Histortweet Week in Review - W/E September 5, 2009

[SFX: CHURCHBELL] Greetings, History Lovers! Welcome to This Tweet in History, the Week In Review, podcasting to you on tape delay from our North American Studios.

Here are your top stories for the week ending September 5, 2009:

[SFX: SOUND827]World: DATELINE Italy, September 2 1649: Castro’s destroyed. Pope’s Innocent. http://bit.ly/kGfXg
The Back-Story:
[SFX: Crush, Kill, Destroy] In the mid-1600s, the Wars of Castro resulted from a power struggle between two Roman popes and the dukes of Parma, who controlled the city of Castro. The conflict began when Duke Odoardo Farnese offended Pope Urban VIII’s relatives, who urged him to ban Castro’s grain shipments from Rome. The ban left the duke unable to pay off his Roman creditors, and the creditors turned to the pope for help.[SFX: Help Me; A Little Help from my Friends] The pope responded with military action. In 1649, the duke’s son and successor refused to honor his father had signed or to recognize the Bishop of Castro, appointed by Pope Urban’s successor, Pope Innocent X. The pope’s forces marched on Castro and, on September 2, carried out his orders to destroy it completely. [SFX: Disco Inferno] Castro was never rebuilt, and the surrounding territories, which the duke was forced to cede to the pope, were used to settle the duke’s debt.

[SFX: SOUND827]Sports: DATELINE Japan, September 3, 1977 – Oh, Henry! Giant in the Japanese league surpasses Hammerin’ Hank’s HR total: http://bit.ly/14MrJW
The Back-Story:
[SFX: 911 is a Joke] Sadaharu Oh was a power-hitter for the Tokyo Giants with an unusual stance, designed for him by his hitting coache based on Samurai sword technique. In 22 seasons with the Gians, Oh hit 868 home runs, including, on September 3, 1977, number 756 – one more than Hank Aaron’s Major League Baseball records. While it is impossible to know how well Oh would have fared in the US Major Leagues, his contemporaries from the US leagues who played exhibition games agree that he would have had great success in US parks, against US pitching. [SFX: Centerfield; Talkin' Baseball]

[SFX: SOUND827]: Things that make you go huh? [SFX: Things that make you go hmm?]DATELINE England, August 31, 1422 – Henry VI becomes king of England; first of two kingships before his first birthday: http://bit.ly/2pTZwc:
The Back-Story:
[SFX: King Tut; If I ruled the world] Henry VI was the only child of England’s Henry V. When his father died in August of 1422, the 8-month-old prince became the King of England. Two months later, he succeeded his grandfather, Charles VI, as King of France. Young Henry was almost 7 years old on the date of his coronation in England, and a full 9 years old for his coronation in France. His reign, marked by piety and bouts of insanity[SFX: Insane in the Membrane; Crazy], and an attempt to forge peace between the French and English kingdoms, ended in France, in 1453, and in England in 1461, with an additional 6-month reign in 1470-71.[SFX: it's good to be king]

[SFX: SOUND827] This week’s birthdays:[SFX: In the Club]

August 30:Frankenstein author Mary Shelley
August 31:Civil Rights Activist Eldridge Cleaver
September 1: Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs
September 2: Hall of Fame Quarterback Terry Bradshaw
September 3: Socialite Kitty Carlisle Hart
September 4:Author Richard Wright
And September 5: Outlaw Jesse James


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