An interesting historical story.
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
Pompeii and Herculaneum were covered by volcanic ash in 79 A.D. It was not until the 18th Century that they were uncovered by archeologists. Originally, the Pompeii site was no secret as some of the taller buildings protruded a bit, but in 471 and 512 had further eruptions that Read more
On February 15, 1942, the port of Singapore fell to the Japanese. It was a terrible blow to the British Empire as 80,000 British, Indian, and Australian soldiers were taken prisoner. Naturally, the Allies wanted revenge. In walked a civilian named Bill Reynolds. The 61-year-old had used a Japanese Read more
On March 29, 1849, a slave mailed himself to freedom. Henry Brown was a slave in Richmond, Virginia. He was married with three children, but his master broke his promise and sold his family away to the deep South. After that, he would pray to God and one day Read more