Krakatoa (August 27th)

Krakatoa is an Indonesian island that is the result of three volcanoes: Rakata, Danan, and Perbowatan. These three volcanoes had been active for hundreds of years, but the eruption in 1883 would be what made these volcanoes the most famous in the world.

By 1883, the area surrounding Krakatoa had been having seismic activity around the volcanoes for several years, some were so strong, they were felt as far off as Australia. In May of that year, steam began regularly venting from Perbowatan, and small eruptions of ash reached altitudes of 20,000 ft.  By the end of May, all activity had died down, but the volcanoes began erupting again around June 16th, covering the island in a black cloud. The eruptions reached their highest level of intensity on August 25th, and by the 26th, it was evident that a greater eruption was yet to come.

On August 27th, 1883, four explosions occurred on the small island of Krakatoa. At 5:30am, Perboewatan volcano erupted, creating tsunamis going North. At 6:44am, Danan volcano exploded, sending tsunamis both East and West. At 10:02am, the largest explosion took place, and was heard 3,110 km south in Perth, Australia and 4,800km west in Mauritius, where the sound was mistaken for distant cannon fire. The energy released in this explosion alone was said to be equal to 200 megatons of TNT, or four times the energy created by the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful thermonuclear weapon ever detonated.

 At 10:41am, a landslide on Rakata volcano caused the fourth and final eruption. The pressure created by the last explosion radiated out from the volcano at 1,086 km/h (675mph). The blast was so powerful, it blew out the eardrums of sailors in ships nearby. The pressure also caused a 2 and a half inch spike of mercury in pressure gauges in Batavia, and records from barographs around the world continued to pick up the volcano's shock-wave for the next five days. From these records, it has been concluded that the last eruption's shock-wave reverberated around the world seven times in total.

Hot ash from the volcano fell in Ketimbang in Sumatra later on the 27th, and approximately 1,000 people died. On the nearby island of Sebesi, only 13km off from the volcano, 3,000 were killed. Many settlements in the area were destroyed by the 30m tall tsunami. Smaller waves caused by the volcano were recorded as far away as the English Channel.

The volcanic ashed forced into the atmosphere by the eruption lowered the earth's temperature by 1.2 degrees Celsius, and it took five years for the temperature to return to normal. This ash also caused the sky to redden around the world. In New York, it was said that the sky was so red, many believed that there was a fire. In other areas, a Bishop's ring, or halo, formed around the sun.

The Nineteenth Amendment (August 26th)

In 1789, when the United States Constitution was adopted, only white males were allowed to vote for representatives. The 15th amendment was passed in 1869, giving men of all races the right to vote. The next group to rise up for their right to vote was the women.

Though many smaller organizations existed before this point, the beginning of the Women's Suffrage Movement is traditionally said to be the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in New York.  The movement had grown, but during the Civil War, the Women's Rights movement faded into the background while the nation turned its head to a more pressing issue, slavery. When the reconstruction amendments were passed, granting 'universal suffrage', women pushed to be included, but were denied.

As Americans moved West, though, the Women's Suffrage Movement gained ground. Women's suffrage was soon established in the Wyoming Territory, Utah, and the Washington Territory. The 19th amendment was originally created by Susan B. Anthony with the help of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who gave the bill to California Senator Aaron A. Sargent. The bill was first introduced to congress in 1878. The first vote taken on the amendment was taken in 1887, when it failed with a 16 to 34 vote. For the next three decades, the amendment was voted on several times, yet failed each time. In a 1919 vote, the amendment failed by only one vote. The bill was brought back to vote on May 19th, 1919, where it passed with 42 more votes than necessary.

The amendment was then sent to the states to be ratified. Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan were the first states to ratify the amendment, doing so on June 10th, 1919. Over the next year, the other states began to ratify the amendment. On August 18th, 1920, Tennessee was the 36th of 48 states to ratify the amendment, giving the amendment the two-thirds majority it needed to become part of the U.S. Constitution. On August 26th, 2013, the Secretary of State proclaimed the 19th Amendment of the United States, giving women the right to vote in America.

Sir Henry Morgan (#63, August 25th)

Background

Henry Morgan was born in southeast Wales around the year 1635, the son of a farmer. Not much is known about Morgan before the age of 1655. Historians do know that he dropped out of school and that somehow, Morgan managed to make his way to the West Indies. Some accounts say that Morgan came to Barbados as an indentured servant, but other accounts claim that Morgan came as a soldier in part of Cromwell's Western Design to take Hispaniola from Spain. While in the West Indies, Morgan married his cousin, Mary, the daughter of the Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica.

Career

Morgan joined the fleet of Christopher Mings in 1663. Mings had received a letter of marque the Governor of Jamaica. These letters allowed Mings and his fleet to attack Spanish ships as pirates. Morgan aided Mings in many attacks, including the capture of the island of Providence from Spain. 

In 1667, Morgan received his first independent commission from Modyford, the Governor of Jamaica. Morgan received ten ships and 500 men so he could capture Puerto Principe from the Spanish. After Morgan has successfully finished this task, Modyford entrusted Morgan with the task of attacking Spanish ships along the coast of Cuba. With letters of marque given to him by Modyford, Morgan continued to raid major Spanish ports, including Porto Bello, Cartagena, Maracaibo, and Gibraltar. 

In December of 1670, Morgan captured the island of Santa Catalina, and the fortress of San Lorenzo, which was on the coast of Panama. Morgan led his men into Panama and attacked the Spanish fortress at Panama City. Morgan successful took the city and his men looted the city of all its gold. The city was then burned. This attack on Panama violated England's 1670 peace treaty with Spain, so Morgan was arrested and brought to England in 1672. When it was proved that Morgan had no knowledge of the treaty, he was released, and in 1674, when Spanish-English relations deteriorated, Morgan was knighted for his work as a privateer.

The End

Sir Henry Morgan was brought back to Jamaica in 1674 to take up the post of Lieutenant Governor of the island. By 1683, however, Morgan had fallen out of the favor of King Charles II of England. Morgan was also being attacked by political enemies for his drunkenness and many of his disreputable actions taken while working as a privateer. Morgan was removed from the Jamaican Council in 1688. 

On August 25th, 1688, Sir Henry Morgan died, which has been suspected to be caused by tuberculosis contracted while in England or by liver failure brought on by heavy drinking. Morgan is on our list for being one of the most successful privateers during the era of American colonization

.

Paracelsus (#64)

Background

Phillip von Hohenheim, also known as Paracelsus, was born in Switzerland on the 11th of November 1493, the son of a German chemist. When he was 16, Paracelsus went to stude medecine at the University of Basel. By 1516, Paracelsus had gained his doctorate from the University of Ferrara.

Work

As a physician, Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals as forms of medicine, and often found himself in disagreement with traditional medical books. Paracelsus's arrogance led to him being kicked out of the University of Basel's staff and out of the city of Basel. Paracelsus wandered Europe in search of knowledge. He would take old manuscripts and revise them. In 1536, Paracelsus published Die grosse Wundartznei, which helped Paracelsus to regain some fame. 

Paracelsus was known for burning traditional medical manuscripts, and many attributed this to his upbringing as a Lutheran. Paracelsus rejected the idea, saying that himself and Luther both have their own ideas and each is simply defending them, though their ideas are quite different.

Paracelsus is famous for his idea that the celestial bodies, the different metals, and the different human organs are connected, and along with being a physician, Paracelsus was an alchemist. Along with being a physician and alchemist, Paracelsus was also one of the first to experiment with psychotherapy and is known by many as the father of toxicology.

The End

At the age of 47, in the year 1541, Paracelsus died of natural causes and was buried in  Salzburg. Paracelsus is on our list for being an outstanding figure of both medicine and alchemy during the same time.

The Sack of Rome (August 24th)

In the fifth century AD, Rome was in quite a bit of trouble. Barbarian tribes around the Roman Empire were starting to get stronger. The Huns attacked from the East, and the Visigoths attacked from the North. Eventually, Roman Emperor, Theodosius I, had to sign a treaty with the Visigoths. The Visigoths all became Roman citizens and fought as part of the Roman army. Alaric I, the King of the Visigoths, rode along with Theodosius, riding into battle against the Goths and the Huns, but all this changed when Theodosius died.

After Theodosius died, the peace between the Romans and the Visigoths quickly disintegrated, leading to the the top general, Flavius Stilicho, chasing the Visigoths out of Italy. When Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius died, Honorius, the Western Emperor, decided to go to Rome. Stilicho forbade his leaving Rome and suggested that he go instead. Rumors spread that Stilicho wanted to put his own son on the throne. Olympius, a Roman politician, staged a mutiny within the army and convinced Honorius that Stilicho was a threat.

Stilicho was soon executed, and the Roman Army was soon in chaos.Much violence broke out against the slaves and barbarian soldiers residing in Italy. Many of the persecuted people fled from Italy and sided with Alaric. Alaric's army grew by several thousand, and he was soon able to attack Rome.

In 408, the Visigoths attacked the great city of Rome, and starvation and diseases rapidly spread through the city. Alaric was given 5,000 pounds of gold and 30,000 pounds of silver along with silk and pepper in order to stop the siege.

Encouraged by Pope Innocent I, Honorius decided to make an alliance with the Visigoths. When Alaric demanded the title of Magister Militium, Honorius refused and sent Alaric an insulting letter. When Alaric intercepted a force of soldiers being secretly brought into Rome, he was furious and laid siege to Rome once more.When starvation returned, the Roman Senate surrendered again, and Alaric pressured them to appoint a new military leader.

When a treaty was almost reached between Honorius and Alaric, a Gothic commander allied with Honorius attacked Alaric. Alaric defeated the Gothic raiders and traveled to Rome, laying siege to the city for a third time. On August 24, 410, slavesopened Romes gate and Visigoths looted the city for three days.

This was the first time Rome had been sacked in 800 years, and it showed Rome's growing weakness and vulnerability. The eternal city was falling. In less than seventy years from the sacking of Rome, the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, would be dethroned.

The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 23rd)

In 1939, Adolf Hitler was preparing Germany for war. Hitler's first target was Poland. Unfortunately, Poland was protected by both France and Britain, and if the two powers of Western Europe entered the war, the Soviet Union, the major power of the East, might also enter the war. In World War I, Germany had also learned the consequences of fighting a two-front war, so Hitler sought to keep the U.S.S.R. from fighting.

On August 14, 1939, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Vyaaheslav Molotov, the Foreighn Ministers of Germany and the U.S.S.R., respectively, met in Moscow to arrange the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.

Publicly, the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact was an agreement that Germany and Germany would not attack each other, but Ribbentrop and Molotov also included a secret protocol to the pact.

In the secret protocol, the Soviet Union would not attack when Germany invaded Poland, and in return, Germany would give the Baltic States and part of Poland to the Soviet Union. Even after World War II ended, the very existence of the protocol was denied by the Soviet Union until 1989.

On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland, and the Soviet Union did nothing. Britain declared war on Germany two days later. The Non-Aggression Pact allowed Hitler to take Poland and fight the France and Britain without Stalin's intervention. The pact stayed in effect until June 22, 1941, when Hitler made a surprise attack on the Soviet Union, bringing Stalin into World War II.

The Death of Richard III (August 22nd)

In 1455, the War of the Roses broke out between two families in England: the Lancasters and the Yorks. The two families fought for the throne of England, and during the fight, most nobles in England took a side.

In 1483, Richard, Duke of York, was crowned as Richard the III of England after he usurped the throne from his twelve-year-old nephew, Edward V. The War of the Roses, however, was not over with the crowning of a York.

Richard was contested for the throne by Henry Tudor, the last remaining male member of the House of Lancaster. Because of this, Henry Tudor had the Lancaster family's strongest claim on the throne of England. Henry Tudor had gathered his forces in Frances, and then sailed his army to Milford Haven, Wales.

On August 21, 1485, twelve miles west of Leicester, on Bosworth Field, Henry Tudor's forces met Richard's in battle. Richard could have, for his army was of greater numbers, but at the last minute, several of his most important and powerful barons defected, giving Henry a decisive victory. Though he knew of his impending defeat, Richard is reported to have said, "I will not budge a foot. I will die king of England." Soon afterwards, Richard was unhorsed and killed, leaving Henry Tudor as Henry VII of England. Richard was only thirty-two years old and had been king for only two years when he died.