BATTLE OF PORT ARTHUR FOUGHT 110 YEARS AGO TODAY
Port Arthur, Manchuria (JFK+50) The Japanese navy attacked the Russian naval base at Port Arthur a century and ten years ago today, February 8, 1904.
The surprise attack ended the following day with no real advantage for either side. The Battle of Port Arthur has been rated as a "tactical" victory for the Russians and a "strategic" victory for the Japanese.
Despite the advantage of surprise, the Japanese managed only 3 torpedo hits out of 16 fired, but the 3 hits were to the Russian navy's best battleships. No ships on either side, however, were sunk.
On February 10, 1904, the Russo-Japanese War was officially declared.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt negotiated the end of the war and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
MACV IS SET UP IN SAIGON
Saigon, South Vietnam (JFK+50) The Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) was officially established 52 years ago today, February 8, 1962.
The MACV, headed by General Paul D. Harkins, replaced the United States Military Assistance and Advisory Group which had been created in 1955 to provide US military aid to South Vietnam.
The MACV both enlarged and reorganized the advisory capacity of the US military presence in Southeast Asia.
PRESIDENT HARDING GETS A RADIO
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President Warren G. Harding became the first President of the United States to have a radio receiver in the White House 92 years ago today, February 8, 1922.
In 1924, Calvin Coolidge would become the first President to make a radio broadcast. It came on Washington's birthday and was broadcast on 42 stations in the United States.
Mr. Coolidge was also the first president to have his inaugural oath of office broadcast on the radio.
BIRTH OF A NATION PREMIERED 99 YEARS AGO TODAY
Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) Birth of a Nation, the controversial film produced by D. W. Griffith, premiered 99 years ago today, February 8, 1915, here in Los Angeles.
The film, based on Thomas Dixon's novel, The Clansman, was the first feature-length motion picture.
The three hour movie's racial overtones made it both controversial as well as offensive.
The NAACP launched a campaign to have the film banned and was successful in doing so in many cases.
Despite the controversy, D.W. Griffith is widely regarded as the "father of cinema".
GROVER CLEVELAND SIGNS THE DAWES ACT
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The Dawes Severalty Act, sponsored by Senator Henry Laurens Dawes of Massachusetts, was signed into law 127 years ago today, February 8, 1887, by President Grover Cleveland.
The Dawes Act intended to assimilate Native Americans by ending tribal control of reservation lands and by dividing these lands into plots.
The act provided males with families 160 acres, single males with 80 acres and boys with 40 acres.
The Dawes Act opened up for sale the remaining Indian reservation lands to white settlement. 86 million acres of reservation lands would be purchased.
The act's provisions ended with the Wheeler-Howard Act of 1934 which allowed Native Americans to once again own land communally.
Port Arthur, Manchuria (JFK+50) The Japanese navy attacked the Russian naval base at Port Arthur a century and ten years ago today, February 8, 1904.
The surprise attack ended the following day with no real advantage for either side. The Battle of Port Arthur has been rated as a "tactical" victory for the Russians and a "strategic" victory for the Japanese.
Despite the advantage of surprise, the Japanese managed only 3 torpedo hits out of 16 fired, but the 3 hits were to the Russian navy's best battleships. No ships on either side, however, were sunk.
On February 10, 1904, the Russo-Japanese War was officially declared.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt negotiated the end of the war and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
Japanese Print of Battle of Port Arthur
by Torajiro Kasai
Library of Congress Image
MACV IS SET UP IN SAIGON
Saigon, South Vietnam (JFK+50) The Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) was officially established 52 years ago today, February 8, 1962.
The MACV, headed by General Paul D. Harkins, replaced the United States Military Assistance and Advisory Group which had been created in 1955 to provide US military aid to South Vietnam.
The MACV both enlarged and reorganized the advisory capacity of the US military presence in Southeast Asia.
PRESIDENT HARDING GETS A RADIO
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President Warren G. Harding became the first President of the United States to have a radio receiver in the White House 92 years ago today, February 8, 1922.
In 1924, Calvin Coolidge would become the first President to make a radio broadcast. It came on Washington's birthday and was broadcast on 42 stations in the United States.
Mr. Coolidge was also the first president to have his inaugural oath of office broadcast on the radio.
President Calvin Coolidge
BIRTH OF A NATION PREMIERED 99 YEARS AGO TODAY
Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) Birth of a Nation, the controversial film produced by D. W. Griffith, premiered 99 years ago today, February 8, 1915, here in Los Angeles.
The film, based on Thomas Dixon's novel, The Clansman, was the first feature-length motion picture.
The three hour movie's racial overtones made it both controversial as well as offensive.
The NAACP launched a campaign to have the film banned and was successful in doing so in many cases.
Despite the controversy, D.W. Griffith is widely regarded as the "father of cinema".
GROVER CLEVELAND SIGNS THE DAWES ACT
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The Dawes Severalty Act, sponsored by Senator Henry Laurens Dawes of Massachusetts, was signed into law 127 years ago today, February 8, 1887, by President Grover Cleveland.
The Dawes Act intended to assimilate Native Americans by ending tribal control of reservation lands and by dividing these lands into plots.
The act provided males with families 160 acres, single males with 80 acres and boys with 40 acres.
The Dawes Act opened up for sale the remaining Indian reservation lands to white settlement. 86 million acres of reservation lands would be purchased.
The act's provisions ended with the Wheeler-Howard Act of 1934 which allowed Native Americans to once again own land communally.
