On This Day In History

70 Years ago the Second World War in Europe ended. Documents of unconditional surrender were signed in the early hours of the 7th in Reims, France. Late on the 8th similar documents were signed in Berlin. Moscow celebrates this signing on the 9th of May since it is in an earlier time zone.


German stamps, 50 years after surrender.




The Russian flag on the Reichstag, East German stamp.


The return of Peace and Liberty, French stamp.

Konrad Zuse (1910–1995) was a German civil engineer, inventor and computer pioneer. His greatest achievement was the world's first programmable computer; the functional program-controlled Turing-complete Z3 became operational on May 12th,1941. Thanks to this machine and its predecessors, Zuse has often been regarded as the inventor of the modern computer. (from Wikipedia)

Today is the birthday of film actress Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003)

On the 14th of May, 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed.

Happy Anniversary Israel!

14 May 1796, the world's first vaccine was tested by Edward Jenner.












http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Jenner


http://www.history.com/this-day-in-...lpox-vaccine

On the 16th of May, 1920, Joan of Arc was canonized by Pope Benedict the 15th. Joan was burned at the stake on the 30th of May, 1431.

On the 21st of May, 1927, Lindbergh landed in Paris with his "Spirit of St. Louis". There is a separate thread for Lindbergh - maybe there will be some posts there for today. (I had to cut this sheet in half in order to reduce it to size and I did not see it on his personal thread. But I thought it particularly fitting because it has both Liberty and the Tower.)

On this day in history, D-Day, the invasion of France took place.



Also so worthy of mention is the Victory of the battle of Midway, almost 6 months to the day after Pearl Harbor. After breaking the Japanese code and learning of the intent of an overly elaborate plan of the Japanese to attack the Island of Midway, a task force comprising of the US aircraft carriers Enterprise, Hornet and Yorktown sailed to northeast of Midway Island. A hunt for Japanese carriers ensued.

The task force of these 3 carriers sank four front line Japanese aircraft carriers, driving the Japanese back thousands of miles, turning the tide of the Pacific war, and allowing the US and it's allies to take the Japanese on their own terms.

The Aircraft carrier Yorktown, still under repairs from the battle of the Coral Sea (the first battle in history where the opponents were not able to see each other) was lost. This day in 2012 would have been the 70th anniversary of the battle of Midway.

Can't find a stamp on it so I will show this map.





-IBFS

The Douglas Daunless Dive Bomber, the aircraft that changed history in the battle of Midway.








-IBFS

On June 7, 1893, Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) committed his first act of civil disobedience when the then 24-year-old Indian lawyer refused to move to a third-class carriage while holding a valid ticket for the whites-only first-class compartment, and was consequently forcibly ejected from a train at South Africa's Pietermaritzburg Railway Station, an incident which would change the course of his life, and of the lives of millions of others. Here is an image of an airmail stamp featuring a portrait of Gandhi, designed and engraved by Michel Monvoisin, and issued by Mali on November 24, 1969 to commemorate Gandhi's birth centenary, Scott No. C83, plus an image of a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi which was surely the model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk

On the 18th of June, 1815, Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo (located just south of Brussels, Belgium). England has issued several new commemorative stamps; the Belgian panorama dates from 1990.

Today, just a few moments ago, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip touched down in Berlin for her 5th official state visit. Her first one was 50 years ago! The Royal Couple is much loved and respected here and I hope they have a great visit. (The painting for this very recent stamp was done by Nicola Jane Philipps.)

On June 24th, 1948, all surface travel to Berlin was blocked by the Soviet Union. The three western allies began the Berlin airlift. Hundreds of aircraft carried life-sustaining supplies to the locked-in city. There will always be deep admiration and gratitude for the Luftbrücke.

On the 26th of June, 1945: In the Herbst Theater auditorium in San Francisco, delegates from 50 nations sign the United Nations Charter, establishing the world body as a means of saving "succeeding generations from the scourge of war." The Charter was ratified on October 24, and the first U.N. General Assembly met in London on January 10, 1946. (I have chosen among the many UN stamps a few with the Peace Dove.)