Let’s put this claim in perspective. In the first half of the 19th Century, liquor was considered to be nutritious, it calmed the nerves, and helped with digestion. It could be used to wash down bad food. In 1830, it is estimated that Americans on average drank 5 gallons Read more…
On Dec. 28, 1835, the United States Army suffered one of its worst defeats at the hands of Native Americans. The battle marked the start of the Second Seminole War, the longest and most costly of America’s Indian wars. In 1821, the U.S. acquired the Florida Territory from Read more…
The U.S. Military Academy was founded in 1802. It was located at West Point on the Hudson River in New York. It soon gained a reputation for hard partying. In 1817, Sylvanus Thayer was appointed Superintendent with the understanding that he would improve the college’s reputation. He must have Read more…
After WWII in Europe ended, Gen. George Patton’s main motivation was to continue his war in the Pacific. But Gen. MacArthur did not want to share the spotlight, so Patton’s fighting days were over. He did not fit peacetime and got into a lot of trouble. He was appointed Read more…
Task Force 38 had faced a lot of “divine wind” (kamikazes) during the Philippines campaign, but on Dec. 18, 1944 it faced an actual wind. This storm was officially Typhoon Cobra, but it is better known as Halsey’s Typhoon. Admiral Halsey’s fleet was involved in air attacks on Mindoro, Read more…
Deborah was born on Dec. 17, 1760 in Plympton, Mass. She was the great-great granddaughter of William Bradford. She was one of seven kids. When she was five, her father did not return from a sea voyage. It was thought he had perished, but actually he abandoned his family. Read more…
Everyone knows one of Thomas Edison’s greatest inventions was the light bulb. I taught that. Unfortunately, I was passing on a myth. As early as 1761, inventors knew that you could pass electricity through wire to make it incandescent. In 1800, French scientist Alessandro Volta created light from what Read more…
1861 – first documented game (similar to rugby) played in Toronto, Canada 1869 – first college football game – Princeton defeats Rutgers 6-4 / the field is 120 yards long / 25 players on each side 1875 – ball is an oval rugby ball / field length is reduced to Read more…
In 1903, British sportswriter Henry Chadwick riled America when he claimed that the “nation’s game” of baseball was actually an evolution of the British game called “rounders”. He seemed to have a strong argument. Rounders involved hitting a thrown ball and running to four bases. You were out if the Read more…
Earlier this week, I was posting my Today in History and saw that Dec. 4 was Crazy Horse’s birthday. I thought to myself “how do they know that date was when he was born”? Indians did not keep records of something like that. And it is doubtful that white traders Read more…