Howard Gilmore was born on September 29, 1902. He enlisted in the Navy at age 18. In 1922, he enrolled in the Naval Academy. He graduated in 1926 and was posted to the battleship USS Mississippi. In 1930, he transferred to submarines. He survived a throat cutting from locals Read more
Lizzie Magie was a woman ahead of her time. She was a feminist and a socialist. In fact, she was an anti-monopolist at a time when the Robber Barons reigned. She wrote poetry. She also designed games. In 1904, she came up with a game she called “The Landlord’s Read more
Sneaky Frenchmen place dynamite on train tracks on a bridge and blow up a German train causing it to plunge into a river. That’s one image that comes to mind when you hear “French resistance”. Images were created by Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (which was about Read more
The first woman titled “Miss America” was Edith Macartney. She was crowned on Feb. 1, 1919 in a pageant held in New York City. This pageant did not go on to become the famous Miss America Pageant. Atlantic City was a popular destination for families wanting to enjoy a Read more
Eddie Slovik was the fifth child of an immigrant family that settled in Michigan. The family was poor and during the Depression his father was often unemployed. At age 12, Eddie took to supplementing the family income by stealing. He was arrested several times as a teenager and joined Read more
Over 12 million immigrants came through Ellis Island from 1892-1954. Many of them had their names changed so they were more American. Except that did not happen. The inspectors who supposedly on their own changed names did not actually have the power or opportunity to do that. They did Read more
In the Revolutionary War, many captured soldiers, sailors, and rebellious civilians were held in hellish “prison ships”. These forgotten men were among the most patriotic Americans because almost all turned down British offers of pardon and a bounty in exchange for joining the British navy. Only about 8% were Read more
The first chapter book I read was about Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. My 6th grade teacher encouraged us to read that was a competition that I was good at. It was the start of a lifelong love of history books. I have read hundreds of history Read more
Here is a famous legend passed to us by Livy. In the 6th Century B.C., the Romans expelled their last Etruscan king. Tarquin immediately sought an alliance with King Lars Porsena of Clusium. Tarquin convinced Porsena that overthrowing kings was a trend that needed to be stopped. Porsena agreed Read more
In military terminology, “Broken Arrow” is an accident involving a nuclear bomb that does not result in detonation. From 1950-1980, there were 21 declassified incidents where nuclear bombs were lost, accidentally dropped, ejected from a plane for safety reasons, or on planes that crashed. One of the most serious Read more