The Butler Act had been passed earlier in 1925. It forbade the teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools. The American Civil Liberties Union immediately put out a press release asking for someone to challenge the law. George Rappelyea of Dayton, Read more…
He was born during a lightning storm in Serbia. When the midwife proclaimed this was a dark omen, his mother responded: “No, he will be a child of light.” After witnessing the death of his older brother, he started having Read more…
The flight was almost cancelled before the CIA decided to make it the last of 24 flights. It was determined that May 1 would be a good day because the Soviets would be celebrating May Day and the air defenses Read more…
He was the son of a Baptist minister. He went to the California gold fields where he caught a disease and died, leaving his wife to bring up Frank, Jesse, and Susan. She remarried a couple of times and remained Read more…
He was a member of the Sauk and Fox tribe. His Native American name was “Bright Path.” He learned to break horses from his father. He used to spend hours observing horses and patterned his running after them. At age Read more…
It was written by a five man committee: Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. John Adams was supposed to write the draft, but he deferred to the more talented writer, Jefferson. The committee made 86 edits, but left Read more…
It would have been more accurately called “Longstreet’s Charge” as it involved three of his divisions – Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble. That was a total of 12,500-15,000 men. It was Lee’s desperate attempt to end the Civil War in one Read more…
On this day in 1937, Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared during her attempted flight around the world. Her Lockheed Electra took off from New Guinea destined for tiny Howland Island over 2,500 miles away. They never arrived. Read more…
The Rough Riders were officially the First Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. It consisted of a mix of cowboys, ranchers, Native Americans, Eastern aristocrats, and college boys. Originally, Teddy Roosevelt was second in command to Medal of Honor awardee Leonard Wood. When Read more…
One of the greatest upsets in sports history occurred on June 29, 1950. In 1950, the World Cup was hosted by Brazil. The squad from England was the favorite. Oddly, it was their World Cup debut, having sat out Read more…