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Today in History: July 14

1223
In France, Louis VIII succeeds his father, Philip Augustus.

1430
Joan of Arc, taken prisoner by the Burgundians in May, is handed over to Pierre Cauchon, the bishop of Beauvais.

1456
Hungarians defeat the Ottomans at the Battle of Belgrade, in present-day Yugoslavia.

1536
France and Portugal sign the Treaty of Lyons, aligning themselves against Spain.

1789
The Bastille, a fortress in Paris used to hold political prisoners, is stormed by a mob.


1798
The Sedition Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.

1864
At Harrisburg, Mississippi, Federal troops under General Andrew Jackson Smith repulse an attack by General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

1900
European Allies retake Tientsin, China, from the rebelling Boxers.

1933
Nazi Germany promulgates the Law for the Protection of Hereditary Health--the beginning of the Euthanasia program.

1938
Howard Hughes and crew set a new world record for an around-the-world flight.

1940
A force of German bombers attacks Suez, Egypt, from bases in Crete.

1941
Vichy French Foreign Legionaries sign an armistice in Damascus, allowing them to join the Free French Foreign Legion.

1945
American battleships and cruisers bombard the Japanese home islands for the first time.

1951
The George Washington Carver National Monument in Joplin, Missouri becomes the first national park honoring an African American.

1964
The United States sends 600 more troops to Vietnam.



Today in History: Born on July 14

1858
Emmeline Pankhurst, founder of the Women's Social and Political Union.

1860
Owen Wister, novelist (The Virginian).

1903
Irving Stone, biographical novelist.

1904
Isaac Singer, Polish-born American writer.

1912
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie, American folk singer.


1913
Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States (1974-1977).

1916
Natalia Ginzburg, Italian novelist (The Dry Heat, Family Sayings).

1918
Ingmar Bergman, Swedish film director (The Seventh Seal, Fanny and Alexander).

1918
Arthur Laurents, writer and librettist.

JOTD
Forgive me Father for I have Sinned

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. ... "go on" says the priest. "I swore the other day" says the man. "continue" says the priest. "I was on the golf course the other day and i hit my drive, it was looking perfect, heading dead straight. About 200 yards down my ball hit a power line crossing the fairway". "and this is when you swore?" asked the priest. "No father, my ball then ricocheted of the power lines and flew off into the deep rough" continued the man. "this must have been when you swore?" the priest exclaimed. "No father, not yet. As i was walking over to the rough to hit my second shot a hawk flew down from the trees, picked my ball up in his beak and proceeded to fly off with it" continued the man. "Ahhh I see" says the priest "this must have been the point where you swore" "Nope not yet. The bird flew over the green the ball fell from its mouth and landed two feet from the hole" The priest pauses for a few seconds "you missed the fricking putt didn't you?"