Author: Ian

The Yangtze River

Known in China as Chang Jiang, the Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world. Originating in a mountain glacier on the eastern part of the Tibetan plateau, the river flows eastward and meets up with the East China Sea at Shanghai. Heavily traveled and highly polluted, the Yangtze is home to at least two endangered species: the Chinese Alligator and the Chinese Paddlefish. What animal was reportedly seen in the river after its species was declared extinct in 2006? Discuss

The Battle of Tippecanoe (1811)

The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought between US forces and the forces of Tecumseh, the Shawnee leader who sought to stem US expansion by establishing a confederacy of Native American tribes. Led by Tecumseh’s brother, the Shawnee attacked US forces camped near their village. Both sides suffered similar losses, but the battle dealt a serious blow to the Native American military movement and was ultimately considered a victory for the US. What was done to the bodies of the fallen after the battle? Discuss

Albert Camus (1913)

Camus was an Algerian-French novelist, essayist, and playwright. He spent the war years in Paris, and the French Resistance brought him into the circle of Jean-Paul Sartre and existentialism. In 1942, he became a leading literary figure with his enigmatic first novel, The Stranger, a study of 20th-century alienation, and the philosophical essay “The Myth of Sisyphus,” an analysis of contemporary nihilism and the concept of the absurd. What else did Camus write? Discuss

The Vestments Controversy

Arising during the English Reformation, the vestments controversy superficially pertained to vestments—liturgical garments worn by clergy members—but more fundamentally concerned the future of English Protestant identity, doctrine, and various church practices. The controversy stemmed in part from a debate about whether or not the wearing of vestments should be required during certain religious ceremonies. The development of which two branches of Protestantism was affected by the debate? Discuss

Charles Dow (1851)

In the early 1880s, Charles Dow and Edward Davis Jones established the Dow Jones Average as a stock price indicator consisting mostly of railroad stocks. In 1889, Dow Jones & Co. began publication of the Wall Street Journal, and the well-known Dow Jones Industrial Average was created in 1896. Today, there are four different Dow Jones averages—industrial stocks, transportation stocks, utility stocks, and a composite average of all three. What were Dow’s “Leadville Letters”? Discuss

The Gunpowder Plot Is Thwarted (1605)

Angered by King James I’s refusal to grant more religious toleration to Catholics, a group of conspirators plotted to blow up Parliament and kill the king. The plot was discovered, and conspirator Guy Fawkes was arrested in a cellar under the palace at Westminster, where he had concealed 36 barrels of gunpowder. Under torture, he revealed the names of his coconspirators, and they were all either killed while resisting arrest or executed in 1606. How is November 5 celebrated in England today? Discuss

William James Durant (1885)

Durant was an American historian and essayist. In 1926, he published The Story of Philosophy, which soon became a bestseller. He then began a decades-long project—the writing of a comprehensive history of civilization. The result was The Story of Civilization, a monumental, 4,000,000-word, 10,000-page work stretching from prehistory to the 19th century. The series, published in 11 volumes from 1935 to 1975, introduced millions to intellectual history. Who coauthored the work? Discuss