23 rd January

1542 King Henry VIII took the title of King of Ireland.

1849 Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell received the first M. D. awarded to an American woman.

1918 The Soviet government officially severed relations with the church.

1937 Soviet leaders confessed to an anti Stalinist conspiracy.

1950 The Knesset proclaimed Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

1964 Poll tax was barred in U. S. Federal elections.

Today is a very significant anniversary for women, and for rest of us who would be nothing without women. In 1849, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell—a native of Bristol, England—became the first female American doctor to receive her medical degree at the Medical Institution of Geneva, New York.

Today is a good day to remember that no individual or group should control the thoughts of another. On this date in 1937, a group of seventeen Soviet Russian leaders confessed in court to an anti Stalinist conspiracy allegedly led by Leon Trotsky who had been living in exile for years. Why and how they came to confess brought psychological warfare—“brain washing”—to the world’s attention.

Voting is a right, not just a privilege. And in 1964 on this date, the American government stamped its agreement to this belief. The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution went into effect, barring the poll tax that many local election boards charged voters who wished to cast their ballot in a Federal election.

While it’s obvious that the future is uncertain, it is sometimes more difficult to perceive that the present is also tenuous, and even the past questionable, as history is nearly always recorded by the victors. On this day in 1542, England’s King Henry VIII took the additional title “King of Ireland.” In 1950, The Knesset—Israel’s parliament— proclaimed Jerusalem as that nation’s capital. Neither pronouncement was readily embraced by all. The dissenters did not quietly voice their objections, and battle lines were drawn. King Henry’s proclamation was overturned, the Knesset has held fast.

The segregation of church and state has long been a political issue in many parts of the world. Should government offer support to religious concerns, or should it pay in tribute

To Caesar that which is Caesar’s? On this day in 1918, the Soviet government officially severed long-standing close relations between the Russian government and the Orthodox Church. All church property including land, houses of worship, relics, and icons were seized by state officials. In return, the church was guaranteed freedom of religious worship in the Soviet constitution, and freedom to be subjected to anti - religious propaganda.