Jesse James

James was an outlaw who became a legendary figure in American folklore. After the Civil War, he and a number of other former Confederate guerillas banded together to rob banks, trains, and stagecoaches across several states. He was later betrayed by fellow bandit Robert Ford, who shot him in 1882 in order to receive a $10,000 reward. Despite the fact that James is thought to have shot 15 people, his exploits led to a number of romanticized legends, including rumors that he survived until when? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Rebecca Latimer Felton Becomes the First Female US Senator (1922)

Georgia Governor Thomas Hardwick unsuccessfully fought the 19th Amendment, which allowed women to vote—and to vote against him in retaliation when he ran for US Senate. Before the election, he tried to appease female voters by naming Felton, an 87-year-old suffragist and white supremacist, to be Georgia’s interim senator for the shortest term in history—one day. Felton thus became the first woman, one of the last former slave-owners, and the oldest freshman to serve. Did Hardwick’s ploy work? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was first celebrated by the Greeks in about the eighth century and was not adopted by the Roman Catholic Church until the later Middle Ages; no one is quite sure when this festival was first introduced. As related in the apocryphal Book of James, it commemorates the presentation of the three-year-old Mary in the Temple to consecrate her to the service of God. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mollie Steimer (1897)

After immigrating to New York City from Russia as a teen, Steimer worked in the garment industry, where she became involved in workers’ rights and anarchism. After joining a Jewish anarchist collective, she began publishing leaflets that opposed US involvement in World War I. Arrested for distributing them, she was convicted under the Espionage Act and deported to Russia. She was soon forced to leave Russia, and later fled both Germany and France. Where did she spend the rest of her life? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Spinal Cord

Approximately 18 inches (45 cm) long, the human spinal cord is the body’s major neural tract, a thin, tubular bundle of nerves that is enclosed in and protected by the bony vertebral column. Together, the spinal cord and brain compose the central nervous system. Injury to the spinal cord may result in a loss of communication between the brain and sections of the spinal cord, causing paralysis, loss of sensation, or weakness. From what part of the brain does the spinal cord extend? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Microsoft Windows 1.0 Is Released (1985)

Though Microsoft announced its new operating system in the fall of 1983, it was not ready for release until two years later, and the long delay led critics to label the product “vaporware.” Even after Windows 1.0 finally hit the market, it was not particularly popular. Still, Windows was more user-friendly than the spare MS-DOS upon which it was built, and it allowed users to multitask. Two years later, it was superseded by Windows 2.0. When did Microsoft finally stop supporting Windows 1.0? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary