Today In History..........

In 1626...........

The Dutch West Indies Trading Co.(Peter Minuet) bought the island of Manhattan from the Indians, paying with goods and beads worth about $24. (Having taken a trip to Bourbon St. in New Orleans, I was AMAZED what you can still get with a strand or two of beads) -grin-

In 1764...........

Bostonian lawyer James Otis denounces "taxation without representation" and calls for the colonies to unite in demonstrating their opposition to Britain's new tax measures.

In 1798...........

Being inspired by the French Revolution and believing that a French invasion of Ireland is imminent, Irish nationalists rise up against the British occupation, beginning what was called "The Year of the French"

In 1941...........

In an engagement lasting only 11 minutes, the German battleship "Bismarck" sank the British heavy battle cruiser "Hood" in the battle of the Denmark Straits in the North Atlantic. The Hood was struck by a German shell which penetrated into her aft magazines, detonating the ammunition stored there for her 15 inch guns. After that massive explosion, she sank in less that 3 minutes taking 1415 men to the bottom with her. There were only three survivors of her crew.

The last survivor of the Hood's crew, Ted Briggs, died at 85 years old on October4th 2008.