It occurred on June 19-20, 1944. America had invaded Saipan in the Mariana Islands. Admiral Raymond Spruance (the victor of Midway) headed a large fleet that participated in the invasion and protected the transports after the invasion. The Japanese navy was determined to bring on a decisive naval battle that Read more…
It was actually fought in Belgium three miles south of Waterloo. The French called it the Battle of Mont Saint-Jean Ridge, which was where the British army was placed. Wellington had his headquarters in the town of Waterloo and he decided the battle would be named after it. The British Read more…
In 1909, Sonora Smart Davis sat in a church on Mothers’ Day and heard a sermon that gave the idea of a similar day for fathers. Her father had raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth. Sonora was inspired by Anna Jarvis, who had Read more…
On March 22, 1944, two white girls disappeared while bicycle riding looking for flowers. The bodies of 11-year-old Betty Binnicker and 7-year-old Mary Thames were found in a ditch the next day. They had been brutally beaten by a blunt object. 14-year-old George Stinney, Jr. had spoken to the Read more…
The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act requires all Army bases named after Confederate generals to undergo a name changes. On June 13, 2023, the military base known as Fort Polk in Louisiana had its name changed to Fort Johnson. It is one of nine military bases that have had Read more…
When his mummy was tested, the DNA showed he had malaria and it might have caused his death. This is the oldest evidence of malaria ever found. The tomb includes a dagger that the Egyptians considered of “extraterrestrial origin”. It turns out it was made from a meteorite. The innermost Read more…
Today is the anniversary of one of the worst war crimes in WWII. Is the death of one Nazi leader worth the death of thousands of people? Reinhard Heydrich was a protégé of Heinrich Himmler. He was the head of the Reich Main Security Office and then was appointed Read more…
May 31, 1020, is the supposed date for the supposed ride of the supposed Lady Godiva. Actually, I didn’t need to put “supposedly” in front of her name. There really was a Lady Godiva. She appears in the Domesday Book. She was the wife of the Earl of Mercia. Read more…
On May 1, 1865, the newly freed slaves of Charleston, South Carolina decided to honor the 257 Union dead from the siege of Charleston. A procession was held that included 3,000 schoolchildren carrying roses. The song “John Brown’s Body” was sung as they paraded. Women with flowers decorated the Read more…
On May 25, 1935, the Big Ten Championships was held to determine the best track and field stars in the conference. J.C. Owens was born the son of a sharecropper and the grandson of a slave in Alabama. At age 9, his family moved to Ohio. His first teacher Read more…