Today is the birthday of the Father of Our Country. George Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732. Here is some trivia about him: he was 6’3” and wore size 13 shoes 2. he was born on Feb. 11, but when Great Britain switched to the Gregorian Calendar in 1752, Read more…
Today is the anniversary of the birth of the man who, if he had not been born, we would not have chewing gum! Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón was born on Feb. 21, 1794. He is better known as simply Santa Anna. Read more…
Edward “Butch” O’Hare was born the son of a lawyer. His father, “Artful Eddie” O’Hare, was lawyer to Al Capone. When he thought about the future he was creating for his son, he decided he had to do something to get his son out of the mob business. He Read more…
In 1945, the British were on the offensive to reclaim Burma from the Japanese. In January, it was decided that Ramaree Island, off the coast of Burma, would make a good place for an airfield. An amphibious assault was made to clear out the 1,200-1,500 Japanese soldiers. In fierce fighting, Read more…
The great Athenian lawmaker Solon once went to visit the richest man in the world – King Croesus of Lydia. Croesus lived in a beautiful palace and wanted to show off his wealth to his visitor. After a tour of the palace and several sumptuous meals, Croesus was expecting Read more…
On Feb. 12, 1908, the first meeting of the NAACP was held in New York City. Mary White Ovington (a suffragist), William English Walling (a labor reformer who was born to a slave-holding family), and Henry Moskowitz (a black civil rights activist) chose Lincoln’s birthday for this organizational meeting. Two Read more…
On Feb. 11, 1809 Robert Fulton received his patent for the steamboat. That reminds me of a story I used to tell about the maiden voyage of the steamboat. The story might be apocryphal, but it is true to human nature. In 1806, Fulton prepared to launch his steamboat, the Read more…
Charles Stratton was born a normal baby in a normal family. But he stopped growing at 6 months. He did add some inches years later, but he never topped 3 1/2 feet. When the healthy little boy was 4, he came to the attention of the showman P.T. Barnum. Barnum Read more…
On Feb. 9, 1950, Joseph McCarthy gave a speech that launched America into a dark period known as “McCarthyism”. The Senator from Wisconsin was looking to make a splash that would revive his moribund political career. He had recently been voted “worst senator” by the Senate press corps. He Read more…
On Feb. 8, 1915, the first major motion picture opened. “The Birth of a Nation” was revolutionary and launched the silent movie era with a true classic. It is covered in American History textbooks. I don’t use this website to offer my opinions, but I can not abide by that Read more…