Tag Page history

John F. Kennedy: The President with the Highest All Time Approval John F. Kennedy, the thirty fifth president of the United States, is still viewed as one of the most respected leaders in modern American history. Throughout his presidency, his approval rating stayed near 70 percent, which is one of the highest averages ever recorded. His standing is measured through the modern polling system that began in 1936, allowing his numbers to be compared across generations of presidents. Based on this long record of surveys, Kennedy holds the highest average approval of any president in the polling era. Kennedy’s popularity came from his personality, message, and calm leadership during major challenges. His inaugural address, urging Americans to serve their country, became one of the most memorable speeches in US history. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, he guided the country through thirteen days of extreme tension, preventing nuclear conflict and earning wide respect. His support for early civil rights efforts and his commitment to the space program added to the sense that he was leading the nation into a new and ambitious era. Surveys taken long after his death show how strong his legacy remains. One major poll found that 85 percent of Americans approved of his performance when looking back on his presidency. Even during difficult periods, such as the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion, Kennedy kept approval ratings above 70 percent, something few presidents have matched. His calm approach, clear communication, and ability to connect with the public helped him maintain support across states, age groups, and political backgrounds. Kennedy’s consistently high approval demonstrates how trust and confidence from the public shape a president’s place in history. Although he served less than one full term, his leadership during world crises and his appeal to national unity left a lasting mark. #Politics #USA #History #USHistory #America

Miracle Over Missouri: George Lamson, Sole Survivor of TWA Flight 128, 1967 On November 20, 1967, TWA Flight 128, a domestic passenger flight in the United States, collided midair with a United Airlines aircraft over Missouri at approximately 11,000 feet. The collision destroyed both planes, killing all 7 crew members and 93 passengers aboard TWA Flight 128 and all 58 people aboard the other plane. George Lamson, a passenger from Missouri, survived, making him the sole survivor of 151 fatalities from the two aircraft. Lamson was seated near the rear of the plane. Investigators concluded that structural debris formed a partial protective space around him, absorbing much of the impact energy. He sustained multiple fractures, including a broken leg, several broken ribs, and a crushed pelvis, as well as internal contusions and significant blood loss. His vital organs avoided fatal trauma, a rare outcome in high energy midair collisions. Rescue crews located him within 20 minutes. Emergency responders stabilized him, controlled hemorrhage and shock, and transported him to a regional hospital. Surgeons performed orthopedic stabilization, blood transfusions, and intensive monitoring. Lamson spent 6 weeks hospitalized and underwent 3 major surgeries. Recovery included months of physical therapy to restore mobility and strength. Later in life, Lamson lived a relatively private life in Missouri. He reportedly returned to work in civil service and rarely spoke publicly about the crash, though he occasionally participated in interviews and safety studies. His survival, one of the rarest in American aviation history, demonstrates how seat location, debris orientation, rapid rescue, and sheer chance aligned perfectly. Analysts estimate that in similar midair collisions, the chance of a single passenger surviving is less than 1 percent, underscoring the extreme improbability of sole survival in catastrophic crashes. #PlaneCrash #Aviation #America #USA #History #Survivor

A Vanishing With No Footprints

There’s a case that’s been haunting me ever since I read about it — the disappearance of 4-year-old Nyleen Marshall in 1983. She was on a family picnic in the Helena National Forest in Montana. One moment she was playing nearby… and the next, she was simply gone. No footprints, no signs of a struggle, no clothing, nothing. Just a child who vanished into the woods without leaving a single trace. Months later, the story took an even darker turn. Authorities received messages from a man claiming: “She was crying and frightened and I decided that I would keep her and love her. I took her home with me.” He described traveling with a little girl, homeschooling her, supposedly “keeping her safe” — but the letters gave no real answers. No identity. No location. And despite decades of searching, neither he nor Nyleen has ever been found. What chills me is how the case sits at the crossroads of every parent’s worst nightmare: a child vanishing in seconds, and the possibility that someone deliberately took her… yet left behind nothing but empty space. There’s something uniquely terrifying about mysteries where nothing adds up — no evidence, no closure, just a story that feels frozen in time. Forty years later, the question remains: How can a person and a child disappear so completely? #History #UnexpectedHistory

Assured Destruction: The 1961 Plan That Made Nuclear War Unthinkable Robert McNamara created Assured Destruction after becoming U.S. Secretary of Defense in 1961 under President Kennedy, proposing it after reviewing nuclear plans. The U.S. had about 1,200 strategic warheads aimed at the Soviet Union, China, and Eastern Europe. Major cities were targeted with multiple warheads. A full nuclear exchange could kill 200–300 million civilians and destroy 60–70% of industrial capacity, making war unthinkable. Assured Destruction aimed to prevent nuclear war by ensuring any attack on the U.S. could be met with a retaliatory strike capable of destroying much of the Soviet Union. It set limits for deterrence. The U.S. had to survive a first strike and retaliate to destroy 20–25% of the Soviet population and 50% of its industry. Analysts mapped cities, factories, rail hubs, and power centers and found 75% of Soviet heavy industry in 10% of cities, ensuring retaliation. U.S. nuclear forces were redesigned to survive. Missile silos could withstand 50–70% of strikes. Submarine-launched missiles carried 16–20 warheads each, while B-52s carried 2,000+ bombs, with about 400 on continuous alert. Missile defenses could stop only 10–15% of incoming warheads and risked encouraging first strikes. Assured Destruction rejected limited nuclear war. Modeling showed 100–200 warheads could escalate rapidly. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviets had 100+ warheads in Cuba and 300+ strategic warheads elsewhere. Assured Destruction differs from Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Assured Destruction defined U.S. deterrence. MAD, emerging around 1967, described the situation once both sides had secure second-strike forces. Any first strike guaranteed self-destruction. By turning catastrophic numbers into limits, Assured Destruction made nuclear war with the Soviet Union unthinkable. Even 150 warheads could destroy the country, showing restraint was the only safe choice. #History #USA

Catching America’s Deadliest Serial Killer: The Green River Killer Investigation Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, stands among America’s most prolific serial predators, responsible for 49 confirmed victims and claiming up to 80. His crimes spanned from 1982 to 2000 across Washington state. Ridgway targeted vulnerable women, often sex workers or runaways, luring them into isolated areas and strangling them before leaving their bodies in concealed locations along the Green River, which slowed early discovery and hindered investigative progress. Forensic teams relied heavily on microscopic and biological evidence to link him to victims. Minuscule paint spheres measuring roughly 10 microns were recovered from at least six victims. For scale, 10 microns is one tenth the width of a human hair and comparable to a single red blood cell. Infrared microspectroscopy showed the particles matched rare industrial spray paint used at Ridgway’s workplace. Investigators noted that hundreds of spheres in multiple colors created recurring environmental signatures that tied murders to a single source and demonstrated how trace materials could quietly record offender movements. DNA evidence added decisive weight. Preserved samples from several victims were matched to Ridgway’s 1987 saliva sample, confirming direct contact and strengthening the timeline of his activities. These converging forensic streams enabled detectives to confidently link victims separated by many years and refine a consistent offender pattern with greater precision. Ridgway’s methodical tactics and repeated returns to dump sites helped him evade capture for nearly two decades. After his arrest, he entered a detailed confession to avoid capital punishment. He received life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for each count, ensuring he will remain in custody permanently. #TrueCrime #LawEnforcement #History #ForensicScience #SerialKiller #USA

When enslaved Africans escaped from the United States into Mexico, they crossed more than a border — they crossed into freedom. Mexico had abolished slavery in the early 1800s, and under Mexican law no human being could be held as property. Once on Mexican soil, U.S. slave catchers had no legal power, and those who made it across could no longer be enslaved. Thousands of Black fugitives built new lives in Mexico. They formed families, joined towns, took Mexican names, and became part of the nation’s fabric. Some and their descendants even fought for Mexico in later struggles, including the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), when ordinary people rose up against dictatorship and inequality. This Afro-Mexican soldier represents a forgotten chapter of Black history — one that shows how African descendants were not just refugees, but freedom fighters, citizens, and nation-builders beyond the borders of the United States. #History #facebookrepost

The Panama Case That Still Haunts Me

I was reading about the disappearance of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon again, and it honestly gets more unsettling every time. Two young women, just backpacking through Panama, decide to hike the El Pianista trail on April 1, 2014… and then vanish without a trace. What really gets me is the timeline. Froon’s phone was being powered on for days after they went missing—until April 11. Someone was trying to call for help. And then the camera photos… those eerie shots taken in complete darkness. It’s the kind of detail you wish you could un-know because you start imagining the fear behind those clicks. Months later, only partial remains were found. No clear answers. No real explanation that fits everything. I think that’s why this case has stayed in my head for so long. It’s not just what happened—it’s everything we still don’t know. Two girls went for a hike, and somehow ended up as one of the most haunting mysteries of the last decade. Honestly, stories like this make you realize how thin the line is between a normal day and something unthinkable. #UnexpectedHistory #History

On December 10, 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in Oslo, Norway to formally receive the Nobel Peace Prize. At just 35 years old he became the youngest person ever to earn that honor at the time. The committee recognized him for leading a nonviolent movement that confronted segregation, discrimination, and the long shadow of inequality across the United States. His award was not a celebration of victory, but a recognition of how much courage it takes to stand in the storm without raising a fist. King accepted the prize with a steady voice and an even steadier conviction that change was possible. He spoke of the struggles happening back home… the bombings, the arrests, the backlash, the constant risk that trailed every step. Yet he still called for peace, not because the times were peaceful, but because he believed humanity could rise above the cycles that had shaped the nation for centuries. This moment in Oslo is often remembered as a milestone, but it was also a mirror. It showed the world what was happening in America and forced people to see the gap between its ideals and its reality. King stood alone at that podium, but he carried a movement on his shoulders. A movement built by ordinary people who marched, sat in, spoke up, pushed forward, and refused to let injustice remain untouched. Sixty years later the speech still echoes. The questions he raised still challenge us. And the hope he carried still feels necessary. History marks the day he received the Nobel Peace Prize, but that award did not define him. His work did. His legacy did. The change he sparked still does. #History #AmericanHistory #OnThisDay #MLK #Nonviolence #LataraSpeaksTruth #LearnOurHistory #NewsBreakCommunity #TodayInHistory #LegacyLivesOn

America’s Largest Cash Heist: The Dunbar Depot Robbery The Dunbar Depot robbery in Los Angeles in 1997 remains the largest cash theft in the United States. A safety inspector at the armored facility spent months studying camera gaps, door access points, employee routines, and the placement of bundled currency. His role allowed unrestricted movement through loading corridors and vault staging areas, giving him a clear understanding of when the depot held the most cash with the fewest workers present. On a Saturday night the crew used duplicate keys to enter the building and moved through a corridor the leader knew would not be captured on video. They reached the loading zone where millions in currency waited for early morning distribution. The thieves restrained employees and seized stacks of high denomination notes arranged for upcoming shipments. They filled large bags with 18 million dollars and exited without triggering alarms or leaving meaningful forensic evidence. A rented truck nearby served as the transport vehicle. The money was divided among storage units, safe houses, and small businesses used to launder portions of the stolen cash. Investigators struggled because the entry showed no forced damage and the timing indicated deep internal knowledge. The clean scene created one of the most difficult financial crime cases in the country, and federal agents later stated they believed additional accomplices never surfaced. The breakthrough came when an accomplice attempted to use a group of bills still in a sequence traceable to the depot inventory. Federal investigators followed the trail and identified multiple conspirators. Arrests followed as associates made large purchases or moved cash in unusual patterns. The organizer received a 24 year sentence and several accomplices received 7 to 10 year terms. Authorities recovered only 5 million dollars, leaving 13 million dollars missing, and the crime remains America’s largest heist. #History #USHistory #USA

Ancient Skeleton Reveals Syphilis’ True Roots

Get this: scientists just found a 5,500-year-old skeleton in Colombia with the oldest DNA evidence of the bacteria behind syphilis. But plot twist—it’s a totally new strain! This find shakes up everything we thought we knew about where syphilis started. Forget Columbus—turns out these bugs were already mixing it up in the Americas thousands of years before. The real origin story of syphilis just got way juicier (and way older). #History #history #science