He was born Erik Weisz in Hungary on March 24, 1874. His family moved to Wisconsin when he was 4. He was nicknamed Harry. As a child he developed a love of magic. In particular, he idolized a French magician Read more
This story was a popular one for Spartan parents to tell their sons. Once upon a time, there was a Spartan boy living in the barracks with other boys his age. The boys never seemed to get enough food. Read more
We do not know the date of the first Easter. In fact, we are not even sure what year Jesus was crucified. I used 30 A.D. in my Western Civ class, but I have also seen 33 A.D. The Read more
On April 3, 1860 the most famous mail service in American History started. It went from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. It normally took ten days (in comparison to 25 by way of stagecoach). The record was the delivery Read more
After losing the Battle of Salamis, Persian Emperor Xerxes left his army in Greece and returned home with his fleet. On the way, the fleet ran into a terrible storm and Xerxes’ ship was about to go under. Read more
Some historians trace April Fool’s Day back to France in the late 16th Century. France converted to the Gregorian Calendar in 1582. Under the Julian Calendar, French people celebrated New Year’s Day on April 1 in conjunction with the spring Read more
Today is the birthday of the first great African-American boxer. Live large today in his honor. Jack Johnson was born on March 31, 1878 in Galveston, Texas. His parents were former slaves. He was frail as a child, he would Read more
Maria Oktyabrskaya was one of ten children to a poor family. She married an officer in the Red Army in 1925. She joined the Military Wives Council and was trained to fire weapons and drive. When Germany invaded Russia, her Read more
On March 29, 1885, Dr. John Pemberton brewed up the first batch of Coca-Kola in his backyard. In 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton was working on a non-alcoholic “nerve medicine” to sell in his drug store. He boiled a concoction Read more
During WWII, the city of Leningrad was besieged by the German army for 872 days. Before the siege began, the zoo employees moved 80 animals to another city. These included black panthers, tigers, polar bears, a tapir, and a Read more