There is a new war movie out entitled “Devotion”. It is based on the true story of the first black naval aviator and his white friend and wing man Thomas Hudner. The movie is commendably accurate. The climactic incident in the movie occurred on Dec. 4, 1950. Thomas Hudner Read more…
Most Americans have seen Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington hundreds of times because it was used for the engraving for the one-dollar bill. But few Americans know the story behind that portrait. The original of that portrait was never finished. When I got my teaching position a long Read more…
Everyone knows the John Smith and Pocahontas story (which is not true, by the way), but few know of the remarkable adventures of Smith. In 1630, 23 years after he saved Jamestown with h s firm leadership, Smith wrote “The True Travels, Adventures, and Observations of Captaine John Smith”. Read more…
You’re probably thinking: “what is an anecdote about Playboy doing on a site for teachers?!” Stay with me here. On Dec. 1, 1953, the first Playboy magazine was published. This was a significant moment in American culture. The magazine was part of the Sexual Revolution and ironically an example Read more…
John McRae was born in Canada on Nov. 30, 1872. He graduated from college and became a doctor. He served in the Second Boer War. In 1904, he became a member of the Royal College of Physicians. He specialized in pathology. When Canada entered WWI, he volunteered, even though Read more…
Not all pirates were men. Two of the most infamous were Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Much of our information about this fascinating duo comes from “A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates” by Capt. Charles Johnson (which some think was a pseudonym Read more…
William the Aethling was the heir to King Henry I of England. He grew up a spoiled brat and was said to be “destined to be food for the fire”. In 1120, he accompanied his father on a diplomatic mission to France. On Nov. 25, 1120, he was returning Read more…
It was common for colonists and Native Americans to have feasts for giving thanks. Sometimes they came together for the meal. There was one near Jamestown in 1619. In the case of the first Thanksgiving, it was common for the Pilgrims to give thanks, but in a religious manner. Read more…
Operation Galvanic was the invasion of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. Tarawa was in the Gilbert Islands. It is 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii. Adm. Chester Nimitz felt the island, with its airfield, needed to be taken before attacking the Marshall Islands. Tarawa would be the start of the island-hopping Read more…
JFK was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. President Lyndon Johnson appointed the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination. The commission determined that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy, he acted alone, and there was no conspiracy. These findings were controversial and even today most Americans think the commission got it wrong. Read more…