I had never heard of this event in U.S. history, but on this date in 1712, the New York Slave Revolt occurred.  In the colonial days, New York had the highest amount of slaves–one in five were enslaved.  They were not plantation workers (as they were in the South), but they were skilled workers like carpenters, stone masons, and fishermen. […]

I think I actually remember this–even if I don’t remember the exact date.  There were three major national networks when I was growing up:  ABC, NBC, and CBS.  Any other network was a local network.  We didn’t have a lot of choices.  All that changed on this date in 1987.  Rupert Murdoch, a businessman from Australia who already owned 20th […]

I remember learning about Sir Francis Drake when I was in school, and on this date in 1581, he was knighted.  Queen Elizabeth knighted him because he had circumnavigated the world.  He was the second person to accomplish such a feat.  There is much more I could write about him, but I will let you, my wonderful readers check out […]

On this date in 1805, arguably my favorite fairy tale writer, Hans Christian Andersen was born.  Danish by birth, he is sometimes referred to as the “Father of the Modern Fairy Tale.”  He worked as a weaver and tailor until the age of 14 when he went to Copenhagen to become an actor.  Some of his best-known works include The […]

It was on this date in 1979, that the Shah of Iran was overthrown.  The previous day, the voters had cast 99% of their votes (over 20 million) to become an Islamic republic.  The Iranian revolution had begun two years prior. For more info:http://famousdaily.com/history/shah-of-iran-overthrown.html

Yet another story I should remember but don’t.  On this date in 2005, Terri Schiavo died in hospice care after having her feeding tube removed for the second time.  This was a huge case where the government and family were very involved, and right-to-die was the main issue here.  Four years earlier, her tube had been removed at the request of […]

This should be welcome news for all the coffee lovers out there.  And I feel a sense of pride sharing something that is just down the road from me (relatively speaking).  On this date in 1971, the first Starbucks opened.  It opened at Pike Place market in Seattle, Washington.  I had no idea that the name came from the first […]

Who doesn’t find Niagara Falls beautiful and somewhat scary (especially if you’re going over it in a barrel)?  Well, it just so happens that on this date in 1848, the mighty Niagara Falls were silenced.  That’s right!  For 30 hours, there was an ice dam at the neck of Lake Erie and the Niagara River.  This is the only time […]

Shopkeepers Thomas and Ann Farrow were bludgeoned to death, and their neighbors found them.  On this date in 1905, this crime was solved using fingerprint evidence–the first time this had ever been used.  The Stratton brothers were captured and fingerprinted.  One of the brother’s right thumb was a perfect match to the print on the cash box.  This was the prosecution’s […]

I learned something from today’s feature.  It was on this date in 1971, that Bangladesh gained its independence from Pakistan.  East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) had serious issues with West Pakistan, and they backed up their declaration of independence with military enforcement. For more info: http://famousdaily.com/history/east-pakistan-independence-bangladesh.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bangladesh http://www.bangla2000.com/Bangladesh/history.shtm http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107317.html?pageno=2 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bangladesh/history