On Oct. 15, 1917, the most infamous WWI spy was executed. She had been born 41 years earlier in Holland as Margaretha Zell. She married a Dutch soldier and they moved to Malaysia. It was there that she learned Asian dances. The marriage was a bad one and when Read more…
In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt was running for President for the Progressive Party, better known as the Bull Moose Party. The ever-energetic Teddy was travelling the country giving numerous speeches. On Oct. 14, Roosevelt was in Milwaukee for a speech. Two days earlier, he told a magazine that he didn’t Read more…
Revolutionary War heroine Mary Hays was born on Oct. 13, 1754 (or 1744). She may have been a servant before she married William Hays. When William Hays joined the Continental Army, she went along as a camp follower. Camp followers were women who accompanied armies on the march Read more…
The ancient Chinese are credited with inventing biological warfare. In the 7th Century B.C., the fumigation of homes to kill pests gave the military the idea for chemical agents. Historians have uncovered hundreds of recipes for them. One was called the “soul-hunting fog” which used arsenic. Another was the Read more…
With Presidential health in the news lately, here is the first in my series on Presidents who had health problems. After Grover Cleveland had been elected for the second time, he noticed a small bump on the roof of his mouth. When the bump rapidly grew, doctors diagnosed Read more…
One of the greatest fighter pilots in American History was born on Oct. 8, 1890. He was born Eddie Rickenbacher to Swedish immigrants. He later changed the spelling to Rickenbacker to be less German-looking. He added the middle name Vernon because he thought it sounded classy. He was a wild Read more…
In 1807, after signing the Treaties of Tilsit which ended a war between France and Russia, Napoleon proposed a celebratory rabbit hunt. He put his chief of staff Alexandre Berthier in charge. Berthier found a rabbit farmer in the area who sold him hundreds of rabbits. The rabbit cages Read more…
In 1882, Edison attempted to parlay his invention of the light bulb by creating the Edison Electric Light Company to provide direct current to homes and businesses. The problem was direct current lost voltage over distance so the power plants had to be located near the customers. Edison had Read more…
Tecumseh was born in what is today Ohio in 1768. He was the son of a chief in the Shawnee tribe. His name meant “shooting star” or “blazing comet”. During his childhood, villages he lived in were attacked several times by whites, forcing his family to move. Despite seeing the Read more…
A hero emerged on this day in October 4, 1918. Cher Ami became one of the most famous animals associated with the Great War. The AEF used carrier pigeons to send messages. 600 pigeons were donated by British pigeon fanciers. When the famous “Lost Battalion” got surrounded by German forces, Read more…