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 Read more…
On this day in 1863, an infamous massacre occurred in Kansas during the Civil War. Kansas had been known as “Bleeding Kansas” before the war as pro- and anti-slavery forces battled for control of the state. This degenerated into a Read more…
At age 12, Philo Farnsworth fixed a generator on the family farm. At age 14, he had an electrical lab in the attic. He would wake up at 4 A.M. to read scientific journals before doing his chores. He began Read more…
Today in 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified. In honor of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, I am providing some interesting facts about my favorite suffragist – Alice Paul. I have loved this woman since seeing the movie “Iron 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 Read more…
He was born in Corsica, not France. He supported Corsican independence and hated France, until he attended the famed Ecole Militaire. Later, when he returned home, he saw that Corsica was backwards. He met Josephine at a party. She was 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 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 When he learned that Cortes planned to conquer, he rescinded the approval, but Cortes had hastily Read more…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). 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 Read more…