Timelines of History
Newsletter #18
Jan 1, 2002

Happy New Year to all,

Every year about this time I have to make a major decision on whether or not to continue collecting and posting the significant daily events for the upcoming year. This is not an easy task and involves the daily reading of at least 2 newspapers, highlighting significant events and then transferring the data to word files, which are then updated weekly to the Timelines web site. I have been debating for some time the purchase of a new electronic highlighter by Wizcom and finally decided to try it out. The device works, but does not really make my work any easier. It has to be used on a very flat surface and though it scans fairly accurately, everything needs to be edited to conform to format and brevity restrictions on my pages. Oh well. I will continue with my colored markers and the posting of daily events for at least the next year.

On Dec 30 I went out to listen to some jazz at Dylan’s in SF. The music was excellent but when I returned to my car I found the passenger window of my company van smashed in and the front section ransacked. I had left my cell phone, pager, electronic digital address book, checkbook, credit cards, driver’s license all in a single fanny pack covered with a an old sweater. It was gone. The SF police would not come on site and I went to a station at 1AM to file a report. When I got home I taped some cardboard over the window to keep out the rain and then began the process of blocking all my credit cards.
One credit card already showed 4 gas hits and had stopped payment automatically. At 2 AM I was about to try a stop on my cell phone, but instead called my cell phone number and a voice answered with a thick Spanish accent. I told the man I was desperate to get my stuff back. He said he only had the cell phone and pager, and had just paid $80 for them. I explained how important my stuff was, how it contained addresses and phone numbers for hospitals across the NW US and he seemed almost sympathetic. I made an appt. for the next day to meet at Dylan’s at 11 AM with money to buy my stuff back.
At 7 AM I finished blocking my bank checks and proceeded to clean up my car. The tempered glass fragments were everywhere. I made arrangements with a neighbor to watch the house, as my wife and daughter had just departed for London the previous day. At 11 AM I attempted to meet the carrier of my cell phone. Police had warned me the night before not to do anything without contacting police for help. The 11 AM appt was a dud and I again called “the man." He said he was working and would meet me at 12 noon at another location 17th and Potrero, a very seedy area.
My friend at Dylan’s, owner Titch Jones, had come down to act as a safety valve, but could not accompany me for the 12 noon appt due to another commitment. I also did not want to bring a 2nd person for fear that “the man" would not trust me if another was present. I also feared that maybe this was a setup and that my home was in danger of robbery. I had my daughter’s cell phone, but did not have my neighbor’s number, so I drove home to check the scene there, a round trip of some 15 miles. Every thing was fine at home and I got my neighbor’s phone number. I then called SFPD for their advice and was told that they could not set up a meeting at the new site and that I would have to call them while making the transaction. Sure, good idea, I said and hung up in frustration.
I returned to the new meeting place and called again. The area was a haven for the homeless and the park nearby was a major drug users’ hangout. I knew my cell phone had been fairly charged up, but was not sure how long it would last. The man answered and said he would be there in 5 minutes. Ten minutes later I called again. A few minutes later 2 men, one older one younger, came up to the car. They carried my cell phone, pager and digital organizer and asked for $100. They looked like Mexican migrant day workers, fairly clean and not drug-dazed. I only had $57 in cash and no access to any of my banking accounts or ATM machines. They denied breaking into my car and demanded $100 to “cover their costs." We made a deal of $50 for the organizer and pager and I said I would borrow another 50 and be back in an hour.
I then went back to Dylan’s, but Titch was gone, and I knew he was busily involved in some moving work. I called my neighbor and he said he had 50 that he could lend me, so I headed home for a 2nd time that morning.
With another $50 in hand I headed back to the meeting place. I had to park closer to the park and when I called “the man" was upset that I was not in the same parking place. I assured him I was nearby. He said to come up into the park. I said that I could not leave my van with the broken window. He said wait another 5 minutes. Behind me a man was crawling into the broken window of a parked park and rifling through some clothes. Outside, through my broken window I could hear heavy, sickly coughing in the bushes. Shifty characters zipped around some parked cars and an elderly homeless man with a heavily packed shopping cart paused to showed off a new portable TV to another character. I called again and was told to wait a few more minutes. Moments later a very strange person, ill-dressed and weird-looking appeared with my cell phone in hand. I gave him the 50 and he said gracias amigo.
I spent New year’s Eve at home that evening updating history files and wondering how the folks down at 17th and Potrero were doing.

The files for the years 1934-35, 1944 and 1945 have been updated. User feedback pointed out conflicting entries for Hank Aaron’s b-day (Feb 5, 1934).

Should anybody like to donate to the Timelines Project, my address is provided below.

Algis Ratnikas
117 Alta Vista
Daly City, Ca. 94014
 

Timelines of History
Newsletter #19
Jan 15, 2002

I compared my 2001 timeline info with the annual WSJ summary published on Jan 2. Many dates do not agree because the WSJ posted most of their events according to the event’s appearance in the Journal, whereas I post events to the day the event actually occurred. My reference sources indicate when the info appeared in print.

I was very dismayed recently when a 4th grade teacher sent me an e-mail saying that a sex ad had popped up on the timelines site while she was doing some work with her students. I immediately removed some flash ads at the bottom of the front page that were supposed to provide web tools and info for increasing web page hits. I also made a query with the Topica people, who provide my newsletter service.

Topica responded as follows:

Topica.com does not employ any pornographic, pornography-based or sex-based advertising of any sort.  It is impossible that the adult pop-up adverts viewed in your clients classroom originated from the Topica.com website.

I hope that this issue is done. Please let me know if you run across such unusual events while visiting the timelines.

Paul Stinson here, from Saskatchewan, Canada:

I am a Grade 7 teacher. I am very impressed by your site - it is this type of site that makes the internet  a useful resource. I have been looking forward to seeing December, 2001 being added to your timeline.
Sincerely,

December was added Jan 5.

Submitter by author Manu Herbstein for entry into the Ghana section:
“Ama: A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade" by Manu Herbstein paperback - 450 pages; published by [e-reads]; ISBN: 1585869325  companion web-site:
 www.ama.africatoday.com

Added to Ghana section, Black History, Books in 2001 (2001 Dec).

From Esther in Cleveland:

This is a FABULOUS site; I am finding it very, very valuable as a teacher. My only recommendation would be to shift all dates to BCE and CE rather than BC and AD, as this is rapidly becoming accepted academic use. Excellent site; thank you for all your work in putting it together!  Esther Schrager Cleveland OH.

Good suggestion. I plan to begin implementing it.

Post Script and Follow-up to NL # 18

I was so intent on getting things organized on Jan 2 (following a Dec 30 break-in to my vehicle) that I woke up at 4:30 AM to begin. At 5:30 I went to get the morning paper and feed the cats. While down in the garage I began to fiddle around looking for a garage door key, which I didn't have handy, so I could lock the garage door for safety's sake. Fiddle here and fiddle there, check keys here and there, upstairs, downstairs and before you know it I locked myself out of the upstairs door. I ran downstairs to access the hidden key in the garage and found the garage door locked.
It was raining, dark and I was in my slippers. No open windows that I could see. I had but one old key in my hand and it fit nothing. I circled the house 2 times and checked to see where the easiest place might be to break in with the least damage. The window next to the main door was open but it is blocked by an iron grate.
My wife (visiting London) has always left the upstairs bathroom window open. I had closed it this morning, but did not remember whether the lock clicked. I had 2 ladders in back, one 12 feet and the other an extension to about 24 feet. My neighbors were visiting their parents in Germany and on their side I could place a ladder on their porch roof and extend it up to the 2nd floor bathroom window. I used the small ladder to get up to their porch roof. It was slippery and angled about 45 degrees. I had to crab walk up the incline to keep my slippers on and reach the roof where a good size puddle awaited me. I had set up the 2nd ladder down from my rear deck and proceeded to climb to my 2nd story bathroom window. It was covered by a screen.
 It was raining. It was dark. The ladder was shaking and so was I. I could barely reach the window and could not really easily free the screen to test the window. I looked down and saw the lower bathroom window. I decided to try it.
I repositioned the small ladder below the lower bath window from the rear edge of the house under the deck. It was set at about 80 degrees due to a tree and vegetation and ground slope. I swung to the ladder top from the back of the house and punched my finger thru the screen and found the window unlocked (Thankyou O supreme merciful).
My wife had a big, new stained glass piece on the other side of the window. I would be  dead by her hand if it was damaged. I ripped out the screen, slowly opened the window and latched on to the stained glass piece so it would not crash down. I pulled it out and set it down in back and approached the window again. This is a narrow window 10-12 inches wide and 2-3 feet high. I got in.
It was 7:30 AM and I was soaked. By 9:00 AM I had my car window fixed, the morning paper read and was off to the DMV for a duplicate license. After an hour wait I was asked for $12 for the duplicate. I only had 8 on me.

A week later my original driver’s license and a single business card came to me in the mail in an unmarked white envelope.

Timelines of History
Newsletter #20
Feb 1, 2002

My current plan is to make some CDs available of all the timelines as they sit in my files. These will include a number of subjects in process and not yet uploaded. For heavy users I believe it would be very beneficial to have a local, up-to-date copy and I might even generate some income. In the next newsletter I will announce an auction for the 1st 5-10 copies. They will be made in batches over the upcoming months and naturally each batch will be a little more encompassing than the previous.

A user asked if it would be easy to change the light blue background of the timelines files to white. The simple answer is no. Each file is individually formatted from a template that I set to light blue some time ago. I have now changed the template to a lighter, very light blue to help improve contrast for some users systems. This process will take a long time to cover all the files.

I have added a front page link to NARA, the US National Archives and Records Administration. On April 1 they will release data from the 1930 census. Data from the 1940 census will only become available in 2012. By law they have to restrict access to census files for 72 years.

How would you respond to Mr. Charles Eliot?

1884  Charles Eliot, president of Harvard, captured the prevailing impatience with the old-fashioned curriculum: Are our men being educated for the work of the twentieth century of the seventeenth."
 (WSJ, 1/28/02, p.A13)

The list below is my current accumulation of new books reviewed in the WSJ during January 2002. In an ideal world I would read them all. Perhaps some of you can get to them and provide feedback:

2002  Peter Kivy authored “The Possessor and the Possessed," in which he explores the philosophical ideas about creativity.
 (WSJ, 1/17/02, p.A12)

2002  James Howard Kunstler authored “The City in Mind," a comparison of Europe’s urban centers with those in the US.
 (WSJ, 1/7/02, p.A1)

2002  Mark Kurlansky authored “Salt: A World History."
 (SSFC, 1/27/02, p.M6)

2002  Ellen Joan Pollock authored “The Pretender: How Martin Frankel Fooled the Financial World…"
 (WSJ, 1/7/02, p.C1)

2002  Richard A. Possner, federal judge, authored “Public Intellectuals," a critical look at current intellectuals.
 (WSJ, 1/15/02, p.A14)

2002  Edward O. Wilson authored “The Future of Life," a discussion of the biodiversity crises.
 (SSFC, 1/20/02, p.M2)

2002  Caroline Winterer authored “The Culture of Classicism," a history of the study of classicism in America during the 18th and 19th centuries.
 (WSJ, 1/28/02, p.A13)

Recent file entries on current news allowed me to turn up the following interesting set:

2001  Aug 9, It was reported that the US had decided to pay China $34,567 to cover the costs of the spy plane that was detained on Hainan island. China had asked for $1 million and rejected the offer.
 (SFC, 8/10/01, p.A12)(SFC, 8/13/01, p.A12)
2001  Aug 10, China received its new $120 mil Boeing 767-300ER aircraft following retrofit in San Antonio, Tx. In Oct Chinese experts discovered high-tech listening devices hidden in the plane. Purchase of the plane was 1st announced in Aug 2000.
 (SFC, 1/19/02, p.A4)

As always your feedback and opinions are much appreciated.
[email protected]
 

Timelines of History
Newsletter #21
Feb 15, 2002

The following 2 entries represent a before and after scenario following feedback from a timelines user with personal experience in the case. It helps stress the value of your feedback:

1986    Mar 27, Rose Ann Parker shot and killed her boyfriend, Arthur Boga (54). Boga had threatened to shoot her, her former boyfriend and her son after he learned that she was pregnant by a former boyfriend. Parker was convicted of 2nd degree murder in 1987. In 2000 Gov. Davis granted parole to Parker.
  (SFC, 9/25/00, p.A1)
1986    Mar 27, In California Rose Ann Parker shot and killed, Arthur Boga (54). Boga had threatened to shoot her, her former boyfriend and her son after he learned that she was pregnant. Boga was also a drug dealer, and a violent abusive man who beat her regularly and got her pregnant. Parker was convicted of 2nd degree murder in 1987. In 2000 Gov. Davis granted parole to Parker. The battered women's syndrome was not a legal defense in California in 1986 and wasn’t accepted until 1992. Parker wouldn't have been convicted of murder if it had been.
 (SFC, 9/25/00, p.A1)(P-E, 10/6/00, p.B8)

Some time ago a user adapted a number of the Timeline of History files for the Palm Pilot and posted them on the net. The query below is likely a reference to those files:

I have a set of your excellent 'timelines' on my Psion5 PDA.  I am now a mature student (age 56) in War Studies at Birmingham University (UK) and would appreciate more of your reference material on my PDA.  I have looked at http://timelines.ws/ but can not find anymore Psion material.  Are you no longer supporting Psion?  Or are the files somewhere else.

I have not developed files for any PDA. If there is wider need for such files the following item may help to develop them.

Drum Roll: boom boom boom boom boom:

Timelines of History CD

The Timelines of History is now available on CD-ROM. These CDs will be produced on demand and will incorporate all of my updated files many of which do not get updated regularly on the Web Site. The total number of files is currently ~ 887 and occupies 111 Meg of digital space. The CD will include numerous subject timelines not yet posted. These include:

Art-1930s, Air Crashes, Areas, Atrocities, Black History, Catastrophes, Computer, Distance, Dow Jones, Environment, Extinctions, Films, Finance, Food, Internet, Jazz, Labor, Mafia, Masons, Medical, Microbiology, Nobel Prizes, Olympics, Periods, Sex Stuff, Speed, Sufism, Suicide, Taxes, Technology, Television, Tragedies, US Presidents, Volcanoes and Women.

Some of these are relatively small, while others are very extensive. They are all extracted from the Timelines and this process is ongoing. With the CD in hand you would be able to do more complete extractions on these and any other subject under the sun.

The CD also includes a local search engine, the shareware program “T-Find" from A-1 Software, which I have been using for years and find invaluable. It can be set to search any directory including the whole CD.

Initial copies of these CDs will cost $50. This includes $15 for the shareware search engine. E-mail me at [email protected] if you are interested. I will need a check in advance.

Yesterday’s Valentine’s day suddenly struck me that this is a time when many of our species would likely engage in reproductive activities and that it might be interesting to examine some of the progeny born around Nov 12-16. It took about 15 minutes to gather the following data using the search engine and the today in history files.

Love Babies:

42BC  Nov 16, Tiberius Claudius Nero (d.37AD, Roman Emperor, was born. Tiberius was chosen by Augustus in 4AD as emperor of Rome.
(V.D.-H.K.p.77)(HN, 11/16/98)

354AD  Augustine (Aurelius Augustinus, d.430) was born in Tagaste, North Africa (modern Souk Ahras, Algeria). Augustine of Hippo, Church Father and philosopher, held that as long as the fetus was “shapeless" homicide laws did not apply because it had no senses and no soul.  "Total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation." He fused the New Testament with Greek philosophy.
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/augustine.html
(V.D.-H.K.92)(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.13)(HN, 11/13/98)

1312  Nov 13, Edward III, King of England (1327-77), was born. He later raped  the countess of Salisbury.
(WUD, 1994 p.454)(HN, 11/13/98)(MC, 11/13/01)

1650  Nov 14, William III, King of England (1689-1702), was born. [see Nov 4]
(HN, 11/14/98)

1708  Nov 15, William Pitt the Elder, Secretary of State of England who strategies helped win the Seven Years War, was born. He served as Whig PM from 1756-61 and 66-68.
(HN, 11/15/98)(MC, 11/15/01)

1719  Nov 14, Johann Georg Leopold Mozart, composer, was born.
(MC, 11/14/01)

1738  Nov 15, Sir William Hershel, British astronomer who discovered Uranus, was born.
(HN, 11/15/98)

1755  Nov 12, Gerhard JD von Scharnhorst, Prussian military minister of War (1807-10), was born.
(MC, 11/12/01)

1765  Nov 14, Robert Fulton, inventor of the first steamboat, was born.
(HN, 11/14/98)

1811  Nov 16, John Bright, British Victorian radical, was born. He founded the Anti-Corn Law League.
(HN, 11/16/99)

1815   Nov 12, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a social reformer and militant feminist, was born in Johnstown, New York, and graduated from the Troy Female Seminary in
1832. She worked closely with Susan B. Anthony and served as president of the National Woman Suffrage Association. She died on October 26, 1902. She said, “The male element is a destructive force" in an address to the Women’s Suffrage Convention in Washington, D.C. in 1868.
(AP, 11/12/97)(HNQ, 5/17/98)

1817  Nov 12, Mirza Hoseyn 'Ali Nuri (Baha' Ullah), founder of the Baha'i faith, was born.
(HN, 11/12/00)

1829  Nov 16, Anton G. Rubinstein, Russian pianist, conductor and composer, was born.
(MC, 11/16/01)

1833  Nov 12, Aleksandr Porfirievich Borodin (d.1887), physician, chemist, composer (Prince Igor), was born in Russia.  His work included the "Sunless" and the opera “Prince Igor,’ which was left incomplete.
(SFEC, 6/27/99, p.T11)(WSJ, 2/6/00, p.A16)(MC, 11/12/01)(LGC, 1970, p.338)

1838  Nov 13, Joseph F. Smith, 6th president of Mormon church, was born.
(MC, 11/13/01)

1840  Nov 12, Auguste Rodin, French sculptor who created “The Kiss," was born.
(HN, 11/12/98)
1840  Nov 14, Claude Monet (d.1926), French Impressionist painter, was born. He is best known for his late work done at Giverney, northwest of Paris after 1890. He came up with the idea of series pictures, which feature a single subject shown again and again under varying conditions of light and weather. He studied in Paris with Charles Gleyre, a Swiss academic painter, and there met Frederic Bazille, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley. Together they developed open-air painting which came to be known as Impressionism.
(WSJ, 7/25/95, p.A-10)(HN, 11/14/98)

1850  Nov 13, Robert Lewis Stevenson (d.1894), novelist, was born in Scotland. He wrote, among other books, “Treasure Island" and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Robert Louis Stevenson: Interviews and Recollections" was ed. by R.C. Terry and published in 1996.
(Smith., 8/95, p.54)(SFC, 9/1/96, Par. p.12)(HN, 11/13/98)(MC, 11/13/01)

1856  Nov 13, Louis Brandeis, was born. He became the first Jew to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.
(HN, 11/13/00)

1866  Nov 12, Sun Yat-Sen (d.1925), Chinese statesman and revolutionary leader, was born (trad) to a Christian peasant near Macao. He attended an Anglican grammar school in Hawaii, and went on to graduate from Hong Kong School of Medicine in 1892. While there he became involved in revolutionary activities and was forced to leave China in 1895. He organized a revolutionary secret society in 1905. In 1911 he returned to China after a successful revolution in the south and became provisional president of a republican government there before stepping aside for Yuan Shih-k'ai. Sun formed the nationalist Kuomintang party in 1912.: "To understand is hard. Once one understands, action is easy."
(HFA, '96, p.18)(AP,  6/22/97)(HNQ, 6/3/98)

1873  Nov 16, William Christopher Handy, W.C. Handy, father of the blues famous for “St. Louis Blues," was born in Alabama.
(HN, 11/16/98)(MC, 11/16/01)

1882  Nov 15, Felix Frankfurter, U.S. 80th Supreme Court Justice (1939-62), was born in Vienna, Austria. He came to the U.S. in 1894 and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1906. A close adviser to President Franklin Roosevelt, Frankfurter helped recruit personnel for the New Deal. He was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1939 and served until 1962. Frankfurter died on February 22, 1965. “There is no inevitability in history except as men make it."
(AP, 2/27/98)(HNQ, 3/16/99)(MC, 11/15/01)

1887  Nov 15, Marianne Moore, poet (Pulitzer 1951, Collected Poems), was born in St. Louis.
(MC, 11/15/01)
1887  Nov 15, Georgia O’Keeffe (d.1986), American painter,  was born in Wisconsin. An introduction to her work was published in 1997 ed. by Peter H. Hassrick: “The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum."
(WUD, 1994, p.1002)(HFA, ‘96, p.42)(SFC, 7/16/97, p.E3)(SFEC, 9/7/97, BR p.9)

1889  Nov 12, DeWitt Wallace, founder of Reader’s Digest (1921), was born in St Paul, Minn.
(HN, 11/12/00)(MC, 11/12/01)

1889  Nov 14, Jawaharlal Nehru (d.1964), Indian nationalist leader (1947-1964), was born. "A man who is afraid will do anything."
(AP, 9/27/97)(HN, 11/14/00)(MC, 11/14/01)
1889  Nov 16, George S. Kaufman, American playwright and screenwriter, was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. His plays included "Dinner at Eight," "You Can't Take it With You" and "The Man Who Came to Dinner."
(HN, 11/16/99)(MC, 11/16/01)

1891  Nov 15, W. Averell Harriman, (Gov-D-NY) and US ambassador to USSR (1943-46), was born.
(MC, 11/15/01)
1891  Nov 15, Erwin Rommel, field marshal in World War II, was born. He commanded the Afrika Korps in North Africa and defended the Normandy coast on D-Day.
(HN, 11/15/99)

1895  Nov 16, Paul Hindemith (d.1963), composer and violinist, was born in Hanau, Germany. His work included “Cardillac."
(WUD, 1994, p.672)(WSJ, 8/20/96, p.A8)(MC, 11/16/01)

1896  Nov 14, Mamie G. Doud Eisenhower, 1st lady (1953-61), was born.
(MC, 11/14/01)

1900  Nov 14, Aaron Copeland (d.1990), American composer, was born in New York City. His  works include "Billy the Kidd," "Appalachian Spring" and "Fanfare for the Common Man."
(DrEE, 9/28/96, p.1)(HN, 11/14/99)

1906  Nov 14, Louise Brooks, silent film star, was born. She became a symbol of the 1920s flapper.
(HN, 11/14/00)
1906  Nov 15, Curtis E. Le May, air force general and VP candidate, was born.
(MC, 11/15/01)

1907  Nov 15, Count Claus Schenck von Stauffenberg, German anti fascist colonel, was born.
(MC, 11/15/01)
1907  Nov 14, Astrid Lindgren (d.2002), Swedish children's writer, was born. Her books included “Pippi Longstocking."
(HN, 11/14/00)(SFC, 1/29/02, p.A17)
1907  Nov 16, Burgess Meredith, actor, was born in Cleveland. He died Sep 10, 1997 at 89. He played the Penguin on TV’s Batman and numerous films in a 60 year film career.
(HIR, 9/11/97, p.5B)(SFC, 9/11/97, p.A18)

1908  Nov 14, Joseph McCarthy was born. He became an anti-Communist Senator from Wisconsin who gave the name “McCarthyism" to his communist witch-hunts. In 1999 William F. Buckley Jr. published "The Redhunter," a historical novel about Joe McCarthy.
(HN, 11/14/98)(WSJ, 7/22/99, p.A24)

1909  Nov 13, Eugene Ionesco, Romanian-born dramatist, was born. His work included “The Bald Soprano" and “Rhinoceros."
(HN, 11/13/00)

1917  Nov 12, Joseph Coors, CEO of Adolph Coors Co Brewery, was born.
(MC, 11/12/01)

1929  Nov 12, Grace Kelly, American actress and Princess of Monaco, was born.
(HFA, ‘96, p. 42)(HN, 11/12/98)
1929  Nov 15, Edward Asner, actor (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant), was born in KC, Kansas.
(MC, 11/15/01)

1930  Nov 14, Edward H White II, San Antonio Texas, Lt Col USAF, astronaut (Gemini 4), was born.
(MC, 11/14/01)

1934  Nov 12, Charles Manson, [No Name Maddox], mass murderer, was born in Cincinnati, Oh.
(MC, 11/12/01)

1935  Nov 14, King Hussein ibn Talal I of Jordan was born in Amman to Prince Talal bin Abdullah and princess Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamil of the Hashemite dynasty. [see 1936]
(HN, 11/14/98)(SFEC, 11/15/98, p.A19)(SFEC, 2/7/99, p.A22)(MC, 11/14/01)

1942  Nov 15, Daniel Barenboim, Israeli pianist and conductor, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
(HN, 11/15/00)(MC, 11/15/01)

1945  Nov 12, Neil Young, singer and songwriter (Cosby, Sills & Young), was born in Toronto.
(MC, 11/12/01)
1945  Nov 12, Cordell Hull (d.1955) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in founding the United Nations. Hull served as secretary of state in the Franklin Roosevelt Administration (1933-1944) longer than any other individual. Hull, born in Tennessee in 1871, had been a U.S. senator prior to his appointment by Roosevelt.
(HNQ, 7/6/98)(MC, 11/12/01)

1949  Nov 13, Whoopi Goldberg, [Caryn Johnson], actress (Color Purple, Burglar, Ghost), was born in NYC.
(MC, 11/13/01)

1968  Nov 12, Sammy Sosa, baseball outfielder (Chicago Cubs), was born in the Dominican Republic.
(MC, 11/12/01)

As always your feedback and opinions are much appreciated.
[email protected]

Timelines of History
Newsletter #22
Mar 1, 2002

The following is my 1st recorded Timelines entry taken from the WSJ:
1995 Sep 5, France under Pres. Chirac resumed nuclear testing, after a three-year moratorium, in the French South Pacific atoll of Mururoa. World-wide protests failed to stop testing.
(WSJ, 9/8/95, p.A-8)(AP, 9/5/00)
A number of earthquakes had already occurred in 1995, including the one in Kobe, Japan, and I wondered if such testing would not act as a trigger for more. I had also just finished reading the Charles Van Doren "History of Knowledge" with its abundance of dates and the 2 factors got me back rolling on an old project that I had begun and abandoned years earlier on paper.
As France continued nuclear testing a number of earthquakes did occur and I did not see any news reports linking the two together. By this time I began to see how valuable the timelines could be and I undertook the project in earnest. About a year later I began posting it as a web site.

1995 Oct 1, France detonated another nuclear device, 5 times more powerful than the last one, on Fangatouga Atoll in the South Pacific.
(WSJ, 10/2/95, P.A-1)
1995 Oct 1, An earthquake in southwestern Turkey killed about 90 people.
(AP, 10/1/00)
1995 Oct 7, A 7.0 earthquake killed 80-100 people on Indonesia's island of Sumatra.
(WSJ, 10/9/95, p.A1)(AP, 10/7/00)
1995 Oct 9, An earthquake of 7.8 magnitude shakes Mexico's Pacific coast killing at least 90 in southern Jalisco state. An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 shook the west coast of Mexico, killing 51 people.
(WSJ, 10/10/95, p.A1)(AP, 10/9/00)
1995 Oct 20, France, the United States and Britain announced a treaty banning atomic blasts in the South Pacific, but only after France finished testing there the following year.
(AP, 10/20/00)
1995 Nov 20, France conducted its 4th nuclear test at the Mururoa atoll in French Polynesia. [other news sources indicated a severe earthquake with the epicenter in the Red Sea]
(WSJ, 11/22/95, p.A1)

Sales of my CD have been very slow (none). I attribute this to the relatively high cost along the fact that much of the info is free on my web site and other places. My "R&D people" have advised me to reduce the price and to emphasize the fact that the CD contains a lot more data than does the web site. And… that it can be transferred to your own computer along with a very good search engine. I am spinning the CD operations off to an offshore partnership, under my control, and recording the transfer as a sale valued at 1 million dollars in company stock. My "legal and accounting department" have recommended this common practice to help offset my future profits. The CD is now available for $20 plus $5 for shipping and handling.

The following is a summary of user feedback from the last 2 weeks.

David Howard queried me with the following:
I visited your website to do a little research on November 11, 1111 A.D. and got your email address from the site. Do you know of anything that specifically happened on that day?  Possibly even at 11:11 am?
If anybody knows what happened on Nov 11, 1111 AD at 11:11 am, please let me know, so I can post David the answer.

Hello Algis,
First I want to thank you for this flawless job on timelines.ws
Algis can you help me here? in the example below what are those (NH, 4/97, p.62) reference to? Do you have more information on page 62 of some database? nh, am, ap. What are those references for?
1191  Richard the Lionheart married Bernegaria of Navarre in Limassol,  Cyprus.
(NH,  4/97, p.62)
I had recently finished "Eleanor of Aquitaine" by Desmond Stewart (1978, Dorset Press) and was able to enhance the initial entry. Again all references are listed in the Ref file at the front page top of the web site.
1191 May 12, Richard the Lionheart married (Bernegaria) Berengaria of Navarre in Limassol, Cyprus.
(NH, 4/97, p.62)(EofA, p.161)
Thank you Algis for all your help and please keep on doing what you are doing it is a great service and it just reflects a vast pool of knowledge from your part.
I am dying to have full details on the 1871 sinking of an Austrian vessel that was transporting part of General Di Cesnola treasure of over 5,000 antiquity archeological pieces on its way from Cypress to New York (sinking between Cypress and Lebanon). I saw some bits and pieces of details on your web and a reference (AM, 7/00, p.63) but in another google.com results I found that there was another brief mentioning about the disappearance of that vessel on its way from Egypt to New work (still very vague!). Is there any reliable sources that mentions where did this vessel sink? Not even the name of the vessel is mentioned on the net! If such a treasure sank in 1871 how come there weren't any salvage attempts. Is it a hoax? Or was the vessel pirated and then later wrecked somewhere by profiteers or even the Turks who had banned Cesnola from exporting this treasure.
Thank you, Joe Sayegh

I did have extensive info on General Di Cesnola, but no answer on the 1871 sinking.

I'm a music teacher and I do a music history unit with my 6th graders. I like incorporating things that are going on in society with along with the music.  I have used your timeline numerous times, and find it very interesting and insightful. Thank you for the time and effort you have put into this endeavor.
Christine Smith

From Heather Streets:
Thank you for creating such a wonderful internet resource.
I am writing to you to request permission to use a number of historical references found on your website, http://timelines.ws. Sourced material will be referenced in the bibliography of the publication I am currently producing.
The publication will commemorate Heald College's 140th anniversary. Featured in the book will be a timeline with significant milestones in Heald College's history. To supplement the history, I am also including milestones that occurred in the United States during the same period of time.

Permission granted.

As always your feedback is greatly appreciated,
Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
Newsletter #23
Mar 15, 2002

The following 2 items were corrected and updated following user feedback:

c2100-1900 In Stonehenge Phase III the builders encircled the bluestones with sarsen stones, a sandstone (probably from a quarry in Avebury, 20 miles away). These were topped by caps and the bluestones were re-arranged and dug into the ground. The axis of the circle was also re-calculated so that one way Stonehenge points to the summer solstice at sunrise and lined up the other way it points to the winter solstice at sunset.
(HT, 3/97, p.22)(SD)

2001  Jan 2, Former state governor and Sen. Bob Kerrey (1992-2000) began working as president of the New School in NYC.
(SFC, 1/2/01, p.B2)

The following item came from a short Newsweek article, but the event was not dated. I picked up the date from the Internet.

1945          Jan 30, The German liner "Wilhelm Gustloff" sank in the Baltic Sea between the Bay of Danzig and the Danish island of Bornholm. An estimated 7000-8000 people, civilian refugees from East Prussia and wounded German soldiers, drowned in the icy waters. Three torpedoes fired from a Russian submarine had scored direct hits on the ship. The result was the largest and most horrible naval disaster of all time.
(NW, 3/18/02, p.11) http://www.cybercreek.com/cybercity/WWIIps/gu

Much of my time is now being spent dealing with the bundle of daily info I receive from the MightyCool “Today in History" archive.
http://www.MightyCool.com
My initial chore is editing, formatting and comparing the info to what is already present in my timelines. This is a phase 1 operation. The info is then tagged to my Today in History. When a full year is deposited I will commence with phase 2, which is to insert all the data into the appropriate years. This is the same procedure I used with the Associated Press data and the Historynet data. I have 6 months down with MC, and 6 months to go to complete phase 1. I can then commence with Phase 2. What follows is an example of how one file initially looks.

On March 13 in history ..

* 1519 - Cortez lands in Mexico
* 1569 - Battle of Jarnac, Count of Anjou defeats Huguenots
* 1634 - Academie Francaise opens
* 1639 - Cambridge College renamed Harvard for clergyman John Harvard
* 1656 - Jews are denied the right to build a synagogue in New Amsterdam
* 1677 - Massachusetts gains title to Maine for $6,000
* 1781 - Sir William Herschel sees "comet" (really discovered Uranus)
* 1797 - Cherubini's opera "Medee," premieres in Paris
* 1835 - Charles Darwin departs Valparaiso for Andes crossing
* 1846 - Friedrich Hebbel's "Maria Magdalena," premieres in Konigsberg
* 1852 - Uncle Sam cartoon figure made its debut in the NY Lantern weekly
* 1861 - Jefferson Davis signs bill authorizing use of slaves as soldiers
* 1868 - Senate begins Pres Andrew Johnson impeachment trial
* 1869 - Arkansas legislature passes anti-Klan law
* 1884 - Siege of Khartoum, Sudan begins
* 1884 - US adopts Standard Time
* 1887 - Chester Greenwood of Maine patents earmuffs
* 1888 - Great Blizzard of 1888 rages
* 1913 - Kansas legislature approved censorship of motion pictures
* 1915 - Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson tries to catch a baseball
         dropped from an airplane, but the pilot substituted a grapefruit
* 1921 - Mongolia (formerly Outer Mongolia) declares independence from China
* 1922 - George Bernard Shaw’s "Back to Methusaleh V," premieres in NYC
* 1923 - Lee de Forest demonstrates his sound-on-film moving pictures (NYC)
* 1925 - Tennessee makes it unlawful to teach evolution
* 1928 - Rudolph Friml's musical "Three Musketeers," premieres in NYC
* 1930 - Clyde Tombaugh announces discovery of Pluto at Lowell Observatory
* 1933 - Banks reopen
* 1933 - Josef Goebbels becomes Nazi minister of Information & Propaganda
* 1935 - Driving tests introduced in Great Britain
* 1943 - Failed assassination attempt on Hitler during Smolensk-Rastenburg
         flight
* 1945 - Queen Wilhelmina returns to Netherlands
* 1947 - "Brigadoon" opens at Ziegfeld Theater NYC for 581 performances
* 1951 - Israel demands DM 6.2 billion compensation from Germany
* 1954 - Viet Minh General Giap opens assault on Dien Bien Phu
* 1957 - Bloody battles after anti-Batista demonstration in Havana, Cuba
* 1960 - NFL's Chicago Cardinals moves to St Louis
* 1961 - Pablo Picasso (79) marries his model Jacqueline Rocque (37)
* 1975 - Bernard Slade's "Same Time, Next Year," premieres in NYC
* 1979 - European Monetary System is established, ECU created
* 1980 - Ford Motor Co found innocent in death of 3 women in a fiery Pinto
* 1981 - Attempt on Pope John Paul II by Mehemet Ali Agca
* 1982 - Ice Dance Championship at Copenhagen won by Torvill & Dean (GRB)
* 1982 - Men's Fig Skating Champions in Copenhagen won by Scott
         Hamilton (USA)
* 1983 - "Woman of the Year" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 770 perfs
* 1985 - Funeral services held for Konstantin Chernenko (Moscow)
* 1987 - John Gotti is acquitted of racketeering
* 1989 - FDA orders recall of all Chilean fruit in US
* 1992 - 570 die in a Turkish earthquake
* 1995 - Istanbul police shoot dead 16 Alawitische demonstrators
* 1996 - Thomas Hamilton kills 16 kindergardeners, their teacher & himself
 

Famous birthdays on March 13 ..

* 1599 - Johannes Berchmans, Dutch Jesuit/saint

* 1733 - Joseph Priestly, England, clergyman/scientist (discovered oxygen)
  See the Past *Spotlight* on history
  http://www.mightycool.com/historyspotlight/05081794.shtml

* 1741 - Jozef II, arch duke of Austria/RC German emperor (1765-90)
* 1744 - David Allan, Scottish painter
* 1752 - Josef Reicha, composer
* 1764 - Charles Earl Grey, (Whig), British PM (1830-34)
* 1872 - Oswald Garrison Villard, American journalist
* 1908 - Walter Annenberg, Milwaukee, publisher (Triangle-TV Guide)/Amb
         to GB
* 1911 - L[aFayette] Ron Hubbard, sci-fi writer/scientologist (Dianetics)
* 1913 - William J Casey, headed CIA during Iran Contra scandal (1981-87)
* 1931 - Rosalind Elias, Lowell Mass, mezzo-soprano

Famous deaths on March 13 ..

* 1569 - Louis Conde, French prince/co-leader of Hugenot, dies in battle
* 1716 - Georg Gabriel Schutz, composer, dies at 46
* 1881 - Alexander II, Tsar of Russia, assassinated at 62
* 1901 - Benjamin Harrison, 23rd pres (1889-1893), dies in Indianapolis
         at 67
* 1906 - Susan B[rownell] Anthony, American suffragist, dies at 85
* 1938 - Clarence S Darrow, Scopes Monkey Trial attorney, dies in
         Chicago at 80
* 1951 - Alfred Hugenberg, German RC pres-dir of Krupp/media magnate, dies
* 1964 - Kitty Genovese, stabbed to death in Queens while 40 neighbors look
         on, hear her screams, do nothing
* 1971 - Rockwell Kent, US artist/painter/illustrator, dies at 80
* 1987 - Gerald Moore, England, pianist (Am I Too Loud), dies at 87

I have developed numerous word macros to help with many of the reformatting changes, but after that it is compare, cut and paste, item by item.

I look forward to your responses.
Until next time,

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
Newsletter #24
April 1, 2002

Happy birthday to the TL Newsletter. This marks the beginning of year 2.

Hi,
I just want to say your timeline page SAVED MY BUTT!!!
I’m a high school student, and my assignment is due in 2 days and I needed this info! Luckily I found this site on Google, and I want to say, YOU’RE THE BEST!
Natalie

The following file was added: 2002 Feb.
Updated States: Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota.
Updated 1500-1524

Question from Jeff Hogan

My son has built so many timelines by hand that it warrants purchasing software into which he could simply input the begin date, person name or event name, end date (if it's not an event) and have the program create the labelled index marks and colored bar lengths (if not an event) that match the color of its label down below.  Do you have any advice?
Thank you very much,

I did not have an answer for Jeff but promised to broadcast his request. This also made me wonder if such software would be all that wonderful for his son. If the material was just plugged into a program, the time spent on the project would be cut way down, but so would the actual learning experience. Hand building timelines allow for the material to seep in and provide an avenue for creativity.
That said, if such software does exist, I will be happy to post the info.

As events transpire it is clear that initial reports are often error prone and that a certain amount of time is needed for the facts to be sorted out. Over a longer period the facts can begin to blur or become twisted to suit various purposes. Any account of an event long past has to take into account all these factors and one may well wonder how much of any “post partum" story truly depicts the original events. The Bible is a very good example. It is with this in mind that I constantly check and update events in the timelines. As an example of this process I would like to cite the Scope Systems (Similar to AP or the HistoryNet) note for Dec 1, 1955 on Rosa Parks:

1955    Dec 1, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus.

Below is a synopsis of the story accrued over time and a number of sources that is now in the Timelines:

1955  Dec 1, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old seamstress and secretary of the Montgomery NAACP, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, as she sat in a section of a bus just behind the area reserved for whites. She refused to move to the back the bus [to accommodate a white male passenger] as ordered by driver James F. Blake (d.2002 at 89) and defied the South’s segregationist laws. This prompted the Dec. 5 bus boycott, a year-long boycott of the buses by blacks, and launched the Civil Rights movement in the United States. Virginia Durr (d.1999 at 95) helped a black civil rights leader bail Parks out of jail. In 1985 Durr wrote her memoir: "Outside the Magic Circle." In 1999 Pres. Clinton authorized a Congressional Gold Medal for Rosa Parks.
 (HFA, '96, p.44)(SFC, 5/12/96, p.A-6)(SFEC, 9/15/96, p.A2)(SFEM, 2/2/97, p.8) (AP, 12/1/97)(HN, 12/1/98)(SFC, 3/10/99, p.A23)(SFC, 5/5/99, p.A3)(SFC, 3/26/02, p.A24)

As always your comments and suggestions are much appreciated.

Springing along,
Algis
[email protected]

Timelines of History
Newsletter #25
April 15, 2002

Topica, the carrier for the TofH NL, is going to start including text advertising as of April 20. I hope that it will not be too intrusive. It may appear at the top or bottom, we’ll have to wait and see. If anybody has suggestions for an alternate free carrier, please let me know.

About 2 weeks ago it appears that some kind soul sent a broadcast message informing people of the Timelines of History website. The weekly hits jumped from an average of 3-4 thousand to 7k one week and 10k the next. This also brought on some 300 new NL readers and I welcome you one and all. I would appreciate it if one of the new readers could drop me an e-mail and perhaps explain where the message came from. To avoid being inundated with responses, let me know if your last name begins with an “S," or if you are directly responsible, so a can give a personal thanks.

Recent state updates include: Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Recent year updates include: 1862-1863
I have posted a 2 new files titled: “littles1" and “littles2" at the top of the country listings. They contains a lot of short references to countries and entities for which my information is limited. When these grow to a page or two I transfer them to a file of their own. The entries begin with the ABC Islands, Abkhazia… and run thru to Zapotecs.

I have received my 1st order for a T of H CD for $25. This includes shipping and handling. If you are a frequent user of the timelines, you might want to consider the CD, which includes a local shareware search engine. These CDs are made on order, so they will reflect the most current state of info as it resides on my system.

Mark this event for celebration on your calendars:

Jul 17, Willis Carrier invented modern day air conditioning at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, NY, in 1902. Carrier’s invention was used primarily to cool machines, not people. In 1928 the U.S. House of Representatives was air conditioned, followed shortly by the Senate, White House and Supreme Court.
(PR Carrier Corp., 7/17/02)

As I type and edit and cut and paste I come across entries that are just flat off the wall. Although I have not yet created specific parameters or guidelines as to what should be in the timelines and what should be disregarded, I have come to realize that some sort of criteria would be helpful.  e.g. Should something like this be kept?

1653 Dec 1, An athlete from Croydon was reported to have run 20 miles from St. Albans to London in less than 90 minutes.
(MC, 12/1/01)

The info is somewhat precise but is it credible? The 1st 1897 Boston marathon was won in 2 hrs and 55 min. In 1997 the winning time was 2 hrs and 7 min. For the Croydon athlete to have clocked in at 1 hour and 30 min. does not seem credible. I do not have the time or resources to try to verify all the timeline information. However if a reader provides corrections along with source info I do make the corrections. This is one of the main qualities of the timelines. The files are intended to be forever fixable.
With this in mind I have created a file titled “wacko" (not yet posted) to include what borders on the absurd and trivial such as:
 
1680 Dec 4, Hen in Rome laid an egg imprinted with comet not seen until Dec 16th.
 (MC, 12/4/01)

As always your comments and feedback are much appreciated.

Algis
[email protected]l.com

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #26
May 1, 2002

Well once again the Webby awards people have passed me by. Perhaps I need more animation on my front page. They’re probably not even aware the Timelines site exists. No importa. This NL is now going out to some 600 people and weekly hits now range from 4-5 thousand. When the NL subscriber list reaches 1000, it will not be free for me and I will be in a quandary. We’ll worry about that later.
I have extracted a timeline on Television up to 1980 plus, and put it in the subject category. Also placed there is the promised US Presidents. Both are still incomplete, as is everything else, but they both collect info that is spread across many files and should prove useful.
Before I took up the TL project, I spent a lot of my time playing accordion in a local jug band and then in a Balkan folk dance band. In the jug band period we played a lot of old American tunes that reflected historical events. I think it would be interesting to make a CD available of tunes that tie to American history. I would appreciate feedback on this.

Correction (the initial note had Lemmon in the TV show):
2001  Jun 28, Jack Lemmon, film actor, died at age 76. His work included the film "The Odd Couple," in which he played Felix Unger. Tony Randall played Felix Unger in the TV series.
(WSJ, 6/29/01, p. A1)(UFB, 4/22/02)

A NL user was kind enough to inform me of the following.
From emazing.com 6 April, 2002:
Whether you're a fan of the fascinating stories that come from history, or you have a paper to write for a history class, the Timelines of History site is a place you'll want to bookmark. Kids asking you about something they learned in class? Look it up here! There are several different ways to search for information, making this a great research site as well. You can browse through the History of the World, research specific dates, read up important dates in various countries, or look through the list of Subjects. This is definitely a site you'll use, with other useful links as well.

Updated countries: France to 1649, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Khazars, North and South Korea, Kurdistan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan and Sweden.
Updated US states: South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas
Updated periods: 0-299CE, 299-599, 600-999, 1895-1897, 1900, 1901, 1902-1904, March 2002.

Viva la fleures
I shall bloom again mid-May,
Algis

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #27
May 15, 2002

I am sending this a little early because I sent out a misleading e-mail on a virus that I soon found out to be a hoax. My deepest apologies on this “teddy bear hoax." The mass e-mail went out to some 100 early subscribers of the newsletter whose addresses remained in my AOL address book. This will not happen again. I deleted all the early NL subscriber names from my address book. This has really re-enforced for me the importance of double checking info even when coming from a trusted source, especially when it calls for making operating system changes.

I gave the front page a little face lift. A new Golden Globe icon, representing diamond status candidacy, is also posted. I moved most of the supplementary links that were at the top of the page to the bottom. Now the principal timeline files are close to the top of the front page for quick access.

My first CD sale was completed and 2 more are pending. I recommend the CD to those of you who access the timelines frequently.

Here is a short list of my primary timeline reference books. I use these to verify questionable items from other sources as best I can. I have not as yet gone through these sources item by item, but may eventually do so:

Chronology of the Modern World 1763-1965: Neville Williams, David McKay, NY. 1968, 923 pages with index.

Encyclopedia of World History: William L. Langer, Houghton Miflin Boston, 4th ed 1968, 1504 pp with index.

The People’s Chronology: James Trager, Henry Holt & Co., NY, 1992, 1237 pp with index.
 
Timetables of History: Bernard Grun, Simon & Schuster, NY, 1982, not paginated, with index.

The timelines for the 15th century have been updated. These are now in 3 files: 1400-1449, 1450-1475 and 1476-1499.

New entries include such items as the following taken from the recent issue of Old News which I highly recommend (see the Old News link on web site front page):

1859  John Augustus, Boston businessman, died. He instituted a practice called probation and helped spare some 2,000 convicted offenders from prison sentences. In 1891 the Mass. state legislature established the 1st official judicial probation system. In 1925 the US Congress passed the National Probation Act.
(ON, 5/02, p.5)

1894  Edward Herbert Thompson, American consul, purchased land in the Yucatan that contained the ruins of the Mayan city of Chichen Itza.
(ON, 5/02, p.6)

1937  Dr. Gerhard Fisher patented a metal detector. Alexander Graham Bell had developed a primitive forerunner in 1881 to try to remove an assassin’s bullet from Pres. Garfield.
(ON, 5/02, p.9)

1588  Dec, Sir William Fitzwilliam, the English Lord Deputy of Ireland, planned an attack against the McClancy clan led by chieftain Dartry. Francisco de Cuellar and a group of stranded Spanish Armada soldiers successfully held the clan’s Rossclogher Castle under a 17-day siege.
(ON, 5/02, p.11)

 Algis
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #28
June 1, 2002

What is it that constitutes a significant historical event? What criteria of significance should one use, when reviewing the multitudinous day to day events from around the world, for selection as a “permanent entry" to the timelines of history? These are 2 questions that I have to ask myself every day as I digest the daily papers, weekly and monthly magazines, and various other resources for possible inclusion into the timelines. I have not presented my criteria before now because most of my efforts have been devoted to gathering and rearranging events already collected and presented by such “Today in History" sources as: the Associated Press, Historynet, MightyCool, 440 Int’l., Poor Gabriel and Scope Systems. As the backbone was built it became clear that not only did each resource have its own idea of “significant event," but also in many case its own idea as to when that event occurred!
I quickly took to double entry historical accounting (often triple and quadruple) to validate entries and added information according to time and place (and currently subject) whenever possible. This cross-referencing increased accuracy, reduced redundancy and clearly pointed to discrepancies. The multiple entry also allowed for events, often identified only by general time or general place in one source, to be attached to specific dates and places as other sources provided added info. The timelines are thus set up as a sort of limited, hand-made, relational database.
This backbone development established part of my working criteria. If an event was already posted, than additional related data seemed to me appropriate. Thus short entries have often grown to larger entries. Now back to the question with which I began.
I would like to have your input on this. The following items I gathered for inclusion to the May 21, 2002, general timeline. In 2003 it will be supplemented with what AP considers was significant. What would you add or take out and why?

2002  May 21, The US State Dept issued its annual report on terrorism: “Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001." Iran was branded as the most active supporter of terrorism due to increased support for Palestinian militants.
(SFC, 5/22/02, p.A12)
2002  May 21, The Bush administration announced that it would resume economic aid to Yugoslavia because it had met requirements to cooperate with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
(SFC, 5/22/02, p.A15)
2002  May 21, Merrill Lynch agreed to pay $100 million to settle allegations that it misled investors during the 1990s.
(SFC, 5/22/02, p.A1)
2002  May 21, Citigroup agreed to buy Cal Fed Bank for $5.8 billion in cash and stock.
(SFC, 5/22/02, p.A1)
2002  May 21, In Medellin, Colombia, fighting between security forces and guerrillas left at least 9 people dead including 2 children.
(SFC, 5/22/02, p.A15)
2002  May 21, In Germany there were anti-war protests on the eve of Pres. Bush’s arrival.
(WSJ, 5/22/02, p.A1)
2002  May 21, It was reported that scientists in Guatemala had found the source of jade deposits used by the Olmecs and Mayans.
(SFC, 5/22/02, p.A2)
2002  May 21, Fighting between Indian and Pakistan soldiers in Kashmir killed 9 civilians and wounded 7 others. Gunmen in Srinagar assassinated Abdul Ghani Lone (70), a moderate Kashmiri separatist leader.
(SFC, 5/21/02, p.A9)(SFC, 5/22/02, p.A13)(WSJ, 5/22/02, p.A1)
----------
The following is a link to a student-created site on Leonardo da Vinci. “There are lesson plans, museum links, current articles online about the celebration of Leonardo's Bronze Horse in Milan, as well as a view of the Mona Lisa Bridge now built in Oslo, Norway."
http://library.thinkquest.org/13681/data/davin2.shtml?tqskip=1
----------
I have inserted a donation button on the front page of the web site with PayPal as a 3rd party mediating agent. I am hoping that some heavy users of the timelines will get the message and help defray my operating costs. I will acknowledge all donations in this newsletter, unless asked not to do so. The PayPal system also makes it easier for users to make payments for special requests or the Timeline CD.

The PayPal system allows anybody with an e-mail address to set up a personal account for paying bills (at no extra charge), or receiving funds, in a secure internet environment. If you use the following Pay Pal referral link to register, I get $5.00. You could consider this as your donation for this year.
https://www.paypal.com/refer/pal=3L2S2S7A3SAXJ
----------
Recently updated files included: Haiti, Hittites, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India and Indonesia. The India file was divided into 2 sections, the 1st up thru 1990. The 5 decades from 1800-1850 have also been updated. 1928, 1929, 1938 and 1939 have also been updated.
----------
Corrected errors noted by users include:
“You accidentally have the fall of Manila in January of your 1941 page.  The Japanese attacked the Philippines 8 hours after they bombed Pearl Harbor." [correction made]

From Mike Jones:
In your timeline, you show Margaret Halsey as publishing her book With Malice... in 1928.  This is a typo.  It was 1938. [correction made]

Other corrected errors:
The following were posted in 1802:
1803  May 16, Great Britain and France renewed their war.
1803  May 18, Great Britain declared war on France after General Napoleon Bonaparte continues interfering in Italy and Switzerland .
----------
After a 2 year hiatus, some interest has cropped up in making the timelines available in PDA format:
“I got the timelines from www.memoware.com in the history section doing a search for ‘timeline.’  I think the timelines are great and are exactly what I was looking for.  I am going to do some research on how to convert the HTML on your site into a PDA format.  If I get some done, I will send them to you for use on your site."

The memoware site has a very large list of files available for PDAs organized by subject.

This user pointed me to look at TomeRaider.com, free software that allows simple file conversions to PDA format. A version that removes banner adds costs $20. The user ordered the Timelines CD for conversion to one long file with TomeRaider for his PDA.
----------
The online World Almanac for Kids has selected the Timelines site as an editor’s pick. Their icon is now included at the top of the front page.
----------
When you next visit the timelines site, please click on the Diamond Award icon to help me garner enough votes to retain the diamond status.
----------
Historical event: Pick of the last 2 weeks:
1942  John R. Brinkley (b.1885), Kansas scam artist, died. He was known as the “goat gland doctor" for touting sexual vitality with goat gland implants. He also built one of the nation’s 1st radio stations KFKB (Kansas Folks Know Best). In 2002 R. Alton Lee authored “The Bizarre Careers of John R. Brinkley."
(WSJ, 5/24/02, p.W11)
----------
And last but not least, a new entry into my duple file:
1996  Jan 7, "Crazy for You" closed at Shubert Theater, NYC, after 1622 performances.
(MC, 1/7/02)
1996  Jan 7, Pres. Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, engaged in a 5th sexual encounter at the White House.
(SFC, 9/12/98, p.A13)

Your continued support and comments are most appreciated,
Best regards,

Algis
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #29
June 15, 2002

It is one thing to look out across a vast ocean and know that valuable resources lie therein. It is quite another to extract even a single sardine. Similarly with the timelines we have at hand tons of information, but up until now only cups and cans for mining and retrieval. I recently began work with an enthusiastic programmer from New Zealand, who agree to take on the project of creating a “flat file" DB for the timelines that would allow for rapid searches of all the files with returns of data in a clear and simple format.  Work on this began and significant progress was made when another individual offered to collaborate and put the timeline data into an SQL database, which would allow even more detailed searches and ultimately enable single entry for data.
Much to my regret Deck Hazen from New Zealand, creator of the “flat file" DB bowed out in deference to the SQL DB proposal.

The proposed searchable DB will not be a free service, but it will be affordable and worth a low-cost subscription. Deck’s work in progress is available for your perusal with a single subject category for searches at:
http://www.hazen.co.nz/instructions1.htm
--------------------
John Kenyon is the creator of the decades.com web site, which hosts a variety of subject timelines and allows individuals to create their own timelines from info in his DB:
http://www.decades.com
Mr. Kenyon and I are considering possibilities for mutual cooperation that include putting the timelines into an SQL DB as mention above. More on this will follow.
--------------------
Alexander Ganse informed him of some errors that included the frequent misspelling of “Gibralter" which I proceeded to correct. He also pointed me over to his world history website:
www.whkmla.info
This is a remarkable piece of work, similar in scope to timelines.ws, but with a different format. His organization groups countries by continent. Even though the site competes with mine I have to recommend it.
--------------------
Updated files include Sudan, 1000-1099, 1200-1299
--------------------
The Timelines Annual award for the fulfilment of one’s destiny goes to:
Thomas Crapper who pioneered his one-piece pedestal flushing toilet on Jan 13, 1863.
(MC, 1/13/02)
---------------------

2002 Six month Financial Report
all amounts are in single dollars:

Income Expenses

CD sales     $50             Net access:          143.40
Donations                          0           Utilities                    59.5
Misc. Income                      5             Yahoo site fees       89.7
                                                          resources               84.7
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sum                                  $50                                         377.30

Non-Independent Auditor’s Report:

We have audited the balance sheet of timelines.ws for the 6-month period ending June 1, 2002, in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards.
In our opinion the financial statement represents the consolidated financial position of timelines.ws and we express marked wonder at how the management is able to continue operations.

AR & Associates LLP

Your continued support and comments are most appreciated,
Best regards,

Algis
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #30
Jul 1, 2002

I would like to thank all the users of the timelines who have contributed valuable input with corrections, additions and highly valued moral support. Special thanks goes to Edward J. McKennon of New Jersey for his $40 contribution to help offset expenses. This guarantees that the next 6-month financial statement will at least show a positive value in the revenue column.
-----------------------------
John Kenyon, creator of the decades.com web site, is continuing the development of a database to hold all the “memes" of the timelines:
http://www.decades.com
John Kenyon is creating a DB that can be regularly and accurately updated with content that I provide and we are conferencing regularly to iron out the details of the project. This DB will put “the timelines" on steroids. John is my “Monster Garage" developer and I look forward to the wealth of fruit from his labor. This is not a trivial task and it may be months before we see a useable product.
-----------------------------
One of the principal reasons for this NL is to keep you informed of some of the ongoing events associated with the TofH project. This is the only way for you to know of some the changes, additions and corrections that I make on a daily basis and a little of the background that makes it all happen. I guess to average something like 100 entries per day and most of these need to be compared to existing information. I am running close to a thousand separate files and worry every day that my computer might crash, that my job will take me away for an extended number of days, or that my health might suddenly fail. When I think of the numerous little snags that could totally disrupt the whole project, I stand amazed that like Sisyphus I push on. My next big project will be the historical novel “Organizing History: A True Story."
-----------------------------
I would again like to recommend the web site of Alexander Ganse at:
www.stabi.hs-bremerhaven.de/gbs2/whkmla/
Mr. Ganse is a very active historian teaching in South Korea. He regularly feeds me corrections and recommendations that improve the timelines for all our benefit.
-----------------------------
The folks at the British Public Record Office - (the UK National Archives), have created a very nice history educational site at:
http://Learningcurve.pro.gov.uk
“Using documents, images, and film (presented in the original format) from the PRO's 1000 year old collection, the 'Learning Curve' investigates a variety of historical topics ranging from Medieval cartoons to The Cold War. Each section is accompanied by informed commentary and structured questions. There are also fun games in some of the  sections to test your knowledge."
-----------------------------
Corrections from feedback include:
1720s  The Ephrata Cloister communal society in Amish country near Philadelphia was founded by a former elder of the German Dunkers (German Baptists who later became the Church of the Brethren).
 (Hem, 6/96, p.107)(http://www.cob-net.org/cloister.htm)
-----------------------------
New additions based on contributions from users include:
1834  Aug 1, England ended slavery in the West Indies slaves and all its Caribbean holdings effective on this date. Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire with compensation to the owners. Some 35,000 salves were freed in the Cape Colony. [see 1833]
 (NH, 7/98, p.29)(HN, 8/1/98)(EWH, 4th ed, p.885)
1835-1837 Some 10,000 Dutch (Boer) cattlemen and farmers moved northward from the Cape Colony due to restrictions on slavery and the sympathetic native policy of the government. They settled in what became the Transvaal. Under Piet Retief they began to occupy Zululand and Natal.
 (EWH, 4th ed, p.885)
1835-1868 Lesotho acted as a buffer between the Afrikaner’s and British colonial interests and supplied seasonal farm workers to both.
 (WSJ, 3/25/98, p.A11)(EWH, 4th ed, p.885)
2000  Jul 1, Australia adopted the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
 (SMH, 7/1/00)
-----------------------------
Updated files include Australia, Great Britain 1800-1859, Lesotho, Mali, Netherlands Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uruguay, 1700-1724, 1790-1799, 1800-1810, 1811-1820, 1821-1830, 1831-1840, 1972, 1973.
-------------------------------
Please remember to hit the Diamond Award Logo at the top of the web site when you visit so as to enable a higher ranking.

Your continued support and comments are most appreciated,
Best regards,

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #31
Jul 15, 2002

My schedule got set back a few days due to the zealous over use of bleach by a lab technician in Portland, Or. The liquid bleach leaked into the crevice of a DNA-probe analyser used to test for chlamydia and gonorrhoea and knocked out a sensor that tracked sample movement. What looked like a simple problem trapped me for 4 days and so I rush to get this out now.
------------------------------------
The annual summer Cyber-Surfari program has again invited the Timelines of History to participate in their educational student program. My clue for this summer is as follows:

Put on your time travel suit and step into your time travel machine. My good friend Prof. Makrotous Lubberwort, the one with the big ears who loves junk food, needs some evidence from the comet that hit Earth and led to the death of all the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. What is the name of the crater created by that comet?
--------------------------------------
A big thankyou to Jane Birch of Provo, Utah, for her 2nd donation to the Timelines project. The evening before receiving her donation I had a dream about receiving a donation. Very strange!
--------------------------------------
Work continues with John Kenyon on the timelines DB. We are currently resolving issues of how to organize the ever constant updates.
--------------------------------------
Updated US state files include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California
Updated country files include Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, and Sicily.
New country files added: Marianas, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius
Update time files include: 000-420Mil BP, 1987
New Links: History S. Australia: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~fliranre/home.htm
---------------------------------------
User feedback has allowed me to correct a bad link to the Sicily timeline and to correct and update the California state files.

As always your continued support and comments are most appreciated,
Best regards,

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #32
Aug 1, 2002

Some months ago I began reading the “History of the Indian Ocean" by Auguste Toussaint, translated from the French by June Guicharnaud (1966). This is a marvelous account of the history of an area that gets little attention in lower level American education programs. Toussaint traces the story back to the Egyptians and carries it forward to about 1950. I recommend the book strongly.
--------------------------------
I would also like to recommend the revised edition of “The Idea of History" by R.G. Collingwood, 1st published in 1946. This very insightful look at the philosophy of history is not easy reading, but profoundly interesting for those who seek a deeper level of the subject that unites us all.
I found a hard copy of the Collingwood book at Powell’s Bookstore in Portland, Oregon. This is possibly one of the finest book stores in the country and I highly recommend it if you ever get to Portland.
--------------------------------
I just found out that a dear old friend, Vytautas Polteraitis (Poky), suddenly passed away Aug 2, in Detroit from a heart attack at age 55. He was one of the most fit people I knew and had just undergone a full physical with no indications of any problems. Poky will not make it into my timelines because he was not a world-renowned figure, but like many of our best friends, he was part of a deep core and will live on in our hearts for his warmth, kindness and sincere friendship. I mention this in memory of him, to acknowledge that it could just as easily have been me, and as a testimonial to how temporal we all are.
---------------------------------
Additions include 2 new timeline files on Technology and Women. The US Presidents file has been updated.
---------------------------------
A few of many corrections include:
1897  Jul 24, Amelia Earhart was born. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and disappeared in the South Pacific while trying to fly around the world. Her sister Muriel (d.1998 at 98) wrote a biography of Amelia titled: “Courage Is the Price." (earlier entry had 1898)
(SFC, 3/1/97, p.A8)(SFC, 3/6/98, p.E2)(HN, 7/24/02)
1895  Jul 26, Gracie Allen, vaudeville, screen, radio and television personality, wife and foil of George Burns, was born. (earlier entry had 1905)
(HN, 7/26/01)
---------------------------------
Work on the Timelines DB with John Kenyon continues.
---------------------------------
Best regards,

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #33
Aug 15, 2002

On Sunday afternoons I try to get out for a bicycle ride. I always like to explore new areas around SF and for the last few weeks I’ve concentrated on the SF Bay shore line in the old industrial area south of the new PacBell baseball park. I recently discovered a secluded and very empty little spit of a park in the shadow of giant container cranes dedicated SF Bay Area birds. One of the signs there described how the black cormorants need to hold their feathers up into the wind to air dry after a period of time in the water, because they do not produce as much water resistant oils as do some other water birds. The black cormorants are very common on the bay and their strange, wing-outstretched poses have always intrigued me, especially while passing over the San Mateo Bridge.
Off on the bay I watched a cormorant take to the air and fly my way toward shore. Over to my left was a big container dock lined with a single, long row of light poles. This bird approached the shore and headed straight for the 1st light pole upon which already sat another cormorant with out-stretched wings. The resident bird was not about to give up its valued perch and forced the newcomer on to the next pole, where sat another cormorant. Well it took Joe-newcomer 5 tries before he was able to chase off a smaller bird, who in turn moved down the line. This struck me as the classic domino effect modified with a shunt. The push only worked when a weak spot was found.
How often in human history do we see similar flagrant attacks, defensive manoeuvres, new attacks, and delayed ramifications. This has gotten me thinking of the possibility of basic principles that apply to history. I need to do much more research on this, and am all ears to your comments on the subject.
--------------------------
A special thankyou goes to Dianna Pope for her $25 donation and to James Schoolfield for his purchase of a TL CD. 2002 revenue now stands at $160.
--------------------------
My 2 favourite items over the last 2 weeks:
2002 Aug 12, US Catholic bishops and rabbis issued a statement that declared that the Biblical covenant between Jews and God is valid, and therefore Jews do not need to be saved through faith in Jesus.
(SFC, 8/13/02, p.A5)
2002 Aug, Pres. Niyazov (62) proposed renaming January to Turkmenbashi after himself Akbar Turkmenbashi, the Great Leader of all Turkmen.
(SSFC, 8/11/02, p.A14)
--------------------------
Here’s an interesting exercise: Take a look at the events for the year in which you graduated from high school and see how many of the events you can relate to or remember. Work backwards until you reach the year where most of the events are “clearly fuzzy" and remembered only post facto. This will give you a good idea of how world-wise you were at the time. My own review pointed to age 11-12.
------------------------
I keep adding to my special subject timelines, though many do not get posted until a “good bunch" of data is accumulated. My most recent new timeline file is dedicated to theater related events. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
------------------------
Some Additions: Under subjects a Jazz file has been added. The Maya and Mexico files have been updated.
------------------------
Sample of Corrections:
1861 Dec, French, British and Spanish troops landed at Veracruz, Mexico, seeking to force Benito Juarez to resume his financial obligations.
(PCh, 1992, p.485)
to replace the following:
1862 Jan 7, French troops landed at Vera Cruz, Mexico, with the intention of taking over under the rule of Archduke Maximilian of Austria.
(no ref)
1935 Jul 16, The first parking meters were installed, in Oklahoma City. Carlton Magee's automatic meter, the "Park-O-Meter" was installed by the Dual Parking Meter Company in Oklahoma City. The parking meters were divided by 20-foot spaces painted on the pavement and accepted nickels.
(AP, 7/16/97)(HNQ, 8/4/02)
--------------------------
A few months ago I included an unformatted “parcel" of representative daily data from the Richard Boylan site: http:// www.MightyCool.com. The daily data will complete an annual cycle on October 1. Although I have managed to keep up with reformatting the data, I am about 5 months behind in integrating it into the timelines. Every once in a while the daily e-mail from Mr. Boylan does not appear and I go to the today in history site at Scope Systems: http://www.scopesys.com/today/ The data at this site, though more extensive, is also very error prone and requires a lot of cross-checking and reformatting. It will however be fodder for my next cycle. An example of just the birthdays listed in Scope for Aug 15 will give you an idea of my daily chore:

Birthdates which occurred on August 15:

1432 Luigi Pulci Italy, poet (Morgante)
1688 Frederick-William I king of Prussia (1713-1740)
1769 Napoleon Bonaparte resident of Elba (emperor 1804-13, 1814-15)
1771 Sir Walter Scott Scotland, novelist/poet (Lady of Lake)
1785 Thomas De Quincey Eng, writer (Confessions of English Opium Eater)
1803 Sir James Douglas father of British Columbia
1845 Walter Crane England, painter/illustrator (Beauty & Beast)
1856 J Keir Hardie 1st Labour representative in British Parliament
1860 Florence Kling DeWolfe Harding 1st lady
1875 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor London, composer (Hiawatha's Wedding Feast)
1879 Ethel Barrymore Phila, actress (Constant Wife, Corn is Green)
1887 Ferber Edna, Mich, writer (Showboat, Cimarron, Giant)
1888 T.E. Lawrence Tremadoc Wales, soldier/writer (aka Lawrence of Arabia)
1890 Jacques Ibert Paris France, composer (Escales)
1892 Louis-Victor due de Broglie France, physicist (Nobel 1929)
1893 Harlow H Curtice pres of General Motors (1953-8)
1898 Lillian Carter Pres Carter's mom
19-- Jim Lange St Paul Mn, TV host (Dating Game, Name the Tune)
19-- Jonathan Daniel rocker (Electric Angels-I Believe, Whiplash)
19-- Matt Kramer rocker (Saigon Kick-New World)
19-- Tom Williams Chicago Ill, actor (Nobody's Perfect)
1901 Arias Arnulfo 3 time president of Panama (1940-41, 49-51, 68)
1904 Bill Baird Grand Is Nebr, puppeteer (Kukla Fran & Ollie, Muppet Show)
1912 Julia Child Pasadena Calif, chef (French Chef)
1912 Wendy Hiller actress (Major Barbara, David Copperfield)
1915 Signe Hasso actress (Double Life)
1920 Huntz Hall actor (Cyclone, Gas Pump Girls, The Rating Game)
1922 Lukas Foss (Fuchs) Berlin Germany, composer (Prairie)
1923 Rose Marie NYC, actress (Sally Rogers-Dick Van Dyke Show)
1924 Phyllis Schlafly St Louis, right-winger/Eagle Forum president
1924 Robert Bolt playwright (Man for All Seasons, Dr Zhivago)
1925 Mike Connors Fresno Calif, actor (Joe Mannix-Mannix, Night Kill)
1926 Georgiann Johnson Decorah Iowa, actress (Marge-Mr Peepers)
1931 Janice Rule Norwood Ohio, actress (Alvarez Kelly, Doctor's Wife)
1933 Lori Nelson Santa Fe NM, actress (Greta-How to Marry a Millionaire)
1935 Abby Dalton Las Vegas NV, actress (Joey Bishop Show)
1935 Jim Dale Broadway entertainer (Barnum, My One & Only)
1935 Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr civil rights activist
1941 Don Rich Olympia Wash, guitarist/country singer (Hee Haw)
1943 Barbara Bouchet Reichenberg Czech, actress (Casino Royale)
1944 Linda Ellerbee Bryan Texas, newscaster (NBC News Overnight)
1945 Gene Upshaw NFL guard (Oakland), NFLPA leader
1946 Jimmy Webb Elk City Okla, songwriter (MacArthur Park, Up Up & Away)
1946 Kathryn Jean Whitmire Houston Texas, (4 time Mayor-Houston)
1947 Gerald Velez congas (Spyro Gyra-Morning Dance)
1947 Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter Jr Macon Ga, USN/astro (STS 33)
1949 Ann Ryerson Wisc, actress (Pvt Carol Winter-Pvt Benjamin)
1950 Princess Anne England (daughter of Queen Elizabeth II)
1950 Tess Harper actress (Amityville 3D, Tender Mercies)
1955 Larry Mathews Burbank Calif, actor (Ritchie-Dick Van Dyke Show)
1957 Zeljko Ivanek Yugoslavia, actor (Mass Appeal)
1960 Maureen "Peanut" Louie Harper SF, tennis player (Denver-1985)
1960 Tommy Aldridge heavy metal rocker (Ozzy-Diary of a Mad Man)
1961 Matt Johnson rocker (The The-Infected Soul Mining)
1964 MCA (Adam Yauch) rocker (The Beastie Boys-You Gotta Fight)
1967 F DeLorme Roche Jr. Roanoke, Virginia. Bartender extrodinaire (Guru of life, love & Libation)
----------------------
Nuff said
I look forward to your comments

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #34
Sep 1, 2002

Some time ago I was contacted by Tom Schoepen, who was developing a major graphical timeline in Ghent, Belgium. He asked to use the Timelines of History to aid his own project. I welcomed his use of my work and soon created a link to his site.
http://www.worldhistory-poster.com/en/index_en.html
Tom recently contacted me to let me know that his project is ready for publication. My sincere congratulations to Tom on a job well done.

Belgian Modern Sisyphus produces an example of  interdisciplinary thought.
By Griet Vandermassen (De Morgen, Saturday 19th May 2001)

Crazy. Who the hell is crazy enough to want to realize a timeline of the entire biological and cultural evolution of mankind. This month, Tom Schoepen (31) put the finishing touches to his showpiece, after four years of slaving away. A conversation about the impossibility of being a homo universalis.

In the Backstage in Ghent, the timeline is set up on a stage. Fifteen billion years of evolution of the universe and 5000 years of cultural history are rendered on 2 by 1,37 metre. “More than 3000 important movements, representatives, essential publications and other facts are situated in time and place," the added justification runs. Divided in three horizontal areas, which are ordered above each other, the development of art and literature, of philosophy and world religions, and of sciences, is unfolded against the background of the main political revolutions. An adjustable fastening system provides the desirable information to hang at eye level. Frames with background information on movements, classifications and photographs illustrate the whole…

A STUDENT OF MORAL SCIENCES DEVELOPED A TIME-LINE OF THE HUMAN EVOLUTION, KNOWLEDGE AND CULTURE
Monique Oppeneer EOS, September 2001

…Tom is very keen on the result. But he is realistic. “This time-line of the human evolution, knowledge and culture does not give the whole world history. No matter how exhaustive, a lot of western and non-western artists, scientists and intellectuals are not mentioned, by lack of space. Another reason is that certain developments – for example the written philosophy of Black Africa – until now did appear not or less. Some fields of knowledge have developed stronger in the west than everywhere else. However the time-line is not a merely western survey. The time-line also contains a lot of non-western facts, for example the genesis of eastern religions, Judaism, Islam, Chinese literature and philosophy and the genesis of different people out of genetic perspective."
You can e-mail me if you would like the full text of the 2 articles.
----------------------------------
It’s always nice to be able to help somebody out. I responded to the following note with all the timeline files from 1200 to 1700. It then became the student’s chore to sift out the desired material:

“Hello, my name is Chad H. I am currently taking Art History, and we were assigned to find a timeline that spans from Medievil (sic) times to 17th Century. Is there any way you can get me a timeline that covers this period? The timeline topic preferably needs to be gothic art but any timeline that covers this period would work."

This also underscores the need for a subject timeline dedicated to art history.
-------------------------------------
Please click on the diamond award icon to give a yea vote whenever you visit the TofH site. This helps to raise the site’s status for future awards. I’m not into collecting awards, but they do help to increase attention to the site.
--------------------------------------
My continuing reading of Collingwood on “The Idea of History" has helped me to focus on some fundamental principles of history. I will note them as I gain confidence in their veracity. Later I shall expand the ideas:
Principle # 1
Nothing happens in a vacuum.
---------------------------------------
Updated year files include: 420-65 Mil BCE and 1Mil-1BCE
Updated countries include: Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco and Mozambique.
---------------------------------------
Work on the Timelines DB with John Kenyon continues.
---------------------------------------
Best regards,

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #35
Sep 15, 2002

We have 2 cats and a 3rd, the twin of a neighbor’s which has adopted us. Our 2 cats are black and white, and the one larger and older than the other is named Rose. I feed the cats every morning, following my morning updates. I feed Rose and Stasia from a double bowl while Melvin, the polite twin, waits at a 2nd bowl. For some years now Rose has immediately taken position at the right side of the bowl where the cat chow is poured first and Stasia moves to the left. As soon as the chow is poured to the left bowl, Rose pushes Stasia over and moves to the left. This is as predictable as the morning SF fog and I now firmly believe that Rose is both greedy and left bowled.
This morning ritual is now firmly implanted and I ponder the role of sheer habit in our daily lives. My readings of Collingwood on the “Idea of History" have been pushing me away from my habit of recording mere events to focus more on what he sees as the essence of history, i.e. a thought process in which the past only lives in the mind of the person studying the past, and which is based on the thought of the past, i.e. the motivations of the people involved. I continue to record events now, but this notion of thought and motivation I accept as critical and will look to include it whenever possible.
--------------------------------------
I have submitted a small classified ad to American History Magazine that will likely appear in November for the Jan-Feb edition. This will cost some $200 and I am using funds from donations and CD sales to cover the expense.
---------------------------------------
The Web site is sporting a new 2002-2003 Golden Web Award. I show these to give some credibility to the site for new users and not for self-praise. Now that the whole top row is filled I will have to either delete one or start a 2nd row for any future additions.
---------------------------------------
Stephen Bishop in Australia has provided me with a complete list of Australia’s Prime Ministers with appropriate dates and references that I will integrated into the Australia file. Thank you Stephen.
http://koala4.homestead.com
---------------------------------------
File updates include  India, Kashmir, Pakistan, Macedonia, Sicily, Sierra Leone, Sweden, and 1965.
---------------------------------------
Among many corrections:
Initially on Jan 1, 1557
1557  Sep 1, Jacques Cartier, French explorer, died in St. Malo, France.
 (MC, 9/1/02)(http://www.plpsd.mb.ca/amhs/history/cartier.html)
-----------------------------------------
Tahir Gul Hasan in Lahore submitted the correction that India did not attack Lahore on Sep 6, 1965. The entry was changed to read:
1965  Sep 6, India and Pakistan began a second war over Kashmir. Pakistan paratroopers raided Punjab. It ended in a cease-fire that left India with control of two-thirds of Kashmir.
(WSJ, 6/11/96, p.A12)(SFEC, 8/3/97, p.A15)(HN, 9/6/98)(SFC, 6/8/02, p.A20)
------------------------------------------
Work on the Timelines DB with John Kenyon continues.
---------------------------------------
Best regards,

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #36
Sep 30, 2002

With over 6 years of daily work, the Timelines project is now so large that my ability to continue building and maintaining it alone is reaching personal limits. It was always my intention to try to gather in assistance, but until recently the only assistance has been a few financial contributions along a good number of comments and corrections. My recent collaboration with John Kenyon, described below, has proved to be a great example of what can be done with additional help and new skills. If there is any user who has been considering some sort of assistance, I encourage you to step forward. I have numerous back-burner tasks that need attention that include marked books (data to typed out), Internet searches, link verifications etc.
-------------------------------------------
The timelines SQL database built by John Kenyon is in a working form and under test for optimal use. John has provided search criteria boxes that include subject and/or date periods so that searches can be either broad or narrowly focused. It is extremely fast and returns data in a format similar to that in the general timeline pages minus all the references. In place of the references is a DB code to allow for accuracy in the constant update process. The references will continue to appear in the general timelines. We will charge for the use of this DB and will urge professional users of the Timelines to subscribe. We cordially solicit your thoughts on this matter.
-------------------------------------------
I have placed an ad in the American History Magazine classifieds to run from Jan-Jun. The ad cost is $212 and if anyone would care to help cover this and other expenses, it would be greatly appreciated.
-------------------------------------------
I provide the following link as a supplement to the current political events:
1798-1993 Instances of use of US forces abroad, a report of 234 instances over this period other than peace time use:
http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/foabroad.htm
-------------------------------------------
User query?
Would you please tell me where I can find the best place on the internet for the history and culture of the United States?
-------------------------------------------
Updated countries:
India, Pakistan, Sicily
Updated years:
1862, 1962,1966
-------------------------------------------
A small item dated Mar 6, 1945, came up on the Might Cool Today in History daily e-mail that said: 117 SD prisoners executed at Savage Farm. This mysterious little entry was tracked down for me by Mark Olivares and now is entered as follows:
1945 Mar 6, In Holland SS General Hans Albin Rauter, was ambushed, and his driver and orderly were killed. Rauter was seriously wounded. SS Brigadefuhrer Dr. Eberhardt Schongarth immediately ordered reprisals and a total of 263 people were shot. A Special Court of Justice in the Hague sentenced Rauter to death and he was executed March 25, 1949. Schongarth was tried by a British Military Court, found guilty on another war crime charge, sentenced to death and was hanged in 1946.
http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres.html
(WW2D, p.610)
Mark is also testing the new DB, and has agreed to help me track down other mysterious entries, and I thank him for his work.
--------------------------------------------
1944 Apr 31, Replaced with Apr 30.
--------------------------------------------
More corrections from user feedback:
1992 May, In Sicily anti-Mafia investigator Giovannii Falcone was murdered on a highway outside Palermo. Falcone’s wife and 3 bodyguards were also killed. Sicilian politician Salvo Lima was also murdered. Anti-Mafia investigator Paolo Borsellino was killed in another blast some months later. In 1997 Pietro Aglieri, aka “U Signurinu" (The Little Gentleman), was arrested for involvement in all three murders. 24 mobsters were convicted in the murder in 1997, including Leoluca Bagarella.
(SFC, 5/21/96, p.A-11)(SFC, 6/7/97, p.A8)(SFC, 9/27/97, p.A12)(SFEC, 6/7/98, p.A23)
----------------------------------------------

Best regards,

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #37
Oct 15, 2002

A user kindly pointed out the following web site for Folk and Traditional Music Timelines:
http://www.deochandorais.de/misc/tml02.htm
-------------------------------------
Timelines of History is proud to serve as a CyberSurfari Outpost! CyberSurfari is a fun and educational Internet expedition where players explore more than 100 hand-picked destination sites throughout the Internet. The contest is a “kid-safe" way to show students, teachers and families valuable information that can be found on the Web and how to find it! The contest is designed by the Children’s Web Surfing Alliance, Inc.,
a 501-C3 nonprofit organization.
How it Works: Players can register as a team or an individual and collect “treasure" by finding the answers to clues written by participating Outposts.  To find the answer the player must go to the Outpost’s site to search for the answer. When the answer is found, the player enters a unique keycode to get credit for their discovery. Players can race to the finish or play at their own pace.  CyberSurfari Fall 2002 will launch on October 18th at 3:00 PM Eastern time. The contest will be available until January 10th. Stop by now to signup and join in the fun!
http://www.cybersurfari.org

My entry for the fall CyberSurfari children’s educational game is as follows:
Prof. Makrotous Lubberwort, the one with the big ears who loves junk food, is preparing a new work on philosophy. While shaving this morning he cut himself on the nose and remembered that there was once a philosopher who said something like "keep it sharp" or was it "keep it simple" but he can't remember the guy's name or the exact quote. Dust off your time machine and jump back to the year 1290 and find the name of the mystery philosopher.
----------------------------------
Give a vote for the timelines under content in the Econtent Magazine reader’s choice poll: http://www.econtentmag.com/choicepoll.html
------------------------------------
Updates: 1200-1299, 1300-1399.
------------------------------------
Data below collected over the last few years on the 1739 War of Jenkin’s Ear accumulated a number of “inconsistencies" which required some sorting out:

The saga of Jenkin’s Ear:

1738  Mar 28, English parliament declared war on Spain (War of Jenkins’s Ear). Captain Robert Jenkins had appeared before the British Parliament holding his severed, pickled ear, and described how it had been cut off by Spanish coastguards. His tale helped incite the growing animosity between the two nations, but the ensuing naval and colonial war in the Atlantic and the Caribbean resulted more from differing trade policies than outrage over Captain Jenkins' treatment.
(HNQ, 4/16/02)(MC, 3/28/02)
1739  Apr 9, The War of Jenkins' Ear. British Captain Robert Jenkins lost an ear to a band of Spanish brigands, starting a war between Britain and Spain:  [see 1738, Oct 19,1739]
(EWH, 4th ed, p.555)(HN, 4/9/02)
1739  Oct 19, England declared war on Spain over borderlines in Florida. The War is known as the War of Jenkins’ Ear because the Spanish coast guards cut off the ear of British seaman Robert Jenkins.
(EWH, 4th ed, p.555)(HN, 10/19/98)

Summation:

1739  Oct 19, England declared war on Spain over borderlines in Florida. The War is known as the War of Jenkins’ Ear because a member of Parliament waved a dried ear and demanded revenge for alleged mistreatment of British sailors. British seaman Robert Jenkins had his ear amputated following a 1731 barroom brawl with a Spanish Customs guard in Havana and had saved the ear in his sea chest.
(EWH, 4th ed, p.555)(HN, 10/19/98)(PCh, 1992, p.292)
----------------------------------

All ears for your feedback,
Best regards,

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #38
Nov 1, 2002

I have place a link near the top of the front page of the Timelines web site to the site http://www.decades.com. This site is operated by John Kenyon and features his new DB search engine that I have been describing since June, using content from timelines.ws as source material. This is an early version and the content is not as up to date as that on the timelines site. Use of the engine will give you an idea of how it works and how search content is presented. This will be a very valuable tool when completely updated and even now is quite useful, though John has not yet transported all the timelines data into the DB.
--------------------------------------
User Inquiry:
Can you provide more data on the following item?
1984  Jul 21, The 1st documented case of a robot killing a human in US
 (HFA, '96, p.34)(MC, 7/21/02)
Response:
The timelines are meant to serve as a pointer. See if you can add to the info.
User efforts:
1984 Jul 21, In Jackson, Michigan, a male die-cast operator (34) was pinned by a hydraulic Unimate robot. He died after 5 days. This was the 1st documented case of a robot killing a human in US.
 www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/In-house/full8420.html
 (HFA, '96, p.34)(MC, 7/21/02)
----------------------------------------
Use of the timelines is hovering around 3,500 hits per week and the newsletter subscribers list has settled in at about 600. The next issue of American History magazine will feature a small classified ad directing attention to the site. Current feedback is approaching the ideal of minimalist art. Response to my eternal call for assistance, comments, suggestions and donations, vanishingly small, is hopefully just a sign that there is nothing too much to complain about.

Best regards,

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #39
Nov 15, 2002

My favorite essayist, Stephen Jay Gould ( RIP May 20, 2002), had a unique style. His monthly essays in Natural History Magazine were always crammed with interesting historical background and though his prime focus was on subjects relating to evolution, he often veered far afield to enhance and enliven his subject material. Gould would throw out convoluted sentences and paragraphs that would require one reading to get an inkling of the subject, a 2nd reading to follow the thought, and often a third to pull the two together. My favorite aspect of his writing was that you never knew just what he was going to be talking about until well beyond the introductory remarks, which by themselves usually took a page or two. His writing was like an experience in a high quality restaurant, where the initial appetizers subtly prepared the way for what would soon follow.
---------------------------------
My own style has tended to be much more direct. Whack that nail down and be done with it, I used to say to myself. This style would get the facts across and like a good glass of water might quench an immediate thirst, but there would be no afterglow, no reason to say: “By Jove that was well said and interesting, I must pass it on!" With this in mind I am throwing away my old trusted hammer. “Going, going, gone" is the style of the last 38 timelines newsletters and in its place I will try to present something more reflective of my tastes in food, drink and other daily essentials, for it is upon these that all else is constructed.
---------------------------------
The unique circumstances of my employment have allowed me to thoroughly explore the local geography and in the process to develop an appreciation for the multi-faceted agriculture and history of the North West. Over the last few years I have become particularly observant of the various grape-growing regions and have paused numerous times to inquire about and acquire some local wares. Each week-end I take a little break from the timeline updates, take a little bicycle ride and attend a wine-tasting. For this NL I would like to recommend the 1999 Monterra merlot from Monterey County. This is a $10 wine and was noted as among the 100 best in a recent SF Chronicle poll. I will be happy to post your wine suggestions.
---------------------------------
Some 25 years ago I made a major transition from tile setter to field service engineering in the computer and bio-medical field. I re-programmed, re-tooled, and re-engineered myself to embark on a new path which has led me to right here and right now. Today I am very restless and am considering another major transition. My plan is to develop the timelines into a printed journal or magazine. I would like to retain the timelines web site as a primary source, but add a monthly or bi-monthly printed form and solicit articles, subscriptions and advertising. Each issue would feature a country of the world, a US state, various subjects and the usual accoutrements i.e. letters, pictures, ads etc.
---------------------------------
The significant cost and risk in this enterprise will require a lot of support in advance and I will look for this primarily from the timelines users. Your suggestions, ideas and feedback on this subject will be much appreciated.

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #40
Dec 1, 2002

Scrambled, the history of the world is scrambled. Not so much like scrambled eggs, which would make the unscrambling impossible, but more like a garbage heap, where everything just gets tossed awaiting some future archaeologist to untangle and decipher the mess. I continue my efforts as assistant to that archaeologist and day by day lay out the bits and pieces of the heap in a fashion that I hope will help the many reconstructions that follow.
Just 10 years ago this type of historical tool did not exist. There were a number of high quality reference books, many still published and updated annually, but there was no online searchable source, there wasn’t even the idea of such a resource except perhaps in the minds of a few digital gurus. The Internet is certainly a remarkable tool.
The data in the timelines has become quite massive and to help matters I continue to extract special subjects on a daily basis. I am still surprised by the low amount of feedback and support in proportion to the number of reported hits and NL subscribers. This month the Feb issue of American History Magazine will go out and it includes a small classified ad for the timelines website. Perhaps this will spark some new interest and support.
------------------------------------
The website Schoepen TL Poster link has been changed to Giant Timeline Wall Chart and his logo link can be found down at the bottom of the front page.
----------------------------------------
An alert timeline user noted that references to the Massachusetts Bay Company from 1629 on were often identified as Mass. Bay Colony. I went back and updated all the references to correct the discrepancy.

The same user also wrote the following:
I really appreciate the Timelines and all the work put into them. I have a history wall-chart and find it very interesting to see different or similar developments in different parts of the world at the same time. I truly wish I could contribute to the work. Unfortunately, I am unable to work and the disability pension I receive doesn't cover even the bare necessities. I constantly find myself in debt with little chance of paying off the family members I borrow from. I pray that you may find the requisite number of donors to help keep the site going. Should I find myself capable of helping I will gladly do so. I love history and find it endlessly fascinating. Just reading one of the pages is really instructive and educational. I just wish I could remember every detail.

Sigrun from Canada

Such responses are a reward in themselves!
------------------------------------
I have updated the files:1600-1625, 1626-1660, 1661-1699, 1943-1949, 1955, and Massachusetts. A new subject file has been added: Black History.
------------------------------------
A user recommended the following macabre site:
Blaques Crime Dungeon: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blaques-dungeon/
A regular round-up of the world's most shocking, heinous crimes, as regularly posted on Usenet's alt.tasteless.
------------------------------------
User contributions: The following 2 items came by e-mail off the Internet, but I do not have corroboration on their validity from other sources. They are most interesting if true, and if anybody can point to a printed source I would much appreciate it.
I tried to contact scott.sullivan to no avail.
1986  Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel. He was captured tried and imprisoned by Israeli authorities. The 1993 Oslo agreement called for the release of political prisoners and Atta was released.
 ([email protected])
1987  Oliver North testified before Sen. Al Gore that he had spent $60,000 for a home security system as protection from terrorist Osama bin Laden. North recommended that a team be dispatched to assassinate bin Laden.
 ([email protected])

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]

Timelines of History
http://timelines.ws
Newsletter #41
Dec 15, 2002

A death in the family has thrown me a big setback, so this will be short. Normal updates continue and my small ad is now running in the current issue of American History Magazine. Hopefully this will spark some more interest, and possibly donations.
---------------------------------
I have posted a new icon near the top references paragraph that allows your votes for placing the TofH in the History Top 100 category.
---------------------------------
It would be interesting to know when Boston rescinded its anti-bathing law, or is everybody still bathing there under doctor’s orders:
1845 Boston outlawed bathing unless it was done under a doctor’s orders.
 (WSJ, 12/11/02, p.B1)

Best Wishes to All for the Holidays!

Algis Ratnikas
[email protected]