Kidd Knighted; Himmler Killed

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May 23rd, 2006

in 1701, Captain William Kidd was knighted by King William III for his diligence in defending English ships against piracy on the American coast. He had been commissioned with the task 6 years earlier by the governor of New York, and had proven wonderfully adept at it. “It’s almost as if he has a pirate’s mind himself,” King William said during the ceremony.

in 1777, one of the rebels' few victories was scored against the British when Colonel Meigs and his Connecticut raiders sacked Sag Harbor, New York, capturing some vessels and supplies. These were transferred to the Canadian independence movement after Meigs was ordered to surrender to the British in 1778, and some of the ships Meigs captured were even used in the Battle of Hudson Bay to defeat their former masters.

in 1872, construction completed on Thomas Edison’s Edison Difference Engine, or Eddie as they became known popularly. The Eddie was a newer, better version of Charles Babbage’s difference engine, and Edison scheduled an unveiling for the following Monday to present his latest invention to the world.

in 4600, Star Sailor Ouyang Ziyuan of the Chinese Star Fleet was launched to the moon. This first manned mission to the earth’s satellite was the beginning of Emperor Chengzu’s Star Fleet’s greatest period, culminating in a small lunar colony and eventual contact with an alien race. Ironically, it also led to the end of the hereditary line of emperors and to the burgeoning of democracy in the empire.

in 1910, Jovian Mlosh capture the Li’Kek’Uma moon in the Mlosh home system, and with it, millions of Q’Barian supporters of Q’B’Ton’ra. With this defeat, the last few military leaders who had been fighting the Q’Barian rebels and the Jovians surrender, and the Barnard’s Star talks move towards terms of surrender.

in 1934, Sheriff Clyde Barrow led the capture of noted gangsters J. Edgar “Sweety” Hoover and Clyde “Gunner” Tolson. Barrow and his posse of deputies were forced to wound both of the outlaws, but were able to take them alive, in spite of a barrage of gunfire from the pair. Hoover and Tolson spent their rest of their days behind bars, dying in the early 1970's.

in 1945, Chief of Police for the German Reich, Heinrich Himmler, was assassinated by Greater Zionist Resistance sympathizers in Berlin, Germany. Himmler needed no assistance from the G.Z.R. to be hated; his repression made him universally despised across the Reich, and there was little effort put into finding his killers.

in 1964, international sensation Pete Best’s song Can’t Get Enough Love was remade by American singer Ella Fitzgerald and hit the top 50 on the U.K. charts. She was the first artist to chart with a cover of a Pete Best song.

in 2003, President Al Gore’s Smartnet initiative reaches the U.S. Congress. In it, President Gore calls for a national wireless system of connectivity to the internet. It is derided by Republicans as “technobabble”, but it passes both House and Senate by good majorities, and proves to be a large boon to the laptop computer industry.

Timelines in today's post: Canadian Independence, Edison Steampunk, the Chinese Empire, the Mlosh, the GZR, Pete Best and The Smartnet Timeline

Today's "Six Degrees of Star Trek" challenge: Connect the 1945 Captain Kidd to Star Trek. Place your answers in the comments and see the Forum for previous results. For more on 6 degrees games, click here.

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