NOVEMBER 10 — 1775 Sempre Fi!;1891Woods patents electric railway; 1973 Slaughterhouse 5 burned in N. Dakota; 1996 Dolphin Dan Marino throws for 50,000 yards
NOVEMBER 10
1775 – Sempre Fi! To quote Maj Samuel Nicholas, the first Marine commandant, On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress approved the resolution to establish two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore.
This date marks the official formation of the continental Marines. Oorah! That would be the same Maj. Nicolas who went beast mode in the New Province Island in the Bahamas and taking it away from the British in the American Revolution. He recruited his own troops at taverns in Philadelphia. One of his first stops was the Tun Tavern, owned by Cap. Robert Mullen. Yet another great example of how awesome America is…the Marine Corps practically started at a bar. After the war, the Marines disbanded, until July 11, 1798, when President John Adams signed a bill establishing the Marine Corps as a permanent military force under the Department of the navy.
These days, over 200,000 active-duty and reserve Marines are split into three divisions; Camp Lejeune, NC, Camp Pendleton, California, and Okinawa, Japan. Standing up against tyranny and injustice are Marines: elite warriors who courageously and honorably face down the threats of our time. The U.S. Marines have executed more than 300 landings on foreign shores. The US Marines, everybody like a boss!
1891 — Granville T. Woods patents the electric railway. Woods was an African American who had over 50 patents, including an automatic break, an egg incubator, and others. He was a very articulate man, sharply dressed, and made up the story that he was an emigrant from Australia, since in those days that sounded better than just being a Negro from the United States. He was called the black Edison. That’s kind of funny because Edison actually unsuccessfully challenged some of Wood’s patents. But as I said, Woods was very well spoken, and was able to prove that there was no other device upon which he could have relied to make his defense. Edison gave up, and actually offered Woods a job. Yeah, no thanks, Tom. I got this but thank you very little.
1973 – Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 is burned in North Dakota. If you’ve never read that, it’s kind of a science fiction story based on true events in WWII. A soldier who sees the bombing of Dresent begins living in an alternate reality on another planet. It’s been banned from school libraries ever since it was published.
If anything, the movie should have been banned because it was the acting and directing was so bad it was offensive. In 2011, Republic High school in Missouri banned the book, and to answer that, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library offered 150 free copies to the students.
1996 – Miami Dolphin Dan Marino becomes the 1st quarterback to throw for 50,000 yards. Although he never took the Dolphins to a super bowl victory (they lost 19 to the 49ers), he’s considered one of the NFL all-time great quarterbacks. He led the Dolphins to the playoffs 10 times in the 17 seasons he played. In other football news: 1957 a record 102,000 fans see the 49ers play the Ramsin L.A.