I love trivia, and especially historic trivia — those little tidbits they didn’t teach us in school that would have made all the dry statistics so much more palatable. Which is why I enjoy receiving my daily column from History.com, from which I sometimes draw inspiration for my own blog posts.

Like today, January 5th. Did you know that, in . . .

1933. Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge. When it officially opened on May 27, 1937, the 1.7 mile-long marvel of engineering was the longest bridge span in the world. The previous day, some 200,000 people had walked, run, or roller-skated across its length. And it stands tall and strong today, having survived nearly a century of California’s infamous earthquakes, and more traffic than its creators could ever have foreseen.

1530. Pope Clement VII forbids King Henry VIII from remarrying. Well, we all know how that went down . . . five times, in fact. He was unhappy in his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and wanted to divorce her in order to marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope refused to nullify his marriage, Henry rebelled and was excommunicated from the Catholic church, ultimately leading to the creation of the Church of England. Interesting times for the people of England; not such good news for Anne, or her four successors. As history will testify, neither money nor a royal title can guarantee you a happily-ever-after.

1781. Benedict Arnold captures and destroys Richmond. Happily, it was rebuilt and remains a vibrant Southern city today. And old Benedict did get his comeuppance: deemed a turncoat, he died a pauper in 1801, and his name is still synonymous with the word “traitor.”

1968. Prague Spring begins in Czechoslovakia. It was a brief period of democratic reform, that unfortunately came to an end in August of the same year, when Soviet tanks entered Prague and Communist rule returned with a vengeance for the next 21 years. In 1989 — as, one by one, Eastern European countries broke free of the Soviet yoke — Czechoslovakia followed suit, electing playwright Vaclav Havel as its new President.

And finally, some historic happenings involving U.S. presidents on January 5th:

1949. President Truman delivers his Fair Deal speech.

1957. President Eisenhower proposes new Middle East policy.

1972. President Nixon launches space shuttle program.

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And for next year’s column:

2025. President-elect Donald Trump raves and rants because the American flag will be at half-staff (though he called it “half-mast”) for late President Jimmy Carter at his (Trump’s) inauguration on January 20th, saying it’s disrespectful to him.

Honestly, folks . . . what have we come to? And where are we headed?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/5/25