An interesting historical story.
Henry Wirz was one of the villains of the Civil War and one of only two men who were executed for war crimes after the war. Wirz was a Swiss immigrant at age 26. He settled in the South and when the war broke out he enlisted in the Read more…
Milo of Croton was the strongest man in Ancient Greece. He got that way by carrying a newborn calf on his shoulders every day. As the calf grew into a fully grown cow, Milos gradually got stronger. To maintain his strength he consumed 20 pounds of meat, 20 pounds Read more…
The most famous cartoonist of WWII was Bill Mauldin. He was born on October 29, 1921. He enlisted in the National Guard and three days later his division was federalized. The 45th Infantry Division served in Sicily and Italy. He was a cartoonist in the press corps. Later he Read more…
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886. Officially it is named “Liberty Enlightening the World”. The sculptor was Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi. He modelled the face after his mother. Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel was the structural engineer. The crown has 25 windows and seven spikes, one for each of the seven Read more…
Today is the anniversary of the birthday of John Heisman. Heisman was a great innovator in college football and has the trophy given to each year’s best player named after him. The sportsmanship trophy is not named after him. In October, 1916, the powerhouse Georgia Tech football team played Cumberland Read more…
Annie Edson Taylor decided to celebrate her 63rd birthday in a unique way. Mrs. Taylor was a schoolteacher and she needed money. Imagine that. She figured a publicity stunt would bring fame and fortune. No one had ever survived going over Niagara Falls. She was determined to be the Read more…
Caligula (12-41 A.D.) was one of the most evil Roman emperors. Plus he was insane. He made many peoples’ lives miserable. For instance, he would go to bed with the wives of upper class Romans who came for banquets at the palace. He would then critique his conquest to Read more…
Officially, Oct. 21, 1879 is the day that Edison invented the light bulb. Edison did not invent the light bulb. An incandescent light bulb was invented by British inventor Joseph Swan in 1845. The incandescent light worked by using electricity to heat a filament that would then glow with white Read more…
Dan Sickles was born to a wealthy New York family. He entered politics as part of the Tammany Hall political machine. In 1852, he married Teresa Bagioli. He was 32, she was 15. He cheated on her a lot. For instance, he brought a known prostitute with him to Read more…
Lucretia was the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, a nobleman related to the fifth (and it would turn out, the last) king of Rome. She was not a typical upper class wife. While others would go out when their husbands were away, Lucretia always stayed home. In 509 B.C., Read more…