In 1877, Thomas Edison began experimenting with a hybrid of the telephone and telegraph. He was hoping for a message that could be transmitted repeatedly over the telegraph. The message was to be a series of indentations on a Read more…
On Feb. 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order #9066 which called for the internment of Japanese-Americans as a matter of strategic military necessity. 110,000 – 120,000 were rounded up on the West Coast and shipped to the ten Read more…
We tend to teach the Civil War as a series of battles, when in fact a typical Civil War soldier would have seen combat for at most a total of two weeks a year. That’s a lot of time Read more…
Horace Lawson Hunley was born in Tennessee but his family settled in New Orleans. He grew up to be a lawyer and a member of the state legislature. He was also a marine engineer interested in building a submarine. Read more…
If you have seen “Saving Private Ryan”, here is the true story that inspired the film. The Niland brothers grew up in Tonawanda, New York. Preston and Robert enlisted in the Army before Pearl Harbor. Edward and Frederick enlisted Read more…
Without John Glover, the Revolution would not have succeeded. He was that important. Glover was a successful shipowner and merchant before the war. He was given command of a regiment of seamen and fishermen from Gloucester and Marblehead in Read more…
There have been several strange little wars throughout history, including the Soccer War and the War of Jenkin’s Ear. If you want to make the history books, and this website, you need a catchy name. The Guerra de los Read more…
Joseph Glidden patented barbed wire on November 24, 1874. It was one of the most important inventions in the settling of the West. In 1873, Henry Rose was having trouble with a “breachy cow” so he invented a strip Read more…
Edward Thach’s career came to an end on Nov. 22, 1718. The Governor of Virginia had enough of his piracy and decided that despite the “protection” from the Governor of North Carolina, Blackbeard needed to be stopped. He sent two Read more…
“Bloody Sunday” is an event in the Irish War of Independence. It occurred on November 21, 1920. It consisted of three separate incidents. In the morning, Irish Republican Army gunmen were sent by Michael Collins to assassinate members of Read more…