It was an important day for Leopold. It is the commemoration of Saint Leopold the Good who died on this day in 1136, patron of Austria and personal patron of the king of Belgium. That normally wouldn't make the list, and doesn't directly, but the date is celebrated as the founding of the royal house of Belgium in 1830. The exact chronology is a little chancy, since Leopold I, King of Belgium, wasn't elected until the following spring. Yes, the hereditary office was first filled by the election of a foreigner. And a completely unrelated Leopold, also an Austrian but a duke and military leader, lost a seminal battle in what soon became Switzerland.
In addition to that crucial start to the Swiss Confederation, the US Articles of Confederation were adopted by the second Continental Congress, the first confederation of labor unions in the US was formed, and the first full meeting of the Assembly of the League of Nations was held - in Switzerland.
In the US Civil War the infamous March to the Sea set out from Atlanta, leaving the city in flames behind it and destroying everything in its path.
1315 - A small force of Swiss infantry decisively defeated the knights of Leopold of Austria, a Habsburg duke who claimed the area. The key forces were provided by men of Schwyz, one of the first three states then forming Switzerland, and the confederation is now known by versions of that name (Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera, etc.). It was the first military victory of the new confederation and was key to independence from the Habsburg empire.
1626 - The original Mayflower "pilgrims" (Leyden Separatists), having lived in their American colony for six years, bought out their London investors for 1,800 pounds.
1777 - The second Continental Congress passed the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, creating the government of the United States. Under that constitution the first eight presidents of the US served terms of one year. The federal government had little power under the Articles, it was unable to compel the states to contribute troops or revenue - it was unable even to compel attendance of state representatives at sessions of the unicameral legislature.
1864 - General William T. Sherman and 62,000 Union troops set fire to Atlanta, Georgia and began the March to the Sea. The troops split up and fanned out over a 60-mile wide line of advance, and destroyed everything of value - bridges, railroads, warehouses, and machinery - in their path toward Savannah. The force advanced about 15 miles per day, foraging for supplies and leaving no cattle, horses, or grain behind.
1881 - The Federation of Organized Trades and Labour Unions was founded in convention at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by representatives of carpenters, cigar makers, printers, merchant seamen, steel workers, and a few locals of the Knights of Labor. The organization was ahead of its time and little success until it merged with other groups to form the American Federation of Labour (AFL) in 1886.
1920 - First meeting of the full assembly of the Leage of Nations was convened by US president Woodrow Wilson at Geneva, Switzerland, 41 nations were represented. The League was based on Wilson's "Fourteen Principals" but he was unable to convince the US to enter the League.
Dynasty Day, Belgium - Commemorates the 1830 revolt against the United Netherlands, under which Belgium was known as the Southern Netherlands. Under the constitution adopted the following February, Belgians elected a hereditary monarch. They chose Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, a German who was uncle to Queen Victoria of England. The date is the feast day of Saint Leopold of Austria, the patron saint of the heirs of the unrelated King Leopold of Belgium.
We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in
the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening.
Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect
them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine
and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams
will come true.
- Woodrow Wilson
The whole history of the world is summed up in the fact that, when nations
are strong, they are not always just, and when they wish to be just, they
are no longer strong.
- Winston Churchill
An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing
which has never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations
down to a town meeting or a vestry.
- Thomas Jefferson
There is many a boy here who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it
is all hell. You can bear this warning voice to generations to come.
- William Tecumseh Sherman
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Copyright 2000 G. Armour Van Horn, all rights reserved. This document may be distributed freely. Please forward the complete message including this copyright notice.