An interesting historical story.
The worst nuclear power disaster in history started on April 26, 1986. It occurred at a nuclear power plant in what is today Ukraine (but was Russia back then). It is located 60 miles north of Kyiv. The accident was a 7 on a scale of 1-7 on the Read more…
Americans are familiar with the heroes of the Revolutionary War. People like Washington, Knox, Lafayette, and Hamilton are well known, but they all were officers. Few people have heard of the most famous common soldier of the war. Joseph Plumb Martin was born in Massachusetts on November 21, 1760. Read more…
In 1702, the new governor-general opened the New York Assembly in an elegant hoop dress and elaborate headdress. The only problem was she was a he. Lord Cornbury had been appointed to the position because he was the cousin of Queen Anne of England. When asked about his dress, Read more…
In the late 16th Century, Protestant Britain and Catholic Spain were at each other’s throats. Spain was the leading power, but the British were constantly nipping at the hem of its robe. War broke out in 1585 as Spain finally had enough of England’s provocations. England supported the Dutch Read more…
The architect of the Pearl Harbor attack was assassinated on April 18, 1943. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was the head of the Japanese navy and the man most responsible for Japanese successes in the war in the Pacific. He was indispensable. On April 14, the naval codebreaking effort called “Magic” Read more…
Masada (“strong foundation or support”) is a plateau near the Dead Sea in Judea in Israel. It is 1,300 feet high. The mesa covers 840 acres. It was turned into a fortress by Herod the Great from 37 – 31 B.C. He built two palaces, a bath house, barracks, houses, Read more…
The governor’s election of 1872 created a lot of tension in Louisiana. It was marked by a lot of corruption and voter fraud. The Republicans supported black enfranchisement and the Democrats were doing their best to maintain white supremacy. Pres. Grant sent federal troops to support the Republican candidate. Read more…
The Immortals were the elite fighting unit of the Persian Empire. Most of what we know of them comes from the historian Herodotus. They were created when Cyrus the Great was emperor. Credit goes to a female named Pantea Arteshbod, the governor of Babylon. They were trained from age Read more…
Robert Smalls was born on April 5, 1839. Smalls was born a slave in 1839. His master hired him out as a deckhand on local ships and he eventually rose to pilot of a cotton transport called the Planter, based in Charleston harbor. When the Civil War broke out, Read more…
On April 2, 1801, the British fleet destroyed the Danish navy. Out of this battle came a famous phrase. In 1801, Great Britain was interested in preventing a Franco-Dutch alliance. Denmark had a powerful fleet, which if joined to the French fleet, might have changed the naval balance of Read more…