Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764)

Charles Grey was a British statesman elected to Parliament in 1786 at the age of 22. He went on to become one of the leaders of the Whig party and eventually served as prime minister from 1830–34. His tenure saw the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832, which reshaped the parliamentary representative system, and the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire. He is perhaps best remembered as the namesake of the Earl Grey blend of tea. What once knocked the head off a statue of him? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Anna Anderson

Anna Anderson was the best known of several women claiming to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, believed to have been executed with her family after the Russian Revolution. Anderson first claimed to be Anastasia after a failed suicide attempt in 1920, which led to a protracted court case involving a long line of people who had known the real Anastasia. DNA tests in the 1990s revealed what about the claim’s legitimacy? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Truman Doctrine (1947)

In the early stages of the Cold War, US President Harry Truman sought to protect Turkey and Greece from falling under Soviet influence when the UK announced that it could no longer provide them with aid. The Truman Doctrine, which called for the US to “support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures,” shifted US foreign policy to a strategy of Soviet containment. How much money did Congress appropriate in response to Truman’s message? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Girl Scout Day

This observance marks the anniversary of the founding of the American Girl Scouts by Juliette Gordon Low (1860-1927) in Savannah, Georgia, in 1912. The day is the focal point of Girl Scout Week, which begins on the Sunday before March 12 and is observed by Girl Scout troops nationwide in various ways—with community service projects, anniversary parties, and plays. The 80th anniversary in 1992 was celebrated with various events, including the kick-off of a national service project on the environment. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Jack Kerouac (1922)

Considered the father of the Beat movement, Jack Kerouac was an American novelist whose semiautobiographical, “spontaneous prose” reflects a frenetic, restless pursuit of new sensation and experience and a disdain for the conventional measures of economic and social success. His best known works are The Subterraneans, The Dharma Bums, and On the Road, which is widely considered the testament of the Beat Generation. Why was Kerouac arrested in connection with a 1944 murder? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mykonos

Mykonos is a mountainous island of Greece in the Aegean Sea. Made mostly of granite, this 35 sq mi (90 sq km) island of about 6,200 people is a popular European tourist destination and has many fisheries. Mykonos is known for its nightlife and is considered one of the top clubbing destinations in the Mediterranean. In Greek mythology, Mykonos was the site of the battle between Zeus and what race of giants? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Madrid Train Bombings (2004)

On the morning of March 11, 2004, 10 explosions occurred aboard four commuter trains in Madrid. The series of coordinated bombings killed 191 people and wounded 2,050, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in Spain’s history. Although a Basque militant group was originally suspected of the attack, an investigation revealed that it was carried out by an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist cell. The bombings occurred three days before Spain’s general elections and exactly 911 days after what event? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary