Today In History Spotlights Feb. 7, 1783, The Great Siege of Gibraltar Ends

Today’s History Spotlight

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The Great Siege of Gibraltar comes to an end. Beginning on June 16, 1779, Spain entered the American Revolution on behalf of the American Colonies. While the last fight of the war on American soil had ended at Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781, French and Spanish forces continued engaging the British.

Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Gibraltar was an important target for Spanish troops. From 1779-1783, Gibraltar was blockaded by the Spanish, with French forces providing reinforcements in 1782. The result of the siege proved a victory for the British, but the British nonetheless began peace talks in February 1783. The American Revolution officially ended on September 3 of that year.

What Happened On This Day – February 7

2009 The Black Saturday bushfires in Australia kill 173 people. The fires were the worst natural disaster in Australian history.
2005 Ellen MacArthur breaks the speed record for sailing solo around the world. The journey took her 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes, and 33 seconds.
1992 The European Union is established as the Maastricht Treaty is signed. The treaty also defined a single European currency: the Euro.
1986 Haiti’s president, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, flees the country, ending 28 years of family rule. On the same day 5 years later, the first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was sworn in.
1984 NASA astronauts take the first untethered spacewalk. The photographs of Bruce McCandless and Robert L. Stewart hovering freely in space became some of the most iconic images of the 1980s.

Births On This Day – February 7

1978 Ashton Kutcher – American model, actor, producer
1962 Eddie Izzard – Yemeni/English actor, comedian
1962 Garth Brooks – American singer-songwriter, guitarist
1906 Oleg Antonov – Soviet aircraft designer, founded the Antonov Aircraft Company
1812 Charles Dickens – English author

Deaths On This Day – February 7

2015 Dean Smith – American basketball player, coach
1994 Witold Lutosławski – Polish composer, conductor
1986 Cheikh Anta Diop – Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist
1959 Nap Lajoie – American baseball player
1938 Harvey Samuel Firestone – American businessman, founded the Firestone Tire, Rubber Company

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Garrett Smith

Garrett Smith is a writer for NRN and recent graduate from Western Carolina University. He is a history major with a minor in political science. As a Conservative, Smith believes that the Left has taken over America's education system, which means they now control its history. To make their fellow Americans feel guilty, they often invoke a feeling of "American Shame" in students, indoctrinating them with radical, un-American ideas. It is Smith's goal to teach Americans the true history of America, and along with this, use its history to explain what makes us great.