Month: December 2023

Baldwin I Crowned First King of Jerusalem (1100)

The son of a French count, Baldwin joined the First Crusade and created the first Crusader state when in 1098 he gained control of Edessa, now in Turkey. In 1100, his brother Godfrey died in Jerusalem, and Baldwin was summoned by the nobles to succeed him as king of the Crusader state. He expanded the kingdom by conquering coastal cities and established an administration that served for 200 years as the basis for Frankish rule in Syria and Palestine. Where did Baldwin’s coronation take place? Discuss

Clara Barton (1821)

Barton was a pioneering American nurse and humanitarian. During the American Civil War, she organized the distribution of medicine and supplies to wounded soldiers and nursed in army camps and battlefields, earning the title “Angel of the Battlefield.” In Europe at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, she began doing relief work there under the auspices of the International Red Cross. In 1881, she organized the American Red Cross, heading it until 1904. Who was Barton’s first-ever patient? Discuss

Bone Marrow Transplantation

Bone marrow, rich in blood-forming and immune system cells, is the soft tissue that fills the spongy interiors of animal bones. Diseases of the marrow can interfere with red blood cell production, and a technique called bone marrow transplantation is used to infuse healthy bone marrow into a patient whose marrow is defective. A large needle inserted into the center of large bones harvests the donor marrow. How are the stem cells from the marrow harvest introduced into the recipient’s body? Discuss

Fire at the US Library of Congress (1851)

The Library of Congress, the national library of the US, contains more than 115 million items, including more than 18 million books, 2.5 million recordings, and 54 million manuscripts. Established in 1800 with about 740 books, the collection, which had swelled to about 55,000 volumes by 1851, was largely destroyed by a fire, the second in the library’s history. The collection lost in the 1851 fire had been started with the acquisition of which statesman’s personal library of 6,487 books? Discuss

"Silent Night, Holy Night" Celebration

“Silent Night, Holy Night” was written and composed by Franz Gruber and Father Josef Mohr. The carol was first performed on Christmas Eve, 1818, at St. Nickola Church in Oberndorf, Austria. This event is commemorated in Oberndorf, Hallein, Wagrain, Salzburg, and other towns in the state of Salzburg by holding a candlelight procession on December 24. Everyone sings the carol as they march to the church and again when they are inside. It is usually sung in various languages to honor the many nations where the birth of the Christ child is celebrated. Discuss

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (1905)

Before he became an infamously eccentric recluse, Hughes was a brilliant aviator and movie producer. At 17, he left college to take control of his late father’s Hughes Tool Company, which would form the future basis for his vast fortune. After founding the Hughes Aircraft Company, he set a speed record of 352 mph (567 km/h) in a plane he designed, and in 1938, he flew around the world in a record 91 hours. A recluse in his later years, Hughes spent the last decade of his life living where? Discuss