Ides Plus One

[Musashi Miyamoto]

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                   Henry Ô¿Ô Musikar

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The Learning Kingdom's Today in History for March 16, 2001
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March 16th

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1190: Jews Massacred in York

Several small Jewish communities existed in England during the middle ages,
but their survival was often  threatened.  King Henry II protected England's
Jews, from whom he received financial credit as well as a great deal of
wealth through special taxation.  After Henry II died in July 1189, his
oldest son, Richard I ("The Lion-Hearted") was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
When a Jewish deputation appeared at Westminster with lavish gifts on behalf
of all of England's Jewish communities, they were refused admission.
Taking this as a sign that the Jews no longer enjoyed royal protection, mobs
began attacking Jewish communities throughout the realm.

This was the era of the Crusades, and an army of English Crusaders was
preparing to join King Richard I in an attack on Moslems in the `Holy Land'.
As in other parts of Europe, the religious leaders of the Crusades
encouraged mobs to attack local Jewish communities before the armies set out
to fight the Moslems.  The worst of these attacks occurred in March, 1190 in
the town of York, where local aristocrats who sought the death of their
financial creditors joined the Christian religious leaders in goading the
mob to attack.

Fleeing the mob, York's Jews closed themselves in the town's walled castle.
The armed crowd besieged the castle for six days demanding that they submit
to baptism or be killed.  On March 16, 1190, when no more food remained,
several of the besieged committed suicide.  The next day, when the remaining
500 Jews opened the castle gates in order to accept baptism, they were all
massacred by the mob.  Thus, York's entire Jewish community was annihilated
in what has become the most notorious example of anti-Semitism in medieval
England.

More about the York massacre:
http://www.igc.org/ddickerson/cliffords-tower.html


1926: Liquid-Fuel Rocket Successfully Launched

Robert H. Goddard successfully launched a liquid-fuel rocket, which flew to
a height of 41 feet (12 meters).  His prototype had the rocket engine
mounted above the fuel tank, which was protected from the flame by a metal
cone.

Goddard found his calling while climbing a cherry tree:
http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Sgoddard.htm


1827: Freedom's Journal Published First Edition

Freedom's Journal, the first African American newspaper in the US, published
its first edition.  The newspaper was started by a group of free black men
in New York City.
Edited by Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm, Freedom's Journal ceased to
exist in 1829.


1950:  First National Book Award Ceremony

In order to increase the popularity of reading and to make the public more
aware of the literature produced by fellow Americans, a group of American
book publishers sponsored the first National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner
on March 16, 1950.  The venue was the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in New York
City, and the winners were Nelson Algren's "The Man With the Golden Arm" for
fiction and William Carlos Williams' "Patterson" for poetry.  Since then,
the National Book Awards have become established as major literary prizes.
Winners are selected in four genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young
people's literature.  Selected by independent five-member panels for each
genre, the winners received $10,000 and a crystal sculpture from the
National Book Foundation.

About the National Book Awards:
http://www.bookweb.org/news/awards/1289.html

A list of National Book Awards winners, including some acceptance speeches:
http://www.bookweb.org/news/awards/1289.html


1957: Gumby Received Own Show

Art Clokey's loveable clay character, Gumby, got his own TV show on NBC.
The soft, green guy, who had been appearing on Howdy Doody since 1947,
continued his adventures in a surreal, dreamlike world where nothing is as
it seems.

Gumby still has legions of enthusiastic fans:
http://www.emsphone.com/gumby/


1966: Gemini 8 Executed Docking of Orbiting Spacecraft

The spacecraft Gemini 8 executed the first docking of orbiting spacecraft.
After docking, one of Gemini's thrusters started to malfunction.  To avoid
further problems, the mission was aborted and the crew members, Neil
Armstrong and David Scott, made an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean.

Photographs of Gemini 8 and its crew members:
http://www.friends-partners.org/~mwade/flights/gemini8.htm


1968: "My Lai Massacre" Occurred

A company of angry American soldiers entered the South Vietnamese village of
My Lai.  Commanded by Lt. William Calley, they came in shooting.  More than
300 unarmed villagers were killed in what came to be known as the "My Lai
Massacre."