They're checking out

Hey, remember when I said we'd hear the name King Gustavus Adolphus again?  Guess what... Yup.  He bought the big one just before his army won the battle of Lützen.  He was a solid military commander, and one of the great innovators of military history.  Somebody once said that the Swedish Army of Gustavus would have been the first army which would have seemed strange to Alexander the Great, in terms of the structure and organization.  Which is impressive, since this was the 17th century A.D., and Alex lived in the 4th century B.C. 

And speaking of people who were nicknamed "the Great" (Like Gustavus), RIP Catherine II of Russia.  Not bad for a German chick who was only there because she married a Russian prince (who turned out to be worthless).

And while we're on the topic of Russians, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died on this date too.  He wrote the 1812 Overture, one of my favorite pieces of music, partly because it's one of those works where the musical theme is clearly representative of what is happening in the story.

Erich Raeder also died on this date.  He was the Grand Admiral of the German Fleet in WWII.  At least until 1943, when he resigned.  He still did some time after the Nuremberg Trials.

Interestingly, an Indian actor named Sanjeev Kumar died on this date in 1985.  It's interesting (to me at least) because that is also the name of the main character in the brilliantly funny BBC show "The Kumars at Number 42".  I suspect that it's not a coincidence.  And if you ever get the chance to watch the Kumars, do it.  Arguably the funniest show I've ever seen!


2007 saw the deaths of both George Osmond, father of Donnie, Marie and the rest of the gang (btw, Donnie made a hilarious appearance on the Kumars at Number 42... have I mentioned you should watch that show); and also Western Swing legend Hank Thompson.  He did some great stuff, and penned a line you might have heard: "I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels"; which has appeared in a couple other songs, including "if that ain't country" by David Allan Coe.  That's a pretty cool song too. 

Finis.