On This Day ... in 1095 & Others
The Council of Clermont was called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land: The actual Council began on the 27th. The church had fallen on hard times following the lifelong clash between Pope Hildebrand and Emperor Henry IV but Urban II was a vigorous leader who sought peace in Western Europe. Five differing accounts of the Pope's speech survive
To whom therefore has the labor of avenging these wrongs and of recovering the territory fallen, if not upon you? You, upon whom above other nations God has conferred remarkable glory in arms, great courage, bodily activity, and strength to humble the hairy scalp of those who resist you ... advance boldly, as knights of Christ, and rush as quickly as you can to the defense of the Eastern Church. For she it is from whom the joys of your whole salvation have come forth, who poured into your mouths the milk of divine wisdom, who set before you the holy teachings of the gospel
At the Council, Pope Urban promoted the concept of a Truce of God which would restrain violence at home and move it to the Middle East where it resides to this day
1493: Christopher Columbus went ashore on an island he first saw the day before. He named it San Juan Bautista (later renamed Puerto Rico)
1578: Having received Letters Patent authorising the planting of an English colony in America, Sir Humphrey Gilbert assembled a large fleet which sailed from Dartmouth on September 26, however, storms forced the ships to seek refuge in Plymouth until November 19.
The only vessel to have penetrated the Atlantic to any great distance was the Falcon under Walter Raleigh's command
1794: The United States and Great Britain signed Jay's Treaty which attempted to clear up some of the lingering problems left over from the American War of Independence
1824: James Douglas arrived at Fort Langley, 25 miles up the Fraser River from the coast. He reads a proclamation creating the Crown Colony of British Columbia, and is sworn in by Judge Matthew Begbie as first Governor. Great Britain conferred colonial status on British Columbia to thwart the plans of American annexationists and to bring the law to the gold miners swarming into the territory
1863: During the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the military cemetery dedication ceremony at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
1915: During a raid on Ferrijik railway station in Bulgaria, a Royal Naval Air Service aircraft of 3 Squadron was shot down. Its pilot managed to make a safe landing, and set fire to his aircraft. Squadron Commander Bell-Davies saw that Bulgarian troops were closing in on the pilot, and brought his Nieuport aircraft in to land beside the wreck. The pilot scrambled aboard, and Bell-Davies just managed to take off as the troops opened fire. Bell-Davies was awarded the Victoria Cross.
In France, Corporal Meekosha (of Polish extraction) was serving with the West Yorkshire Regiment near the Yser. A heavy German bombardment killed or wounded most of his platoon, and largely buried the rest. Meekosha sent for help whilst almost single-handedly digging out the victims, despite the continuing ferocity of the barrage - shells falling within twenty yards of him - and being highly visible from the German positions. He saved at least four lives, and was awarded the Victoria Cross. An extremely modest man, he changed his surname when serving as a major during the Second World War, to avoid being identified as a hero
1941: HMAS Sydney was sunk with all hands when she investigated a suspicious vessel off West Australia - the ship proved to be the disguised German raider Kormoran.
Kormoran was also sunk in the fierce engagement, but over 300 of her crew survived. Speculation continues as to how Sydney, which had enjoyed a distinguished career in the Mediterranean against the Germans and Italians, was destroyed so effectively by the weaker vessel
1942: As the Battle of Stalingrad continued, Soviet forces under General Georgy Zhukov launched their counterattack, Operation Uranus
1950:US General Dwight D. Eisenhower became supreme commander of NATO
Comments
I saw a documentery on the Sydney, it looks like at least one survived for a while, a carley float was fount on a small isolated island, shot up but whole, there might have been an official cover up as it was ordered to be destroyed.
Posted by: Chris Edwards | November 19, 2006 9:08 PM
Not forgetting on this day in 1940. The BSA factory at Small Heath in Birmingham was hit.
Please take a look at www.madeinbirmingham.org/bsamem.htm.
Posted by: Nigel Johnson | November 21, 2007 6:44 PM