Most gladiators were slaves, but some free men joined for the fame and fortune. There were even some female gladiators. They fought in loin cloths without helmets, so people could see they were women. A bestiarus hunted wild animals in the arena. The Romans imported exotic animals from throughout Read more…
How you died was important to gladiators. Part of the training at the gladiator school was how to die appropriately. If you lost, you needed to make eye contact with the victor and offer your neck. You put two fingers in the air in the direction of the editor Read more…
Have you ever survived two extremely unusual life-threatening disasters in one day? Betty Lou Oliver was one of the rare individuals who could have answered yes to that. Betty was on duty as an elevator operator on the morning of July 27, 1945. It was a normal day, until Read more…
Today is the anniversary of the dedication of a memorial to the men and women who served in “The Forgotten War”. The Korean War is sometimes called “The Forgotten War”. As an example of that, the Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated in 1982. The Korean War Memorial was not Read more…
The island of Sumatra had some of the best pepper in the world. In 1832, an American merchant ship named Friendship arrived to trade for it. When the crew were ashore, they were attacked by a rival chieftain. Three Americans were murdered and the ship was ransacked. The crew Read more…
As every American knows, the 13 Colonies could not have gotten their independence without aid from France. That aid came with a price as the newly created United States owed a substantial debt to the French king. One reason Louis XVI was overthrown was because of the damage his Read more…
Today is the anniversary of the day William Clark acquired a slave named York. York went on to become one of the most famous slaves in American History. The most popular member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was Clark’s black slave York. York was inherited by Clark when Read more…
After the Battle of Cannae, Hannibal dominated Italy, but he was unable to capture the city of Rome. His government was reluctant to send him reinforcements. However, his brother Hasdrubal took it upon himself to help his brother out. He marched his army from Spain, crossed the Alps like Read more…
Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. Don’t recognize the name? If you have seen “Braveheart”, you have seen Hollywood’s version of the battle. Don’t use the movie as a history lesson! As teachers, we can use films as a supplementary resource to give a Read more…
Happy Birthday, Frances Cleveland! Born on this day in 1864, she went on to become the youngest First Lady. The future First Lady was born Frank Clara Folsom on July 21, 1864. (No she did not have a sex change operation, she was named in honor of an uncle.) “Uncle Read more…