An interesting historical story.
The Anglo-Zanzibar War took place in 1896. In 1890, Great Britain and Germany had agreed that Zanzibar fell in the British sphere of influence in Africa. Soon after, it became a British protectorate with a puppet sultan on the throne. In 1896, he died mysteriously and was replaced by Read more
It was the first significant land battle of the Hundred Years War. The war began when British King Edward III claimed the throne of France after the death of Philip IV. Edward invaded France on July 12, 1346 after the French had threatened to take back British-held lands in France. Read more
The people of Pompeii and Herculaneum did not even know they were living near an active volcano. It had not erupted in 1,800 years. They did not realize the reason why the soil was so fertile was because of previous deposits of volcanic ash. They did not even have the Read more
He was born a slave to a small, but prosperous plantation owner named Benjamin Turner. He was greatly influenced by his grandmother who had been brought over from Africa. She was very religious and very anti-slavery. He was a special child. As early as age 3, he claimed to know Read more
He was born one of nine kids to a poor farmer and Continental Army veteran. His birthplace was in what is today eastern Tennessee, but at the time was officially North Carolina. Actually, his father and others claimed he was born in the independent republic of Franklin, which was the Read more
Let’s get less serious today. It happens to be the birthday of my favorite cartoonist. I know this information may not be useful in a History class, but I know some of you who read this are fans, too. In 1976, Gary Larson was a struggling jazz guitarist who had Read more
Governor Diego Velazquez of Cuba gave Cortes approval to explore the coast of Mexico, make contact with the natives, and do a little trading. When he learned that Cortes planned to conquer, he rescinded the approval, but Cortes had hastily sailed to escape the disapproval. He left with 11 ships Read more
Ford went through Models A through S before arriving at the Model T in 1908. He replaced it in 1927 with the Model A (since it was a totally new car, he decided not to call it the Model U). Ford did not invent the assembly line. Ransom Olds developed Read more
His parents died at age 10. Two years later he moved to Lisbon, Portugal to become a page to the queen. He went to the page school and learned about cartography, astronomy, and navigation. He first went to sea as a soldier. He fought for Portugal in Malaysia and Morocco. Read more
Charles Manson was born to an unwed 16-year-old. She was an alcoholic criminal who once traded her baby to a waitress who wanted a child for a pitcher of beer. His uncle had to track him down. His mother went to prison when he was 5 for stealing a car Read more