Today is the anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jackson, a man who was a much better general than teacher. Here is a cute story from his teaching career. Stonewall Jackson was one of the greatest generals in American History, but he was one of the worst teachers, too. Read more…
On January 20, 1870, Victoria Woodhull and her sister open the first stock brokerage firm run by women. Victoria Woodhull had a tough childhood. Her father was a small-time criminal and the family lived in poverty. At age 13, she and her sister would conduct seances and turn the money Read more…
Iva Toguri D’Aquino was born to Japanese immigrants in 1916 in Los Angeles. In 1941, she reluctantly went to Japan to care for an ailing relative. Although she did not intend to stay, she was caught in Japan when Pearl Harbor occurred. She was 25 years old. Pressured by Read more…
Today is the birthday of one of the most important individuals in the settling of the West. Joseph Glidden was born on Jan. 18, 1813. Without his invention, ranchers might have won their war with farmers. The following anecdote is a sample of what you can find by going to Read more…
Alphonse Capone was born the 4th of 9 children to Italian immigrants in Brooklyn. His father was a barber. One of his brothers changed his name and became a Prohibition agent. He was in a street gang as a teenager. He was expelled in 6th grade after punching a female Read more…
There was a Prohibition Party and its symbol was the camel because it doesn’t need to drink much. The party still exists. In California it works to get winemakers to switch to a different crop from grapes. Large parts of the country were “dry” already. The hard core Protestant areas. Read more…
The Great Molasses Flood (also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster and the Great Boston Molasses Flood) occurred on Jan. 15, 1919. The U.S. Industrial Alcohol Company had built a huge storage tank in Boston to store the molasses that was converted into industrial alcohol to make explosives like Read more…
On Jan. 14, 1960, Elvis Presley was promoted to sergeant in the U.S. Army. It was the culmination of a year and a half stint in the military. Presley was drafted on March 24, 1958. Originally, he had been assured by his manager Colonel Tom Parker that he would Read more…
For those unfamiliar with this classic slang term, it means a man who is a bit of as scamp or rascal. In some cases, it acted as a more acceptable version of “son of a b****”. The most accepted explanation for the origin of the phrase comes from the Read more…
She was born to Quaker parents on Jan. 11, 1885. She was a descendant of William Penn. Her parents were progressives who believed in gender equality and education for women. Her mother was a member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and brought young Alice to the meetings. She Read more…