The FReeper Foxhole Revisits Ship Naming in the United States Navy - Feb. 12th, 2005

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


...................................................................................... ...........................................

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.

The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer.

If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions.

We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.

To read previous Foxhole threads or
to add the Foxhole to your sidebar,
click on the books below.

The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

Ship Naming in the United States Navy


DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER


The Navy traces its ancestry to 13 October 1775, when an act of the Continental Congress authorized the first ship of a new navy for the United Colonies, as they were then known. The ships of the Continental Navy, and of the Navy later established under the Federal Constitution, were not named in any strictly categorical manner.


ALFRED

Ship names in the Continental Navy and the early Federal navy came from a variety of sources. As if to emphasize the ties that many Americans still felt to Britain, the first ship of the new Continental Navy was named Alfred in honor of Alfred the Great, the king of Wessex who is credited with building the first English naval force. Another ship was named Raleigh to commemorate the seagoing exploits of Sir Walter Raleigh. Some ships honored early patriots and heroes (Hancock and General Greene).

Others commemorated the young nation's ideals and institutions (Constitution, Independence, Congress). A 74-gun ship-of-the-line, launched in 1782 and donated to the French Navy on completion, was named America. A Revolutionary War frigate named Bourbon saluted the King of France, whose alliance would further the cause of American independence. Other ship names honored American places (Boston, Virginia). Small warships-- brigs and schooners--bore a variety of names. Some were named for positive character traits (Enterprise, Diligent). Others had classical names (Syren, Argus) or names of small creatures with a potent sting (Hornet, Wasp).




On 3 March 1819 an act of Congress formally placed the responsibility for assigning names to the Navy's ships in the hands of the Secretary of the Navy, a prerogative which he still exercises. This act stated that "all of the ships, of the Navy of the United States, now building, or hereafter to be built, shall be named by the Secretary of the Navy, under the direction of the President of the United States, according to the following rule, to wit: those of the first class shall be called after the States of this Union; those of the second class after the rivers; and those of the third class after the principal cities and towns; taking care that no two vessels of the navy shall bear the same name." The last-cited provision remains in the United States Code today.

An act of 12 June 1858 specifically included the word "steamship" in the ship type nomenclature, and officially defined the "classes" of ships in terms of the number of their guns. Ships armed with 40 guns or more were of the "first class"; those carrying fewer than 40, but more than 20, guns were of the "second class." The name source for the second class was expanded to include the principal towns as well as rivers. The unprecedented expansion of the fleet during the Civil War was reflected--as far as ship naming was concerned--in an act of 5 August 1861, which authorized the Secretary of the Navy "to change the names of any vessels purchased for use of the Navy Department..." This provision also remains in current law.

Shortly before the turn of this century the legislation was changed to reflect the remarkable changes taking place in the Navy itself as wooden hulls, sails, and muzzleloading ordnance gave way to steel ships with breechloading rifles. An act of May 4, 1898, specified that "all first-class battleships and monitors [shallow-draft coast-defense ships completed between 1891 and 1903, armed with heavy guns] shall be named for the States, and shall not be named for any city, place, or person, until the names of the States have been exhausted, provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed as to interfere with the names of states already assigned to any such battleship or monitor."

As with many other things, the procedures and practices involved in Navy ship naming are as much, if not more, products of evolution and tradition than of legislation. As we have seen, the names for new ships are personally decided by the Secretary of the Navy. The Secretary can rely on many sources to help him reach his decisions. Each year, the Naval Historical Center compiles primary and alternate ship name recommendations and forwards these to the Chief of Naval Operations by way of the chain of command. These recommendations are the result of research into the history of the Navy and by suggestions submitted by service members, Navy veterans, and the public.

Ship name source records at the Historical Center reflect the wide variety of name sources that have been used in the past, particularly since World War I. Ship name recommendations are conditioned by such factors as the name categories for ship types now being built, as approved by the Secretary of the Navy; the distribution of geographic names of ships of the Fleet; names borne by previous ships which distinguished themselves in service; names recommended by individuals and groups; and names of naval leaders, national figures, and deceased members of the Navy and Marine Corps who have been honored for heroism in war or for extraordinary achievement in peace.

In its final form, after consideration at the various levels of command, the Chief of Naval Operations signs the memorandum recommending names for the current year's building program and sends it to the Secretary of the Navy. The Secretary considers these nominations, along with others he receives as well as his own thoughts in this matter. At appropriate times, he selects names for specific ships and announces them.

While there is no set time for assigning a name, it is customarily done before the ship is christened. The ship's sponsor--the person who will christen the ship--is also selected and invited by the Secretary. In the case of ships named for individuals, an effort is made to identify the eldest living direct female descendant of that individual to perform the role of ship's sponsor. For ships with other name sources, it is customary to honor the wives of senior naval officers or public officials.

While the Navy has attempted to be systematic in naming its ships, like all institutions it has been subject to evolutionary change, and the name sources of the Navy's ships have not been immune to this change. Thus, an historical accounting of this evolution, as it appeared in modern times, may help the reader understand the ship naming process as it exists today.

The Civil War expanded the Navy to an extent undreamed of in prewar times. More than 200 new ships were built, and another 418 were purchased for naval use. Ironclads, including monitors, and shallow-draft river steamers fell into new classification categories, and their naming reflected the abrupt pace of growth. Names like Hartford and Brooklyn, Ticonderoga and Monongahela mingled with Trefoil, Stars and Stripes, Penguin, and Western World. Many ships, including gunboats and monitors, bore names of American Indian origin, such as Owasco, Sagamore, Saugus, and Onondaga.


Photographed circa early 1865.
Nearest ship is USS Saugus, with a mine sweeping "torpedo rake" attached to her bow. Next monitor astern is probably USS Sangamon. Visible just to the right of her is either USS Mahopac or USS Canonicus. Last two ships are USS Atlanta and USS Onondaga.
Photographed by the Matthew Brady organization.
Note the log boom across the river in the foreground and the signal tower atop the hill in the right distance.

Four big monitors, laid down but never completed, were given such tongue-twisters as Shackamaxon and Quinsigamond. A large oceangoing ironclad was, fittingly enough, named New Ironsides. Ships acquired for Navy use were known by such strange names as Hunchback, Midnight, and Switzerland. In 1869 one Secretary of the Navy, who disliked the Indian names borne by so many Navy ships, renamed a large number of them, substituting names from classical antiquity such as Centaur, Medusa, Goliath, and Atlas. A few months later, his successor changed most of the names back again!

As the "new Navy," the generation of steel ships that would mature into the fleet of the 20th century, took form the Navy's new ships were named in accordance with what evolved into a new system, tailored to the new ship types now developing. There came to be--then, as now--some duplication in use of name sources for different ship types. Names of states, for example, were borne by battleships; by armored cruisers (large, fast warships as big as, or bigger than, contemporary battleships but more lightly protected and armed with cruiser-caliber guns), and monitors (small coast-defense ships armed with heavy guns). As battleship construction went on through the early 1900s, state names began to run short. The law stated that battleships had to bear state names; to comply with this, monitors and armored cruisers were renamed for cities within their respective name states to free the names of their states for assignment to new battleships. The monitors Florida and Nevada, for instance, became Tallahassee and Tonopah, while the armored cruisers Maryland and West Virginia became Frederick and Huntington. By 1920, state names were the sole preserve of battleships.


USS Florida (BB-30)

In 1894 the famed Civil War sloop-of-war Kearsarge ran aground in the Caribbean and had to be written off as unsalvageable. There was so much affection for that ship in the Fleet that the Secretary of the Navy asked Congress to permit her name to be perpetuated by a new battleship. This was done, and Kearsarge (Battleship Number 5) became the only American battleship not to be named for a state.



From the 1880s on, cruisers were named for cities while destroyers--evolving from the steam torpedo boats built around the turn of the century--came to be named for American naval leaders and heroes, as today's destroyers are still named. Submarines began to enter the Fleet in 1900. The first was named Holland in honor of John Holland, submarine designer and builder. Later submarines were, at first, given such names as Grampus, Salmon, and Porpoise, but were also named for venomous and stinging creatures, such as Adder, Tarantula, and Viper. Submarines were renamed in 1911, however, and carried alpha- numeric names such as A-1, C-1, H-3, L-7, and the like until 1931, when "fish and denizens of the deep" once more became their name source. In 1931, existing ships were not renamed.



World War I sparked unprecedented naval ship construction, principally in destroyers and submarines, to protect a massive sealift effort--the "bridge of ships"--across the Atlantic to Europe. Additionally, the development of mine warfare necessitated the introduction of a new type of ship, the minesweeper. A new type of ship required a new name source. The then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, took a keen interest in amateur ornithology. This led him to select bird names as the name source for these new ships, and "F.D.R." signed the General Order assigning names to the first 36 ships of the Lapwing class. The ships that bore these colorful names served as the backbone of the Navy's mine force for the next quarter century; many earned honors in World War II.



Between the World Wars the Navy's first aircraft carriers came into service. Our first carrier, converted from the collier Jupiter, was Langley (CV 1), named in honor of aviation pioneer Samuel Pierpont Langley. Our next two carriers were built on the unfinished hulls of battle cruisers, two of a canceled class of six fast capital ships which had already been assigned the names of American battles and famous former Navy ships. These new carriers kept their original names, Lexington and Saratoga. The original battle-cruiser name source continued as Ranger, Yorktown, Enterprise, Wasp, and Hornet entered service between 1934 and 1941, and was carried on through World War II and into the postwar years.



As World War II approached, and ship construction programs began to include new types of ships, these required new name sources; others required a modification of existing name sources to meet a perceived shortage of "appropriate" names. Minesweepers were now being built and converted in large numbers. Perhaps fearing an exhaustion of suitable bird names, the Navy also used "general word classification" names such as Adept, Bold, and Agile, for new sweepers. This began a dual naming tradition that extended beyond World War II. Modern mine countermeasures ships are intended to detect and destroy all types of mines; they bear such names as Avenger, Guardian, and Dextrous. Coastal minehunters, similar in concept but designed for use in coastal waters, carry bird names (Osprey, Raven). Some hundreds of small seagoing minesweepers, built during World War II, were at first known only by their hull numbers. After the war, those remaining in the Fleet were reclassified and given bird names; thus, the wartime YMS 311 became Robin (AMS 53).

A new ship type, the destroyer escort (DE), retained the name source of its "parent" ship type, the destroyer. Most of these mass-produced antisubmarine patrol and escort ships were named in honor of members of the naval service killed in action in World War II. Some were named for destroyers lost in the early stages of that war.


USS England was named in honor of Ensign John Charles England, USNR, who was killed in action on board USS Oklahoma (BB-37) during the 7 December 1941 Pearl Harbor air raid.

Ships lost in wartime were normally honored by having their names reassigned to new construction. Names like Lexington, Yorktown, Atlanta, Houston, Triton and Shark were perpetuated in memory of lost ships and gallant crews. Unique among these names bestowed in honor of lost ships was Canberra, assigned to a heavy cruiser in honor of the Australian cruiser Canberra, sunk while operating with American warships during the Battle of Savo Island in August 1942. This was seen to be an appropriate exception to the custom of naming cruisers for American cities.

During World War II the names of individuals were once again assigned to aircraft carriers. A small fleet carrier (CVL 49), converted from a cruiser hull, was named Wright in honor of the Wright brothers, while a large aircraft carrier (CVB 42) of the Midway class was named Franklin D. Roosevelt soon after the President's death in the spring of 1945. That name was suggested to then-President Harry S. Truman by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, who would himself later be honored in the naming of our first "supercarrier," Forrestal (CVA 59). Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first aircraft carrier to be named for an American statesman; Franklin and Hancock, wartime Essex-class fleet carriers, honored the former Navy ships of those names and not, as many think, the statesmen themselves. A new Langley (CVL 27) honored our first aircraft carrier, lost in the opening months of war in the Pacific.

Amphibious warfare, long considered a minor function by navies, assumed major importance in World War II. An entirely new "family" of ships and craft was developed for the massive landing operations in Europe and the Pacific. Many types of landing ships did not receive "word" names, but were simply known by their hull numbers (LST 806 and LCI(G) 580). Attack cargo ships and attack transports carried landing craft to put cargo and troops ashore on a beachhead. Many of these were named for American counties (Alamance [AKA 75]; Hinsdale [APA 120]). Some early APAs, converted from conventional troopships, kept their former names (Leonard Wood, President Hayes); many AKAs were named for stars (Achernar) or constellations (Cepheus). Dock landing ships, seagoing ships with a large well deck for landing craft or vehicles, bore names of historic sites (Gunston Hall, Rushmore). Modern LSDs are still part of today's Fleet, and carry on this name source (Fort McHenry, Pearl Harbor). After World War II the remaining tank landing ships (LST) were given names of American counties; thus, the hitherto-unnamed LST 819 now became Hampshire County (LST 819).


USS TARAWA (LHA-1)

As naval technology advanced after World War II, the fleet began to evolve much as it had after the Civil War. Old ship types left the Navy's roster as new types emerged. Nuclear power and guided missiles spurred much of this change. The first nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser, Long Beach, was the last cruiser to be named for a city in traditional fashion.

The next cruisers, also nuclear-powered missile ships, were given state names and became the California and Virginia classes. We had built no battleships since World War II, and these new ships were seen to be, in a sense, their successors as the most powerful surface warships afloat.

Nuclear-powered fleet ballistic missile submarines, built to carry the Polaris strategic deterrent missile, began to go into commission in the early 1960s. These were rightly regarded as ships without precedent. Thus, a name source of their own was deemed appropriate. Our first ballistic missile submarine was named George Washington, and the rest of the "41 for freedom" bore the names of "famous Americans and others who contributed to the growth of democracy." Some of these submarines were later reclassified as conventional attack submarines under the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) agreements. Though they lost their missile capability, they continued to bear such names as Patrick Henry and Ethan Allen. The newest Trident missile submarines of the Ohio class bear state names, one of the name sources originally considered for the first Polaris submarines. One of the class, Henry M. Jackson, honors a legislator who had a strong share in shaping American defense programs.


USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608)

Into the mid-1970s attack submarines continued to be named for sea creatures, though a few were named for such legislators as Richard B. Russell and L. Mendel Rivers. Ships of the more recent Los Angeles class bear the names of American cities. One exception, Hyman G. Rickover, honors the man who has been called "the father of the nuclear Navy." The new Seawolf class has departed from this scheme, with Seawolf representing a "denizen of the deep" and Connecticut named for the state; the third ship of the class has not yet been named.

After World War II aircraft carriers were given a mix of such traditional carrier names as Ranger, Saratoga, and Coral Sea and names of individuals. The first of these, as we have seen, was Franklin D. Roosevelt, later followed by Forrestal and John F. Kennedy. All the ships of the current Nimitz class bear the names of such national figures as Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, and Ronald Reagan.

The names of American battles have been perpetuated by the newest class of guided missile cruisers. The first of these was Ticonderoga; twenty later ships of this class honor actions fought from the Revolution to World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. One ship is named Thomas S. Gates for a statesman who served as Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of Defense.

Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers continue the tradition of honoring naval leaders and heroes. There are the typical exceptions; Roosevelt (DDG 80) was named in honor of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, while Winston Churchill honors the great war leader of World War II. Some destroyers bear names of recent heroes, while others carry on the traditions of distinguished former ships of the same name.

The Navy is not only made up of combatant ships. Throughout its history it has depended on its auxiliary ships, a generic term used in referring to the many different types of ships used to support the Fleet. Auxiliary ship types are numerous and varied, and display many different name sources. Submarine tenders, for instance, are "mother ships" to submarine squadrons and bear the names of submarine pioneers (Simon Lake, Hunley, Holland). Ammunition ship names are names of volcanoes or words denoting fire and explosives (Suribachi, Pyro). Fleet tugs, big seagoing ships capable of rescue and firefighting as well as towing, bear American Indian names (Powhatan, Navajo), while salvage ships have names indicating salvage (Safeguard, Grasp). Ocean surveying ships have been named for individuals who distinguished themselves in ocean sciences or exploration (Maury, Wilkes, Bowditch); the name of one, Pathfinder, points to its role at sea. Oilers, large tankers fitted to refuel other ships at sea, are named for rivers (Monongahela, Patuxent) or for famous ship designers or builders (Joshua Humphreys, Benjamin Isherwood). Fast combat support ships provide fuel, ammunition, and other supplies to aircraft carrier battle groups. The newest class of these ships honors the names of honored supply ships of former years (Supply, Arctic).


USS Mt. Hood

How will the Navy name its ships in the future? It seems safe to say that the evolutionary process of the past will continue; as the Fleet itself changes, so will the names given to its ships. It seems equally safe, however, to say that future decisions in this area will continue to demonstrate regard for the rich history and valued traditions of the United States Navy.

---

---

FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[The Mayor]

February 12, 2005

The Leviticus Reminder

Read:
Leviticus 11:41-45

I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. -Leviticus 11:44

Bible In One Year: Leviticus 11-13

If you are following the Bible reading schedule in Our Daily Bread, you've been in the book of Leviticus lately. Leviticus may be one of the least-read books in the Bible, and you might be wondering what its purpose really is. Why all those laws and rules about clean and unclean animals? (ch.11). What message was God giving to the Israelites-and to us?

Bible commentator Gordon Wenham says, "As the laws distinguished clean from unclean animals, so the people were reminded that God had distinguished them from all the other nations on earth to be His own possession. . . . Man's highest duty is to imitate his creator."

Five times in Leviticus God says, "Be holy, for I am holy" (11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7,26). And forty-five times He says, "I am the Lord" or "I am the Lord your God." One of the most important themes in the book is God's call for His people to be holy. Jesus echoed that theme when He said, "You shall be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

As you read Leviticus 11, remember that you are special to God and are to "proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

We need the Leviticus reminder every day. -Anne Cetas

Some portions of the Word of God
Are difficult to read,
But God will help us understand
Rich truths He'd have us heed. -D. De Haan

Study the Bible to be wise; believe it to be safe; practice it to be holy.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
How Can I Understand The Bible?
Knowing God Through The Old Testament

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on February 12:
1211 Henry VII Roman catholic German king (1220-35)
1585 Caspar Bartholin Malmö, physician, theologian, writer on anatomy
1588 John Winthrop English attorney/puritan/1st Governor of Massachusetts
1768 Francis II Florence Italy, last Holy Roman emperor (1792-1806)
1791 Peter Cooper industrialist/philanthropist (Cooper Union)
1809 Charles Darwin Shrewsbury England, discovered evolution (Origin of species)

1809 Abraham Lincoln Hodgenville KY, (R) 16th President (1861-65)

1828 Robert Ransom Jr Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1892
1838 Charles Carroll Walcott Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1898
1880 John Llewellyn Lewis union leader (United Mine Workers, 1920-60)
1893 Omar Bradley General of Army WWII "The GI General"
1904 Ted Mack Denver CO, TV host (Original Amateur Hour)
1914 Gordon Tex Beneke saxophonist/bandleader/vocalist (Glenn Miller Orchestra)
1915 Lorne Greene Ottawa Canada, actor (Bonanza, Battlestar Galactica)
1919 Forrest Tucker Plainfield IN, actor (O'Rourke-F Troop, Dusty Trail)
1923 Franco Zeffirelli Florence Italy, movie director (Romeo & Juliet)
1926 Joe Garagiola St Louis MO, baseball player/sportscaster/host (Today Show)
1930 Arlen Specter (Senator-Rino-PA, 1981- )
1930 Gerhard Rühm writer
1931 Constance A Morella (Representative-R-MD)(rino)
1934 Bill Russell Monroe LA, NBA star (Boston Celtics, Olympics-gold-56)
1935 Ray Manzarek keyboardist (The Doors-Light My Fire, Unknown Soldier)
1936 Joe Don Baker Groesback TX, actor (Eischied, Walking Tall, Fletch)
1938 Johnny Rutherford auto racer
1944 Moe Bandy Meridian MS, country vocalist (Just Good Ol' Boys)
1956 Paula Zahn Omaha NB, news anchor (ABC, CBS This Morning)
1958 Arsenio Hall comedian (Alan Thicke, Arsenio, Coming to America)
1980 Christina Ricci actress (Wednesday-Addams Family, Mermaids, Casper)

---

Deaths which occurred on February 12:
1242 Hendrik VII Roman Catholics German king (1220-35), commits suicide
1294 Kublai Khan, the conqueror of Asia, died at the age of 80
1804 Immanuel Kant German philosopher (Zum ewigen Frieden), dies in Königsberg, Prussia at 79
1929 Freiherr Albert von Schrenk-Notzing German para-psychologist, dies at 66
1942 Grant Wood US painter (American Gothic), dies at 49
1945 ... de Jong Dutch vicar/resistance fighter, executed
1947 Sidney Toler actor (Charlie Chan, Dark Alibi), dies at 72
1971 James Cash Penney US founder (J C Penney), dies at 95
1976 Sal Mineo actor (Exodus, Rebel Without a Cause), stabbed at 37
1979 Jean Renoir French writer/director (Human Beast), dies at 84
1982 Victor Jory Dawson City Yukon Territory Canada, actor (Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1st Lady, Jigsaw), dies at 79
1983 Eubie Blake ragtime-composer/pianist (Memories of You), dies at 100
1991 Robert Wagner mayor (NYC-D-1954-65), dies
1993 James Bulger English child beaten to death at 2, by 10 year old boys

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 SULLIVAN MARTIN J.---LAWRENCE MA.
1967 WEISSMUELLER COURTNEY E.---ORLANDO FL. 1968 BROWN HARRY W.---CHARLESTON SC.
1968 GROTH WADE L.---GREENVILLE MI.
1968 GUNN ALAN W.---SAN ANTONIO TX.
1968 ROE JERRY L.---HOUSTON TX.
1969 FISHER JOHN B.---OCALA FL.
[03/11/69 RELEASED BY SIHANOUK]
1969 OSBURN LAIRD P.---WEBSTER SPRINGS WV.
[03/12/69 RELEASED BY SIHANOUK, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1969 PRYOR ROBERT J.---OAK RIDGE TN.
[03/11/69 RELEASED BY SIHANOUK]
1970 BRADSHAW ROBERT S. III---LUFKIN TX.
1970 BREEDING MICHAEL HUGH---BLUE RAPIDS KS.
1971 MC LEOD ARTHUR E.---BAY SHORE NY.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 08/27/99]
1971 WILKINSON CLYDE D.---MINERAL WELLS TX.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 08/27/99]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

---

On this day...
1049 Bruno count of Egesheim & Dagsburg crowned Pope Leo IX
1111 German King Hendry V arrives at St Peter, Rome
1130 Pope Innocent II elected
1502 Granada Moslems forced to convert to Catholicism
1577 Spanish land guardian Don Juan of Habsburg signs "Eternal Edict"
1624 English parliament comes together

1683 A Christian Army, led by Charles, the Duke of Lorraine and King John Sobieski of Poland, routed a huge Ottoman army surrounding Vienna

1733 Georgia founded by James Oglethorpe, at site of Savannah
1793 1st US fugitive slave law passed; requires return of escaped slaves
1818 Chile gains independence from Spain
1825 Creek Indian treaty signed; Tribal chiefs agree to turn over all their land in Georgia to the government & migrate west by Sept 1, 1826
1832 Ecuador annexes Galápagos Islands
1839 Aroostook War took place over a boundary dispute between Maine and New Brunswick.
1848 Ballet "Faust" premieres, Milan
1850 Original Washington's Farewell Address manuscript sells for $2,300
1861 State troops seize US munitions in Napoleon AK
1865 Henry Highland Garnet, is 1st black to speak in US House of Representatives
1873 Congress abolishes bimetallism & authorizes $1 & $3 gold coins
1876 Al Spalding opens his sporting good shop
1877 1st news dispatch by telephone, between Boston & Salem MA
1877 US railroad builders strike against wage reduction
1878 Frederick Thayer patents the catcher's mask (pat # 200,358)
1879 1st artificial ice rink in North America (Madison Square Garden, NYC)
1879 News about slaughtering of Isandlwana reaches London
1880 National Croquet League organizes (Philadelphia)
1899 -47ºF, Camp Clarke NB (state record)
1908 New York to Paris auto race (via Alaska & Siberia) begins in New York NY; George Schuster wins after 88 days behind the wheel
1909 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded
1912 Last Ch'ing (Manchu) emperor of China, Henry P'u-i, abdicates
1915 Cornerstone laid for Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC
1921 Soviet troops invade Georgia
1921 Winston Churchill becomes British, minister of Colonies
1924 George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" premieres at Carnegie Hall (New York NY)
1924 President Calvin Coolidge makes 1st presidential radio speech
1925 1st federal arbitration law approved by Congress
1933 German vice-chancellor von Papen demands Catholic aid for Nazis
1934 France hit by a general strike against fascists & royalists
1935 Great airship, USS Macon, crashes into Pacific Ocean
1938 Austrian chancellor Schuschnigg visits Hitler in Berchtesgaden
1938 German troops entered Austria
1942 3 German battle cruisers escape via Channel to Brest N Germany
1944 Wendell Wilkie (R) enters presidential race
1945 San Francisco selected for site of UN Conference
1947 Daytime fireball & meteorite fall seen in eastern Siberia
1947 Record 100.5-kg sailfish caught, C W Stewart, Galapagos Islands
1949 "Annie Get Your Gun" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 1147 performances
1949 Panic in Quito Ecuador, after "War of the World" played on radio
1950 Senator Joe McCarthy claims to have list of 205 communist government employees
1950 Albert Einstein warns against hydrogen bomb
1953 USSR breaks relations with Israel
1955 McGuire Sisters' "Sincerely" single goes to #1 & stays #1 for 10 weeks

1955 President Eisenhower sends 1st US advisors to South Vietnam

1957 Researchers announce Borazan (harder than diamonds) been developed
(note to guys: DON'T buy your sweety a Borazan ring. It just doesn't work.)
1962 Bus boycott starts in Macon GA
1963 Argentina asks extradition of Ex-President Peron
1964 Beatles 1st NYC concert (Carnegie Hall)
1967 Keith Richards, Mick Jagger & Marianne Faithful busted for drugs
1972 Senator Kennedy advocated amnesty for Vietnam draft resisters


1973 1st US POWs in North Vietnam released; 116 of 456 flown to Philippines


1981 Admiral Bobby R Inman, USN, becomes deputy director of CIA
1982 Wayne Gretzky scores 153rd point of season, tying NHL record
1984 Cale Yarborough, becomes 1st Daytona 500 qualifier, above 200 MPH
1987 Survivors of a black man murdered by KKK members awarded $7 million damages
1991 In China, two longtime democracy activists (Wang Juntao and Chen Ziming) were sentenced to 13 years in prison. Both later freed.
1998 Intel unveils its 1st graphics chip i740
1998 US district judge T Hogan declares line-item veto law unconstitutional

1999 The five-week impeachment trial of Bill Clinton comes to an end, the Senate voted to acquit President Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice.(BOOOO)

2001 Scientists published their first examinations of nearly all the human genetic code.
2002 The war crimes trial of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic began at the Hague in the Netherlands.
2004 Malaysia's land minister was arrested and charged for his involvement a deal to sell millions of dollars worth of shares his government agency owned in the second high-profile anti-corruption case this week amid a government crackdown

---

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Booneville Indiana : Nancy Hanks Lincoln Memorial Day
Burma : Union Day (1947)
Georgia : Georgia Day/Oglethorpe Day (1733)
US : Abraham Lincoln's Birthday (Traditional)
US : No Talk Day
US : New Idea Week Ends
US : Kraut and Frankfurter Week (Day 2)
US : Love and Laughter Keeps Us from Getting Dizzy Week (Day 5)
Snack Food Month

---

Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of St Eulalia
Methodist : Race Relations Sunday (2nd Sunday in February)
Orthodox : Feast of the 3 Saints-Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian
Orthodox : Commemoration of St Anthony of Cauleas, patriarch of Constantinople
old Roman Catholic : Feast of the 7 Founders of the Servite Order

---

Religious History
1797 Franz Haydn's AUSTRIAN HYMN was first performed for the Emperor Francis II's fifth birthday. Today, AUSTRIAN HYMN is the most common melody to which we sing the popular hymn, "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken."
1807 Anglican missionary to Persia Henry Martyn wrote in his journal: 'Amazing patience, He bears with this faithless foolish heart and suffers me to come, laden with sins, to receive new pardon, new grace, every day! Why does not such love make me hate sin that grieves Him and hides me from His sight?'
1948 The Pentecostal awakening known as the "Latter Rain Movement" traces its origin to this date, when students at the Sharon Orphanage and Schools in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada began experiencing a mass spiritual awakening.
1952 The Roman Catholic program "Life is Worth Living" debuted on television. Hosted by (then-) Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, the half-hour program aired on Tuesday nights. It became the longest-running religious TV series of its day, and ran through February of 1957.
1962 Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth predicted in a letter: 'The day will come when we shall no longer speak of Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians but simply of Evangelical Christians forming one body and one people.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

---

Thought for the day :
"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

[Valin]

Dang nab night shift 'puter never works right when you want it to

Have ever considered it might be....THEM? You never know when THEY will strike.

[SAMWolf]

To paraphrase Matthew Ridgeway,

'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'

[SAMWolf]

Inquiring minds want to know. :-)

[SAMWolf]

USS FRESNO was the 4th ship in the NEWPORT - class of Tank Landing Ships. Her last homeport was San Diego, Ca. FRESNO is currently berthed at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF), Pearl Harbor, HI.

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C.

Thanks for the update on your dad. I'll keep him in my prayers.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning GailA.

[SAMWolf]

It surprised me when the Navy started naming ships after living people.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Mayor

[SAMWolf]

Hi Feather.

[SAMWolf]

1683 A Christian Army, led by Charles, the Duke of Lorraine and King John Sobieski of Poland, routed a huge Ottoman army surrounding Vienna

Seems these guys just keep coming back to get the butts kicked every so often.

[The Mayor]

Morning Sam, how's the business doing?

[Valin]

William Wordsworth

SIEGE OF VIENNA RAISED BY JOHN SOBIESKI

FEBRUARY 1816

OH, for a kindling touch from that pure flame
Which ministered, erewhile, to a sacrifice
Of gratitude, beneath Italian skies,
In words like these: 'Up, Voice of song! proclaim
'Thy saintly rapture with celestial aim:
'For lo! the Imperial City stands released
'From bondage threatened by the embattled East,
'And Christendom respires; from guilt and shame
'Redeemed, from miserable fear set free
'By one day's feat, one mighty victory.
'--Chant the Deliverer's praise in every tongue!
'The cross shall spread, the crescent hath waxed dim;
'He conquering, as in joyful Heaven is sung,
'HE CONQUERING THROUGH GOD, AND GOD BY HIM.'

[Valin]

It appears I've made a "slight" Error.

Jan III Sobieski: 1674-1696
And The Siege of Vienna of 1683


One of the most important battles of the 17th century was the battle of Vienna, which was fought on September 12, 1683. The outcome of this battle would have a profound effect on the future of Eastern, if not of all, Europe. The Battle of Vienna was mainly fought by the Turks, with about 15,000 Tatars on their side, against a less numerous combination of Polish, German, and Austrian forces. The Turkish forces were led by the Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa, an ambitious man, but who wasn't a very good general judging by the number of battles he had lost. The opposing forces were led by Jan Sobieski. On May 21, 1674, Sobieski was elected king as John III by the Diet. This was after the death of King Michael Wisniowiecki the previous year, on November 10. Sobieski was an intelligent, talented, and a brave man. He was also a patriot of Poland and always wanted the best for his country.

http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/EastEurope/ViennaSiege.CP.html

[Iris7]

"1683 A Christian Army, led by Charles, the Duke of Lorraine and King John Sobieski of Poland, routed a huge Ottoman army surrounding Vienna."

Reminds me of the Expulsion of the moslem invaders of Spain, called the Reconquista, 718 AD to 1492 AD (took 772 years), and the Great Siege of Malta, 1565, and the naval battle of Lepanto, 1571. The struggle continues. Machines change, people don't.

[w_over_w]

Morning Glory Snip, Sam & I7~

This sure does answer a lot of questions I had but never the time to research. What an honor to have the Navy's finest named after you or your homes. Here are some of my favorites . . . no particular reason ;^)

USS Austin (LPD 4)

USS San Antonio (LPD 17)

USS Houston (SSN 713)

USS Dallas (SSN 700)

USS Texas (BB 35)

[Seems to something wrong with FR this AM so hopefully these all loaded]

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi all. H a p p y

[aomagrat]

Explain how the USS Snark got her name.