John Brown Hanged for Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859)

Brown was a radical US abolitionist who advocated armed action to end slavery. He and his supporters murdered five proslavery settlers in Kansas in 1856, and three years later he tried to start an armed liberation movement among slaves by seizing the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, intending to arm local slaves with its weapons. His small force was soon overpowered, and Brown was captured, tried for treason, convicted, and hanged. What went wrong during the raid? Discuss

Otto Dix (1891)

A German painter and printmaker, Dix fought in World War I and returned haunted by what he had witnessed. After experimenting with Impressionism and Dada, he arrived at Expressionism and began producing works depicting nightmarish scenes of the horrors of war and the depravities of a decadent society. His antimilitary works aroused the wrath of the Nazi regime and he was dismissed from his academic posts in 1933. On what charges was he arrested in 1939? Discuss

Abbas the Great

Shah Abbas I ascended the Persian throne in the late 16th century, after participating in the coup that deposed his father. Persian artistic achievement flourished during Abbas’s reign. The empire’s new capital, Isfahan, was transformed into one of the world’s most beautiful cities and quickly became one of the most important cultural centers in the Islamic world. Abbas’s rule was tarnished, however, by his cruelty to his family. What did he do to three of his sons? Discuss

Portuguese Restoration War Begins (1640)

Following the death of Henry, the cardinal-king of Portugal, in 1580, Philip II of Spain assumed control of Portugal by force of arms. The “Spanish captivity” lasted for 60 years. Finally, in 1640, the Portuguese took advantage of Philip IV’s preoccupation with a rebellion in Catalonia and revolted. The Portuguese dethroned him and reclaimed independence for Portugal. Undeterred, Philip fought for decades to regain control of Portugal. When did Spain finally recognize Portugal’s independence? Discuss

Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls (1933)

Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer known for his smooth vocal style. He began singing in his church choir at the age of seven and later sang with local Chicago groups. Though he was pronounced dead after a severe car accident in 1958 that left him in a coma for several days, he recovered and went on to enjoy a successful career, winning multiple Grammy Awards and selling more than 40 million records. Who once credited Rawls with having the “silkiest chops in the singing game”? Discuss

The Klondike Gold Rush

In August 1896, a party led by Skookum Jim Mason discovered rich gold deposits near the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon rivers in northwest Canada. The news quickly spread to other mining camps in the river valley and reached the US within a year, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush that drew more than 30,000 prospectors to the area. By the time mining ended in 1966, the area had yielded $250 million in gold. What famous American author took part in the gold rush? Discuss