing guaranteed pensions to those who retire at age 65.

August 15, ____ - Woodstock began in a field near Bethel, New York. The 3-day concert featured 24 rock bands and drew a crowd of more than 300,000 people. 

August 16, ____ - Gold was discovered in a tributary of the Klondike River in Alaska, resulting in the Great Klondike Gold Rush.

August 18, ____ - The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, granting women the right to vote.

This week in history #32

Last week's photos:
1790 US Patent Office
1492 Columbus
1961 Obama
1945 Atomic Bomb

Last year we looked at obscure holidays. This year, let’s look at major world events that occurred each week.  Make your best guess in the comments as to the years of each event.  No googling!

Week #32

August 7, ____ - President George Bush ordered Operation Desert Shield to prevent further Iraqi advances.

August 9, ____ - Richard M. Nixon resigned the presidency as a result of the Watergate scandal.

August 11, ____ - Six days of riots began in the Watts area of Los Angeles, resulting in 34 deaths, $40 million in property damage, and more than 3,000 arrests.

August 13, ____ - The Berlin Wall was established after the East German government closed the border between east and west sectors of Berlin with barbed wire.