On Oct. 8, 1871, the most famous fire in American history broke out in Chicago. Before it was over it had created $200 million in damages and cost the lives of 300 people. 90,000 were left homeless. The city was ripe for a fire due to Read more
The lack of a key might have doomed over 1,500 people on board the Titanic. The ship was five days into its maiden voyage when it hit an iceberg. The iceberg was not spotted in time to take evasive action. The two sailors in the crow’s nest did not Read more
One of the most consequential battles of the Revolutionary War occurred on Oct. 7, 1781. It was part of Britain’s southern campaign. Lord Cornwallis had been sent to this theater because it was believed that the southern colonies were rife with Loyalists (Tories) just waiting to help the British. Read more
On Sept. 26, 1777, the British occupied Philadelphia after defeating Washington’s army at Branywine and Paoli. Washington was itching for some payback and decided to roll the dice with the Battle of Trenton as his template. When he learned that Gen. William Howe had divided his army between Philadelphia Read more
Our story of early Rome begins in a region of Italy called Latium. It was probably named from the Latin word “latus” which means wide, as in flat land. Latium was divided by the Tiber River. North of the river to the Arno River was Etruscan territory and the south Read more
The famous “called shot” was probably also a media creation. It supposedly occurred on Oct. 1, 1932. In a 1932 World Series game in Chicago, the crowd and the opposing team were extremely hostile. When Ruth came to the plate, the noise was deafening. Ruth took the first two Read more
On Sept. 28, 1781, Washington and his Continental Army arrived at Yorktown, Virginia and began the siege. Here is the chronology of the siege: August 1 – Cornwallis arrives at Yorktown after his pyrrhic victory at Guilford Courthouse (March 15). He expects to get reinforcements for Henry Clinton’s army in Read more
Edward the Confessor died on Jan. 5, 1066. Being very religious meant he thought sex was a sin. Not surprisingly, he had no son to succeed him. This led to the medieval dread of a power struggle to replace the dead monarch. The English nobles comprising the witan chose Read more
In 1940, Franklin Roosevelt was gifted a Scottish Terrier puppy by a cousin. He named the dog Murray the Outlaw of Falahill after a Scottish ancestor. Thankfully, the little dog was nicknamed Fala. FDR and his pet became fast friends. After Fala had a health scare because he was Read more
To win a war, you must have a good strategy and use good tactics. The Greek word “strategos” is the Greek word for “general”. Their word “taktos” meant “ordered or arranged”. We now use strategy to refer to the overall plan to win a war. Tactics refers to the Read more