The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Barbary War - Feb. 28th, 2003

http://earlyamerica.com/review/2002_winter_spring/terrorism.htm ^ | Thomas Jewett

[SAMWolf]

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America and the Barbary Pirates:
An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe

The events of September 11, 2001 shocked the United States out of its complacency concerning its invulnerability. Even though the U.S. has the most powerful military machine on earth, it might be of little avail; it seems that a new type of war will be fought. A war that will need resolve, years of effort, and new tactics.

This is not the first conflict in which America has faced such deprivations against life and property. There was another time when it was determined that diplomacy would not only be futile, but humiliating and in the long run disastrous. A time when ransom or tribute would not buy peace. A time when war was considered more effective and honorable. And, a time when war would be fought, not with large concentrations of military might, but by small bands peopled with individuals of indomitable spirit.

Almost 180 years ago our infant country attacked Tripoli under circumstances that are eerily similar to contemporary times. That conflict, immortalized in the Marine Corps Hymn, "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli" called the Tripolitan War or the Barbary Pirate War, came shortly after we gained our independence from England. The United States chose to fight the pirates of Barbary, rather than pay tribute, as did all the other nations who traded in the Mediterranean Sea. The decision was bold, but the eventual victory by the tiny United States Navy broke a pattern of international blackmail and terrorism dating back more than one hundred and fifty years.

The Barbary States was a collective name given to a string of North African seaports stretching from Tangiers to Tripoli. These ports were under the nominal control of the Ottoman Empire, but their real rulers were sea rovers or corsairs who sallied forth from the coast cities to plunder Mediterranean shipping and capture slaves for labor or ransom. Among the famous prisoners ransomed from the shackles of Barbary were St. Vincent de Paul, and Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote (Castor, 1971).

Common piracy by the Barbary States blossomed into a sophisticated racket in 1662, when England revived the ancient custom of paying tribute. The corsairs agreed to spare English ships for an annual bribe paid in gold, jewels, arms, and supplies. The custom spread to all countries trading in the Mediterranean.

England paid tribute for the vessels of her American colonies, and France guaranteed it for them during the War of Independence. The new United States awoke abruptly to an ugly responsibility of independence when in 1785 the Dey of Algiers seized an American ship and jailed its crew for nonpayment of tribute (Channing, 1968).



The Dey was in no hurry to wring tribute from this new source of revenue. The capture of American ships would be more profitable, and in view of the naval weakness of the United States, a rather safe venture. Eleven of the first unfortunate Americans to fall into his hands died before their country ransomed the rest ten years later.

To the sea hawks of Barbary, the American ships in the Mediterranean were "fat ducks" prime for the plucking. In this view, they were encouraged by England and France whose trade was being hurt by the upstart Yankees (Castor, 1971).

Turkey, overlord of Barbary, was an ally of Britain. The North Africans depended on free trade with France for supplies. Hence the pirates were forbidden to attack British shipping and in plain self-interest could not raid the French. With targets so limited, the American "fat ducks" were a godsend. By 1794, the Dey of Algiers had plundered eleven American ships and held one hundred and nineteen of their survivors for ransom.

President George Washington tried to reach an agreement with the Barbary States but with little success. His agents, one of whom was John Paul Jones, had diplomatic doors slammed in their faces.



Washington's ambassadors in Europe worked to free Americans enslaved in Barbary dungeons, but John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson were ridiculed.

In 1785, the exasperated Jefferson suggested that war was the only solution. His mind was "absolutely suspended between indignation and impotence." Jefferson declared that tribute was "money thrown away" and that the most convincing argument that these outlaws would understand was gunpowder and shot. The future president proposed a multi-national effort between European powers and America that would in effect economically blockade North Africa and ultimately provide for a multi-national military force to combat pirate terrorism. The European powers chose to continue paying tribute to the Barbary States (Irwin, 1970).

John Adams, the next President, went along with the Europeans and paid for peace in the Mediterranean. Congress, in 1795, authorized payment of tribute. Algiers was granted the equivalent of $642,500 in cash, munitions, and a 36-gun frigate, besides a yearly tribute of $21,600 worth of naval supplies. Ransom rates were officially set for those Americans already in Barbary prisons-$4,000 for each passenger, $1,400 for each cabin boy. Sunday after Sunday, a sad roll of names was read out in the churches of Salem, Newport, and Boston, listing the men in irons. Congress would only pay $200 for their freedom, the rest of the money had to be raised privately. Eventually, at long last, the American captives of the Dey of Algiers walked into the light, except for thirty-seven dead, whose ransoms had to be paid nevertheless (Malone, 1951).



Adam's acquiescence to Algiers prompted Tunis and Tripoli to demand and be promised their own blood money. Tripoli, especially, was piqued at the Dey of Algiers' good fortune.

[SAMWolf]

The payment of blackmail did not end the indignities perpetrated by Barbary. An absurd episode in 1800 pointed up the futility of giving in to the pirates. When the frigate George Washington docked in Algiers with a consignment of tribute, the Dey, to impress his master, the Sultan of Turkey, shanghaied the American ship to run an errand for him. The captain of the luckless ship, William Bainbridge, was forced to haul down the American flag and to run up the Algerian colors. The George Washington was commandeered to take a shipment of treasure, livestock, and some lions to the Sultan in Istanbul (Irwin, 1970).

Yusuf, the Pasha of Tripoli, seeing the weakness of the Americans, decided to increase demands on the United States. Among the trifles he ordered as part of the American tribute were several diamond-studded guns. On the occasion of the death of George Washington the Pasha informed President Adams that it was customary when a great man passed away from a tributary state to make a gift in his name to the crown of Tripoli. Yusuf estimated Washington to be worth about $10,000.

By the spring of 1801, Yusuf had heard nothing about his $10,000 and his impatience with America had grown to a fine rage. The Pasha summoned the American representative to his court, made him kiss his hand and decreed that, as a penalty, tribute would be raised to $225,000, plus $25,000 annually in goods of his choice. If refused, the alternative was war. To make his point, Yusuf had his soldiers chop down the flagpole in front of the American consulate, a significant gesture in a land of no tall trees-and one that meant war (Channing, 1968).

The reason for Yusuf's lack of tribute was that the United States had a new president-the former frustrated ambassador, Thomas Jefferson. Upon entering office, Jefferson had been appalled to discover that tribute and ransoms paid to Barbary had exceeded $2,000,000, or about one-fifth, of the entire annual income of the United States government.

Jefferson decided that a little "showing of the flage" in the Mediterranean was more appropriate than tribute. He ordered the frigates President, Essex, and Philadelphia and the sloop Enterprise to blockade Tripoli and convoy American shipping (Malone, 1970). This squadron, under Commodore Richard Dale, had to patrol and control a coastline over 1,200 miles in distance, which resulted in a "most desultory blockade." The lone success of the force was the defeat of a larger Tripolitan ship by Enterprise. Since there had been no declaration of war by the United States, the Barbary cruiser could not be taken as a prize. However, the captain of the Enterprise did have all of the corsair's guns thrown overboard before allowing the ship to continue on its way, with sixty casualties to his none (Channing, 1968).

Yusuf was so furious at his captain's defeat at the hand of the American "fat ducks" that he had him bastinadoed (beaten on the soles of his feet) and paraded backward on a donkey, his neck festooned with sheep's entrails (Castor, 1971).

At this time, U.S. naval enlistments were for only one year, so in March 1802, Commodore Dale sailed home. Congress still refused to declare war against Tripoli, but did levy a light war tax and proclaimed "protection of commerce" by the navy.

Command of the American effort evolved in September 1803 to Captain Edward Preble, who immediately set about on the offensive. He scored a bloodless victory at Tangier by convincing the Sultan of Morocco that it would be to his benefit not to molest American shipping in the future. Preble accomplished this feat by sailing the Constitution into Tangier harbor, opening up the gun ports, running out the cannon, and pointing them at the Sultan's palace. The Sultan hastened to agree, and to seal the bargain, supplied the crew of the ship with provisions (Channing, 1968).

The glow of success was soon tarnished when news reached Preble of the capture of the frigate Philadelphia. The Philadelphia arrived on station in the Mediterranean ahead of the rest of the squadron. Its captain, William Bainbridge, unwisely set about trying to blockade Tripoli alone. On October 31, while pursuing a corsair under full sail, Philadelphia grounded on a sandbar about two miles offshore. Despite five hours of desperate work by her crew, she stuck fast. With her broadsides tilted at crazy angles, her firing was harmless to the pirates' small craft that quickly swarmed about her.

Bainbridge, after jettisoning his useless cannon, and thinking the ship's carpenter had scuttled the ship, surrendered to prevent a massacre. Three hundred and seven Americans were taken prisoner, put in chains, and forced to slave in the building of Tripoli's fortifications (Irwin, 1970).

Preble's hands were tied. Any action by the Americans might result in the Pasha murdering Philadelphia's crewmen in reprisal. So, Preble first offered $50,000 and then $100,000 for their release, but was scornfully refused. Whereupon, Preble released his own seahawk, Stephen Decatur.

In December, young Lieutenant Decatur, captain of the Enterprise, had apprehended an enemy ketch, a four-gun vessel of shallow draft, which could be rowed. Decatur planned a raid to destroy the unlucky Philadelphia, whom the pirates had refloated and were rigging for action against the Americans. Decatur's plan called for the use of a native vessel, and the captured ketch filled the bill.

Decatur and his small crew disguised as North Africans sailed the Barbary ketch into Tripoli harbor on the night of February 15, 1804. The tiny craft bumped into the Philadelphia, and Decatur's boarding party flung grappling hooks to lash the rails together. Then yelling and screaming, they leaped onto the deck of the frigate. As a pirate reported later, the Americans "sent Decatur on a dark night, with a band of Christian dogs fierce and cruel as the tiger, who killed our brothers and burnt our ships before our eyes." Decatur's men wielded tomahawks and killed twenty pirates in as many minutes, chasing the rest over the side. Only one raider was wounded before the Philadelphia was set afire in four places. Then the Americans withdrew (Castor, 1971).

Decatur's luck held in the even more perilous escape from the harbor. The Pasha's artillery thundered wildly after the brazen Americans, but the little ketch, scarcely scratched, was rowed through the storm, to rejoin the American squadron (Castor, 1971).

When British Admiral Lord Nelson heard of the raid, he called it "the most bold and daring act of the age." Decatur, just twenty-five, won promotion to captain-then the highest rank in the navy-and remains the youngest man ever to be so honored (Bobby-Evans, 2001).

Decatur's act, no matter how bold and daring, did not alter radically the situation in the Mediterranean. Tripoli was defended by 25,000 soldiers and 115 cannon ashore, and 24 warships guarded the harbor. Against them Preble could pit only 1,060 men aboard seven ships, of which only the Constitution was heavy-gunned. Without troops to storm the port, all that Preble and his men could do was to disrupt the Pasha's economy by not allowing the pirates to practice their trade and to keep the pasha on the defensive (Channing, 1968).

[SAMWolf]

On August 3, Preble's squadron sailed into Tripoli harbor to open bombardment of the city. The pirates were sheltered safe behind thick walled defenses, some of which had been constructed by Philadelphia's crew under the lash.

The bombardment caused little damage, but Preble was pleased by the behavior of his crews who had taken on the pirates at their own game. The corsairs were supposed to be invincible at hand-to-hand fighting, but never again would they attempt this, their favorite method of attacking and boarding on an American ship. The "fat ducks" had turned into fierce seahawks. American sailors led by men like Lieutenant John Trippe, outnumbered three to one, killed twenty-one of the pirates and captured fifteen in one engagement alone. Trippe himself took eleven wounds from a Turkish captain before ending the combat with a pike thrust. Three Tripolitan gunboats were captured, and one sunk (Castor, 1971).

Only one American was lost; Decatur's younger brother, James, had been treacherously murdered by the captain of a pirate ship after its surrender. Stephen Decatur avenged his brother by killing the murderer in a savage man-to-man encounter before witnesses (Castor, 1971).

Preble returned five times to harass and bombard Tripoli, but without troops to affect a landing, they were basically ineffectual. His tour of duty over, Preble returned home in modest triumph, to be commended by the President, to receive a gold medal from Congress, and to die of tuberculosis a year later. Pope Pius VII said that under Preble's orders Americans "had done more for the cause of Christianity than the most powerful nations of Christendom have done for ages" (Castor, 1971).

Preble's successor, Captain Samuel Barron, led the largest flotilla assembled under the American flag up to that time: six frigates, seven brigs, and ten gunboats. Barron had another weapon on his flagship, William Eaton, former Consul of Tunis (Irwin, 1970).



Eaton knew that Tripoli could be taken if ground troops were committed or if the political climate of the city could be altered. Eaton planned to do both. His scheme called for fomenting rebellion to supplant Yusuf with his brother Hamet (Channing, 1968).

To achieve his design Eaton had at his disposal $20,000 in cash, the little brig Argus, and a cadre of nine men. One of the latter was a midshipmen-man by the name of Pascal Paoli Peck, and the other eight were United States Marines led by Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon. This handful of men would share in an incredible adventure little recalled today except in the Marine Corps Hymn (Pike, 2001).

Eaton and the puppet Hamet met at Alexandria, Egypt and agreed to attack Yusuf's port of Derna. In that city Hamet had some support. To avoid an exhausting 500-mile march Eaton wanted to transport the American force by sea, but Hamet insisted that his flighty followers might disappear if the Americans did not march with him.

By promising riches and plunder after victory, "General" Eaton, as Hamet dubbed him, recruited probably the strangest army to march under the stars and stripes. The men were mostly Arabs and Levantine brigands, with some Greeks and other European soldiers of fortune. There were about six hundred in all (Bobby-Evans, 2001).

The expedition would be supplied by sea, and the Argus would pace the marchers just offshore. The Argus' cannon would provide Eaton with minimal naval support, and her eight marines were added to the rabble army.



The motley force moved out of Alexandria on March 8, 1805, along a route now made famous during World War II. Two of Eaton's rest stops were at Tobruk and El Alamein. Eaton's army, like those of the future would suffer from the sandstorms of the khamsin wind, which brings darkness at midday (Castor, 1971).

On the march Eaton's Arab cavalry threatened to mutiny. Eaton outfaced the horde with a show of bayonets from his squad of eight marines. Eventually Eaton's $20,000 was drained, and at times, he had to borrow money from his marines and Greek mercenaries to keep the expedition going (Irwin, 1970).



The Argus lost contact with the march about 90 miles from Derna, just as the land forces' food gave out. Some of the mercenaries vowed to quit, but Eaton coaxed them to eat a pack camel and wait a day or so. Fortunately the Argus reappeared on April 16, followed by the Hornet, with food and munitions. After a few days rest, Eaton resumed his advance, and arrived outside of Derna on April 25 (Irwin, 1970).

To Eaton's demand for surrender, the captain of Derna's defenses replied, "My head or yours!" After two days of maneuvering, Eaton's lone cannon opened on Derna's stonewalls and houses. The noise was impressive, dust flew, and in their excitement the Greek artillerymen burst the cannon by firing it with the rammer still in the tube (Castor, 1971).

At four in the afternoon, Eaton ordered a frontal attack, and with his tiny force of eight marines and fifty Greeks charged the walls. The town was won but at a high cost of fourteen dead, two of them marines. Eaton took a musket ball through the wrist in the assault, which captured the first city in the Old World by Americans (Bobby-Evans, 2001).



The victors were besieged in Derna throughout the month of May, but Hamet's cavalry repulsed the attacks. Eaton begged Commodore Barron to proclaim Hamet the new ruler of Tripoli, and to reinforce his troops for the 700-mile march on the Pasha's capital. Barron refused both requests because Yusuf had reopened negotiations with the American consul for the release of the Philadelphia's crew (Bobby-Evans, 2001).

An agreement was reached. Eaton and Hamet fled from the shores of Tripoli with the marines and Christian mercenaries to escape certain death at the hands of their angry followers, for whom peace would end all prospects of loot. What the fearless Eaton might have accomplished with the one hundred or more marines who were idle aboard Barron's squadron is tantalizing to imagine (Bobby-Evans, 2001).

The negotiated treaty with Yusuf called for the release of all prisoners, an end to slave taking and ship seizure, and a final ransom of $60,000. Yusuf was more than eager to sign. American naval presence had destroyed his normal source of revenue, and he had been alarmed at the success of Eaton's ragtag army (Irwin, 1970).

The Dey of Tunis, seeing what had happened to Tripoli, sent a blooded horse to Jefferson as a sign of peace and the end of tribute. Jefferson, a horseman, refused the gift. The Americans now thought that the Mediterranean was safe for United States' shipping, and brought Barron's squadron home (Castor, 1971).

However, in the fall of 1807, Algiers detained three vessels. Freedom was bought for the ships and crew for a mere $18,000 but it signaled the resumption of two bad habits, pirate terrorism and tribute. The renewal of these would last for many years and cause the American navy to once again sail against Barbary.

The war with England during 1812-14 pushed the Barbary pirates into the back of American concerns. In any event, retaliation against the corsairs would have been impossible, for after 1812 the American navy was swept from the seas by the British.

As soon as the American navy was no longer a threat, the Dey of Algiers announced a "policy to increase the number of my American slaves," whereupon he captured the brig Edwin and its crew in August 1812. This situation lasted until the end of the war with England (Irwin, 1970).

On March 2, 1815, ten weeks after the end of the War of 1812, the United States formally declared hostilities against Algiers. Retribution, long delayed but richly deserved, was dispatched in the form of ten tall ships under the command of the scourge of Barbary, Stephen Decatur (Pike, 2001).



The punitive expedition arrived off Algiers in June. Decatur promptly shot up the flagship of the Dey's fleet, capturing it with 486 prisoners. He then sent an ultimatum to the Dey: Free every slave at once, pay an indemnity of $10,000 to the survivors of the brig Edwin, and cease all demands for tribute forever.

Numbed by Decatur's ferocity, the Dey whined that perhaps there had been a "misunderstanding" which he would like to correct with "the amiable James Madison, the Emperor of America" (Castor, 1971).

Tunis and Tripoli were next on Decatur's list. The Dey of Tunis groomed his beard with a diamond-encrusted comb and complained, "Why do they send wild young men to treat for peace with the old powers?" Still, he paid the Americans $46,000 to go away. In its turn, Tripoli felt Decatur's wrath, paying him a $25,000 indemnity and freeing its slaves (Castor, 1971).

The "old powers" never again molested any American ships. Decatur's swift and firm action impelled the other European powers to follow the American example. The degrading yoke of tribute and the raiding of the Barbary corsairs were over.

America's involvement in the Tripolitan War suppressed pirate terrorism in the Mediterranean only after resolute action. It also saw the development of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps with their proud traditions, and for the first time America made its presence known, not as a "fat duck" but as an eagle in the world of the old empires

[SAMWolf]

'I hope I shall never again be sent to Algiers with tribute, unless I am authorized to deliver it from the mouth of our cannon.'

-- Captain William Bainbridge

'From what I learn from the temper of my countrymen and their tenaciousness of their money, it will be more easy to raise ships and men to fight these pirates into reason, than money to bribe them.'

-- Thomas Jefferson
December 26, 1786

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On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on February 28:
1533 Michel de Montaigne France, essayist/philosopher
1552 Jobst Bürgi [Justus Byrgius], Swiss/German mathematician
1573 Elias Hill German architect/city builder (Augsburg)
1616 Kaspar Forster composer
1632 Jean-Baptiste Lully Florence Italy, composer
1663 Thomas Newcomen English co-inventor (steam engine)
1675 Guillaume Delisle Paris, cartographer/geographer
1683 René-Antoine de Réaumur France, biologist/engineer
1690 Aleksei P Romanov Russia, son of Peter the Great
1712 Louis Joseph de Montcalm de Saint-Véran France, General
1747 Justin Morgan composer
1750 Ignacy Potocki Polish foreign minister
1764 Robert Haldane Scottish theologist/philanthropist
1771 French Jozef Kinsoen Flemish portrait painter
1779 Augustus Callcott landscape painter, Kensington
1786 D François J Arago French astronomer/physicist/politician
1792 Henriette countess d'Oultremont de Wégimont wife of King Willem I
1792 Karl Earnest Ritter von Baer Estonian/German embryologist
1797 Mary Lyon US, educator (Mt Holyoke) (Hall of Fame)
1797 W Frederik K prince of Netherlands/General/Admiral (10 day campaign)
1799 Johann von Döllinger German Old Catholic theologian/historian
1810 Reinier C Bakhuizen van de Brink Dutch historian
1812 Berthold Auerbach German author (Schwarzwälder Dorfgeschichten)
1817 James Craig Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1888
1820 John Tenniel England, cartoonist/illustrator (Alice in Wonderland)
1822 Matthew Duncan Ector Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1879
1823 Ernest Renan French philosopher/historian/scholar of religion
1824 Charles Blondin France, acrobat/aerialist
1824 John Creed Moore Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1910
1825 Quincy Adams Gillmore Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1888
1833 Alfred von Schlieffen Count/Prussian General-field marshal
1850 Hermann Schell German theologist/philosopher (Gott und Geist)
1854 Juliusz Zarebski composer
1857 Gustave Adolph Kerker composer
1858 Jacob P Vis Dutch industrialist (founder NV Royal Salt Industries)
1865 Sir Wilfred Grenfell England, medical missionary
1865 Arthur Symons Welsh poet/critic/co-founder (Savoy)
1866 Vyacheslav I Ivanov Russian philosopher/classical/Symbolist poet (Pilot Stars)
1874 Soledad Jiminez Santander Spain, actor (Phantom of the Range)
1875 Viliam Figus composer
1876 John Alden Carpenter Chicago IL, composer (Sea Drift)
1877 Sergei Bortkiewicz composer
1882 José Vasconcelos Oaxaca México, politician/essayist/philosopher
1882 Geraldine Farrar US soprano/actress (Story of American Singer)
1882 Richard Heinrich Stein composer
1886 José Gutiérrez Solana Spanish painter/author (Madrid Escenas)
1886 Max Vasmer German slavic (La Tertulia de Pombo)
1887 William Zorach Lithuania, US sculptor (Spirit of the Dance)
1889 Victor Sutherland Paducah KY, actor (Captive City)
1890 Vaslav Nijinsky Kiev Ukraine, ballet dancer
1893 Ben Hecht New York NY, novelist/playwright/screenwriter (The Front Page)
1895 Guiomar Novaes Brazil, pianist (Brazilian Order of Merit)
1895 Marcel Pagnol French playwright/director (Marchands de Gloire)
1896 Philip Showalter Hench Pittsburgh PA, physician (cortisone-Nobel)
1898 Molly Picon Yiddish actress (Milk & Honey)
1899 Frederick Denison Maurice Hocking pathologist
19-- Richard Romanus Barre VT, actor (Foul Play, Strike Force)
19-- Rick Lohman Cleveland OH, actor (Search For Tomorrow, Phyl & Mikhy)
1900 Edna Swithenbank Manley Jamaican sculptor, wife of PM
1900 Laura Z Hobson writer
1901 Linus Pauling chemist/peace worker (Nobel 1954, 1962)
1901 Rudolf W Nilsen Norwegian poet (Hverdagen)
1905 Glyn Jones writer
1906 Bugsy Siegel gangster created casinos in Las Vegas
1907 Milton Caniff Hillsboro OH, Dutch cartoonist (Terry & the Pirates)
1908 Billie Bird Pocatello ID, actress (Mrs Cassidy-Benson, Dear John, Jury Duty)
1909 Olan Soule La Harpe IL, actor (My 3 Sons, Arnie)
1909 Stephen Harold Spender England, poet/critic (Vienna, Edge of Darkness)
1910 Roman Maciejewski composer
1910 Vincente Minnelli Chicago IL, movie director (American in Paris, Gigi)
1911 Amir Hamzah Indonesian poet (Njanji Sunji)
1912 Helmut Coing German lawyer/director (Max-Planck-institute)
1914 Jim Boles Lubbock TX, actor (Joe-One Man's Family)
1915 Sir Peter Medawar England, zoologist, immunologist (Nobel 1953)
1915 Zero [Samuel Joel] Mostel Brooklyn NY, actor (Fiddler on the Roof)
1917 Hans Deutgen Sweden, world champion archer
1918 Alfred Burke London England, actor (Backfire)
1920 Edward Kassner music publisher
1920 Jim Olin (Representative-D-VA, 1983- )
1920 Marjorie M Sweeting English geomorphologist
1921 John Bouber [Blom], actor/author (Fool of Heideloo)
1921 Vladimir Sommer composer
1923 Charles Durning Highland Falls NY, actor (Dog Day Afternoon, Fury, Sting, Tootsie)
1924 Robert A Roe (Representative-D-NJ, 1969- )
1925 Harry H Corbett Rangoon Burma, actor (Steptoe & Son, Jabberwacky)
1926 Svetlana Alliluyeva daughter of Josef Stalin, author (My Life)
1926 Seymour Shifrin composer
1926 Stanley Glasser composer
1927 Bernard Frank oriental scholar/writer
1927 John Swire British aircraft magnate (Cathay Pacific)
1928 Bettye Ackerman Cottageville SC, actress (Maggie Graham-Ben Casey)
1928 Smokey The Bear
1928 Tom Aldredge Dayton OH, actor (What About Bob, Nurse, Mind Snatchers)
1929 Frank O Gehry architect (Galleria-Oklahoma City)
1930 Frank Malzone baseball player
1930 Leon Cooper US physicist (Nobel 1972)
1931 Gavin MacLeod Mt Kisco NY, actor (Murray-Mary Tyler Moore, Love Boat)
1931 Gustav Thoni Italy, skier (World Cup-1971, 72, 73, 75)
1931 Jack Thieuloy writer
1932 Brian Moore British commentator (Big Match)
1932 Don Francks Vancouver British Columbia, actor (Terminal Choice, Finian's Rainbow)
1934 Willie Bobo New York NY, jazz drummer (Cos)
1935 Clive Halse cricketer (South Africa fast bowler on 1963-64 Australia/New Zealand tour)
1938 Martin Olav Sabo (Representative-D-MN, 1979- )
1939 John Fahey singer (Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death)
1939 Tommy Tune Wichita Falls TX, dancer/choreographer (The Boyfriend)
1939 Charles Brown Cincinnati OH, featherweight boxer (Olympics-bronze-1964)
1940 Joe South Atlanta GA, guitarist/songwriter/singer (Games People Play)
1940 Mario Andretti race-car driver (1969 Indianapolis 500)
1941 Alice May Brock author
1941 Marty Sanders rock vocalist
1942 Brian Jones rock guitarist (Rolling Stones-Brown Sugar)
1942 Frank Bonner Little Rock AR, actor (WKRP, Hoax, You Can't Hurry Love, Sidekicks)
1943 Barbara Acklin [Allen], Chicago IL, R&B singer (Love Makes a Woman)
1943 Donny Iris singer
1943 Hans F Dijkstal Dutch minister of the Interior (VVD, 1994-)
1944 Colin Nutley director/writer (Such is Life, Black Jack)
1944 Kelly Bishop Colorado, actress (Unmarried Woman, Advice to Lovelorn)
1945 Charles "Bubba" Smith Texas, NFLer (Baltimore Colts)/actor (Police Academy)
1945 Mimsy Farmer Chicago IL, actress (Devil's Angel, Road to Salina)
1945 Ronnie Rosman rocker (Tommy James Shondells-Crystal Blue Persuasion)
1946 Graham Vivian cricketer (son of Giff, 5 Tests for New Zealand 1965-72)
1947 Stephanie Beacham England, actress (Devil's Widow, Schizo, Dallas, Colbys)
1948 Bernadette Peters [Lazzaro] Queens NY, actress (The Jerk, Song & Dance)
1948 Mercedes Ruehl Queens NY, actress (Lost in Yonkers, Crazy People)
1948 Willie Donnell Smith
1950 Ilene Graff Brooklyn NY, actress (Marsha-Mr Belvedere)
1950 Stephen Chatman composer
1951 Gustavo Thoeni Italy, giant slalom (Olympics-gold-1972)
1951 John Roarke Providence RI, comedian (Fridays)
1951 Karsan Ghavri cricketer (Indian lefty medium pacer early 80s)
1952 Cristina Raines [Tina Herazo] Manila Philippines, actress (Sentinel)
1952 Jennie Lynn San Diego CA, actress (Love & Marriage)
1952 Melissa Babish South Carolina, swimmer (Olympics)
1952 Eddie Manion saxophonist
1953 Ricky "Dragon" Steamboat [Richard Blood], wrestler (NWA/WWF/WCW/AWA)
1955 Gilbert Gottfried comedian (Beverly Hills Cop)
1955 Randy Jackson New Orleans LA, guitarist (Zebra-Tell Me What You Want)
1956 Adrian Dantley Washington DC, NBA forward (Olympics-gold-1976, Utah Jazz, 1981, 84 top scorer)
1957 Phil Gould rock percussionist (Level 42-Hot Water)
1957 Cindy Wilson Athens GA, rock vocalist (B-52's-Love Shack)
1957 Ian Smith cricket wicket-keeper (New Zealand of the 80's)
1957 Ian Stanley keyboardist
1957 Jeff Woodland Papua New Guinea, Nike golfer (1991 Dakota Dunes Open)
1957 John Turturro Brooklyn NY, actor (Brain Donor, Color of Money, Jungle Fever)
1958 Christine Lathan-Brehmer German DR, 400 meter runner (Olympics-gold-76)
1958 Mark Pavelich NHLer (New York Rangers)
1959 Sydney P Mufamadi South African leader (SACP)
1960 Dorothy Stratten Vancouver British Columbia, playmate (August, 1979) (Galixina)
1961 Barry McGuigan British boxer
1961 Wayne Smith Albany WA, Australasia golfer
1962 Rae Dawn Chong Edmonton Alberta, actress (Quest for Fire)
1962 Angela Bailey England, Canadian 4X100 meter relayer (Olympics-silver-1984)
1962 Chunli Li Auckland New Zealand, table tennis player (Olympics-96)
1962 Steve Tsujiura hockey forward (Team Japan 1998)
1965 Mikko Makela Tampere Finland, NHL right wing (New York Islanders)
1965 Duane Ferrell NBA forward (San Francisco Warriors, Indiana Pacers)
1966 Erik van Kessel Dutch soccer player (FC Utrecht)
1966 Jan Varholik Kosice Czechoslovakia, hockey defenseman (Team Slovakia)
1966 Tim Goad NFL defensive tackle (Cleveland Browns)
1966 Vincent Askew NBA guard/forward (Seattle Supersonics, Trailblazers)
1967 Antone Davis NFL tackle (Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles)
1967 Jeff[rey] Pfaendtner Detroit MI, rower (Olympics-bronze-1996)
1967 Marcus Lillington rock guitarist (Breathe-All I Need)
1968 J T Snow US baseball 1st baseman (New York Yankees, California Angels)
1968 Mike Milchin Knoxville TN, pitcher (Minnesota Twin)
1969 Elisa Fiorillo singer (Forgive Me For Dreaming)
1969 Robert Sean Leonard New Jersey, actor (Dead Poets Society, Mr & Mrs Bridge)
1969 Shawn McEachern Waltham MA, NHL forward (Boston Bruins, Senators)
1970 Jan Varholik hockey defenseman (Team Slovakia 1998)
1970 Mika Stromberg Helsinki Finland, hockey defenseman (Team Finland)
1970 Noureddine Morceli Algeria, 1500 meter runner (Olympics-gold-96)
1971 John Buchanan actor (Sidekicks, Black Stallion, Family Man)
1972 Melisa Moses Jacksonville FL, diver (Olympics-4th-96)
1972 Scott Gragg NFL tackle (New York Giants)
1973 Demetrice Martin WLAF cornerback (Scotland Claymores)
1973 Denard Walker cornerback (Tennessee Oilers)
1973 Eric Lindros London Ontario, NHL center (Philadelphia Flyers)
1973 Gary Walker NFL defensive tackle/defensive end (Houston Oilers)
1973 Henry Bailey NFL wide receiver/kick returner (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1974 Katie Allen Australian field hockey full back/half back (Olympics-96)
1974 Kevin Abrams cornerback (Detroit Lions)
1974 Michael Manasseri actor (License to Drive)
1974 Michael Swift WLAF CB (Rhein Fire)
1975 Azhar Mahmood cricket pace bowler (Pakistani ODI 1996)
1976 Angie Kennedy Nambour Queensland Australia, swimmer (Olympics-96)
1977 Aki-Petteri Berg NHL defenseman (Team Finland Olympics-bronze-1998, Kings)
1977 Debbie Koegel Norristown PA, dance skater (& Oleg Fediukov)
1978 Marissa Perez Miss Connecticut Teen-USA (1996)
1979 Virginia Ledgerwood Chester VA, rhythmic gymnast (Olympics-96)

---

Deaths which occurred on February 28:
1261 Hendrik duke of Brabant (1248-61), dies
1573 Jan "Hans" Liefrinck Flemish engraver/publisher, dies at about 54
1609 Paul Sartorius composer, dies at 39
1618 Filips Willem Prince of Orange, dies at 63
1626 Cyril Tourneur English poet/dramatist, dies at about 51
1638 Henri duc de Rohan, French soldier/Huguenot leader, dies
1638 Claude G Bachet de Meziriac French mathematician/poet, dies at 56
1665 Lodewijk van Nassau Dutch governor (Bois-le-Duc), dies
1737 Hercule Brehy composer, dies at 63
1742 Willem J 's-Gravesande Dutch physicist, dies at 53
1781 Richard Stockton US attorney (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 50
1784 Phillis Wheatly poetess, dies
1796 Friedrich Wilhelm Rust composer, dies at 56
1818 Adriaan Loosjes Pzn Dutch publisher/writer (Moral Stories), dies at 56
1844 Abel P Upshur Secretary of State, dies in explosion on USS Princeton
1844 Thommas W Gilmer Navy Secretary, dies in explosion on USS Princeton
1876 Charles Edward Horsley composer, dies at 53
1903 Girolamo/Jeromin de Rada Albanian poet, dies at 88
1905 Joseph C Juglar French physician/economist, dies at 85
1912 Bill Storer English cricket wicketkeeper (6 Tests 1897-99), dies
1913 Elephant seal 6.8-m, 4000-kg, killed in South Georgia (South Atlantic)
1916 Henry James US/British writer (Bostonians), dies in London at 72
1922 Vicente Lleo composer, dies at 51
1925 Friedrich Ebert Social-Democrat president of Germany, dies
1929 Clemens Freiherr von Pirquet Austrian artist (React of P), dies at 54
1929 John Ebenezer West composer, dies at 65
1931 Ban Johnson created (baseball's AL), dies after a long illness
1935 Alexander W F Idenburg Governor-General of Netherlands Indies (1909-16), dies at 73
1936 Pedro Muñoz Seca La Caraba/La oca, dies at 55
1940 Johan C Braakensiek Dutch political cartoonist, dies at 81
1941 Alfonso XIII de Borbón King of Spain (1902-31), dies
1949 Stanley Robert Marchant composer, dies at 65
1953 Jim Thorpe decathlete (Olympics-gold-1912), dies at 64
1959 Maxwell Anderson US dramatist (Key Largo, Bad Seed), dies at 70
1960 F S Flint British translator/poet (imagist movement), dies at 74
1960 Jonathan Hale actor (Blondie), shoots himself at 68
1961 Joris Vriamont Flemish writer/music publisher, dies at 64
1962 Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson comedian (Olsen & Johnson), dies at 70
1963 Theodore Newton actor (Voltaire, Ace of Aces), dies at 58
1964 Dirk Filarski painter/lithographer (Bergen School), dies at 78
1965 Adolf Schärf President of Austria (1957-65), dies at 74
1966 Charles A Bassett II astronaut, dies in a crash of T-38 jet at 34
1966 Elliot McKay See Jr astronaut, dies in T-38 jet crash at 38
1968 Frankie Lymon singer, dies at 25
1968 Juanita Hall actress (Captain Billy), dies at 66
1968 Doretta Morrow actress (Because You're Mine), dies at 41
1972 Victor Barna table tennis champion, dies
1973 Cecil Kellaway actor (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), dies at 78
1973 Hope Landin actress (I Remember Mama, Sugarfoot), dies at 79
1974 Mees Toxopeus Dutch rescue-vessel captain, dies at 89
1975 Istvan Kardos composer, dies at 83
1977 Eddie "Rochester" Anderson comedian (Jack Benny Show), dies at 71
1978 Philip Ahn Los Angeles CA, actor (Master Kan-Kung Fu), dies at 66
1978 Eric Frank Russell sci-fi author (Hugo, Deep Space), dies at 73
1979 Mr Ed talking horse, dies
1979 Jane Hylton English actress (Adventures of Sir Lancelot), dies at 52
1980 Ian Alexander Ross Peebles cricketer (45 wickets for England), dies
1984 Leslie Walcott cricketer (Test for West Indies vs England 1930), dies
1985 Charita Bauer actress (Mary-Aldrich Family), dies at 62 in New York NY
1986 Olof Palme Swedish PM, assassinated in Stockholm
1986 Sven Olof Palme Swedish PM (1969-76, 82-86), assassinated at 59
1987 Anny Ondra actress (Blackmail), dies at 83
1987 Nora Kaye US ballet dancer, dies at 67
1988 Mikha`il Na'imah Lebanese playwright, dies at 99
1989 Hermann Burger writer, dies at 46
1990 Colin Milburn cricketer (9 Tests for England, 654 runs), dies
1990 Fabia Drake actress (Nice Girl Like Me), dies at 86
1990 Tuppy Owen-Smith South Africa cricketer (batsman vs England 1929), dies
1991 Guillermo Ungo member of El Salvador junta (1979-80), dies
1992 Angelique Pettyjohn actress (Body Talk, Star Trek), dies at 49
1992 Emilla Sherman choreographer/rockette, dies
1992 La Lupe Cuban singer, dies of a heart attack in the Bronx at 53
1993 Fer A Olthoff Dutch WWII resistance fighter (Het Parool), dies
1993 Franco Brusati Italian director/writer (Bread & Chocolate), dies at 70
1993 Ishiro Honda Japanese director/producer (Godzilla), dies at 81
1993 Joyce Carey [Lawrence], English actress (Number 27), dies at 94
1993 Ruby Keeler actress (42nd Street, Dames), dies of cancer at 82
1994 Aisin Giorro Pu Chieh brother of Last Emperor of China, dies at 86
1994 Buster Holmes chef/restaurateur, dies at 88
1994 Elbert "Skippy" Williams tenor Sax player, dies at 77
1994 George Osborne Sayles historian, dies at 92
1994 Leopoldina Poldi Feichtegger Gerhard dies at 90
1994 Pu Yi brother of last Chinese emperor, Pu Yi, dies at 87
1995 Herman "Ace" Wallace blues guitarist/singer, dies at 69
1995 Keith Rigg cricketer (8 Tests for Australia 1931-37), dies
1995 Max Rudolf conductor, dies at 92
1996 Daniel Chipenda Angolan politician, dies at 64

---

On this day...
0870 8th Ecumenical council ends in Constantinople
1066 Westminster Abbey opens
1570 Anti-Portugese uprising on Ternate, Moluccas
1610 Thomas West, Baron De La Warr, is appointed governor of Virginia
1638 Scottish Presbyterians sign National Convenant, Greyfriars, Edinburgh
1646 Roger Scott was tried in Massachusetts for sleeping in church
1653 3 Day Sea battle English beats Dutch
1667 English colony Suriname in Dutch hands
1692 Salem witch hunt begins
1704 Elias Neau, a Frenchman, opens a school for blacks in New York NY
1704 Indians attack Deerfield MA, kill 40, kidnap 100
1708 Slave revolt, Newton, Long Island NY, 11 die
1728 Georg F Händels opera "Siroe, re di Persia" premieres in London
1730 Tsarina Anna Ivanovna leads autocracy
1749 1st edition of Henry Fieldings' "Tom Jones" published
1759 Pope Clement XIII allows Bible to be translated into various languages
1778 Rhode Island General Assembly authorizes enlistment of slaves
1784 John Wesley charters Methodist Church
1794 US Senate voids Pennsylvania's election of Abraham Gallatin
1810 1st US fire insurance joint-stock company organized, Philadelphia
1819 1st public performance of a Schubert song, "Schäfers Klageleid"
1826 M Biela, an Austrian officer, discovers Biela's Comet
1827 1st commercial railroad in US, Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) chartered
1828 Franz Grillparzer's "Ein Treuer Diener" premieres in Vienna
1835 Dr Elias Lönnrot publishes Finnish poem "Kalevala"
1844 12-inch gun aboard USS Princeton explodes
1847 US defeats México in battle of Sacramento
1854 Republican Party formally organized at Ripon WI
1859 Arkansas legislature requires free blacks to choose exile or slavery
1861 Territories of Nevada & Colorado created
1862 The opera "La Reine de Saba" premieres (Paris)
1863 Confederate raider "Nashville" sinks near Fort McAllister GA
1864 Raid at Kilpatrick's Richmond
1864 Skirmish at Albemarle County Virginia (Burton's Ford)
1871 2nd Enforcement Act gives federal control of congressional elections
1878 US congress authorizes large-size silver certificate
1879 "Exodus of 1879" southern blacks flee political/economic exploitation
1882 1st US college cooperative store opens, at Harvard University
1883 1st US vaudeville theater opens (Boston)
1888 Ferry in San Pablo Bay explodes
1888 Vincent d'Indy's Wallenstein-trilogy, premieres
1891 Oscar Grundén skates world record 500 meter (50.8 seconds)
1893 Edward Acheson, Pennsylvania, patents an abrasive he names "carborundum"
1896 France dismisses Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar
1900 General Buller's troops relieve Ladysmith Natal
1902 Jules Massenets opera premieres in Monte Carlo
1903 Barney Dreyfuss & James Potter buys Philadelphia Phillies for $170,000
1904 Vincent d'Indy's 2nd Symphony in B, premieres
1906 Stanley Cup Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Queens University (Kingston Ontario) in 2 games
1908 Failed assassination attempt on Shah Mohammed Ali in Teheran
1912 Victor Trumper's last Test Cricket innings c Woolley b Barnes 50
1913 6.8-m, 4000-kg elephant seal killed, South Georgia (South Atlantic)
1914 Construction begins on Tower of Jewels for the Exposition (San Francisco)
1917 Russian Duma sets up Provisional Committee; workers set up Soviets
1917 AP reports México & Japan will ally with Germany if US enters WWI
1920 Maurice Ravel's "Le tombeau de Couperin" premieres
1922 Egypt regains independence from Britain, but British troops remain
1922 KHQ-AM in Spokane WA begins radio transmissions
1922 English princess Mary marries viscount Lascelles
1923 Swedish king Gustaaf V begins state visit to Netherlands
1924 US begins intervention in Honduras
1925 Congress authorizes a special handling stamp
1925 Longest win streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history (9 games)
1925 "Tea For Two" by Marion Harris hit #1
1925 Theater Museum of Amsterdam forms
1929 Chicago Black Hawks lose record NHL 15th straight game at home
1931 Canadian Rugby Union adopts the forward pass
1931 Oswald Mosley founds his New Party
1933 1st female in cabinet Francis Perkins appointed Secretary of Labor
1933 German President Von Hindenburg abolishes free expression of opinion
1933 Hitler disallows German communist party (KPD)
1935 Amsterdam Hotel of the Red Lion gets sidewalk permit
1935 Nylon discovered by Dr Wallace H Carothers
1939 Great-Britain recognizes Franco-regime in Spain
1940 1st televised basketball game (college game at NYC's Madison Square Garden-University of Pittsburgh beats Fordham U, 50-37)
1940 Richard Wright's "Native Son" published
1940 US population at 131,669,275 (12,865,518 blacks (9.8%))
1941 39 U Boats (197,000 ton) sunk this month
1941 British-Italian dogfight above Albania
1942 Japanese land in Java, last Allied bastion in Dutch East Indies
1942 Race riot, Sojourner Truth Homes, Detroit
1942 1st weapon drop on Netherlands
1943 "Porgy & Bess" opens on Broadway with Anne Brown & Todd Duncan
1943 63 U Boats (359,300 ton) sinks this month
1947 Anti Kuomintang demonstration on Taiwan
1950 "Alive & Kicking" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 46 performances
1951 Senate committee reports of at least 2 major US crime syndicates
1951 French government of Pleven dissolves
1953 Stalin meets with Beria, Bulganin, Khrushchev & Malenkov
1954 Patty Berg/Pete Cooper win LPGA Orlando Mixed Golf Tournament
1954 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
1956 13 die in a train crash in Swampscott MA
1956 Forrester issued a patent for computer core memory
1957 Jockey Johnny Longden's 5,000th career victory
1958 West Indies 1-504 in reply to Pakistan 328, day 3 of 3rd Test Cricket
1959 Launch of Discoverer 1 (WTR)-1st polar orbit
1959 NFL trade, Chicago Cards trade Ollie Matson to Los Angeles Rams for 9 players
1959 "Goldilocks" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 161 performances
1959 Ice Dance Championship at Colorado Springs USA won by Denny & Jones of Great Britain
1959 Ice Pairs Championship at Colorado Springs won by Wagner & Paul of CAN
1959 Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Colorado Springs won by Carol Heiss USA
1959 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Colorado Springs won by David Jenkins USA
1960 US wins Olympics hockey gold medal by defeating Czechoslovakia 9-4
1960 8th Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley CA close
1960 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open
1961 JFK names Henry Kissinger special advisor
1962 WMGM-AM in New York City NY changes call letters to WHN
1966 Cavern Club (Beatles hangout) in Liverpool closes
1966 Sandy Koufax & Don Drysdale begin a joint holdout against Dodgers
1967 Wilt Chamberlain sinks NBA record 35th consecutive field goal
1968 Pirate Radio Hauraki, off New Zealand, returns to the air
1969 Ice Dance Championship at Colorado Springs won by Towler & Ford of Great Britain
1969 Ice Pairs Championship at Colorado Springs won by Rodnina & Ulanov of USSR
1969 Ladies Figure Skating Champion in Colorado Springs won by Gabriele Seyfert GDR
1969 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Colorado Springs won by Tim Wood USA
1970 Bicycles permitted to cross Golden Gate Bridge
1970 "Georgy" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 4 performances
1970 Caroline Walker runs world female record marathon (3:02:53)
1970 KIIN (now KUN) TV channel 12 in Iowa City IA (PBS) 1st broadcast
1970 WUTR TV channel 20 in Utica-Rome NY (ABC) begins broadcasting
1971 53rd PGA Championship Jack Nicklaus shoots a 281 at PGA National to win his 2nd golf grand slam
1971 WDRB TV channel 41 in Louisville KY (IND) begins broadcasting
1972 George Harrison is involved in a minor car accident
1972 President Richard Nixon ends historic week-long visit to China
1973 Suriname government of Sedney arrests 13 union leaders
1974 US & Egypt re-establish diplomatic relations after 7 years
1974 Ethiopian government of Makonnen forms
1974 Labour Party wins British parliamentary election
1974 Taiwan police shoot into crowd
1975 40 killed in London Undergroud, as train speeds past final stop
1975 EG signs accord of Lomé with 46 developing countries
1975 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1976 Ceuta & Melilla (Spanish Morocco) are last European African possession
1976 18th Grammy Awards Love Will Keep Us Together, Natalie Cole win
1977 1st killer whale born in captivity (Marineland, Los Angeles CA)
1977 Harbor strike in Rotterdam/Amsterdam ends
1979 Ernest Thompson's "On Golden Pond" premieres in New York NY
1980 "The Well-Tuned Piano" by La Monte Young premieres (takes 4 hours 12 minutes)
1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1981 Calvin Murphy (Hou), sets NBA record with 78 consecutive free throws
1981 China PR throws out Netherlands ambassador due to submarine sale to Taiwan
1982 AT&T looses record $7 BILLION for fiscal year ending on this day
1982 Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Arizona Copper Golf Classic
1982 FALN (PR Nationalist Group) bombs Wall Street
1983 Final TV episode of "MASH" airs (CBS); record 125 million watch
1984 26th Grammy Awards Beat It, Michael Jackson wins 8
1986 Peter Uberroth suspended 7 baseball players for 1 year, after they admitted in Curtis Strong's trial in September, they used drugs
1986 European Economic Community sign "Special Act" for Europe free trade
1988 Pat Verbeek becomes 1st New Jersey Devil to score 4 goals in an NHL game
1988 15th Winter Olympics games close at Calgary, Canada
1988 Anti-Armenian pogrom in Azerbaijan, 30 killed
1988 Yvonne van Gennip skates world record 5 km ladies (7:14.13)
1989 Memo by Bryant Gumbel criticizing Today Show co-workers becomes public
1989 Gretchen Polhemus, 23, (Texas), crowned 38th Miss USA
1989 Red Schoendienst & Al Barlick elected to Hall of Fame
1990 US 65th manned space mission STS 36 (Atlantis 6) launches into orbit
1990 Dutch police seize 3,000 kg of cocaine
1991 Don Mattingly named 10th New York Yankee Captain
1991 US & allied forces grant Iraq a cease fire
1991 "Les Miserables" opens at Theatre Carre, Amsterdam
1991 "Speed of Darkness" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 36 performances
1991 Noureddine Morceli runs world record 1500 meter indoor (3:34:16)
1993 "Anna Christie" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 54 performances
1993 7th American Comedy Award Seinfeld wins
1993 Gun battle erupts at Waco TX between FBI & Branch Davidians
1993 Iolanda Chen triple jumps world indoor record hop step (14.46 meters)
1993 Tony Curtis weds Lisa Deutsch as his 4th wife
1994 Brady Law, imposing a wait-period to buy a hand-gun, went into effect
1995 Denver International Airport opens
1996 38th Grammy Awards Jagged Little Pill-Alanis Morisette wins
1997 Earthquake in Pakistan, kills 45
1997 FBI agent Earl Pitts pleads guilty to selling secrets to Russia
1997 Smokers must prove they are over 18 to purchase cigarettes in US
1998 "View From the Bridge" closes at Criterion Theater NYC
1998 Vancouver Canucks Mark Messier is 4th NHLer to get 1,600 points

---

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

Finland : Kalevala Day (1835)
Luxembourg : Burgsonndeg-celebrates end of winter

---

Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of St Romanus
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Hilarius, pope (461-68), calendar reformer (non-leap years)
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Gabriel Possenti (leap years)

---

Religious History
1759 Pope Clement XIII granted permission for the Bible to be translated into the languages of the Roman Catholic states.
1784 English churchman John Wesley, 80, formally chartered the movement within Anglicanism which afterward came to be known as Wesleyan Methodism.
1873 The Society of Mary, founded in 1816, was officially recognized by Pope Pius IX. This religious order seeks to combine the work of education with foreign missions.
1947 U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall prayed: 'Let not the past ever be so dear to us as to set a limit to the future. Give us the courage to change our minds when that is needed.'
870 The Fourth Constantinople Council closed, under Pope Adrian II in the West and Emperor Basil I in the East. The council had condemned iconoclasm, and became the last ecumenical council held in the Eastern Mediterranean area.

---

Thought for the day :
"The heart is wiser than the intellect."

[SAMWolf]

Morning Feather. Got in early for that great Army chow huh?

[SAMWolf]

Yeah, looks like this is just the latest round. From what I've seen thry current practisheners are still living in the 1800's or earlier.

[SAMWolf]

1993 Gun battle erupts at Waco TX between FBI & Branch Davidians

The first of Shake and Bake Reno's "great" decisions.

"This is not an attack..."

[Valin]

1994 Brady Law, imposing a wait-period to buy a hand-gun, went into effect


Now don't you feel safer? I know I do.
/damn near world class sarcasm

[SAMWolf]

Now don't you feel safer? I know I do. /damn near world class sarcasm

LOL! Yeah it's so nice to know in an emergency the Police are only a phone call and maybe 20 minutes from responding away.

[Soaring Feather]

Good Breakfast here in the Foxhole Sam!

No fruit.:-)

[SAMWolf]

LOL! I always like "Bill the Cat"

[SAMWolf]

Any day is a good day for a poem about "old Ironsides".

Thanks Cote.

[Valin]

Now that takes me back to 5th grade St. John the evangelist elementary school 1958.
And another
A flee and a fly in a flue,
were trapped so what could they do?
Let us fly said the flee,
let us flee said the fly.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

[SAMWolf]

Terrorists by Another Name: The Barbary Pirates

By Richard Leiby

They considered us infidels -- and easy targets. They committed atrocious acts against civilians. They provoked war with America.

"They are odious for the constant violation of the laws of nations and humanity," as one writer put it. We saw them as bloodthirsty fanatics, sanctioned by Islamic despots, and we believed their behavior threatened the future of the modern world.

Thus the president found it necessary to launch America's first military campaign against state-sponsored terrorists. Except he didn't call them that, because 200 years ago, everyone called terrorists by another name: pirates.

For all the talk in Washington that the current battle against global terrorism represents an entirely new kind of war, against a different kind of enemy, historians say America's seen this before. Back when the nation was largely untested in the arena of foreign entanglement, we found ourselves in an extended, exasperating campaign against various Muslim states in North Africa, which harbored the notorious Barbary pirates. By most reckonings, that battle lasted 30 years.

"I've picked up a lot of parallels," says Capt. Glenn Voelz, a history instructor at West Point. "Maybe we are still fighting the same war. It's a worthwhile question for my students to consider: What's changed in 200 years between Jefferson's administration and Bush's administration?"

For one thing, although the Barbary pirates were good at instilling terror -- using cannons and scimitars -- they were not waging a holy war against Americans. They were opportunists, historians say. They first declared war against us in 1785 -- when Algeria seized two American vessels off Portugal, imprisoning 21 people -- and goaded us into combat again in 1801 and 1815.

They considered themselves "privateers," authorized to confiscate ships and crews just as other feuding countries did. Their enemy? Any nation that hadn't negotiated peace treaties with their rulers in Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers and Morocco. For centuries their pirates shook down European nations for ransom and tribute money.

"This was a protection racket," notes Richard B. Parker, former U.S. ambassador to Algeria, Lebanon and Morocco, who is writing a history titled "Uncle Sam in Barbary." "They didn't have political objectives, they just wanted money."

The banditry was rooted, however, in centuries of religious strife between Muslims and Christians. The pirates, nominally subject to the Ottoman sultan, were still battling the descendants of the Crusaders. (In 1605, St. Vincent de Paul was among those kidnapped by the Barbary pirates and sold into slavery to Muslims.) Captured Christians could gain freedom by "taking the turban" or "turning Turk" -- that is, by converting to Islam.

Then, as now, Americans were baffled by those who held militant Islamic beliefs and imposed theocratic rule. Then, as now, our military had to innovate and our statesmen had to scramble to address a new threat to national security.

"Would to Heaven we had a navy to reform those enemies to mankind, or crush them into non-existence," Gen. Washington wrote in 1786. The nation built that navy largely because the pirates' hostage-taking and escalating ransom demands became politically unbearable.

Then, as now, we viewed the enemy as primitive demons incarnate. An American captive reporting to his countrymen in 1798 declared the enemy "more like monsters than human beings." David Humphreys, in his "Poem on the Future Glory of the United States of America," railed against:

Audacious miscreants, fierce, yet feeble band

Who, impious, dare

Insult the rights of man.

Facing a criminal menace abroad, Americans reaffirmed their commitment to democratic ideals at home. Talk of "national character" flourished. The Constitution was ratified. The pirate crisis, historians say, made America grow up.

"There's a temptation to view all of our problems as unprecedented and all of our threats as new and novel," says George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley. Shortly after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, Turley advised some members of Congress who were considering a formal declaration of war against the suspected perpetrators. He invoked the precedent of the Barbary pirates, saying America had every right to attack and destroy the terrorist leadership without declaring war.

"Congress did not actually declare war on the pirates," Turley wrote in a memo, "but 'authorized' the use of force against the regencies after our bribes and ransoms were having no effect. This may have been due to an appreciation that a declaration of war on such petty tyrants would have elevated their status. Accordingly, they were treated as pirates and, after a disgraceful period of accommodation, we hunted them down as pirates."

Because of their outlaw conduct, pirates -- and modern-day terrorists -- put themselves outside protection of the law, according to military strategy expert Dave McIntyre, a former dean at the National War College. "On the high seas if you saw a pirate, you sank the bastard," he says. "You assault pirates, you don't arrest pirates."

Shoot first, ask questions later. Wanted: Dead or alive. Such is our official policy regarding Osama bin Laden, the most infamous outlaw of the era.

One of the enduring lessons of the Barbary campaigns was to never give in to outlaws, whether you call them pirates or terrorists. In the late 1700s, America paid significant blackmail for peace -- shelling out $990,000 to the Algerians alone at a time when national revenues totaled just $7 million.

"Too many concessions have been made to Algiers," U.S. consul William Eaton wrote to the Secretary of State in 1799. "There is but one language which can be held to these people, and this is terror."

On the home front, meanwhile, Americans feared infiltration by murderous pirates. Historian Voelz cites passage of an act in the Virginia assembly empowering the governor to expel "suspicious aliens" in case of hostilities with their sovereigns. "This case apparently developed after the arrival of two or three [Algerians] in Richmond," Voelz wrote in his master's thesis.

The protection money demanded by the "nests of banditti" (as the Founding Fathers called them) continued to escalate. In 1801 the pasha of Tripoli declared war on the United States because we refused to pay him higher tribute than we paid the Dey of Algiers. While Congress was out of session, President Jefferson deployed gunboats to the Mediterranean, and a new phase of the Barbary wars was on.

Lawmakers proclaimed their support, and the public rallied behind the slogan, "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!" Legends and heroes were created as American troops ventured "to the shores of Tripoli," as the Marine Corps Hymn would later put it.

Voelz sees "striking parallels" between the U.S. excursion into Tripoli and the situation unfolding in Afghanistan, where American forces are working to destabilize the ruling Taliban without inflaming the Islamic world. In 1805, the United States mounted a special operation against the Tripolitan regime -- buying, supplying and otherwise building an army of Arab insurgents to mount an attack on the pasha.

It was no beach landing. The small group of Marines immortalized in song actually traveled 520 miles across the desert from Alexandria, Egypt, to reach the harbor at Derna. They captured the fort and raised the Stars and Stripes, but ultimately were unable to install a more malleable pasha.

In calling on Muslims for support, Eaton, as a U.S. naval agent and the operation's leader, denounced "cruel and savage" despots who oppressed their own people -- and defiled the true teachings of Islam (Eaton had studied the Koran):

"Our religion teaches us to fear and worship God and to be kind to all his creatures . . . Be assured that the God of the Americans and of the Mohometans [Muslims] is the same; the one true and omnipotent God."

The Tripolitan War ended in 1805, but outlaw elements continued to make trouble. "We were taught, in the schoolbooks, that the United States in its first real war had cowed the dastardly Barbary princes," wrote Donald Barr Chidsey in his book "The Wars in Barbary." "This was not so."

Ten years later, another war on America was declared -- by the Algerians again. Congress authorized an expedition, and a fleet commanded by Navy hero Stephen Decatur successfully attacked Algiers. In 1815, the Dey of Algiers released all American captives and stopped demanding tribute.

But the pirates kept preying on European ships until France captured Algiers in 1830. Author C.S. Forester, in a popular book for young readers titled "The Barbary Pirates," tried to explain why the outlaws kept at it for so long.

"The pirates must have war," said Forester. "Otherwise, the world would soon cease to fear them."