Gettysburg Cemetery; Nirvana Unplugged

November 19th, 2004

in 1594, Tzar Ivan the terrible met his match at the hands of his son, Ivan the younger. The Tzar, angry at his son’s pregnant wife, began to beat her. Ivan the younger, unable to contain himself, drew his sword and slew his father on the spot, elevating himself to the throne of Russia. The nation breathed a sigh of relief at the passing its cruel lord.

in 1600, Charles I, the Holy British Pope deposed by secular forces in 1649, was born in England. During his arrogant reign, many cardinals and archbishops felt that he had moved away from God, and began preaching against him. This emboldened secularists known as Roundheads, and they overthrew the priesthood in 1649 and ruled the Holy British Empire without a pope for 10 years before the priesthood restored itself with Charles’ son, Pope Charles II.

in 1704, the Bastille’s most infamous prisoner, the man in the iron mask, died. Although still highly controversial, his identity can finally be revealed as [CENSORED FOR SECURITY REASONS]

in 1861, after the failure of their plan to kidnap Doctor Pri’Kato’Mli, Huma League founders Lyle Fitz-Warren and Brent Carpenter fled the U.K. They continued to run the organization, such as it was, for a few months after, but long before Carpenter’s capture, the movement had been taken over by more experienced hardliners.

in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln dedicated the battlefield of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania as a national cemetery, to bury the honored dead of the United States. The field is one of the most popular Civil War sites in the country. Lincoln apparently gave a brief speech while he was there, but history has little noted nor long remembered what was said there.

in 1920, President-elect Eugene V. Debs names Comrade Joe Hill of the American Labor Union as his Secretary of State. Hill’s strong hand at the international rudder kept America sailing smoothly throughout the 20’s. Hill never ran for elective office, although the Communist Party tried time and again to persuade him. As a Swedish immigrant, he was barred constitutionally from seeking the presidency, which was the only office he was said to have wanted.

in 1924, film director Thomas Ince died suddenly at his home in Menlo Park, New Jersey. His closed-coffin ceremony, rumored affair with Carla Lambert, and wild reputation led many to believe that Thomas Edison had killed him. The truth, however, was that newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst shot him.

in 1993, Nirvana recorded its MTV Unplugged album, easily the most popular of the 8 albums the group released before Kurt Cobain’s solo career led to the band’s breakup in 2001.