Today in History

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David proved you can topple giants. In 636 BCE another giant fell. This time it was led by Khalid ibn al-Walid's Arab forces against Emperor Heraclius' larger Byzantine army and scored a major victory in Battle of Yarmouk, which lasted 6 days at the Yarmouk River along what is known as the Syria-Jordan and Syria-Israel border east of the Sea of Galilee. Some people know how to celebrate victories, and the Russians do it with class. Seventy years after Russia routed Napoleon, musician/composer Tchaikovsky sounded off with cannon fire in a tribute that would be the blast of festivals and fireworks celebrations thereafter. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture was first heard in Moscow, August 20, 1882. Tchaikovsky visited the US in 1891 and performed the 1812 Overture at the dedication of Carnegie Hall. Being part of the opposition can get you killed. Leon Trotsky was a Russian Revolutionary, Marxist theorist, and Soviet politician who offered a particular Marxist thought called Trotskyism. Leon Trotsky joined the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. After leading a failed struggle against the policies and rise of Joseph Stalin, he was removed Commissar of Military and Naval Affairs, removed from the Politburo, removed from the Central Committee, expelled from the Communist Party, exiled to Alma-Ata, and finally exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929. Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico City by Ramon Mercader on August 20, 1940 with an ice-axe, and died the next day. One of the worst wildfires in history happened on August 20, 1988 in Yellowstone National Park. Due to drought conditions, smaller fires grew out of control and became one large fire, which spread quickly. A total of 793,880 acres (3,213 km2) or 36% of the park was affected by the wildfire. It took a couple months to get under control, and that only after the weather changed and brought rain. More than 9,000 firefighters were assigned, assisted by dozens of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. More than 4,000 military troops also assisted with the efforts to control and put out the fires. No firefighters lost their lives battling the fires. Thanks for reading, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons