This day in history - May 13

[seamusTX]

1607 - English settlers arrived by ship at the site of Jamestown, Virginia.

1846 - The United States formally declared war with Mexico.

1865 - A battle at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville was the last battle of the War Between the States. Private John J. Williams of the 34th Indiana was last man killed in the war.

http://www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.or ... lmetto.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1884 - The American Institute of Electrical Engineers was founded. The organization is known today as the Institute for Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Think of a significant aspect of your life that does not involve electronics. I come up with

• plumbing
• clothing

1913 - Igor Sikorsky flew the first 4-engine aircraft.

1940 - Winston Churchill, in his first speech as prime minister, coined the phrase, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" (often misquoted as "blood, sweat, and tears).

1949 - The first British jet bomber, Canberra, made its first test flight.

1985 - Philadelphia police dropped a bomb onto the residence of the radical group MOVE; 11 people died in the resulting fire.

- Jim

[seamusTX]

It wasn't a military bomb. The police had some C4 explosive that they made into a bomb. (Don't ask me why the police had C4 explosive.) They used euphemisms at the time, like "incendiary device." They also used the same sort of rationalizations that were used with Waco, such as the fear that the occupants of the house might escape through tunnels.

- Jim

[SkipB]

Nice info Jim

[Purplehood]

You gotta read the details on that MOVE bombing. Though the people inside might have been bad-folks, the way that it was handled was equally as bad.

[seamusTX]

The Wikipedia article matches my recollection of events, and it contains links to primary sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOVE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

IMHO, this was an act of war perpetrated in an American city. The intended targets included adults who were both kooks and criminals, but the damage also hurt innocent children and neighbors. An entire city block burned, along with most of the possessions of some 250 people.

- Jim