The battle of Germantown occurred on this day in 1777. The battle was an attempt to expel the British from Philadelphia and was fought in the present day Philadelphia neighborhood of Germantown.

Washington and the Continental Army were however soundly defeated by the British.

#thisdayinhistory

During #WorldWarII, refinery workers agreed to longer hours. Once the war ended, #FossilFuel companies demanded more hours and threatened pay cuts, leading to a #strike. Pres. #HarryTruman on #ThisDayInHistory in 1945 broke the strike by ordering the Navy to seize the refineries.

The #FreeSoftwareFoundation was created on #ThisDayInHistory in 1985 by #RichardMStallman of the #GNUProject. Its purpose is to oversee that project and to advance ideals of #FreeSoftware (as in freedom; a cousin to #OpenSource) through the #GPL license and the #copyleft concept.

#GrahamChapman, a founding member of British comedy troupe #MontyPython, died of cancer on #ThisDayInHistory in 1989. Best known for the lead rôles in #HolyGrail and #LifeOfBrian, he was a great comedy writer and deeply missed. He was survived by long-time partner David Sherlock.

On #ThisDayInHistory in 1759, during the #SevenYearsWar, British troops in #Québec attacked a sleeping village of #Abenaki #NativeAmericans. They were shot in their homes and in the back as they fled. Their church was then looted and their homes burnt down with many still inside.

📜 The Leap-Year Fix: Pope Gregory XIII cut 10 dates and updated leap-year math (divisible by 400 = leap year).

👇 Read the full story on The Bard's Desk:

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#ScienceHistory #ThisDayInHistory #GregorianCalendar #History #TheOffKeyBard #BardsDesk

#EmmaGoldman went on trial for #incitement on #ThisDayInHistory in 1893. Her crime was stating in a speech that people should demand work from the rich, or bread if not given work, and should take bread if refused. Because the laws serve oligarchy, she was convicted & imprisoned.

Americans are taught to revere the #FoundingFathers, but all the moves toward independence were instigated from below. The first #DeclarationOfIndependence was on #ThisDayInHistory in 1774, when a town meeting in #Worcester, MA, demanded a new government divorced from the crown.

In the #BattleOfCableStreet, on #ThisDayInHistory in 1936, about 200,000 #antifascists, #anarchists, #socialists, and #Jewish & #Irish workers in London's #EastEnd faced off against #OswaldMosley's #BritishUnionOfFascists and the #police, routing both & chasing off the #fascists.

The #CoverdaleBible was first printed in 1535 on #ThisDayInHistory. The first new translation into English from Hebrew & Greek (the #WycliffeBible was done from the Latin Vulgate), #MylesCoverdale used #WilliamTyndale for parts, but still relied heavily on Luther and the Vulgate.

Chief #Kintpuash (aka #CaptainJack) and three #Modoc warriors were hanged on #ThisDayInHistory in 1873 for their part in the well-fought #ModocWar – a response to the #CaliforniaGenocide. The remaining 153 members of his band were held as prisoners of war in Oklahoma until 1909.

On #ThisDayInHistory in 1992, #SinéadOConnor hurt her career by tearing up a picture of #PopeJohnPaulII on #SNL. She was made a pariah, driven to break-downs and obscurity, but she was right to call out the #ClericalSexualAbuse that the #Vatican has long covered up and excused.

The #UnitedNations #HumanRightsCouncil voted, on #ThisDayInHistory in 2017, to condemn application of the #DeathPenalty for #apostasy, #blasphemy, #adultery, and #homosexuality. The United States and twelve other countries, like #SaudiArabia & #Iraq, voted against the resolution.

🗺️ The Map Catches Up: At midnight on Oct. 3, East Germany dissolved and acceded to the Federal Republic.

👇 Read the full story on The Bard's Desk:

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#ColdWarHistory #ThisDayInHistory #GermanReunification #EuropeanHistory #TheOffKeyBard #BardsDesk

#DafyddApGruffudd, the last native #PrinceOfWales, was hanged, drawn, & quartered on #ThisDayInHistory in 1283, on order of #KingEdwardI of England, who finished the conquest of #Wales that year. Dafydd ap Gruffudd had led an uprising against occupation but was captured in June.

#Vercingetorix, a leader of the #Celtic #Gauls, surrendered to the #Roman forces of #JuliusCaesar on #ThisDayInHistory in 52 BCE, ending the siege & #BattleOfAlesia. #Caesar's #genocidal conquest of what eventually became France was lionized in his propaganda work #TheGallicWar.

The #IDF struck #Dahiya (#Dahieh), #Lebanon, again on #ThisDayInHistory in 2024. Such attacks on civilian areas are discussed in the #DahiyaDoctrine (named for the #Beirut suburb), which advocates large-scale destruction of #infrastructure & residential areas to pressure leaders.

#Mussolini's Italy invaded #Ethiopia on #ThisDayInHistory in 1935, launching the #SecondItaloAbyssinianWar. The #Fascist forces used tanks, #ChemicalWeapons, and #ConcentrationCamps to subjugate the only African country not to have been colonized. The world stood by and watched.

A US AC-130 gunship attacked a hospital in #Kunduz, #Afghanistan, run by #MédecinsSansFrontières (#DoctorsWithoutBorders) on #ThisDayInHistory in 2015. At least 42 were killed and 30+ wounded. #USAF changed its story twice, and the gunship crew questioned the strike's legality.

#Mormon settlers in #Utah, on #ThisDayInHistory in 1853, committed the #NephiMassacre. Seven men, one woman, and two children from the peace-seeking #Goshute Indigenous nation were invited into the #LDS fort. The men were beaten & shot dead; the woman and children were enslaved.