longer.blue

Today in history: Four years ago, Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and was replaced by Liz Truss. As was customary, they met with the Queen to discuss the changeover. More on that later. Eight years ago, a guy named Adélio Bispo de Oliveira stabbed Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro at a campaign rally. Alas, it didn't take. 19 years ago, Israeli jets bombed a suspected nuclear reactor site at Al Kibar in Syria. (Later inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the presence of enriched nuclear materials at the site.) 29 years ago, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, was held in London. It was kind of a big deal. 31 years ago, Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed Lou Gehrig’s record of consecutive games played, as he played his 2,131st game. (He would eventually play in 2,632 consecutive games, which is also kind of a big deal.) 34 years ago, Christopher McCandless was found dead in a former Fairbanks City Transit bus near Healy, Alaska. 35 years ago, the Soviet Union recognized the secession of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. On the same day, the Russian parliament voted to change the name of Leningrad back to St. Petersburg. 43 years ago, nearly a week after it happened, the Soviet Union admitted shooting down Korean Air Lines flight 007. 50 years ago, Soviet Air Defense pilot Viktor Belenko flew his MiG-25 Foxbat to Japan and requested asylum. The plane was later returned to the Soviets in 30 crates (we had a good look at it first), along with a bill for $40,000 for damage to the airfield where Belenko landed (the runway was too short for a plane with the MiG-25’s landing speed, so he ran off the end and hit a radio tower.) Belenko has been a US citizen since 1980. 54 years ago, nine Israeli athletes were killed during a failed hostage rescue attempt by the German police at the Munich Olympics. Two other Israelis had been killed during the hostage grab the previous day, by members of the Palestinian terrorist group “Black September”. (See next entry.) 56 years ago, four airliners were hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Two were flown to “Dawson’s Field”, a former RAF airstrip in Zarqa, Jordan. One was flown to Cairo, as the hijackers were unsure it could land at Dawson’s Field (it was a 747). The fourth one was retaken when the pilot put the plane into a steep dive, throwing the hijackers off balance and allowing a sky marshal who was on board to get the drop on them - one was killed and the second, Leila Khaled, was arrested. This was the beginning of events that resulted in military conflict between various Palestinian liberation groups and the Jordanian government, that led to September 1970 being called “Black September” by the Palestinians. 74 years ago, the prototype of the deHavilland Sea Vixen disintegrated mid-air during a high-speed pull-out at the Farnborough Air Show. The two crew members were killed, as well as 29 spectators hit by the plane’s debris. 125 years ago, President William McKinley was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. McKinley would die 8 days later, being succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt, who became the youngest man to become President. (JFK is the youngest *elected* president.) 156 years ago, Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, WY became the first woman to vote legally in a US election. 384 years ago, the theatres of London were closed by an act of Parliament. They would not reopen until the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. 398 years ago, Puritan colonists founded the town of Salem, Massachusetts. 406 years ago, after many false starts, the colony ship Mayflower left Plymouth, England. 504 years ago, the Victoria, the only surviving ship of Magellan’s expedition, returned to Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the globe. 534 years ago, Cristobal Colón sailed from the Canary Islands. He wouldn’t see land again for 36 days.