Curating X: Historicity, Pt 1
Resolutions and reflections, the maps of past and future collide with willpower & narrative. A New Years double issue.
January: Time for Reflective Resolutions
Happy New Year!
Tradition has long designated this as the time of year for us to make new goals, break old habits, or start new ones. Have you made your resolutions for this year?
Like wishes, some of us prefer to keep our resolutions private and unspoken for fear of jinxing our willpower to follow through. But what about a group resolution?
If you can't tell by now, I think looking back is a critical function of moving forward. In that spirit I’d like to suggest a shared, reflective resolution for all of us in 2022.
Choose one historic event or topic each month that you aren’t familiar with to explore.
That’s it.
History is a finicky creature, with what we call “historic truth" very much in the eye of the beholder. Find new sources, ask yourself questions about what they say. Search out those answers. Find the differences of fact and opinion that various sources present.
Keep an open mind about things like political, cultural, religious, and national influences. These are the things that give history it’s context. They place us in the participants’ shoes.
Without them, history is just a boring list of names, dates, and locations.
Remember that, just like in our modern headlines, engineered narratives and bias are themselves a common part of our shared histories. That doesn't eliminate their discovery value as long as we keep this in mind.
So to help inspire that discovery, my personal resolution for 2022 is to set and keep the first committed writing deadline for this newsletter:
On the first of every month I'll be putting out an issue of Curating X: Historicity. I’ll write one featured article and provide a list of events that occurred on each day of that month with further content links for you to explore on your own.
This is my commitment to you and myself. I hope it inspires a curiosity for history - a historicity - for you to explore further into the coming year, it certainly does me!
January's Notable Events from the History Vaults:
1 January 1999 • 23 years ago • The 11 member nations of the European Union introduced the Euro (€) currency in their countries. As of 2021, twenty-three countries now use it as their recognized tender.
The history and purpose of the Euro from the European Union
International effects of the Euro from the Brookings Institute
2 January 1974 • 48 years ago • U.S. President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum speed limit to 55mph to conserve gasoline during the OPEC crisis. That crisis continued to heavily influence the decisions of two more administrations before it was resolved.
Overview article from History.Com
The history of speed limits in America
Curated overview of the OPEC crisis from the National Museum of American History
3 January 1848 • 174 years ago • Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of Liberia. The “Slave Democracy" was America's first foray into nation-building, but wouldn't be it’s last.
The founding of Liberia from U.S. State department
JJR biography from New World Encyclopedia
The American record on nation-building from the Carnegie Endowment
4 January 1959 • 63 years ago • The Soviet Union's Luna 1 spacecraft becomes the first ever craft to visit the moon's vicinity. It would be another ten years before humans followed suit.
Luna 1 facts from NASA
A brief history of the Luna program from LPI
5 January 1781 • 241 years ago • American traitor Benedict Arnold leads British naval forces in the burning of Richmond, Virginia during the U.S. Revolutionary War. The British southern campaign appeared as if it had the colonial leaders on the verge of defeat.
The burning of Richmond from Revolutionary War and Beyond
Richmond during the Revolutionary War from Battlefields.Org
6 January 1066 • 956 years ago • Harold Godwinson is crowned the new King of England. This sparks a succession crisis that led to the Norman conquest of England.
10 facts about Harold Godwinson from HistoryHit
The Norman Conquest of 1066 from National Geographic
7 January 1948 • 74 years ago • A Kentucky Air National Guard pilot crashes while chasing a UFO.
The Mantel Incident from Military History Wiki
A brief history of UAP/UFO encounters from Space.com
8 January 2020 • 2 years ago • Ukrainian International Air flight 752 is shot down by an anti-aircraft missile as it departs Tehran, killing all 176 passengers. The accident was the result of a mistake by the Iranian military during long escalating tensions with the U.S. that continue beating the drum of war to this day.
The Downing of UIA Flight 752 from Canadian govt
Ukraine rejects Iran’s final report on UIA 752 from BBC
9 January 1349 • 673 years ago • Certain that the source of the Black Death has been identified, the residents of Basel, Switzerland round up their Jewish neighbors and incinerate them.
The Jews of Basel Burnt from Jerusalem Post
History of Basel, Switzerland from the city
10 January 50 BC • 2,071 years ago • Julius Caesar brakes the cardinal rule of the Roman Republic and marches his legions across the Rubicon river, starting a civil war. This concept of crossing absolute red lines of behavior is still with us today in the phrase “crossing the Rubicon."
Video about the event from Pritzker Military History Library
What does “crossing the Rubicon” mean? from HistoryExtra
11 January 2003 • 19 years ago • The Illinois governor commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners from the state's death row as a result of the scandal surrounding corrupt cop Jon Burge, who tortured at least 118 people in police custody into giving false confessions.
Detailed accounting of Jon Burg’s police torture schemes
Police torture scandal - a Who’s Who from Chicago Reader
12 January 1970 • 52 years ago • The Nigerian Civil War ends after three years when the secessionist state of Biafra surrenders. Today, Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa and is often referenced as a nexus of continental politics.
The Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) from BlackPast
Nigerian economy and development from World Bank
13 January 1910 • 112 years ago • Public radio broadcasting is born in New York when two operas are performed live from the Metropolitan Opera House.
The 1st public radio broadcast from EDN
Radio Activity from Smithsonian
14 January 1639 • 383 years ago • The first written constitution which created a sovereign government is implemented. The document, called the Fundamental Orders, created a legal system of self-governance in the Connecticut Colony.
The Fundamental Orders from ConnecticutHistory.org
Perspectives on constitutions around the world from ConstitutionCenter.org
15 January 1991 • 31 years ago • The deadline issued by the United Nations for Iraqi invasion forces to withdraw from Kuwait has expired. Operation Desert Shield is only two days away from becoming Operation Desert Storm and sending 41 countries to war.
The Gulf War online exhibit from U.S. Army Military History
The beginning of the Gulf War from C-SPAN
Part 2 continues our tour through January history, and offers a potential glimpse into the history of tomorrow. You can read it now in your inbox or by clicking the link above.
Cya there!
A.W.
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