Today is the anniversary in 1170 of the death of the most famous martyr of the Middle Ages. Once upon a time, there were two bosom buddies who loved to party. Then one day, one of them became King of England. Henry II thought it would be a great Read more…
King John is one of the most famous “bad” kings of England. So bad that no future king dared to name a possible heir John. Even though it is the most common name in England. But does he deserve the reputation. Whatever he was, we have to consider his Read more…
Today in 1979, the Soviets were in the process of invading Afghanistan to restore the communist government. This began their Vietnam – an occupation that became a quagmire. They would have been wise to have studied previous attempts to occupy Afghanistan. So would we, but that’s another story. If Read more…
Here’s the story I used to tell my students. Washington’s attack on Trenton should not have come as a surprise. The vaunted Hessians should have been prepared and should have easily defeated the daring risk that Washington took. If he had been defeated, morale would have plummeted and all Read more…
Jesus was born on Dec. 25. Very unlikely. The date was proposed by the scholar Hippolytus of Rome in the early 3rd Century. He assumed Jesus was conceived on the spring equinox, March 25. He then added nine months and came up with Dec. 25, which happened to coincide with Read more…
Today is the birthday of one of the most amazing African-American women in American History. Sarah Breedlove was born on Dec. 23, 1867 on a La. cotton plantation to sharecroppers. She was the first of their children to be born free. She went on to become the first black Read more…
The Battle of the Bulge famously occurred at Christmastime of 1944. The most remembered moment came when the Germans had Bastogne surrounded and decided to demand surrender. The American general’s response became the most famous one word quote in American History. Here is the message the German commander sent to Read more…
Samuel Mudd was born on Dec. 20, 1833. His father was a wealthy plantation owner who gave his son a plantation of his own with slaves when he reached adulthood. He grew tobacco, but his main job was doctoring. He married and had four kids when the war broke Read more…
The Wright Brothers were based in Dayton, Ohio, but they experimented with gliders and powered flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina because they needed the windiness. On Dec. 14, 1903 (the 121st anniversary of the first hot air balloon flight), Wilbur won the coin toss to be first to Read more…
Henry VIII had six wives. The best was his first. Catherine of Aragon was born on Dec. 16, 1485 and went on to live a tragic life. She was the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and that made her a valuable commodity. She was betrothed to the Read more…