Good morning, Whitewater.

We have a pretty day ahead, with a high of seventy-seven and sunny skies. Sunrise today is 5:26 AM and sunset 8:34 PM. The moon is in a waxing gibbous phase with ninety-five percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1940, and lasting for just over three months until a British victory over Germany, the Battle of Britain begins:

The Battle of Britain (German: Luftschlacht um England, literally “Air battle for England”) is the name given to the Second World War air campaign waged by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The name is derived from a famous speech delivered by Prime MinisterWinston Churchill in the House of Commons: “… the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.”^[16]

The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces,^[17] and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date. The German objective was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF), especially Fighter Command. From July 1940, coastal shipping convoys and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth, were the main targets; one month later, the Luftwaffe shifted its attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted aircraft factories and ground infrastructure. Eventually the Luftwaffe resorted to attacking areas of political significance and using terror bombing strategy.^{[nb 9]}

By preventing Germany from gaining air superiority, the battle ended the threat that Hitler would launch Operation Sea Lion, an amphibious and airborne invasion of Britain. However, Germany continued bombing operations on Britain, known as The Blitz. The failure of Germany to achieve its objectives of destroying Britain’s air defences, or forcing Britain to negotiate an armistice or an outright surrender, is considered its first major defeat and a crucial turning point in the Second World War.^[19]

On this day in 1832, during the Black Hawk War, Gen. Atkinson’s troops begin construction of a fort:

1832 – Fort Koshkonong Construction Begins

On this date General Henry Atkinson and his troops built Fort Koshkonong after being forced backwards from the bog area of the “trembling lands” in their pursuit of Black Hawk. The Fort, later known as Fort Atkinson, was described by Atkinson as “a stockade work flanked by four block houses for the security of our supplies and the accommodation of the sick.” It was also on this date that Atkinson discharged a large number of Volunteers from his army in order to decrease stress on a dwindling food supply and to make his force less cumbersome. One of the dismissed volunteers was future president, Abraham Lincoln, whose horse was stolen in Cold Spring, Wisconsin, and was forced to return to New Salem, Illinois by foot and canoe. [Sources: History Just Ahead: A Guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers edited by Sarah Davis McBride and Along the Black Hawk Trail by William F. Stark]

Google-a-Day asks a question about animals:

What is the source of the pressure that has caused coyotes, which were once essentially diurnal, to adjust to a more nocturnal behavior?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Wednesday in the Whippet City will be sunny with a high of seventy-four.

On this day in 1962, Bob Dylan records Blowin’ in the Wind:

“This here ain’t no protest song or anything like that, ’cause I don’t write no protest songs.” That was how Bob Dylan introduced one of the most eloquent protest songs ever written when he first performed it publicly. It was the spring of his first full year in New York City, and he was onstage at Gerde’s Folk City in Greenwich Village, talking about a song he claims to have written in just 10 minutes: “Blowin’ In The Wind.” A few weeks later, on this day in 1962, Dylan walked into a studio and recorded the song that would make him a star.

Dylan’s recording of “Blowin’ In The Wind” would first be released nearly a full year later, on his breakthrough album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. This was not the version of the song that most people would first hear, however. That honor went to the cover version by Peter, Paul and Mary—a version that not only became a smash hit on the pop charts, but also transformed what Dylan would later call “just another song” into the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement.

“Blowin’ In The Wind” bore little or no resemblance to the highly topical, highly literal protest songs of the day, but that may have been precisely what made it so effective as a protest song. A lyric like “How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?” lends itself perfectly to those seeking racial justice, just as “How many seas must a white dove sail, before she sleeps in the sand?” does to those seeking peace. The moving, vaguely spiritual, clearly dissatisfied, yet ultimately ambiguous nature of “Blowin’ In the Wind” made it the quintessential protest song of the 1960s—”A song that the times seemed to call forth,” in the words of critic Greil Marcus.

Google-a-Day asks a geography question: “What is the term for a stagnant lake that forms along a winding river due to soil erosion resulting in an abandoned stream, cut off from the river?”

Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday in town will be partly sunny, with a high of seventy-seven, and a twenty percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

The Parks & Rec Board meets today at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1776, the Liberty Bell rings to celebrate the Declaration of Independence:

… a 2,000-pound copper-and-tin bell now known as the “Liberty Bell” rings out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, summoning citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. Four days earlier, the historic document had been adopted by delegates to the Continental Congress, but the bell did not ring to announce the issuing of the document until the Declaration of Independence returned from the printer on July 8.

On this day in 1850, America gets a supposed king:

1850 – James Jesse Strang Crowned King

On this date James Jesse Strang, leader of the estranged Mormon faction, the Strangites, was crowned king; the only man to achieve such a title in America. When founder Joseph Smith was assassinated, Strang forged a letter from Smith dictating he was to be the heir. The Mormon movement split into followers of Strang and followers of Brigham Young. As he gained more followers (but never nearly as many as Brigham Young), Strang became comparable to a Saint, and in 1850 was crowned King James in a ceremony in which he wore a discarded red robe of a Shakespearean actor, and a metal crown studded with a cluster of stars as his followers sang him hosannas. Soon after his crowning, he announced that Mormonism embraced and supported polygamy. (Young’s faction was known to have practiced polygamy, but had not at this time announced it publicly.)

A number of followers lived in Walworth County, including Strang at a home in Burlington. In 1856 Strang was himself assassinated, leaving five wives. Without Strang’s leadership, his movement disintegrated. [Source: Wisconsin Saints and Sinners, by Fred L. Holmes, p. 106-121]

Google-a-Day asks a pop culture question:

What comedians were the inspiration for the names of the two hungry cats in the short that marked Tweety Bird’s first appearance?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Monday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of eighty-four, and west winds of five to ten mph.

On this day in 1941, America acts to defend Iceland from the Axis:

The neutral United States moves closer to war with Germany when U.S. forces land on Iceland to take over its garrisoning from the British. From thereon, the U.S. Navy had the responsibility of protecting convoys in the nearby sea routes from attack by German submarines. With Iceland and its nearby sea routes under U.S. protection, the British Royal Navy was more free to defend its embattled Mediterranean positions.

The occupation of Iceland came less than a month after President Franklin D. Roosevelt froze all German and Italian assets in the United States and expelled the countries’ diplomats in response to the German torpedoing of the American destroyer Robin Moor. Much of the North Atlantic was now in the American sphere, and U.S. warships patrolled the area for German submarines, notifying London of all enemy activity.

On this day in 1832, Gen. Atkinson takes his forces to Palmyra:

1832 – Black Hawk War Encampment in Palmyra

On this date during the Black Hawk War, General Atkinson led his entire militia, which included future President’s Abraham Lincoln and Zachary Taylor, to a camp just south of Palmyra. [Source: History Just Ahead: A Guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers, edited by Sarah Davis McBride]

I’ve posted Google-a-Day‘s trivia questions before, and I’ll bring them back for a bit, for variety.  Here’s one of Monday’s questions (they run three per day):

Of the Romans’ “group of three” gods in the Archaic Triad, which one did not have a Greek counterpart?