January 8

in History

Luoyang, ChinaClassical

307

Emperor Sima Chi Ascends

A dynasty's throne passes through fraternal strife

In the fracturing Jin dynasty of China, Sima Chi claimed the imperial throne in succession to his brother Sima Zhong, despite a fierce challenge from another brother, Sima Ying. The succession was anything but peaceful, reflecting the deep divisions that were tearing the dynasty apart. As Emperor Huai of Jin, Sima Chi inherited a realm plagued by civil war and barbarian incursions, a throne that was more burden than prize.

307 AD

Alaska, United StatesEarly 20th Century

1900

Alaska Under Military Rule

McKinley extends America's iron hand northward

President William McKinley placed the vast, frozen territory of Alaska under military rule, asserting federal authority over a land most Americans could barely imagine. Just three years after the Klondike Gold Rush had drawn thousands of fortune seekers northward, the territory remained a lawless frontier. McKinley's decree brought order to a wilderness that would, decades later, become America's largest and most untamed state.

1900 AD

1955 Christian proselytizing in EcuadorLate 20th Century

1956

Operation Auca

Operation Auca: Five U.

Operation Auca was an attempt by five Evangelical Christian missionaries from the United States to bring Christianity to the Waorani or Huaorani people of the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador. The Waorani, also known pejoratively as Aucas, were an isolated tribe known for their violence, against both their own people and outsiders who entered their territory.

1956 AD