Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Dies at 96

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter died last Sunday at her Plains, Georgia, home at 96. She was the second oldest first lady ever, after Bess Truman, and her marriage to her husband former President Jimmy Carter was the longest presidential marriage in US history at 77 years.

Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, on August 18, 1927. She started dating her future husband Jimmy in 1945, and they married in 1946. They would have four children together.

Carter became first lady of Georgia in 1971 and first lady of the US in 1977. She took an active role her husband's administration, acting as an adviser and attending cabinet meetings. She was a fierce advocate for mental health reform, both as first lady and during her husband’s post-presidency.

 

JFK Assassination 60 Years Later

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a pivotal point in 20th century US history.

On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was riding along with his wife, Jackie Kennedy, and Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, along a Dallas street. At approximately 12:30 PM CST, both Kennedy and Connally were shot by an unseen gunman. Kennedy was struck by a third fatal bullet that shattered part of his skull and pierced his brain, and he would be pronounced dead at 1:00 PM.

While conspiracy theories abound six decades after his death, most recognize Lee Harvey Oswald, a former US marine and Soviet sympathizer, as the shooter who fired the fatal shots. Oswald himself was murdered two days later by nightclub owner Jack Ruby.

His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, was sworn in as president soon after, whose presidency ushered in a new era of American politics, including advances in civil rights, racial and geographic party realignment, and massive social welfare programs. Johnson's administration saw increased American involvement in Vietnam and the rise of the 1960s counterculture.

The 'End of Camelot' and 'The Day America Lost Its Innocence' have both been used to describe the day and its effects on the country. Regardless of the possible hyperbole of the latter, his death did mark a transition into a more turbulent era of American history.

Two other notable deaths that occurred that day that were overshadowed by the Kennedy assassination were those of author and academic C.S. Lewis and author Aldous Huxley.

Mikhail Gorbachev: 1931-2022

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union who presided over its dissolution and abandonment of Marxist-Leninist communism, died Tuesday at 91. Russian news agencies reported that his death followed “a serious and long” illness.

One of the most consequential leaders of the 20th century, Gorbachev was born in 1931, the only Soviet leader born after the USSR was already established. Moving his way up through the Communist Party ranks, he joined the Politburo in 1979. Following the brief terms of Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko, he became General Secretary in 1985.

By the time he came to power, the Soviet Union had a stagnant economy, a dysfunctional government, and a military quagmire in Afghanistan. In an attempt to salvage the Soviet Union, he initiated structural reforms, perestroika, and a new openness and transparency to the outside world unprecedented in Soviet history, glasnost.

The reforms were not enough to salvage the failing Soviet system, however, and even helped lead to the dissolution of the state. Western countries at this time were prospering economically, and defense initiatives in the US, such as President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, or 'Star Wars'), further weakened Soviet morale as they were unable to compete effectively.

Anti-communist movements gained strength in communist eastern European countries, leading to the revolutions of 1989. By the start of the next decade, the constituent countries of the USSR began to break away from the country, and with few exceptions, Gorbachev did not use force to put down the revolts. Surviving a coup attempt by communist hardliners but unable to save the USSR, Gorbachev resigned December 25, 1991, ending the Soviet Union.

His legacy since the end of his rule has largely been largely positive in the West, praising his openness to the outside world and allowing the Soviet Union to dissolve relatively peacefully. In Russia, his legacy has been more negative, with the main criticism being that he allowed the Soviet Union to collapse. Russia, while still a powerful country, no longer plays the pivotal role it did as the USSR and faces numerous economic and geopolitical challenges as a post-Soviet country.

 

Soviet Union's End: Thirty Years Later

On December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbahev resigned as general secretary of the Communist Party. For Western countries, this occurred on Christmas day, though it was a much more typical day in the largely Orthodox Soviet Union, as Orthodox Christians observe Christmas in January. 

In Gorbachev's speech, he said, "I hereby discontinue my activities at the post of President of the USSR", and declared an end to the Cold War, which had subsumed geopolitics for over over four decades. His powers were then transferred to Russian president, Boris Yelstin. 

After his speech, the Soviet flag was lowered over the Kremlin, and the Russian flag was raised. The next day, upper chamber of the Soviet legislature formally voted to end the Soviet Union. 

Watch Gorbahev's speech translated to English here:

Pearl Harbor 80 Years Later

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which led to United States' entry into World War II.

Several survivors of the attack, many of whom are 100 or over, visited the site today to observe the memorials for those lost on that day.

Five Hundred Years Since Martin Luther's 95 Theses

Tuesday marks the 500th year anniversary of Martin Luther writing his Ninety Five Theses, which often cited as the starting point for the Protestant Reformation. Luther is believed to have posted his piece to the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany, where public displays were usually posted.

Copy of Luther's original 95 Theses

The Protestant Reformation threw the Western Christian world into tumult for centuries afterwards, as the Roman Catholic Church worked to respond to the movement and rise of new denominations, and the Protestant churches found both opposition and support among various monarchs in Europe (one of the most notable cases, King Henry VIII of England transitioned from Catholicism to Anglicanism after the pope would not approve a divorce from his first wife).