Today is the anniversary of the start of a typically horrible Nazi program. In 1935, the Nazis began to worry about the birthrate of Aryans in Germany. The Lebensborn (“Spring of Life) program was initiated to facilitate more babies. Read more
When credit cards first came out, single and divorced women had to get a male co-signer in order to get one. This ended with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974. Until 1975, it was legal to ban women from Read more
Here are some interesting facts about one of the most fascinating men of the 20th Century. He had a speech impediment – a lisp. He worked to improve it by reciting the phrase: “The Spanish ships cannot see for they Read more
The Japanese got the idea for the attack from a book by Hector Bywater, a British naval authority. “1931: The Great Pacific War” describes a surprise attack on the Pacific Fleet, followed by attacks on Guam and the Philippines. Another Read more
In 1877, Thomas Edison began experimenting with a hybrid of the telephone and telegraph. He was hoping for a message that could be transmitted repeatedly over the telegraph. The message was to be a series of indentations on a Read more
On Feb. 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order #9066 which called for the internment of Japanese-Americans as a matter of strategic military necessity. 110,000 – 120,000 were rounded up on the West Coast and shipped to the ten Read more
We tend to teach the Civil War as a series of battles, when in fact a typical Civil War soldier would have seen combat for at most a total of two weeks a year. That’s a lot of time Read more
Horace Lawson Hunley was born in Tennessee but his family settled in New Orleans. He grew up to be a lawyer and a member of the state legislature. He was also a marine engineer interested in building a submarine. Read more
If you have seen “Saving Private Ryan”, here is the true story that inspired the film. The Niland brothers grew up in Tonawanda, New York. Preston and Robert enlisted in the Army before Pearl Harbor. Edward and Frederick enlisted Read more
Without John Glover, the Revolution would not have succeeded. He was that important. Glover was a successful shipowner and merchant before the war. He was given command of a regiment of seamen and fishermen from Gloucester and Marblehead in Read more