Abigail Adams: One Tough Lady March 31, 2009

    On This Date in History:  When the Continental Congress got together, it was a congregation of white men.  People of color certainly were not welcome and neither were the women folk.  So, it’s not surprising that the documents that came out of that political body and the later Constitutional Convention left those two groups [...]

Is This How You Celebrate Easter? March 30, 2009

  This Date in History:  The week before Easter is the holiest of seasons for Los Hermanos Penitentes.  That is spanish for the Penitent Brothers which is a centuries old somewhat obscure group with roots that go back to the Spanish Conquistadors and Franciscan Missionaries and the strong Christians in medieval Europe.  Some consider the [...]

A New Phone, Big Election Win and New York Terrorist March 29, 2009

On This Date in History: The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 when he spilled acid on his trousers and shouted, “Watson, Come Here! I want you.”  Good thing for Al that Watson was able to hear him over the telephone.  Bell may never have known that his phone worked and he may [...]

Is Palm Sunday a Tornado Magnet? Strong Storms Today? March 28, 2009

  On This Date in History:  What is the dang deal with Palm Sunday and Tornado outbreaks?  There have been significant widespread tornado outbreaks on a Palm Sunday in the United States four times.  On March 27 1994 42 people perished.  On April 11, 1965 47 tornadoes took the lives of 217 and injured over [...]

NoBody Remembers Louisville’s Demon;Sat Storms March 27, 2009

Main street between 11th and 12th street after 1890 tornado…note railroad bridge over river in background. A quick shout of thanks to Chris Birke of the Southeast Outlook for the nice article last week. On This Date in History: The Courier Journal headline said a Demon visted Louisille. Everyone knows about the tornado outbreak on [...]

War Not Over So Senate Stages Drunken Bash March 26, 2009

  This Date In History In 1801, Charles Wilson Peale unearthed a previously un-named prehistoric skeleton. It became known as a Mastadon but, at the time, it got the nickname Mammoth for its size. So, the term mammoth became popular in early 19th century America to describe something very large. In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson [...]

Plot To Burn New York Foiled By NYFD March 25, 2009

    On this Date in History:  When you get to late 1864, the prospects of the South were running low.  The west was pretty much subdued and General William T. Sherman was making his march to the sea.  Now, in a post from last October, I told you about how Confederate raiders in October 1864 [...]

Blame Exxon Valdez on Captain Bligh; Midwest Storms March 24, 2009

On This Date in History:    The press loves anniveraries in years that have a nice ring to it.  You wouldn’t hear of the 19th annivesary of an event.  But, the next year on the 20th anniversary, well then its big news.  Today is the 20th anniversary of one of the biggest environmental disasters in world [...]

Otis Takes Mankind to New Heights! March 23, 2009

Elisha Otis?       Which Otis Made Tall Buildings Possible? On This Date in History:  When we go to our cities, we expect to see great sky scrapers.  We marvel at the buildings and how they were built.  They are engineering marvels.  But, often people don’t think of the things that make it possible.  [...]

“Thomas Paine” and Two Big Mistakes March 22, 2009

On This Date in History: Today was one of a couple of mistakes.  The first big mistake we will look at goes back to 1943.  Now, most people are well aware of the failed attempt on Hitler’s life in 1944 by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. This was played out recently in another Tom Cruise movie [...]