| Saturday, August 27, 2005 |
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Bing Crosby and Bob Hope's 'Road to Zanzibar' |
SpotlightHistory's shortest war began and ended on this date in 1896. British ships began bombing the island of Zanzibar at 9am, and Zanzibar surrendered at about 9:45am, that same morning. The battle was prompted by the ascension to Zanzibar's throne of Khalid bin Barghash, second son to Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini, who had died two days before. The British, who had sovereignty over the island, opposed the new Sultan. When he refused to step down, the British fired upon the island, quickly bringing the insurrection to an end.
Quote"War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means." – Karl von Clausewitz
Today in History
- gusher: Edwin Drake drilled the first oil well, near Titusville, Pennsylvania (1859)
- Krakatoa: volcano erupted in loudest explosion ever recorded; resultant tsunami killed 36,000 (1883)
- Kellogg-Briand Pact: multinational treaty signed in Paris outlawed war – about 11 years before the same nations took part in WWII (1928)
Today's Birthdays
- Lyndon B. Johnson: 36th POTUS (1908-1973)
- Mother Teresa: Nobel Prize-winning nun (1910-1997) (date of baptism)
- Paul Reubens: actor, Pee-wee's Playhouse (53)
Word of the Dayprotectorate: the relationship when a state allows itself to be controlled by a stronger one; Zanzibar was a protectorate of Great Britain from 1890-1963.
Click for previous days' Highlights.
