EarthStation1 MediaOutlet News: Latest New Releases And Today's Commemorative Memorial Titles At EarthStation1.com

EarthStation1 MediaOutlet News: Latest New Releases And Today's Commemorative Memorial Titles At EarthStation1.com & MediaOutlet.com!

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

Our latest new releases and daily specials are at https://store.earthstation1.com/specials.html -- and they're waiting for you! ;) (EarthStation1.com logo "Heart Of The Quasar" used with gracious longtime permission of Don Dixon, founding member of the International Association of Astronomical Artists (IAAA) https://www.cosmographica.com)

Today's EarthStation1.com 15% Off Commemorative Memorial Title: The Battle Of Guadalcanal DVD MP4 Download USB Flash Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1942: World War II: The Pacific War (The Asia-Pacific War, The Pacific Theater Of World War II): The Pacific Ocean Theater Of World War II: Operation Cartwheel: The Solomon Islands Campaign: The Battle Of Guadalcanal (The Guadalcanal Campaign, Operation Watchtower): --The United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war - the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire Of Japan as well - with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the southern Solomon Islands, supported by powerful American and Australian naval forces, with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese to threaten Allied supply and communication routes between the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, beginning The Battle Of Guadalcanal, fought on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific Theater of World War II until February 9, 1943. The Allies intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases in supporting a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Japanese defenders, who had occupied those islands since May 1942, were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the Allies, who captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as the airfield - later named Henderson Field - that was under construction on Guadalcanal. Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November to retake Henderson Field. Three major land battles, seven large naval battles (five nighttime surface actions and two carrier battles), and almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle Of Guadalcanal in early November, with the defeat of the last Japanese attempt to bombard Henderson Field from the sea and to land with enough troops to retake it. In December, the Japanese abandoned their efforts to retake Guadalcanal, and evacuated their remaining forces by 7 February 1943, in the face of an offensive by the U.S. Army's XIV Corps. The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic Allied combined-arms victory in the Pacific theater. While the Battle of Midway was a crushing defeat of the Imperial Japanese Navy, it did not stop Japanese offensives, which continued both at sea and on the ground. The victories at Milne Bay, Buna-Gona, and Guadalcanal did mark the Allied transition from defensive operations to the strategic initiative in the theater, leading to offensive campaigns in the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and the Central Pacific, which resulted in the surrender of Japan, ending World War II. On Sale @ 15% Off Discount Till Midnight PT! https://store.earthstation1.com/the-battle-of-guadalcanal-dvd-mp4-download-usb-flash-driv4.html

Today's EarthStation1.com 15% Off Commemorative Memorial Title: The Making Of The President 1964 POTUS Campaign LBJ DVD, Download, USB

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1964: The Aftermath Of World War II: The Cold War: The Cold War In Asia: The Indochina Wars: The Vietnam War (The Second Indochina War, The Vietnam Conflict, The Resistance War Against America): The United States In The Vietnam War: The Gulf of Tonkin Incidents (Vietnamese: Su Kien Vinh Bac Bo): The Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution (The Southeast Asia Resolution, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 88-408, 78 Stat. 384): -- Following the attack on two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf Of Tonkin off North Vietnam, the U.S. Congress approved The Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution, also known as the Southeast Asia Resolution, granting President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese and the authority "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." It is of historical significance because it gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of conventional military force in Southeast Asia. Specifically, the resolution authorized the President to do whatever necessary in order to assist "any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty". This included involving armed forces. It was opposed in the Senate only by Senators Wayne Morse (D-OR) and Ernest Gruening (D-AK). Senator Gruening objected to "sending our American boys into combat in a war in which we have no business, which is not our war, into which we have been misguidedly drawn, which is steadily being escalated". (Tonkin Gulf debate 1964) The Johnson administration subsequently relied upon the resolution to begin its rapid escalation of U.S. military involvement in South Vietnam and open warfare between North Vietnam and the United States. Senator Morse opposed the bill because it granted the president "the power to make war without a declaration of war". On Sale @ 15% Off Discount Till Midnight PT! https://store.earthstation1.com/the-making-of-the-president-1964-dvd-johnson-goldwater-campa1964.html

Today's EarthStation1.com 15% Off Commemorative Memorial Title: The Weapons Of Desert Shield + Bonus Persian Gulf War DVD MP4 Download

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1990: The Aftermath Of World War II: The Cold War: The Gulf War (The Persian Gulf War, Gulf War I): The Invasion Of Kuwait: Operation Desert Shield: -- Just five days after the Iraqi Invasion Of Kuwait, President George Bush orders Desert Shield be implemented, a massive military buildup to prevent further Iraqi advances, with the first American soldiers being sent to Saudi Arabia that same day: 15,000 U.S. troops, 32 destroyers and 100 helicopters and fighter planes. The next day, Operation Desert Shield officially took effect. Soon after his conquest of Kuwait, Saddam began verbally attacking the Saudis. He argued that the US-supported Saudi state was an illegitimate and unworthy guardian of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He combined the language of the Islamist groups that had recently fought in Afghanistan with the rhetoric Iran had long used to attack the Saudis. Acting on the Carter Doctrine's policy that the United States would use military force, if necessary, to defend its national interests in the Persian Gulf, and out of fear the Iraqi Army could launch an invasion of Saudi Arabia, US President George Bush quickly announced that the US would launch a "wholly defensive" mission to prevent Iraq from invading Saudi Arabia under the codename Operation Desert Shield. Operation Desert Shield began on 7 August 1990 when US troops were sent to Saudi Arabia due also to the request of its monarch, King Fahd, who had earlier called for US military assistance. This "wholly defensive" doctrine was quickly abandoned when, on 8 August, Iraq declared Kuwait to be Iraq's 19th province and Saddam named his cousin, Ali Hassan Al-Majid, as its military-governor. The US Navy dispatched two naval battle groups built around the aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Independence to the Persian Gulf, where they were ready by 8 August. The US also sent the battleships USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin to the region. A total of 48 US Air Force F-15s from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, landed in Saudi Arabia, and immediately commenced round the clock air patrols of the Saudi-Kuwait-Iraq border to discourage further Iraqi military advances. They were joined by 36 F-15 A-Ds from the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing at Bitburg, Germany. The Bitburg contingent was based at Al Kharj Air Base, approximately an hour south east of Riyadh. The 36th TFW would be responsible for 11 confirmed Iraqi Air Force aircraft shot down during the war. There were also two Air National Guard units stationed at Al Kharj Air Base, the South Carolina Air National Guard's 169th Fighter Wing flew bombing missions with 24 F-16s flying 2,000 combat missions and dropping 4 million pounds of munitions, and the New York Air National Guard's 174th Fighter Wing from Syracuse flew 24 F-16s on bombing missions. Military buildup continued from there, eventually reaching 543,000 troops, twice the number used in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Much of the material was airlifted or carried to the staging areas via fast sealift ships, allowing a quick buildup. On Sale @ 15% Off Discount Till Midnight PT! https://store.earthstation1.com/the-weapons-of-desert-shield-persian-gulf-war-i-dvd-mp4-download-us4.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Monsters! Mysteries Or Myths? + Bonus Yeti Doc MP4 Video Download DVD

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7: National Sea Serpent Day: -- Commemorates of one of the most common sea serpent sightings. Sea serpents, also known as sea dragons, were prevalent in ancient myths and are commemorated on Sea Serpent Day. They were possibly inspired, in part, by the enormous oarfish, which may grow to be 50 feet long and are rarely seen because they dwell thousands of feet below the ocean's surface. National Sea Serpent Day remembers sightings of sea serpents as well as the many other stories that have been told about them. Serpents are typically portrayed as dangerous monsters, as opposed to their so-called predecessor, the innocuous oarfish. During their voyage to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic in August 1848, men and officers aboard the HMS Daedalus reported witnessing a 60-foot-long creature poking its maned head and torso out of the water. One can only imagine the awe and wonder they must have felt upon sighting such a creature. Other stories have emerged over the years of equally incredible sightings. Each story, unsurprisingly, presents different facts that often dispute other accounts. The stories, however, continue to spread. A sea serpent is a mythological and legendary aquatic beast that resembles a gigantic snake. The belief in enormous sea animals was common across the ancient world. Large water species such as whales, sharks, and sea lions have, in many cases, been mistaken for sea serpents. Cryptozoologists, on the other hand, believe that sea serpents are relict plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, or other Mesozoic marine reptiles. Serpent sightings are the stuff of folklore. We may call them marine sirens. Cetus is the name given to the sea creature in Greek mythology. The Kraken was mentioned by the Vikings. Even we land-locked New World beings have names for the serpents that reside in the watery depths of our major lakes and waterways. https://store.earthstation1.com/monsters-mysteries-or-myths-dvd-loch-ness-monster-yeti-bigfoot.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Lighthouses: Guardians Of The Night From Ancient To Modern Times

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7: National Lighthouse Day: -- On this day in 1789, Congress approved an Act for the establishment and support of lighthouse, beacons, buoys and public piers. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the act and the commissioning of the first federal lighthouse, Congress passed a resolution which designated August 7, 1989 as National Lighthouse Day. Senator John H. Chafee (R., Rhode Island) sponsored a joint resolution that was introduced to Congress on April 28, 1988 to designated August 7, 1989 as National Lighthouse Day. Though National Lighthouse Day is celebrated annually by lighthouse organizations nationwide, Congress has yet to designate August 7 as the date our country officially recognizes in perpetuity the importance of America's lighthouse heritage. Despite this, even without official recognition from Congress, the nationwide lighthouse community continues to "keep the flame" of America's rich lighthouse heritage burning bright. Each year, August 7 is celebrated as National Lighthouse Day, with lighthouse groups offering the general public a host of fun-learning activities to enjoy - including tours, cruises and presentations that pay special tribute to America's lighthouses and their grand history. A lighthouse is a tower, building, or another type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, rocks, and safe entries to harbors; they also assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance and has become uneconomical since the advent of cheaper and often much more effective electronic navigational systems. https://store.earthstation1.com/lighthouse-guardians-of-the-night-from-ancient-to-modern-times.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Greek Fire: Ancient Greece In Today's World TV Series DVD, MP4, USB

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7: Professional Speakers Day: -- This day is an occasion to celebrate all the people who stand up in front of an audience. These people talk about different topics to inform, educate, persuade and encourage people to take action about the things that matter to them. Professional speakers have an enormous impact on the lives of the people who listen to them. Teaching, persuasion, or entertainment - no matter what the goal of the speakers, they all influence the people who hear them talk. Professional speakers engage in public speaking, which is also known as oration. They speak to different kinds of audiences, either live on stage or through pre-recorded. Professional speakers have different goals for their speeches. They might want to inform people about something, persuade people to do something, or entertain people by talking about something interesting. The best public speakers in the world always have an impact on their audiences. People listen to speeches to learn something new or to look for ways to transform their own lives. Public speaking as a field developed in Greece and Rome, where it was an important part of rhetoric - the art of persuasion. Demosthenes, a famous professional speaker, delivered his first political piece of oration in 354 B.C.; taught by Plato, one of Ancient Greece's best professional speaking teachers, Aristotle recorded the rules of professional speaking in his work, "Rhetoric" in 350 B.C.; and in 150 B.C., after they take over Greece, the Romans adopt and further develop the curriculum for public speaking. Today, public speakers are not only looking to persuade their audiences but also educate them or entertain them. Regardless of the type of speech, all speakers aim to get their audiences to act in some way, either by incorporating the knowledge they have gained or taking some action based on what they have learned. In the history of professional speakers, there is some evidence of speeches being made in Egypt, but the first records of the rules and principles of public speaking used by professional speakers are from Ancient Greece. In a culture where the people had to speak for themselves rather than through advocates, every citizen needed to learn the rules and methods of speaking professionally. When the Romans took over, they adopted the Greek system of teaching students public speaking and it was developed into a full curriculum. They added training in grammar, warm-up exercises, and declamation. https://store.earthstation1.com/greek-fire-ancient-greece-in-the-modern-era-tv-documentary-series.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Meet George Washington: The Man Behind Myth + Bonus MP4 Download DVD

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1782: National Purple Heart Day: -- George Washington orders the creation of the Badge Of Military Merit, the oldest American military decoration for military merit still awarded to this day, to honor soldiers wounded in battle. Washington intended the honor to be presented to soldiers for "any singularly meritorious action." The Badge of Military Merit replaced the Fidelity Medallion, the oldest decoration of the United States military. During the American Revolutionary War, the Badge for Military Merit decorated six known soldiers, William Brown and Elijah Churchill received the first such honors. Its design included a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk bound with a thin edge of silver. Across the face, the word Merit was embroidered in silver. While the badge symbolized the courage and devotion of an American Patriot, no one knows who designed the award. Until Washington's February 22, 1932 200th birthday, the Purple Heart persisted only as a Revolutionary War footnote. Through the efforts of General Douglas MacArthur, the U.S. War Department created The Military Order Of The Purple Heart, and MacArthur received the first modern-day Purple Heart. Today the medal bears a bust of George Washington and his coat of arms. While an accurate and complete list of names no longer exists, National Geographic estimates that nearly 1.9 million service members have earned Purple Hearts since its creation. It is the oldest U.S. military honor still bestowed upon service members today. Until 1944, the Purple Heart recognized service members' commendable actions as well. Then in 1944, the requirements limited the award to only those wounded or killed in combat. Following her actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Army Lt. Annie G. Fox became the first woman receives a Purple Heart. To observe Purple Heart Day: make it a point to honor everyone you know who has received a Purple Heart. We can also learn more about the Military Order of the Purple Heart. While celebrating the heroes who earned the honor, learn more about them. Read For Military Merit: Recipients of the Purple Heart by Fred L. Borch or Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick. Visit a military museum, such as The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor or The National WWII Museum, both of which offer in-depth history on the Purple Heart. Sharing your discoveries. You can also recognize someone who has received a Purple Heart. Express why you think it's important to celebrate Purple Heart Day. When you do, use #PurpleHeartDay to post on social media. Since 1932, Americans have celebrated Purple Heart Day on both Washington's birthday and Valentine's Day. Some states and cities observed the day in their own way at different times throughout the year. Each declaration encouraged citizens to support wounded veterans with the purchase of a purple viola. https://store.earthstation1.com/meet-george-washington-the-man-behind-myth-dvd-mp4-us4.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Outer Space Mission MP3 MegaSet DVD, Audio Download, USB Flash Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1971: Splashdowns: The History Of Rocketry: The History Of Spaceflight: The Aftermath Of World War II: The Cold War: The Space Age: The Space Race: Space Programs Of The United States: Human Spaceflight Programs: The Discovery And Exploration Of The Solar System: Missions To The Moon: Project Apollo: Apollo 15 (AS-15): -- Apollo 15 splashes down in the North Pacific at 20:45:53 UTC and is recovered by the USS Okinawa (LPH-3). Apollo 15 was launched July 26, 1971, 13:34:00.6 UTC from Kennedy Space Center with Astronauts David Scott, James Irwin and Alfred Worden aboard. Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the United States' Apollo program, the fourth to land on the Moon, and the eighth successful manned mission. It was the first of what were termed "J missions" (longer three-day stays using an Extended Lunar Module weighing 2,900 pounds heaver than the initial LM model, with three LEVAs and a Lunar Roving Vehicle (Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17)), with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous missions. It was also the first mission on which the Lunar Roving Vehicle, or Lunar Rover, was used. A recording of the launch was included in the Sounds of Earth carried by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes. The mission began on July 26, 1971, and ended on August 7. At the time, NASA called it the most successful manned flight ever achieved. Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin landed on the Moon on July 30, 1971 and spent three days there, including 18 1/2 hours outside the spacecraft on lunar extra-vehicular activity (EVA). The mission landed near Hadley Rille, in an area of the Mare Imbrium called Palus Putredinus (Marsh of Decay). The crew explored the area using the first lunar rover, which allowed them to travel much farther from the Lunar Module (LM) than had been possible on missions without the rover. They collected 77 kilograms (170 lb) of lunar surface material. At the same time, Command Module Pilot Alfred Worden orbited the Moon, using a Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) in the Service Module (SM) to study the lunar surface and environment in great detail with a panoramic camera, a gamma-ray spectrometer, a mapping camera, a laser altimeter, a mass spectrometer, and a lunar subsatellite deployed at the end of Apollo 15's stay in lunar orbit (an Apollo program first). The mission successfully accomplished its objectives, but was marred by negative publicity that accompanied disclosure of the crew carrying unauthorized postage stamps which they had planned to sell after their return. Ironically, this mission was one of very few that had been honored with the issue of a commemorative US stamp, with this first use of a lunar rover happening one decade after the first Mercury astronaut launch. https://store.earthstation1.com/outer-space-mission-mp3-dvd-megaset-4-dis34.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Hell On Earth: The Kuwaiti Oil Fires Documentary Set MP4 Download DVD

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 2004: #DOTD: #RIP: Red Adair, American oil well firefighter, notable as an innovator in the highly specialized and hazardous profession of extinguishing and capping oil well blowouts, both land-based and offshore (b. (June 18, 1915) #dies in Houston, the city of his birth, at the age of 89. He is buried in a crypt at Forest Park Lawndale in Houston. He was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Paul Neal "Red" Adair was born the son of an Irish blacksmith, and attended Reagan High School. He began fighting oil well fires after returning from serving in an Army bomb disposal unit during World War II. He started his career working for Myron Kinley, the "original" blowout/oil firefighting pioneer. They pioneered the technique of using a V-shaped charge of high explosives (the Munroe effect being used during the war and used in bazookas and the atom bomb), the high velocity blast of which would snuff the fire. He founded Red Adair Co. Inc. in 1959, and over the course of his career battled more than 2,000 land and offshore oil well, natural gas well, and similar spectacular fires. Adair gained global attention in 1962 when he tackled a fire at the Gassi Touil gas field in the Algerian Sahara nicknamed the Devil's Cigarette Lighter, a 450-foot (140 m) pillar of flame that burned from 12:00 PM November 13, 1961, to 9:30 AM on April 28, 1962. The 1968 John Wayne movie Hellfighters was loosely based upon the feats of Adair during this fire. In December 1968, Adair sealed a large gas leak at an Australian gas and oil platform off Victoria's southeast coast. In 1977, he and his crew (including Asger "Boots" Hansen and Manohar "Man" Dhumtara-Kejriwal) contributed to the capping of the biggest oil well blowout to have occurred in the North Sea (and at the time the largest offshore blowouts worldwide, in terms of volume of crude oil spilled, at the Ekofisk Bravo platform, located in the Norwegian sector and operated by Phillips Petroleum Company (now ConocoPhillips). In 1978, Adair's top lieutenants Hansen and Ed "Coots" Matthews left to found competitor Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc. In 1988, Adair was again in the North Sea where he helped to put out the UK sector Piper Alpha oil platform fire. At age 75, Adair took part in extinguishing the oil well fires in Kuwait set by retreating Iraqi troops after the Gulf War in 1991. Adair retired in 1993, and sold The Red Adair Service and Marine Company to Global Industries. His top employees (Brian Krause, Raymond Henry, Rich Hatteberg) left in 1994 and formed their own company, International Well Control (IWC). https://store.earthstation1.com/hell-on-earth-the-kuwaiti-oil-fires-dvd-mp4-download-usb-flash-driv4.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: The Johnstown Flood Documentary DVD, Video Download, USB Flash Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 2022: #DOTD: #RIP: David McCullough, American popular historian and author (b. July 7, 1933) #dies at his home in Hingham, Massachusetts, aged 89 of undisclosed causes after a period of failing health. His burial details are not publicly disclosed. David McCullough was born David Gaub McCullough in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was raised. He is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and a recipient of the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian award. McCullough earned a degree in English literature from Yale University. His first book was The Johnstown Flood (1968), and he wrote nine more on such topics as Harry S. Truman, John Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Panama Canal, and the Wright brothers. McCullough also narrated numerous documentaries, such as The Civil War by Ken Burns, as well as the 2003 film Seabiscuit, and he hosted the PBS television documentary series American Experience for twelve years. McCullough's two Pulitzer Prize-winning books - Truman and John Adams - were adapted by HBO into a TV film and a miniseries, respectively. https://store.earthstation1.com/the-johnstown-flood-the-great-flood-of-1889-in-johnstown-pennsylv1889.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Scams, Schemes & Scoundrels: James Randi Vs Con Men MP4 Download DVD

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1928: #BOTD: #HBD! James Randi, Canadian-American stage magician, author, and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims, co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) (d. October 20, 2020) is #born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge in Toronto, Canada. Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims. Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87. Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit! Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of 1M USD to applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. James Randi died at his home at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". His remains were cremated, and the ashes gien to his widow Jose Alvarez. The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man." https://store.earthstation1.com/scams-schemes-and-scoundrels-james-randi-vs-con-men-mp4-download-dvd.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Harry S. Truman: Days Of Decision + Bonus DVD, MP4 Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1946: The Aftermath Of World War II: The Cold War: Soviet Union-Turkey Relations: The Turkish Straits Crisis: -- The government of the Soviet Union presented a note to its Turkish counterparts which refuted the latter's sovereignty over the Turkish Straits, thus beginning the Turkish Straits Crisis. In this crisis lay the beginnings of the Cold War. The Turkish Straits Crisis was a Cold War-era territorial conflict between the Soviet Union and Turkey. Turkey, which had remained officially neutral throughout most of the freshly concluded Second World War, was pressured by the Soviet government to allow Soviet shipping to flow freely through the Turkish Straits, which connected the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. As the Turkish government would not submit to the Soviet Union's requests, tensions arose in the region, leading to a show of naval force on the side of the Soviets. The incident would later serve as a deciding factor in the issuing of the Truman Doctrine, an American foreign policy announced to Congress by President Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947, whose stated purpose was to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion, a doctrine that was further developed on July 12, 1948, when he pledged to contain threats to Greece and Turkey. At its climax, the tensions would cause Turkey to turn to the United States and NATO, for protection and membership, respectively. The result of this action contributed to the European post-cold war status quo that remains to this day. https://store.earthstation1.com/harry-s-truman-days-of-decision-dvd.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: WABC Radio Airchecks MP3 Collection 1960s-1980s DVD, MP3 Download, USB

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1942: #BOTD: #HBD! B. J. Thomas, American singer (d. May 29, 2021) is #born Billy Joe Thomas in Hugo, Oklahoma. He is widely known for his hit songs of the 1960s and 1970s, which appeared on the pop, country, and Christian music charts, and included recordings of the Mark James song "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968) and the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (1969). B. J. Thomas died of stage IV lung cancer at his home in Arlington, Texas, at the age of 78. His burial details are not publicly disclosed. https://store.earthstation1.com/wabc-musicradio-shows-mp3-dvd-60s80s-am-360807775.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Laurel And Hardy Documentaries Collection DVD, Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1957: #DOTD: #RIP: Oliver Hardy, American comedian, actor, singer, film director, one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted 25 years, from 1927 to 1951, and Freemason (b. January 18, 1892) #dies from cerebral thrombosis (a blood clot in the brain) at his home in North Hollywood, Los Angeles at age 65. After he was cremated, his ashes were interred in the Masonic Garden of Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood. Laurel was inconsolable at the loss of his "dear pal and partner"; his doctor advised Laurel against attending the funeral, due to his own poor health, and Laurel said that "Babe would understand." He was born Oliver Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia to Oliver Hardy Sr., a Confederate veteran who had been wounded at the Battle Of Antietam and was a recruiting officer for Company K, 16th Georgia Regiment, and Emily Norvell, descended from Captain Hugh Norvell, who served in King William's War and helped found and govern Williamsburg, Virginia. Known informally as "Babe", Hardy appeared with his comedy partner Stan Laurel in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles. He was credited with his first film, Outwitting Dad, in 1914. In most of his silent films before joining producer Hal Roach, he was billed on screen as Babe Hardy. Hardy was initiated into Freemasonry at Solomon Lodge No. 20 in Jacksonville, Florida. He was inducted into the Grand Order Of Water Rats, a quasi-Masonic organization with Masonic roots, along with Stan Laurel, which in large part inspired their movie Sons Of The Desert and the appreciation society for Oliver and Hardy films that sprang from that movie. https://store.earthstation1.com/laurel-and-hardy-documentaries-dvd.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: The American Adventure: TV History Series 1607-1876 DVD MP4 USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1794: The United States: The History Of The United States: Tax Resistance: The Whiskey Rebellion (The Whiskey Insurrection): -- U.S. President George Washington invokes the Militia Acts of 1792 to suppress a rebellion in western Pennsylvania. The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. Beer was difficult to transport and spoiled more easily than rum and whiskey. Rum distillation in the United States had been disrupted during the American Revolutionary War, and whiskey distribution and consumption increased afterwards (aggregate production had not surpassed rum by 1791). The "whiskey tax" became law in 1791, and was intended to generate revenue to pay the war debt incurred during the Revolutionary War. The tax applied to all distilled spirits, but consumption of American whiskey was rapidly expanding in the late 18th century, so the excise became widely known as a "whiskey tax". Farmers of the western frontier were accustomed to distilling their surplus rye, barley, wheat, corn, or fermented grain mixtures to make whiskey. These farmers resisted the tax. In these regions, whiskey often served as a medium of exchange. Many of the resisters were war veterans who believed that they were fighting for the principles of the American Revolution, in particular against taxation without local representation, while the federal government maintained that the taxes were the legal expression of Congressional taxation powers. Throughout Western Pennsylvania counties, protesters used violence and intimidation to prevent federal officials from collecting the tax. Resistance came to a climax in July 1794, when a US marshal arrived in western Pennsylvania to serve writs to distillers who had not paid the excise. The alarm was raised, and more than 500 armed men attacked the fortified home of tax inspector John Neville. Washington responded by sending peace commissioners to western Pennsylvania to negotiate with the rebels, while at the same time calling on governors to send a militia force to enforce the tax. Washington himself rode at the head of an army to suppress the insurgency, with 13,000 militiamen provided by the governors of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The rebels all went home before the arrival of the army, and there was no confrontation. About 20 men were arrested, but all were later acquitted or pardoned. Most distillers in nearby Kentucky were found to be all but impossible to tax-in the next six years, over 175 distillers from Kentucky were convicted of violating the tax law. Numerous examples of resistance are recorded in court documents and newspaper accounts. The Whiskey Rebellion demonstrated that the new national government had the will and ability to suppress violent resistance to its laws, though the whiskey excise remained difficult to collect. The events contributed to the formation of political parties in the United States, a process already under way. The whiskey tax was repealed in the early 1800s during the Jefferson administration. Historian Carol Berkin argues that the episode, in the long run, strengthened US nationalism because the people appreciated how well Washington handled the rebels without resorting to tyranny. https://store.earthstation1.com/the-american-adventure-series-us-1st-century-4-dv14.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: The Guns Of August (1964) WWI Film DVD, Video Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1914: The European Civil War: World War I: The First European War (The European Theater Of World War I): The Guns Of August: The Western Front Of World War I: The Battle Of The Frontiers: The Battle Of Mulhouse (The Battle Of Alsace): -- The opening attack of the First World War occurs when the French Army mobilizes against the German Empire to begin the Battle Of Mulhouse, part of a French attempt to recover the province of Alsace. By the early morning of August 9, parts of the XIV and XV Corps of the German 7th Army arrived from Strasbourg and counter-attacked at Cernay, 17 km northwest of Mulhouse on the Thur River, which the French Forces succeeded in occupying on August 8. The French were forced out of Mulhouse by the German 7th Army counter-attacks on August 10, 1914. The Battle Of Mulhouse was part of a French attempt to recover the province of Alsace, which France had ceded to the new German Empire following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. https://store.earthstation1.com/the-guns-of-august-dvd-1964-world-war-i-movie-documen1964.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Invasion Of Russia + Bonus MP4 Download DVD

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1940: The European Civil War: World War II: The Second European War (The European Theater Of World War II): The Eastern Front Of World War II: The Great Patriotic War (The German-Soviet War): Operation Barbarossa: The "Aufbau Ost" (German: "Buildup In The East") Directive: -- The mobilisation of forces before the start of Operation Barbarossa and the subsequent invasion of the Soviet Union which would occur ten months later is set into motion when Adolf Hitler issues the "Aufbau Ost" (German: Buildup In The East) Directive, ordering Walter Warlimont, Deputy Chief of Alfred Jodl, to determine the positions of Soviet troops in the East. The appropriate directive was signed the next day by Wilhelm Keitel. It stated that due to the threat of British air attack on Eastern Germany it was necessary to use the eastern territories for drawing and preparing the new units. In compliance with the directive, the building organization of Fritz Todt started equipping the battleground while the rear organs managed the logistical support in the East. Meanwhile, preparations for adjusting the Soviet rail gauge to match the Western European were taking place. https://store.earthstation1.com/operation-barbarossa-dvd-german-invasion-of-russia-wwii.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: France: Conquest To Liberation In World War II MP4 Video Download DVD

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1940: World War II: The European Civil War: World War II: The Second European War (The European Theater Of World War II): The Battle Of France (The Western Campaign [German: Westfeldzug], The French Campaign [German: Frankreichfeldzug; French: Campagne De France], The Fall Of France): The Secret Annexation Of Alsace-Lorraine: -- Alsace-Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich when Adolf Hitler drafts an annexation law in 1940 that he kept secret, expecting to announce it in the event of a German victory. Through a series of laws which individually seemed minor, Berlin took de facto control of Alsace-Lorraine, and Alsatians-Lorrainians were made subject to be drafted into the German Army. During the occupation, Moselle was integrated into a Reichsgau named Westmark and Alsace, a territory which was amalgamated with Baden, a historical territory which in earlier times was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but that after the Napoleonic Wars was considered only east of the Rhine. Beginning in 1942, people from Alsace and Moselle were made German citizens by decree of the Nazi government. Beginning in October 1942, young Alsatian and Lorrainian men were inducted into the German armed forces. Sometimes they were known as the Malgre-Nous, which could be translated into English as "against our will". A small minority volunteered, notably the author of The Forgotten Soldier, known by the pseudonym Guy Sajer. Ultimately 100,000 Alsatians and 30,000 Mosellans were enrolled, many of them to fight against the Soviet Red Army, on Germany's Eastern Front. Most of those who survived the war were interned in Tambov in Russia in 1945. Many others fought in Normandy against the Allies as the malgre-nous of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, some of whom were involved in the Oradour sur Glane and Tulle war crimes. Speaking French was prohibited under German occupation, and learning standard German was obligatory. The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871, after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle department of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east of the Vosges Mountains. The Lorraine section was in the upper Moselle valley to the north of the Vosges. The territory was made up of 93% of Alsace and 26% of Lorraine; the remaining portions of these regions continued to be part of France. For historical reasons, specific legal dispositions are still applied in the territory in the form of a "local law". The territory reverted back to France after World War II, and since then, in relation to its special legal status, the territory has been referred to administratively as Alsace-Moselle. After the defeat of France in the spring of 1940 during World War II, Alsace and Moselle were not formally annexed by Nazi Germany; however, although the terms of the armistice specified that the integrity of the whole French territory could not be modified in any way, Adolf Hitler drafted an annexation law in 1940 that he kept secret, expecting to announce it in the event of a German victory. Through a series of laws which individually seemed minor, Berlin took full control of Alsace-Lorraine, and Alsatians-Lorrainians could be drafted into the German Army. During the occupation, Moselle was integrated into a Reichsgau named Westmark and Alsace was amalgamated with Baden. Beginning in 1942, people from Alsace and Moselle were made German citizens by decree of the Nazi government. https://store.earthstation1.com/france-conquest-to-liberation-occupied-and-vichy-wwii.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: The Nobel Century Nobel Prize History TV Series DVD, MP4, USB Stick

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1904: #BOTD: #HBD! Ralph Bunche, African American political scientist, academic, and diplomat, 1950 Nobel Peace Prize laureate for his late 1940s mediation on behalf of the United Nations that helped bring an end to hostilities in the war between Israel and the Arab League, the first African American to be honored with a Nobel Prize (d. December 9, 1971) is #born Ralph Johnson Bunche in Detroit, Michigan. Ralph J. Bunche was involved in the formation and administration of the United Nations. In 1963, he was awarded the Presidential Medal Of Freedom by President John F. Kennedy. Ralph Bunche died in New York City from complications of heart disease, kidney disease, and diabetes, aged 67. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. https://store.earthstation1.com/the-nobel-century-nobel-prize-history-tv-series-dvd-mp4-us4.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Black Civil Rights Films: African-American History DVD, MP4, USB Stick

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1950: #BOTD: Alan Keyes, African American conservative politician, diplomat, 16th Assistant Secretary Of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987, and jerk, is #born at the St. Albans Naval Hospital (now a VA Community Living Center) in St. Albans, Queens, New York City. A member of the Republican Party, Keyes sought the nomination for President of the United States in 1996, 2000, and 2008. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S. Foreign Service in 1979 at the United States consulate in Bombay, India, and later in the American embassy in Zimbabwe. Keyes was appointed Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations by President Ronald Reagan and later as President Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, a position he held from November 13, 1985, until November 17, 1987; in his capacities as a U.N ambassador, Keyes was involved in the implementation of the Mexico City Policy. Aside from his presidential runs, he was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maryland against Paul Sarbanes in 1988 and Barbara Mikulski in 1992, as well as in Illinois against Barack Obama in 2004. Keyes lost all three elections by wide margins. Keyes hosted a radio call-in show, The Alan Keyes Show: America's Wake-Up Call, from 1994 until 1998 on WCBM. The show was briefly simulcast by National Empowerment Television. In 2002, he briefly hosted a television commentary show on the MSNBC cable network, Alan Keyes Is Making Sense. He is a long time columnist for World Net Daily. On November 14, 2008, Keyes filed a lawsuit - naming as defendants California Secretary Of State Deborah Bowen, President-elect Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and California's 55 Democratic electors - challenging Obama's eligibility for the U.S. Presidency. The suit requested that Obama provide documentation that he is a natural born citizen of the United States. Following the inauguration, Keyes alleged that President Obama had not been constitutionally inaugurated, refused to call him president, and called him a "usurper" and a "radical communist". Keyes also claimed that President Obama's birth certificate had been forged and he was not qualified to be president. https://store.earthstation1.com/black-civil-rights-films-africanamerican-history-dvd.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Eyes On The Prize II: America At The Racial Crossroads DVD MP4 USB

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1960: Civil Rights Movements: The American Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968): Civil Rights Organizations (Civil Rights Movement Organizations): African American Civil Rights Organizations (Civil Rights Movement Organizations): The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Kneel-Ins: -- On a Sunday, twenty-five black and white students of The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) begin staging "kneel-ins" - kneeling in prayer outside of Whites-only churches- at Presbyterian Atlanta churches, as way to "dramatize that the church, the house of all people, fosters segregation more than any other institution". Only two churches allowed the students to join their congregation on that day; the following Sunday. August 14, five churches accepted the students. The students were from New York University, Morehouse College, Spellman College, Howard University, and Fisk University. The churches, targeted because their "ministers lacked the protection and support of a church hierarchy," were not long indifferent. In August 1960, the 172nd General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church wrote to SNCC: "Laws and customs requiring racial discrimination are, in our judgement, such serious violations of the law of God as to justify peaceful and orderly disobedience or disregard of these laws." https://store.earthstation1.com/eyes-on-the-prize-ii-dvd-set-4-discs-complete-2nd-seri42.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: DJ Madness! 1950s-60s-70s Radio Shows DVD, MP3 Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1928: #BOTD: #HBD: Herb Reed, African American singer and both founding andnaming member of The Platters, known for timeless hits such as Only You (and You Alone) and The Great Pretender (d. June 4, 2012) is #born Herbert Reed into poverty in Kansas City, Missouri. Reed was the last surviving original member of the group, which he co-founded with Joe Jefferson, Alex Hodge, and Cornell Gunter (who later founded The Coasters) in 1952. Reed is credited with creating The Platters' name; Reed thought of the group's name after noticing that DJs in the 1950s called their records "platters". The Platters are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. The group had 40 charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1955 and 1967, including four number-one hits. Originally, their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre. The act went through several personnel changes, with one of the most successful incarnations comprising lead tenor Tony Williams, David Lynch, Paul Robi, Herb Reed, and Zola Taylor, the same line-up of The Platters that appeared in the first rock'n'roll film, Rock Around the Clock. He was the only member of The Platters who sang on all of the approximately 400 songs recorded by the group. His background vocals can be heard on The Platters' biggest hits, including "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "The Great Pretender", "Twilight Time", and "My Prayer". He is the lead vocalist on "Sixteen Tons", "Singin' in the Rain", "In a Little Spanish Town", "Sleepy Time Gal", "Darktown Strutters' Ball", "Blues in the Night", and "On the Top of My Mind". As the last surviving original member of The Platters, Reed waged a long but successful federal court battle over the rights to the name, The Platters. The courts ruled that Reed was the only heir to the group's name. In 2012, Reed said in an interview, "It's not right to have someone steal your name. It's just not right. We were cheated back then, but that's how things were done...It's theft, and I have to fight it so that no other artist faces this." He moved to the Boston area during the 1970s after the success of The Platters. Reed toured throughout his career. He performed as many as 200 concerts per year until 2012, when he stopped due to declining health. He died from complications from several ailments, including heart disease, at a hospice in Boston on June 4, 2012, aged 83. He had most recently resided in Winchester, Massachusetts. He is buried in Puritan Lawn Memorial Park in Peabody, Massachusetts. In 1990, Reed was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Platters. https://store.earthstation1.com/dj-radio-airchecks-mp3-dvd-1950s60s70s-dis319506070.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: The History Of Jazz A Video Retrospective DVD, MP4 Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1935: #BOTD: #HBD! Rahsaan Roland Kirk, known earlier in his career simply as Roland Kirk, African American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute, and many other instruments, renowned for his onstage vitality, during which virtuoso improvisation was accompanied by comic banter, political ranting, and the ability to play several instruments simultaneously, one of whoses best-known recorded performances is the lead flute and solo on Jones' "Soul Bossa Nova", a 1964 hit song repopularized in the Austin Powers films, and whose "Serenade To A Cuckoo" inspired leader and flautist of Jethro Tull Ian Anderson to make flute playing the signature element of the band and thereby found coincidentally the musical genre "Flute Rock" (d. December 5, 1977) is #born Ronald Theodore Kirk in Columbus, Ohio, where he lived in a neighborhood known as Flytown. He became blind at two years old, which he said was a result of improper medical treatment. As a teenager, Kirk studied at the Ohio State School for the Blind. By 15, he was on the road playing rhythm and blues on weekends with Boyd Moore's band. According to saxophonist Hank Crawford, "He would be like this 14-year-old blind kid playing two horns at once. They would bring him out and he would tear the joint up." Crawford heard him during this period and said he was unbelievable. He remarked, "Now they had him doing all kinds of goofy stuff but he was playing the two horns and he was playing the shit out of them. He was an original from the beginning." Kirk felt compelled by a dream to transpose two letters in his first name to make '"Roland". In 1970, Kirk added "Rahsaan" to his name after hearing it in a dream. Kirk was politically outspoken. During his concerts, between songs he often talked about topical issues, including African-American history and the Civil Rights Movement. His monologues were often laced with satire and absurdist humor. According to comedian Jay Leno, when Leno toured with Kirk as Kirk's opening act, Kirk would introduce him by saying: "I want to introduce a young brother who knows the black experience and knows all about the white devils.... Please welcome Jay Leno!" Kirk's hometown of Columbus was not appreciative of his work for most of his career. He was thrown out of a local nightclub because his music was too difficult to understand, and he left for Los Angeles and further touring. In the 21st century, jazz fans in Columbus have been embracing his legacy. Kirk's musical career spans from 1955 until his death in 1977. He preferred to lead his own bands and rarely performed as a sideman, although he did record with arranger Quincy Jones, drummer Roy Haynes and worked with bassist Charles Mingus. Kirk's multi-instrumentality was credited as having a substantial musical conception. This inclusivity included blues music, a love of stride piano and early jazz, and an appreciation for pop tunes. But his vision was much wider than that of most of his contemporaries. According to producer Joel Dorn, he was also hugely knowledgeable about classical music. Pieces by Saint-Saens, Hindemith, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak and Villa-Lobos would all feature on his albums over the years, alongside standards, pop songs and original compositions. Rahsaan's influences went beyond jazz and consequentially, he preferred the term "Black Classical Music". His playing was generally rooted in soul jazz or hard bop, but Kirk's knowledge of jazz history allowed him to draw from many elements of the music's past, from ragtime to swing and free jazz. Kirk also absorbed classical influences, and his artistry reflected elements of pop music by composers such as Smokey Robinson and Burt Bacharach, as well as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and other jazz musicians. Kirk played and collected many musical instruments, mainly multiple saxophones, clarinets and flutes. His primary saxophones were a standard tenor saxophone, stritch (a straight alto sax lacking the instrument's conventional upturned bell), and a manzello (a modified saxello soprano sax, with a larger, upturned bell). A number of his instruments were exotic or homemade. Kirk modified instruments himself to accommodate his simultaneous playing technique. Critic Gary Giddins wrote that Kirk's tenor playing alone was enough to bring him "renown". Usually, he appeared on stage with all three horns hanging around his neck, and at times he would play a number of these horns at once, harmonizing with himself, or sustain a note for lengthy durations by using circular breathing. He used the multiple horns to play true chords, essentially functioning as a one-man saxophone section. Kirk insisted that he was only trying to emulate the sounds he heard in his head. Even while playing two or three saxophones at once, the music was intricate, powerful jazz with a strong feel for the blues. The live album Bright Moments (1973) is an example of one of his shows. Kirk was also an influential flute player, including recorders. According to Giddins, Kirk was the first major jazz innovator on flute after Eric Dolphy (who died in 1964). Kirk employed several techniques, including singing or humming into the flute at the same time as playing. Another was to play the standard transverse flute at the same time as a nose flute. He played a variety of other instruments, including whistles; often kept a gong within reach; the clarinet, harmonica, English horn, and was a competent trumpeter. He utilized unique approaches, such as playing a trumpet with a saxophone mouthpiece. He also made use of non-musical devices, such as alarm clocks, sirens, or a section of common garden hose (dubbed "the black mystery pipes"). From the early 1970s, his studio recordings used tape-manipulated musique concrete and primitive electronic sounds before such things became commonplace. The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color was a unique album in the annals of recorded jazz and popular music. It was a two-LP set, with Side 4 apparently "blank", the label not indicating any content. However, once word of "the secret message" got around among Rahsaan's fans, one would find that about 12 minutes into Side 4 appeared the first of two telephone answering machine messages recorded by Kirk, the second following soon thereafter (but separated by more blank grooves). The surprise impact of these segments appearing on "blank" Side 4 was lost on the initial CD reissue of this album (though restored as track 20 on the CD re-release). He gleaned information on what was happening in the world via radio and TV. His later recordings often incorporated his spoken commentaries on current events, including Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal. The 3-Sided Dream album was a "concept album" which incorporated "found" or environmental sounds and tape loops, tapes being played backwards, etc. Snippets of Billie Holiday singing are also heard briefly. The album even confronts the rise of influence of computers in society, as Rahsaan threatens to pull the plug on the machine trying to tell him what to do. In the album Other Folks' Music the spoken words of Paul Robeson, another outspoken black artist, can be briefly heard. His legacy and influence are immense; Ian Anderson, leader and flautist of Jethro Tull recorded a version of Kirk's "Serenade to a Cuckoo" on their first album This Was (1968). Roland Kirk was the very reason Anderson thought he could bring a flute into rock music. Anderson learned Kirk's vocalizing style on the flute and Anderson's flute playing became the signature element of Jethro Tull's sound. Kirk and Anderson took the flute's refined upper crust classical nature and commonized it. Anderson got to know Kirk at the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival where they both performed the same night. Anderson said of Kirk "There's something about these colourful shamans. They can tease us, but we go along with it, because we know they're touched by genius, but at the same time there's a little bit of the snake oil for sale.". Jeff Coffin, the saxophonist in Bela Fleck and the Flecktones was heavily influenced by Kirk's music and says he learned through Kirk that it's OK to experiment with an instrument. He used Kirk's multi-horn inventions with the Flecktones and on his solo album Mutopia. Guitarist Jimi Hendrix "idolized" Kirk, and even hoped to collaborate with him one day. Frank Zappa had been influenced by Kirk's music to a considerable extent early in his career. In the liner notes to his 1966 debut album with The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, Zappa cites Kirk as one of many in a lengthy list of personal musical influences. Kirk and Zappa performed live together at least once, at the 1969 Boston Globe Jazz Festival. Derek Trucks, a huge Kirk fan, recorded Kirk's composition "Volunteered Slavery" with his namesake group for the 2004 album Live at Georgia Theatre, the 2006 studio album Songlines, and the DVD Songlines Live. He said that hearing Kirk's music "felt much the same way those Hendrix records felt, that he was blowing the rules wide open..." David Jackson, of Van der Graaf Generator, was also highly influenced by the style and technique of Kirk, and he plays multiple saxophones simultaneously since at least 1969. Guitarist Michael Angelo Batio said in a 2008 interview with Ultimate Guitar Archive that Kirk's playing of two saxophones at once inspired him to create his "double guitar". T.J. Kirk was a band named after the three artists it tributed: Thelonious Monk, James Brown, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Formed by eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter as a side group to his own self-titled band, the band's other members include Scott Amendola, Will Bernard, and John Schott. Paul Weller cited the Kirk album I Talk with the Spirits (1964) as one of his "Most Influential Albums" in an interview with The Times in 2009. Bjork named The Inflated Tear as one of her favorite jazz pieces, calling it "primitive and instinctive", "open to nature", and "punk". Davey Payne's twin saxophone solo on "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" (Ian Dury & the Blockheads, 1978) was inspired by Kirk. Terry Edwards' twin saxophone solo on "The Ministry of Defence" by PJ Harvey (2016) was inspired by Kirk. Eric Burdon and War's 1970 debut album Eric Burdon Declares War features the track "The Vision of Rassan", which is broken up into two pieces "Dedication" and "Roll on Kirk". The English post-punk group Rip Rig + Panic were named after the album of the same name by Roland Kirk. Clutch pay tribute to Roland Kirk in the song "Three Golden Horns" off their 2022 album Sunrise on Slaughter Beach. Jazz producer berlioz pays homage to Roland Kirk in the track "ode to rahsaan" from berlioz's 2024 album open this wall. In 1975, Kirk had a major stroke which led to partial paralysis of one side of his body. He continued to perform and record, modifying his instruments to enable him to play with one arm. At a live performance at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London he even managed to play two instruments, and carried on to tour internationally and to appear on television. He died from a second stroke in 1977, aged 42, the morning after performing in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana University Student Union in Bloomington, Indiana. He is buried at Evergreen Burial Park in Columbus. Columbus Mayor Jack Sensenbrenner had declared Saturday, Dec. 10, 1970, "Rahsaan day," according to the Columbus Dispatch obituary that appeared on Thursday, Dec. 8, 1977. https://store.earthstation1.com/the-history-of-jazz-by-billy-taylor-parts-i-amp-ii-dvd.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: The Great Polynesian Navigators Of The Pacific DVD, MP4, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1947: Great Sailing Expeditions: Experimental Archaeology: Pre-Columbian Trans-Oceanic Contact: The Kon-Tiki Expedition: -- Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands and makes a safe and successful landfall after a 101-day, 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) journey across the Pacific Ocean with five companions in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America. The raft was named Kon-Tiki after the Inca god Viracocha (Quechuan language: Wiraqucha, possibly meaning "Fat (or foam) of the sea"), for whom "Kon-Tiki" was said to be an old name. Kon-Tiki is also the name of Heyerdahl's book, the Academy Award-winning 1950 documentary film chronicling his adventures, and the 2012 dramatized feature film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Heyerdahl believed that people from South America could have reached Polynesia during pre-Columbian times. His aim in mounting the Kon-Tiki expedition was to show, by using only the materials and technologies available to those people at the time, that there were no technical reasons to prevent them from having done so. Although the expedition carried some modern equipment, such as a radio, watches, charts, sextant, and metal knives, Heyerdahl argued they were incidental to the purpose of proving that the raft itself could make the journey. The Kon-Tiki expedition was funded by private loans, along with donations of equipment from the United States Army. Heyerdahl and a small team went to Peru, where, with the help of dockyard facilities provided by the Peruvian authorities, they constructed the raft out of balsa logs and other native materials in an indigenous style as recorded in illustrations by Spanish conquistadores. Thor Heyerdahl's book about his experience became a bestseller. It was published in Norwegian in 1948 as The Kon-Tiki Expedition: By Raft Across the South Seas, later reprinted as Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft. It appeared with great success in English in 1950, also in many other languages. A documentary motion picture about the expedition, also called Kon-Tiki, was produced from a write-up and expansion of the crew's filmstrip notes and won an Academy Award in 1951. It was directed by Heyerdahl and edited by Olle Nordemar. The voyage was also chronicled in the documentary TV-series The Kon-Tiki Man: The Life and Adventures of Thor Heyerdahl, directed by Bengt Jonson. There have been multiple hypotheses on the ultimate origin and mode of dispersal of the Austronesian peoples. One of the most widely accepted theories is that modern Austronesians originated from migrations out of Taiwan between 3000 and 1000 BC. Using relatively advanced maritime innovations like the catamaran, outrigger boats, and crab claw sails, they were reputed to have rapidly colonized the islands of both the Indian and the Pacific oceans, and were considered the first humans to cross vast distances of water on ocean-going boats. While Polynesians are known to have definitely originated from a branch of the Austronesian migrations in Island Melanesia, despite the popularity of hypotheses like Thor Heyerdahl's that Polynesians were descendants of "bearded white men" who sailed on primitive rafts from South America, a genetic study by Stanford University published in the journal Nature on July 8, 2020 concluded that about 800 years ago, Polynesians from the South Pacific and Native Americans from what is now Colombia hooked up, creating a genetic signature that still exists in some Polynesians today. A 2014 study of 27 modern people from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) found they had Native American ancestry dating back to between 1300 C.E. and 1500 C.E., at least 200 years before the first Europeans landed there in 1722 C.E. Other pieces of evidence have suggested there was pre-Columbian contact between people in Polynesia and South America. Previous genetic studies of sweet potatoes suggest the plant was domesticated in Peru and then spread across Polynesia around 1,000 years ago. And the Polynesian name for the root vegetable, "kuumala", resembles its names in the Andean Quechua language: "kumara" and "cumal." While the genetic record substantiates a common ancestry, it is nonetheless most likely that it was the long-established seafaring culture of the Polynesians that initiated the contact between them and Native Americans - which means that though Thor Heyerdahl was right that a vessel could cross the Pacific between South America and Polynesia, contact would most likely have been made from Polynesia to South America, and not as Heyerdahl thought the other way round. The original Kon-Tiki raft is now on display in the Kon-Tiki Museum at Bygdoy in Oslo. https://store.earthstation1.com/the-great-polynesian-navigators-of-the-pacific-dvd-mp3-us3.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: TV Commercials: The Mego Toy Classics DVD, MP4 Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1927: #BOTD: #HBD! Carl Switzer, American child actor, comic singer, dog breeder, hunting guide and (possibly) freemason, best known for his role as Alfalfa in the Our Gang series of short-subject comedies, one of the series' most popular and best-remembered characters (d. January 21, 1959) is #born Carl Dean Switzer (rhyming with "Schweitzer") in Paris, Illinois. He began his career as a child actor in 1934, when the Switzers traveled to California to visit family. While sightseeing, they went to Hal Roach Studios. Following a public tour, eight-year-old Harold and six-year-old Carl entered the Hal Roach Studio's open-to-the-public cafeteria, the Our Gang Cafe, and began an impromptu performance. Producer Hal Roach was present and was impressed. He signed both brothers to appear in Our Gang. Harold was given two nicknames, "Slim" and "Deadpan", while Carl was dubbed "Alfalfa". The brothers first appeared in the 1935 Our Gang short Beginner's Luck. By the end of the year, Alfalfa was one of the main characters, with a distinctive cowlick hairstyle, while Harold had been relegated to the background. Although Carl was an experienced singer and musician, his character Alfalfa was often called upon to sing popular songs for comic effect, most often those of Bing Crosby and Pinky Tomlin. The comic effect was achieved by playing the musical accompaniment slightly beyond the young singer's range, so Switzer would struggle to reach the high notes -- resulting in squeaky, off-key tones. By the end of 1937, Switzer's "Alfalfa" had surpassed the series' nominal star, George "Spanky" McFarland, in popularity. While the boys got along, their fathers argued constantly over their sons' screen time and salaries. Switzer's best friend among the Our Gang actors was Tommy Bond, who played his on-screen nemesis "Butch". In Bond's words, he and Switzer became good friends because "neither of us could replace the others". After outgrowing the Our Gang series in 1940, Switzer struggled to find substantial roles, but was typecast as a juvenile actor. As an adult, he appeared mainly in bit parts and B-movies. Switzer married grain elevator empire heiress Diantha Collingwood in 1954 and they had one son; they divorced in 1957. In 1987, former Our Gang co-star George "Spanky" McFarland recalled a meeting with Switzer when they spoke about the farm: "The last time I saw Carl was 1957. It was a tough time for me - and him. I was starting a tour of theme parks and county fairs in the Midwest. Carl had married this girl whose father owned a pretty good-size farm near Wichita. When I came through town, he heard about it and called. He told me he was helping to run the farm, but he finally had to put a radio on the tractor while he was out there plowing. Knowing Carl, I knew that wasn't going to last. He may have come from Paris, Illinois, but he wasn't a farmer! We hadn't seen each other since we left the 'Gang.' So we had lunch. We talked about all the things you'd expect. And then I never saw him again. He looked pretty much the same. He was just Carl Switzer - kind of cocky, a little antsy - and I thought to myself he hadn't changed that much. He still talked big. He just grew up." On January 26, 1958, Switzer was getting into his car in front of a bar in Studio City, when a bullet smashed through the window and struck him in the upper right arm. However, the gunman was never caught. Later that December, Switzer was arrested in Sequoia National Forest for cutting down 15 pine trees he had intended to sell illegally as Christmas trees. He was sentenced to one year's probation. Switzer was also ordered to pay a 225 USD fine (more than 2,400 USD today). Carl Switzer died aged 31 under mysterious circumstances; most likely, he was murdered by a fatal pistol shot to the groin by a disgruntled customer of Switzer's dog training business. He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Sometime in 1959, Switzer agreed to train a hunting dog, a Treeing Walker Coonhound, for Moses Samuel "Bud" Stiltz. Stiltz was Switzer's longtime friend and sometime business partner, whom Switzer had met while working with Roy Rogers on various productions at the Corriganville Movie Ranch. The dog, while in Switzer's possession, ran off to chase after a bear and disappeared. After learning that the dog had been lost while in Switzer's care, Stiltz demanded that Switzer had to either return his dog or pay him the equivalent of the dog's value. Switzer was then working as a bartender. Unable to produce the money to settle the debt, Switzer took out ads in newspapers and put up fliers, offering a reward for the safe return of the animal. Eventually, the dog was located and brought to the bar where Switzer was working. Switzer rewarded the rescuer with 35 US and 15 USD in drinks (equivalent to 520 USD in 2023). Switzer was annoyed by the cash outlay; a few days later, in an emotional conversation with his friend Jack Piott, a 37-year-old unit still photographer, the two decided that Stiltz should reimburse Switzer the finder's fee. Their argument was that the dog was Stiltz's and not Switzer's. The two arrived at Stiltz's home in Mission Hills, at 10400 Columbus Avenue. Stiltz shared the home with his wife, Rita Corrigan, and his stepchildren. Switzer and Piott intended to demand money from Stiltz. From here on, accounts of what happened differ. All agree that Stiltz was struck over the left side of his head with a glass clock. He later retreated to his room to retrieve a .38-caliber revolver, and Switzer tried to wrest the gun from him. Their struggle caused the gun to discharge and almost shot Tom Corrigan, Stiltz's 14-year-old stepson. Stiltz regained the weapon and shot Switzer. According to Stiltz, the event was one of self-defense, testifying that Switzer had banged on his front door, yelling "Let me in, or I'll kick in the door." The threat was followed by a struggle that began with one of the men, Switzer or Piott, striking Stiltz with the clock. This prompted Stiltz to retrieve his firearm. According to Stiltz, Switzer threatened him with a knife and yelled, "I'm going to kill you!" Stiltz fired and shot Switzer in the groin, damaging an artery that caused massive internal bleeding. Switzer was pronounced dead on arrival at 7:27 pm at the hospital at the age of 31. Tom Corrigan's account, however, differed significantly from his stepfather's. He told investigators that Stiltz shot Switzer as he and Piott were leaving. After the gun's accidental discharge that almost hit Corrigan, Switzer turned to Piott and said they needed to leave. The two were headed for the door when Stiltz then fired the fatal shot. Switzer never drew a knife, as Stiltz had claimed he had. Corrigan was never called to testify at the coroner's inquest, and Stiltz testified in his own favor. His testimony was taken to be truthful, despite physical evidence that contradicted his account and his past perjury conviction. Years later, Corrigan stood by what he told officers had happened that night, and said his stepfather did not have to kill Switzer. In an apparent miscarriage of justice, the shooting was judged to be self-defense.; during the inquest regarding Switzer's death, it was revealed that what was reported as a "hunting knife" was in fact a penknife. It had been found by crime scene investigators under his body. Over 42 years later, in January 2001, Tom Corrigan told reporters "It was more like murder". He said he heard the knock on the front door, and Switzer said "Western Union for Bud Stiltz." Corrigan's mother, Rita Corrigan, opened the door to find a drunk Switzer, complaining about a perceived month-old debt and demanding repayment. Corrigan said Switzer entered the house first, followed by Jack Piott. Switzer said he was going to beat up Stiltz, and Stiltz confronted Switzer with a .38-caliber revolver in his hand. Corrigan said that Switzer grabbed the revolver and Stiltz and Switzer struggled over it. He said Piott broke a glass-domed clock over Stiltz's head, causing Stiltz's eye to swell shut. During the struggle, a shot was fired into the ceiling and Corrigan was struck in the leg by a fragment. Corrigan said his two younger sisters ran to a neighbor's house to call for help. "Well, we shot Tommy, enough of this," he said he recalled Switzer saying, just before Switzer and Piott started to leave the house. Corrigan said he had just stepped out the front door when he heard, but did not witness, a second shot behind him. He said he then turned and saw Switzer sliding down the wall with a surprised look on his face after Stiltz had shot him. Corrigan said he saw a closed penknife at Switzer's side, which he presumed fell out of his pocket or his hand. He said he then saw his stepfather shove Piott against the kitchen counter and threaten to kill him too. Corrigan said they heard emergency sirens as Piott begged for his life, and that he thought this was the only reason Stiltz did not kill Piott. Corrigan said his stepfather lied in his account of the event before the coroner's jury. Corrigan said a Los Angeles Police Department detective interviewed him and asked if he would testify before the judge. Corrigan said he agreed to, but he was never called before the court. Moses Stiltz died in 1983 at the age of 62. https://store.earthstation1.com/tv-commercials-the-mego-toy-classics-dvd.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: An Enemy Of The People (1990) DVD, MP4 Video Download, USB Flash Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1944: #BOTD: #HBD! John Glover, American actor is #born John Soursby Glover Jr. in Kingston, New York. He is known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Daniel Clamp in Gremlins 2: The New Batch and Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville. He is also the voice of Riddler in the DC Animated Universe. Raised in Salisbury, Maryland, Glover attended Wicomico High School and acted at Towson University. His father was a television salesman. Glover began his career at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, and later studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse under Milton Katselas. Glover began his career in television, playing a mentally disturbed kidnapper who kidnapped Joanne, the lead character in Search for Tomorrow. One of his early film performances was a role as a U.S. diplomat in White Nights. His other roles include Alan Raimy in 52 Pick-Up, Bryce Cummings in Scrooged, Tony Gateworth in Masquerade, Daniel Clamp in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, a mobster in Payback, an advertising spokesman in RoboCop 2, Derek Mills in Night of the Running Man, the Riddler in Batman: The Animated Series, Doctor Jason Woodrue in Batman & Robin, Verad in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Invasive Procedures", the Devil in the series Brimstone, and a recurring role in The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd as Cousin Jerry, from Bal'mer, a relative whom no one actually seemed to know. In 1987, he appeared in the Miami Vice episode "Lend Me an Ear" as Steve Duddy. He also appeared in two episodes of Murder, She Wrote, "One White Rose for Death" and "When Thieves Fall Out". He appeared in the television film An Early Frost in 1985, the first TV film to confront the issue of AIDS, and received an Emmy nomination for his performance as a gay AIDS patient. In 1986, he appeared in the TV film Apology with Lesley Ann Warren. He appeared in the role of Max Brodsky, an inmate in concentration camps and later a fighter for Israel's independence, in Ian Sharp's 1989 TV miniseries Twist of Fate (also known as Pursuit). That same year, he played a hard-driving, low-on-morals district sales manager in HBO's Traveling Man. He also received a 1994 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance in Frasier. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Lionel Luthor on Smallville from 2001 to 2008 where he first appeared as a guest actor in the show's first season and then appeared as a full cast member from seasons two to seven. He later returned in 2010 and 2011 for the tenth and final season as a parallel universe version of the character. He had a small appearance in the Woody Allen film Annie Hall (1977) in a flashback in which he tells the title character, "Touch my heart. With your foot." He had a recurring role in Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Declan Gage, an old friend and mentor to Detective Robert Goren. On ABC's Brothers & Sisters he played Henry (the boyfriend of Saul Holden) in 2009. In Heroes he had a brief appearance as Samson Gray, the father of Sylar. He had made notable appearances on stage, winning a Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Play for his dual roles in the Broadway play Love! Valour! Compassion!, which he reprised in the film version. In 2004, he performed with the Philadelphia Theatre Company staging of Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? He also appeared as "man in the chair/narrator" in The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway during the summer of 2007. He played the role of Lucky in a Broadway production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, for which he earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. In 2014, he appeared as Leonato in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing. He played Telemachus in Yuri Rasovsky's Peabody Award-winning radio dramatization of The Odyssey of Homer and has played in several radio plays of the LA Theatre Works. Glover is receiving increasing recognition for narrating audiobooks. In 2011, he performed the audiobook version of Ghost Story, the thirteenth novel in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. In October/November 2011, he performed in David Bar Katz's drama The Atmosphere of Memory at the Bank Street Theatre in New York City, co-starring with Ellen Burstyn in a LAByrinth production. He played the role of Uncle Ben in the 2012 Broadway production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, directed by Mike Nichols. He is seen rehearsing the role of John Kreese in behind-the-scenes pre-production footage from The Karate Kid, indicating he may have been considered for that role. In 2013, Glover starred in the horror anthology Sanitarium. He also guest-starred in an episode of Agent Carter. Glover has done various voice-over work for several projects related to Tron: Legacy: the villain Abraxas in Tron: Evolution, and Dyson in Tron: Uprising. In 2014, he guest-starred on The Blacklist in the episode titled "Berlin". Glover is gay. He married sculptor Adam Kurtzman in 2016, whom he had been dating since 1993. According to Glover, he slept with Freddie Mercury in the 1970s. Glover is involved with the Alzheimer's Association. His father had Alzheimer's disease, leading Glover to become more active in charity and activism surrounding the disorder. Glover returns to Towson annually to work with theater students. The theater department awards a scholarship in his name. https://store.earthstation1.com/an-enemy-of-the-people-dvd-ibsen-arthur-miller-john-glover.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Universal Newsreels: The Space Race Films DVD MP4 Download USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1959: Rocket Launches: The History Of Rocketry: The History Of Spaceflight: The Aftermath Of World War II: The Cold War: The Space Age: The Space Race: The United States Space Program: Earth Satellites: Explorer 6 (S-2): -- Explorer 6, which took the first pictures of Earth from space, is launched atop a Thor DM-18 Able III rocket at 14:24:20 GMT from the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Explorer 6, or S-2, was a small, spheroidal satellite designed to study trapped radiation of various energies, galactic cosmic rays, geomagnetism, radio propagation in the upper atmosphere, and the flux of micrometeorites. It also tested a scanning device designed for photographing the Earth's cloud cover, and transmitted the first pictures of Earth via satellite. The satellite was launched into a highly elliptical orbit with an initial local time of apogee of 2100 h. The satellite was spin-stabilized at 2.8 rps, with the direction of the spin axis having a right ascension of 217 degrees and a declination of 23 degrees. Four solar cell paddles mounted near its equator recharged the storage batteries while in orbit. Each experiment except the television scanner had two outputs, digital and analog. A UHF transmitter was used for the digital telemetry and the TV signal. Two VHF transmitters were used to transmit the analog signal. The VHF transmitters were operated continuously. The UHF transmitter was operated for only a few hours each day. Only three of the solar cell paddles fully erected, and this occurred during spin up rather than prior to spin up as planned. Consequently, initial operation of the payload power supply was 63% nominal, and this decreased with time. The decreased power caused a lower signal-to-noise ratio affecting most of the data, especially near apogee. One VHF transmitter failed on September 11, 1959, and the last contact with the payload was made on October 6, 1959, at which time the solar cell charging current had fallen below that required to maintain the satellite equipment. In 1959 an anti-satellite missile test of the Bold Orion rocket used Explorer 6 as a target. The missile successfully passed within 6.4 kilometers (4.0 mi) of the satellite. Bold Orion's ASAT mission occurred on Tuesday, 13 October 1959. Launch took place within the Atlantic Missile Range Drop Zone (AMR DZ). The altitude, latitude and longitude of the drop point were 11,000 m (35,000 ft), 29_ North and 79_ West, respectively. Bold Orion successfully intercepted the Explorer 6 satellite, passing its target at a range of less than 6.5 km (3.5 nmi) and an altitude of 252 km (136 nmi). The satellite's orbit decayed on July 1, 1961. A total of 827 hours of analog and 23 hours of digital data were obtained. https://store.earthstation1.com/universal-newsreels-the-space-race-films-dvd-mp4-download-usb-driv4.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Outer Space Films 9: Mars Probes DVD, Video Download, USB Flash Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1976: The History Of Rocketry: The History Of Spaceflight: The Aftermath Of World War II: The Cold War: The Space Age: The Space Race: The Discovery And Exploration Of The Solar System: Space Probes: Interplanetary Space Probes: The United States Space Program: Spacecraft Missions To Mars: The Viking Program: Viking 2: -- The Viking 2 planetary probe, famous for taking "Face On Mars" photos, enters orbit around Mars. Viking 2 was a single package of two separate parts, an orbiter and a lander, essentially identical to that of the successful Viking 1 mission. Viking 2 was launched at 18:39 UTC on September 9, 1975 atop a Titan IIIE launch vehicle with a Centaur upper stage from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41 (LC-41), now known as Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41), which almost unique among legacy launch sites continues to operate as an active launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Viking 2 lander operated on the surface for 1316 days (3 years, 221 days), or 1281 sols (Martian days), and was turned off on April 11, 1980 when its batteries failed. The Viking 2 orbiter worked until July 25, 1978, returning almost 16,000 images in 706 orbits around Mars. Its photos of the Cydonia region of Mars, as well as those taken by Viking 1, contains the controversial "Face on Mars", located about halfway between Arandas Crater and Bamberg Crater. https://store.earthstation1.com/outer-space-films-9-mars-space-probe-projects-viking-amp-mariner-dv9.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: We Remember: The Space Shuttle Pioneers 1981-1986 DVD, Download, USB

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1985: Outer Space Firsts: The History Of Rocketry: The History Of Spaceflight: The Aftermath Of World War II: The Cold War: The Space Age: The Space Race: Space Programs Of The United States: Human Spaceflight Programs: The Space Shuttle Program (The Space Transportation System (STS)): The National Space Development Agency Of Japan (NASDA) (Japanese: Uchu Kaihatsu Jigyodan): Japanese Astronauts: -- Misters Takao Doi and Mamoru Mohri, and Mrs. Chiaki Mukai, are chosen to be Japan's first astronauts as part of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. Takao Doi, the first Japanese astronaut to conduct a spacewalk, servied on Columbia STS-87 (1997-11-19 - 1997-12-05) and Endeavour STS-123 (2008-03-11 - 2008-03-25); Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese in space, served on Endeavour STS-47, (1992-09-12 - 1992-09-20) and Endeavour STS-99 (2000-02-11 - 2000-02-22); and Chiaki Mukai, the first Japanse woman in space, served on Columbia STS-65 (1994-07-08 - 1994) and Discovery STS-95 (1998-10-29 - 1998-11-07). All three were selected by The National Space Development Agency Of Japan (Japanese: Uchu Kaihatsu Jigyodan), or NASDA, a Japanese national space agency established on October 1, 1969 under the National Space Development Agency Law only for peaceful purposes. Based on the Space Development Program enacted by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), NASDA was responsible for developing Japanese-built satellites and launch vehicles as well as launching and tracking them. The first launch vehicles of NASDA (N-I, N-II, and H-I) were partially based on licensed technology from the United States, particularly the Delta rocket family. The H-II was the first liquid fuel rocket to be fully developed in Japan. Hideo Shima, chief engineer of the original Shinkansen "bullet train" project, served as Chief of NASDA from 1969 to 1977. On October 1, 2003, NASDA merged with the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL) into one Independent Administrative Institution: the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). SL-J was partially funded by Japan through NASDA; this cooperative Japanese-American mission launched a NASDA astronaut into Earth orbit using the Space Shuttle in 1992. Work on the Japanese Experiment Module at ISS, and also HOPE-X, was started under NASDA and inherited by JAXA. https://store.earthstation1.com/we-remember-the-space-shuttle-pioneers-198119811986.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: War Jets: The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird DVD, Video Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1963: Aviation: The History Of Aviation: The History Of Military Aviation: Maiden Flights: -- The Lockheed YF-12 Mach 3+ capable high-altitude interceptor prototype takes its maiden flight Developed and manufactured by American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation during the late 1950s and early 1960s as a potential replacement for the F-106 Delta Dart interceptor for the United States Air Force (USAF), the YF-12 was a twin-seat version of the then-secret single-seat Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); unlike the A-12, it was furnished with the Hughes AN/ASG-18 fire-control radar and could be armed with AIM-47 Falcon (GAR-9) air-to-air missiles. Its existence was publicly revealed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on February 24, 1964; this move was to provide plausible deniability for the CIA-operated A-12 fleet, which closely resembled the prototype YF-12. During the 1960s, after 3 YF-12s were built, the underwent flight evaluations by the USAF, but funding to put it into operational use was not forthcoming partly due to the pressing demands of the Vietnam War and other military priorities. It set and held speed and altitude world records of over 2,000 miles per hour (3,200 km/h) and over 80,000 feet (24,000 m) (later surpassed by the closely related SR-71 Blackbird), and is the world's largest, heaviest and fastest crewed interceptor. Following its retirement by the USAF, it served as a research aircraft for NASA for a time, which used it to develop several significant improvements in control for future supersonic aircraft. https://store.earthstation1.com/war-jets-the-lockheed-sr71-blackbird-d71.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: America Held Hostage: As It Happened The Iran Hostage Crisis MP4 DVD

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 2005: #DOTD: #RIP: Peter Jennings, Canadian-American journalist, news anchor, documentary host, and author who served as the sole anchor of ABC World News Tonight for 22 years from 1983 until his death (b. July 29, 1938) #dies of lung cancer in his New York apartment at the age of 67. His fourth wife Kayce Freed, two children, and sister were at his side. Just after 11:30 pm EDT that evening, Charles Gibson broke into local news in the eastern U.S. and regular programming on ABC's western affiliates to announce Jennings's death. The anchor's ABC colleagues, including Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, and Ted Koppel, shared their thoughts on Jennings's death. The next morning, Brokaw and Rather fondly remembered their former rival on the morning news shows. "Peter, of the three of us, was our prince," said Brokaw on Today. "He seemed so timeless. He had such elan and style." Canada's television networks led off their morning news shows with the news of Jennings's death and had remembrances from their "big three" anchors, Peter Mansbridge at the CBC, Lloyd Robertson at CTV, and Kevin Newman (himself a former colleague of Jennings at ABC) at Global. American President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin offered statements of condolence to the press. On August 10, 2005, ABC aired a two-hour special, Peter Jennings: Reporter, with archival clips of his reports and interviews with colleagues and friends. The special drew more than nine million viewers, and was the most watched television program of the night. For the week of his death, World News Tonight placed number one in the ratings race for the first time since June 2004. Jennings's widow, Kayce Freed, and family held a private service in New York. Jennings's body was cremated and his ashes split in half. Half of his ashes remained in his home on Long Island and the other half was placed in his summer home in the Gatineau Hills, near Ottawa. The 57th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 18, 2005, included a tribute to Jennings by Brokaw and Rather. A public memorial service for Jennings was held two days later at Carnegie Hall. Notable journalists, political leaders, and other friends of Jennings attended. Jennings left a 50M USD estate: half went to Freed, and most of the rest to his son and daughter. Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings CM was born in Toronto, Ontario. Despite dropping out of high school, he transormed transformed himself into one of American television's most prominent journalists. Jennings started his career early, hosting a Canadian radio show at the age of nine. He began his professional career with CJOH-TV in Ottawa during its early years, anchoring the local newscasts and hosting a teen dance show, Saturday Date, on Saturdays. In 1965, ABC News tapped him to anchor its flagship evening news program. His inexperience was attacked by critics and others in television news, making for a difficult first stint in the anchor chair. Jennings became a foreign correspondent in 1968, reporting from the Middle East. He returned as one of World News Tonight's three anchors in 1978, and was promoted to the role of sole anchor in 1983. Jennings was also known for his marathon coverage of breaking news stories, staying on the air for 15 or more hours straight to anchor the live broadcast of events such as the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1991, the Millennium celebrations in 2000, and the September 11 attacks in 2001. In addition to anchoring, he was the host of many ABC News special reports and moderated several American presidential debates. Jennings was always fascinated with the United States and became a naturalized United States citizen in 2003. Along with Tom Brokaw at NBC and Dan Rather at CBS, Jennings formed part of the "Big Three" news anchors who dominated American evening network news from the early 1980s until his death in 2005, which closely followed the retirements of Brokaw in 2004 and Rather in 2005. https://store.earthstation1.com/america-held-hostage-as-it-happened-the-iran-hostage-crisis-mp4-dv4.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: KTLA: The First 35 Years: Los Angeles TV Station Channel 5 DVD MP4 USB

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 2007: #DOTD: #RIP: Hal Fishman, television news anchor, journalist andrecord-holding aviator, local news anchor in the Los Angeles area, serving on-air with Los Angeles-area television stations continuously from 1960 until his death in 2007, the longest-running news anchor in the history of American television before Dave Ward surpassed him in 2015, the partial inspiration for "The Simpsons" cartoon television anchorman Kent Brockman (b. August 25, 1931) #dies. Hal Fishman's last broadcast was on July 30, 2007, eight days before his death. On July 31, 2007, the night before Fishman became ill and after his last broadcast, KTLA celebrated his 47 years in television with a special gala at the Autry National Museum in Los Angeles. The event was emceed by Morning Show anchor Michaela Pereira and attended by such dignitaries as Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles County sheriff Lee Baca. During the gala, Fishman spoke to the audience about his time in television. He appeared somewhat fatigued but little would be known about his condition until the day after. Fishman died at home, 18 days before he would have turned 76, following recent treatment for a liver infection, which had detected cancer in his liver and colon. That morning, the station interrupted its regular news schedule and dedicated much of the Morning Show and Prime News broadcasts to Fishman. The reporters on Prime News did not break for commercials that evening. His remains were cremated, and the ashes scattered over the skies of Los Angeles, California. Hal Fishman was born Harold Fishman in Brooklyn, New York City. Fishman received a bachelor's degree from Cornell University where he worked at the campus radio station. He also received a master's degree in political science from UCLA in 1956. Planning for a career in academia, he served as an assistant professor of political science at California State University, Los Angeles for two years. Eventually, Los Angeles independent television station KCOP approached Fishman to teach an on-air course, and later, the station invited him to anchor his own segment. Fishman had been on the air continuously since June 20, 1960, moving from KCOP to KTLA in 1965. That year, he received significant exposure as a field reporter for KTLA when he helped cover the Watts Riots live from the Los Angeles Police Department command center. Fishman also worked at KTTV and KHJ-TV (now KCAL-TV) during the early 1970s, returning to KTLA on January 8, 1975, to anchor their evening new broadcast NewsWatch, later renamed News at Ten. As a news anchor, Fishman covered numerous events in Los Angeles and the world, ranging from the assassination of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, to the Sylmar and Northridge earthquakes, to Pope John Paul II's 1987 visit to southern California. He, along with KTLA, was credited for being the first to air footage of the police beating of Rodney King in 1991, an event that sparked riots a year later when the officers were acquitted. In 2000, KTLA dedicated its newsroom in Fishman's honor, commemorating his 40 years in television and his years of service and commitment to the region. Fishman won myriad awards, including the Associated Press Television-Radio Association's first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. He received a "star" on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame," at 1560 Vine Street and KTLA named its television news studio after Fishman. He also authored two novels, Flight 902 Is Down (co-authored with aviation writer Barry J. Schiff) and The Vatican Target. Fishman was also an accomplished pilot and set 13 records for speed and altitude. In 1969, he was awarded the Louis Bleriot medal by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. https://store.earthstation1.com/ktla-the-first-35-years-tv-channel-5-la-355.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Allied Codebreakers Of WWI & WWII DVD MP4 Video Download USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1958: #DOTD: #RIP: Herbert Yardley, American cryptologist, author and recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, founder and leader of the first modern ryptographic organization who laid the framewok for modern cryptological analysis (b. April 13, 1889) #dies in Washington, D.C. aged 69, nearly a week after having a major stroke. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Grave 429-1 of Section 30. He was born Herbert Osborn Yardley in Worthington, Indiana. He founded and led of the cryptographic organization the Black Chamber, also known as the Cipher Bureau, the United States' first peacetime cryptanalytic organization, and a forerunner of the National Security Agency. Under Yardley, the cryptanalysts of The American Black Chamber broke Japanese diplomatic codes and were able to furnish American negotiators with significant information during the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-1922 which provided the United States and United Kingdom to obtain an agreement ensuring naval superiority over the Japanse. He also wrote The American Black Chamber (1931) about his experiences there and detailing much regarding the Chamber's effect on the Washington Naval Conference agreement known as the Washington Naval Treaty, inciting great enmity from both the United States and United Kingdeom. He went on to assist the Kuomintang Chinese Nationalists in breaking Japanese codes during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Following this work in China, Yardley worked for the Canadian government from June to December 1941, helping it set up a cryptological section known as the Examination Unit for the National Research Council of Canada. Yardley was reportedly let go from this position due to pressure either from the Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson or from the British. https://store.earthstation1.com/allied-codebreakers-of-wwi-amp-wwii-dvd-mp4-video-download-usb-driv4.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1964) TV Special DVD, Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1963: #BOTD: #HBD! Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, the last child of United States President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (d. August 9, 1963) is #born prematurely, and 39 hours and 12 minutes later at 4:04 a.m. despite a desperate medical effort to save him, putting the First Family and nation into mourning. At the time of the infant's death, the president was outside the room with the hyperbaric chamber with his brother, U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The first lady, then 34, remained at Otis Air Force Base Hospital recovering from the caesarean section. She was told of her son's death by Dr. Walsh (who would console her again after her husband's assassination and was aboard Air Force One with her as she returned from Dallas with the president's body.) She was given a sedative and slept until the president flew from Boston. Very little was said about the family's reaction. White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger stated of the first lady's condition: "Given the circumstances, her condition is satisfactory." The president, who had reportedly slept only four hours since the birth, was photographed arriving at Otis Air Force Base looking grave and appearing tired. A small funeral mass was held on August 10, 1963 in the private chapel of Cardinal Richard Cushing in Boston. The president's mother was in Paris and was told not to return for the funeral, but the first lady's sister Lee Radziwill had already flown in from Greece before the baby died. Cushing, the Archbishop of Boston, performed the funeral mass, as he would for John F. Kennedy, assassinated 104 days later. Siblings Caroline, then five years old, and John Jr., two and a half, did not attend. The child was initially buried at Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts, the president's hometown. His body and that of his stillborn sister Arabella were reinterred on December 5, 1963, alongside their father, at Arlington National Cemetery and later moved to their permanent graves in Section 45, Grid U-35. Patrick Bouvier Kennedy's short lifespan led to innovations in treatment of premature infants, which gave rise to the pediatric subspecialty neonatology, a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty and is usually practised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The principal patients of neonatologists are newborn infants who are ill or require special medical care due to prematurity, low birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction, congenital malformations (birth defects), sepsis, pulmonary hypoplasia, or birth asphyxia. https://store.earthstation1.com/john-fitzgerald-kennedy-1964-documentary1964.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: The Golden Age Of Comedy 5 Album Set CD, MP3, USB Stick

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1928: #BOTD: #HBD! Betty Walker, Jewish-American actress and comedian who performed primarily during the 1950s and 1960s (d. July 26, 1982) is #born Edith Seeman in Elizabeth, New Jersey to Latvian Jewish immigrants. Her first major acting role was on the sitcom The Goldbergs, where at 21 years of age she played Mrs. Kramer, Molly's loud-mouthed, nosy neighbor. She acted in the original cast of Paddy Chayefsky's play "Middle of the Night", which first premiered in 1956, and she reprised her role as the Widow for the film adaptation three years later. In addition to performing in Paddy Chayefsky's plays "The Passion of Josef D" and "Middle of the Night" with Edward G. Robinson, she acted in a number of other television dramas, such as Decoy, Playhouse 90, and The Doctors, and in Susan Slade's "Ready When You Are, C.B.!" with Julie Harris and Estelle Parsons. In movies she was seen in "Molly", "Exodus" and the screen version of "Middle of the Night". As a popular comedian of the 1950s and 1960s, Walker was best known for her "telephone act" wherein she delivered a monologue to her unseen friend "Ceil" at the other end of the line. The humor of this act draws upon the Jewish stereotypes of the "overbearing mother" which had gained popularity originally in Jewish joke books after World War II. While the "Jewish mother" trope gained popularity in newer venues such as on television, in print, and on comedy albums, it is notable that she was often personified in these mediums through her "son's vision" of her. It is notable, then, that Walker actively assumed these traits, which gave her transgressive mimetic power over them. She also recorded comedy record albums, including "Aunt Lena and Her Entire Family" and "Hello Ceil". Walker made guest appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show and The Steve Allen Show, where she often performed her monologue to "Ceil." Betty Walker died at her Manhattan home aged 54, having been ill for some time, suffering from a variety of ailments. Funeral services were held on July 28 at Parkside Chapel, 79th Street and Columbus Avenue. Her burial details are not publicly disclosed. https://store.earthstation1.com/golden-age-of-comedy-narrated-by-george-burns-5-album-set-mp3-53.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: TV Commercials: The Classics Vol. 3 DVD, Video Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 2021: #DOTD: #RIP: Jane Withers, American actress of stage, theater, radio and television, and children's radio show host, famous as Josephine The Plumber in a series of television commercials for Comet cleanser from 1963 to 1974 (b. April 12, 1926) #dies in Burbank, California at the age of 95. Her remains were cremated; the final disposition of her ashes are not publicly disclosed. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s, with her films ranking in the top ten list for box-office gross in 1937 and 1938. She began her entertainment career at the age of three and, during the Golden Age of Radio, hosted her own children's radio program in her home city of Atlanta, Georgia. In 1932, she and her mother moved to Hollywood, where she appeared as an extra in many films until landing her breakthrough role as the spoiled, obnoxious Joy Smythe opposite Shirley Temple's angelic orphan Shirley Blake in the 1934 film Bright Eyes. She made 38 films before retiring at age 21 in 1947. She returned to film and television as a character actor in the 1950s. In the 1990s and early 2000s, she did voice work for Disney animated films. She was interviewed in numerous documentary retrospectives of the Golden Age of Hollywood. She was also known for her philanthropy and her extensive doll collection. https://store.earthstation1.com/tv-commercials-the-classics-vol-3-dv3.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Medium Cool (1969) News Media & The 1968 DNC DVD, Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1938: #BOTD: #HBD! Verna Bloom, American actress of stage and screen (d. January 9, 2019) is #born #Verna Frances Bloom in Lynn, Massachusetts. She made her film debut in Medium Cool, and then co-starred in Clint Eastwood's 1973 film, High Plains Drifter and in the 1974 made-for-TV movie Where Have All The People Gone? with Peter Graves and Kathleen Quinlan. Bloom also had roles in more than 30 films and television episodes beginning the 1960s, including playing Mary, mother of Jesus, in The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988 and Marion Wormer in Animal House in 1978. On Broadway, Bloom portrayed Charlotte Corday in The Persecution And Assassination Of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed By The Inmates Of The Asylum Of Charenton Under The Direction Of The Marquis De Sade (1967) and Blanche Morton in Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983). Bloom attended the School of Fine Arts at Boston University, graduating with a BFA in 1959. She also studied at the HB Studio in New York City. Bloom married Richard Collier, but they separated by 1969. They began the Trident Theater in Denver Colorado, which operated from 1963 to 1965. In 1972 she married film critic Jay Cocks. They had a son, Sam, born in 1981. The couple remained married until her death. Bloom died aged 80 on January 9, 2019, in Bar Harbor, Maine, from complications of dementia. Her remains were cremated, and the ashes given to her widow. https://store.earthstation1.com/medium-cool-dvd.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: Fraulein Doktor 1969 Suzy Kendall Kenneth More Nigel Green DVD MP4 USB

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1887: #BOTD: #HBD! Elsbeth Schragmuller, also known as Fraulein Doktor and Mademoiselle Docteur (Mlle. Docteur), as well as Fair Lady, La Baronne and Mlle. Schwartz (Mademoiselle Schwartz), German spy, lieutenant and Iron Cross First Class recipient (d. February 24, 1940, Munich, Germany) is #born in Schlusselburg near Petershagen, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire. Elsbeth Schragmuller was a German spy during World War I whose identiity was unknown until her actual name was revealed only in 1945, gleaned from German intelligence documents captured by the Allies after World War II, when she had already died of miliary tuberculosis in 1940. Her nickname acknowledges the fact that she had a doctoral degree in political science, not psychology as some fictional portrayals have claimed, from the University of Freiburg. She was one of the first generation of German women to gain an academic degree. Schragmuller was the eldest of four children born to Prussian Army officer and bailiff Carl Anton Schragmuller and his wife Valesca Cramer von Clausbruch. Her younger brother was the future Sturmabteilung (SA) police chief of Magdeburg, Konrad Schragmuller. Schragmuller spent her childhood first in Schlusselburg and then in Munster with her grandmother, who educated her. From 1909 to 1914, she studied political science at Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat in Freiburg. She finished her studies in 1913 and was one of the first women in Germany to acquire a university degree. After her studies, she worked for the Berlin Lette-Verein as a lecturer in civic education. After the outbreak of the First World War, Schragmuller moved to occupied Belgium, where the German governor general, Colmar von der Goltz, assigned her to Section VII, where she opened and intercepted letters. She later switched to intelligence collection and worked, after a short training period, in Lille for the General Staff's intelligence wing, the Abteilung IIIb. In 1915, Colonel Walter Nicolai, the head of Abteilung IIIb, assigned her as the chief of the Kriegsnachrichtenstelle Antwerpen. When the war ended, Schragmuller held the rank of lieutenant and had been awarded the Iron Cross First Class. After the armistice in 1918, Schragmuller resumed her academic career and became the first female assistant chair at Freiburg University. A few years later, she moved with her family to Munich. Soon afterward, her father and her brother Konrad, a senior SA officer, were shot during the Night of the Long Knives. Soon, she ended her career abruptly for unknown reasons. Schragmuller died in 1940 at the age of 52 of bone tuberculosis in her Munich apartment. Her burial details are not publicly disclosed. Her activities were the subject of various urban legends during the First World War, but since she was neither captured nor unmasked during her lifetime, much of her life story remains obscure and speculative, and it is unclear to what extent the various fictional treatments of her life story are accurate. Her death early in the Second World War makes it unlikely that she contributed materially to the war effort even if some have claimed that she again engaged in espionage activities. https://store.earthstation1.com/fraulein-doktor-1969-dvd-world-war-i-spy-thri1969.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: World War I: The War Years Documentary Series DVD, Download, USB Drive

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 1876: #BOTD: #HBD! Mata Hari, Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, harlot and international spy who was arrested and executed by the French in 1917 for spying for Germany during World War I (d. October 15, 1917) is #born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle in Leewarden, Netherlands. Known as "Margreet" by her friends, Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod famously declared her innocence during her trial with the words "A harlot? Yes, but a traitor, never!" The idea of a beautiful exotic dancer using her powers of seduction as a spy made her name synonymous with the femme fatale. Her story has served as an inspiration for many books, films, and other works. It has been said that she was convicted and condemned because the French Army needed a scapegoat, and that the files used to secure her conviction contained several falsifications. Some have even stated that Mata Hari could not have been a spy and was innocent. She was convicted of being a German spy and sentenced to death. At her execution, she refused a blindfold and instead threw a kiss to the French firing squad. Mata Hari's body was not claimed by any family members and was accordingly used for medical study. Her head was embalmed and kept in the Museum of Anatomy in Paris. In 2000, archivists discovered that it had disappeared, possibly as early as 1954, according to curator Roger Saban, during the museum's relocation. Her head remains missing. Records dated 1918 show that the museum also received the rest of the body, but none of the remains could later be accounted for. Mata Hari's sealed trial and other related documents, a total of 1,275 pages, were declassified by the French Army in 2017, one hundred years after her execution. https://store.earthstation1.com/world-war-i-the-war-years-dvd-4-part-french-tv-serie4.html

Today's EarthStation1.com Commemorative Memorial Title: France: Conquest To Liberation In World War II MP4 Video Download DVD

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 00:01:00 PDT

August 7, 2011: #DOTD: #RIP: Nancy Wake, also known as Madame Fiocca and Nancy Fiocca, codenamed Helene (SOE), Andree (French Resistance/SOE Identity) and White Mouse (Gestapo in France), New Zealand-English nurse, journalist, captain and spy who served in the French Resistance and later as an agent of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II, post-war intelligence officer in the British Air Ministry, a courier and leading figure in the maquis groups of the French Resistance who later joined the escape network of Captain Ian Garrow, the Gestapo's most wanted person in 1943 with a 5-million-franc price on her head, one of the Allies' most decorated servicewomen (b. August 30, 1912) #dies aged 98 at Kingston Hospital after being admitted with a chest infection. She had requested that her ashes be scattered at Montlucon in central France. Her ashes were scattered near the village of Verneix, which is near Montlucon, on March 11, 2013. Her obituary was included in (and inspired the title for) The Socialite Who Killed A Nazi With Her Bare Hands: And 144 Other Fascinating People Who Died This Year, a collection of New York Times obituaries published in 2012. The official historian of the SOE, M.R.D. Foot, said that "her irrepressible, infectious, high spirits were a joy to everyone who worked with her." Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, AC, GM was born in Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand, the youngest of six children. She was Maori through her great-grandmother Pourewa, believed to be of the Ngati Mahanga Iwi, who was reportedly one of the first Maori women to marry a European. Wake was living in Marseille with her French industrialist husband, Henri Fiocca, when the war broke out. After the fall of France to Nazi Germany in 1940, Wake became a courier for the Pat O'Leary escape network led by Ian Garrow and, later, Albert Guerisse. As a member of the escape network, she helped Allied airmen evade capture by the Germans and escape to neutral Spain. In 1943, when the Germans became aware of her, she escaped to Spain and continued on to the United Kingdom. Her husband was captured and executed. After reaching Britain, Wake joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE) under the code name "Helene". On April 29-30, 1944 as a member of a three-person SOE team code-named "Freelance", Wake parachuted into the Allier department of occupied France to liaise between the SOE and several Maquis groups in the Auvergne region, which were loosely overseen by Emile Coulaudon (code name "Gaspard"). She participated in a battle between the Maquis and a large German force in June 1944. In the aftermath of the battle, she claimed to have bicycled 500 kilometers to send a situation report to SOE in London. Wake was a recipient of the George Medal from the United Kingdom, the Medal Of Freedom from the United States, the Legion of Honor from France, and medals from Australia and New Zealand. In 1985, she published her autobiography, The White Mouse, the title derived from what the Germans called her. https://store.earthstation1.com/france-conquest-to-liberation-occupied-and-vichy-wwii.html