An interesting historical story.
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…
The first assassins in history were a legendary group of murderers associated with Middle East at the time of the Crusades. Since most of the evidence we have about the Assassins comes from sources that opposed them, it is hard to tell where the facts end and the legend Read more…
In 1943, the Anglo-Americans invaded Italy because Churchill convinced Roosevelt that a cross-Channel invasion should be postponed until 1944. To appease Stalin, it was agreed that an Italian campaign would tie down German units that might otherwise face the Red Army. Churchill felt a strike at the “soft underbelly Read more…
Part of Gen. Grant’s strategy to capture Richmond involved conquering the Shenandoah Valley. He assigned the task to Maj. Gen. Sigel. In May, 1864, Sigel moved south up the valley. His targets were the towns of Staunton and Lynchburg. Facing him was the army of Maj. Gen. John Breckinridge. Read more…
On May 14, 1864, Gen. Grant and his Army of the Potomac were about a week into the Wilderness Campaign (sometimes called the Overland Campaign). It had fought two vicious battles in the Wilderness forest and at Spotsylvania Court House. Although stymied at both places by Gen. Lee’s Army of Read more…