Month: January 2016

Bear River Massacre (1863)

The Bear River Massacre took place in 1863 when the US Army attacked Shoshone gathered at the confluence of the Bear River and Beaver Creek in what is now Idaho. The incident began when Colonel Patrick Edward Connor led a detachment of approximately 200 US Army soldiers as part of the an expedition against Shoshone Chief Bear Hunter, who had strongly resisted colonization of tribal areas. Some 250 Shoshone were killed in the attack, including Bear Hunter. What became of Connor? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Thomas Paine Day

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was a propagandist and humanitarian whose influential pamphlet, Common Sense, is credited with persuading the American colonies to declare their independence from Great Britain. On January 29, Paine’s birthday, he is honored by members of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association in New Rochelle, New York. They lay a wreath at his monument in the Thomas Paine Memorial Museum, which houses some of his letters and personal effects. The cottage in which Paine lived is only a short walk away. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860)

Chekhov was a Russian short-story writer, dramatist, and physician who earned enduring international acclaim for his stories and plays. His early works were broad humorous sketches and tales published under a pseudonym, written to support himself and his family while he studied for his medical degree in Moscow. His first full-length play, Ivanov, was produced while he was practicing as a doctor. Why was a statue of Chekhov in the town of Tomsk modeled on the perspective of a drunkard? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Underground Railroad

This informal network of safe houses and transport facilities was established by 19th century US abolitionists in the northern states prior to the Civil War. Volunteers, or “conductors,” offered sanctuary and assistance to escaped African-American slaves and helped lead the slaves to safety in the North. Conductors on the railroad included escaped slaves like Harriet Tubman, who is credited with having led more than 300 slaves to freedom. Who was the “Father of the Underground Railroad”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

“Doomsday Clock” Time to Be Adjusted to Show How Close We Are to the Apocalypse

The “Doomsday Clock” is set to be adjusted today to indicate how close the world’s leading scientists think we are to a global catastrophe. Midnight on the clock represents “doomsday.” The closer the minute hand is to midnight, the higher the chance of a … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Horace Walpole Coins the Word “Serendipity” (1754)

Defined as the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident, the word “serendipity” was first coined in 1754 by English author Horace Walpole in one of his more than 3,000 letters. In it, he explains that the root of his new word is taken from “The Three Princes of Serendip,” a Persian fairytale about princes who “were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of.” Who was the recipient of Walpole’s letter introducing “serendipity”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Robert Franklin Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz (1890)

Stroud was a convicted murderer serving time in prison when he came across some injured sparrows in the Leavenworth prison yard. He kept the birds and soon began raising canaries, which he could sell for supplies and to help support his mother. Using equipment furnished by a new warden, Stroud created an aviary and became an expert in avian pathology, writing two books on the subject and developing a cure for hemorrhagic septicemia. How much of his sentence was spent in solitary confinement? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary