Month: January 2024

The Siege of Leningrad Is Lifted (1944)

During WWII, German and Finnish forces invaded the Soviet Union and encircled the city of Leningrad—now St. Petersburg—blocking supply lines for 872 days. Sparse food and fuel supplies delivered by barge and sled kept the city’s arms factories operating and its 2 million inhabitants barely alive, while 1 million children and sick and elderly people were evacuated. Still, hundreds of thousands died of starvation, disease, and shelling from German artillery. How was the siege broken? Discuss

Lewis Carroll (1832)

Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, English author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There. Carroll developed the stories from tales he told to the children of H. G. Liddell, the dean of Christ Church College at Oxford, one of whom was named Alice. Many of his characters—the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the White Rabbit—have become familiar figures in literature. What else did Carroll write? Discuss

Edelweiss

Switzerland’s unofficial national flower, Edelweiss, is a perennial alpine plant belonging to the daisy family. The white, woolly, star-shaped bloom grows in rocky limestone areas and high altitudes and is often found in the mountains of Europe and Asia. It is considered a symbol of purity by the Swiss and has been used in traditional folk medicine to fight disease. “Edelweiss,” mistakenly believed by many to be the Austrian national anthem, is a song featured in what popular musical production? Discuss

The Rum Rebellion (1808)

The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in the history of Australia. It began when New South Wales governor William Bligh was deposed by George Johnston, commander of the New South Wales Corps. The coup was a retaliation against attempts by successive governors to curb the power of the Corps and interfere with its lucrative rum trade—which gave the rebellion its name. The coup was the second time Bligh had been the victim of a rebellion. What was the first? Discuss

Douglas MacArthur Day

Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), five-star general and supreme commander of the Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific during World War II, was born on this day in Little Rock, Arkansas. After the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, it was MacArthur who supervised the surrender ceremony in Tokyo. He directed the demobilization of Japanese military forces and the drafting of a new constitution. His birthday is observed in his home state of Arkansas, where he is widely remembered as one of the state’s most famous sons. Discuss

Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman (1892)

Coleman was an American civil aviator who became the first female pilot of African-American descent and the first person of African-American descent to hold an international pilot license. After attaining her license in France, Coleman continued to train extensively and earned a living as a stunt pilot in air shows, earning the nickname “Queen Bess.” She died in an aviation accident in 1926, but her legacy inspired countless aviators. What led to the accident that resulted in Coleman’s death? Discuss

Dubai's Palm Islands

The economy of Dubai is increasingly dependent on tourism to generate revenue and bring foreign dollars into the emirate, and the three Palm Islands were commissioned to do just that. Shaped like palm trees, these artificial islands are the largest in the world and house luxury hotels, exclusive residential beachside villas and apartments, shopping malls, restaurants, sports facilities, and health spas. What method is used to construct the complex artificial islands? Discuss