An interesting historical story.
The popular perception of the Middle Ages is of knights and castles. The knights followed a code of conduct known as chivalry. Knights were to fight fairly (unless they were facing foot soldiers). The code encouraged courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help the weak (if they were Read more
The Triangle Shirtwaist Company occupied the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of a building in New York City. The company was a sweatshop producing women’s blouses (shirtwaists). 500 women were employed by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris. Most of the women were Italian and Jewish immigrants. They ranged in age Read more
Pythagoras is famous as the mathematician who came up with the Pythagorean Theorem. He was also a great philosopher who had a cult following. He proposed metempsychosis which proposed the transmigration of souls into new bodies upon death. This was basically predestination. He and his followers lived at what Read more
Davy Crockett was 49-years-old when he died fighting in the Alamo. He was a legendary figure who died a legendary death. The official version of his death has him dying with numerous bodies around him and Old Betsy in his hand. He went down fighting after using his rifle Read more
By 1913, the women’s suffrage movement needed a shot in the arm. The strategy of lobbying individual states to give women the right to vote had some success, but the movement was having trouble adding more. Alice Paul knew something more dynamic was needed. Women needed to demand the right Read more
Douglas Bader was born on Feb. 21, 1910 to an upper class British family. His father was wounded in WWI and died in 1922. Douglas went to fine schools, but was not focused on academics. He was much more interested in athletics like rugby and cricket where he excelled. He Read more
Henry Flipper was born a slave in 1856. He attended Atlanta University until he got an appointment to West Point. He joined four other blacks who were already there. They underwent harassment from white cadets. No white spoke to them (“the silent treatment”) and none befriended them. He became the Read more
In 1855, Senator Jefferson Davis got Congress to appropriate $30,000 to purchase camels in the Middle East for use by the Army in the West. The theory was that camels would do better than mules in transporting supplies in the arid area. 33 camels were purchased at an average Read more
Isaac Woodard was an honorably discharged WWII veteran. He had volunteered for the Army in 1942 and served in a labor battalion in the Pacific Theater. On Feb. 12, 1946, he was riding a Greyhound bus back to his home in North Carolina. When the bus stopped at a Read more
“The Birth of a Nation” was the first major motion picture and is both famous and infamous. It was directed by D.W. Griffith. The cinematography is astounding. The film features “panoramic long shots, iris effects, still shots, night photography, panning shots, and color tinting”. The burning of Atlanta has surreal Read more