Category: This day in History

Elizabeth Barrett’s Poems, published in 1844, brought her immediate fame and became a favorite of the poet Robert Browning. The two began to correspond, fell in love, and, after a courtship kept secret from her tyrannical father, married and settled in Italy. The once frail and sickly Elizabeth grew stronger and, at age 43, gave birth to a son. Her poetic reputation rests chiefly on the love poems written during their courtship, Sonnets from the Portuguese. Who is “the Portuguese”? Discuss

The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh was part of the War of Rough Wooing, the ruthless war launched by Henry VIII against Scotland to force a marriage between Mary Queen of Scots and his son, the future Edward VI. The first “modern” battle to be fought in the British Isles and the last pitched battle between the English and Scottish royal armies, it resulted in a catastrophic defeat for the Scots, who came to call it Black Saturday. After the battle, what happened to the infant Queen Mary? Discuss

The Pledge of Allegiance is an oath of loyalty to the United States. It first appeared in the September 8, 1892, issue of The Youth’s Companion, and its authorship has been ascribed to magazine staff member Francis Bellamy. Officially recognized by the government in 1942, the pledge became compulsory in some public schools, but the following year the Supreme Court ruled that recitation could not be required of any individual. What two words were inserted into the pledge in 1954? Discuss

The Miss America Pageant, now an American institution, began in 1921 as an attempt by Atlantic City businessmen to keep tourists in town after Labor Day. The weeklong event features the 50 state pageant winners and includes evening gown, swimsuit, and talent competitions. Its winner receives a $50,000 scholarship and spends the next year traveling and making lucrative personal appearances. What unusual skills have contestants demonstrated in the talent competition over the years? Discuss

Russia’s second largest city, Saint Petersburg is a major seaport, rail junction, and industrial, cultural, and scientific center. The city was built in 1703 by Peter the Great, who sought an outlet to the sea and a port for trade through the Baltic. It was the capital of the Russian Empire from 1712 to 1917. Named “Leningrad” in 1924, the city reverted to its original name, Saint Petersburg, in 1991. What had the city been called between 1914 and 1924? Discuss

The CBS Evening News is the chief nightly news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast the program since 1948, when it was called The CBS-TV News. Legendary journalist Walter Cronkite took over as the program’s anchor in 1962, and the following year, the show was expanded from 15 minutes to 30 minutes, becoming network television’s first half-hour nightly news program. When Cronkite retired in 1981, who replaced him as the show’s anchor? Discuss

After staging Polish attacks on German forces to create the appearance of Polish aggression, Germany invaded Poland, beginning WWII. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later, and all the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, with the exception of Ireland, rapidly followed suit. The German blitzkrieg crushed the Polish defenses. Within a month all of Poland was occupied by German forces as well as the forces of what state with whom Germany had just signed a non-aggression pact? Discuss

Diana’s beauty and unprecedented popularity as a member of the royal family attracted intense press attention, and she became one of the most photographed women in the world. After her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996, she remained highly visible and continued her activities on behalf of numerous charities. In 1997, she was killed in a car crash in Paris, along with her companion, Dodi al-Fayed, and their driver. Who was blamed for the accident in subsequent investigations? Discuss

In 2007, six cruise missiles with nuclear warheads were mistakenly loaded onto a US Air Force bomber and transported from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana without the knowledge the flight crew. A military investigation of the incident found that a number of procedures for handling nuclear weapons had been carried out improperly by numerous service members. Disciplinary actions were taken against many officers, including what high-ranking officials? Discuss

Bradham was a pharmacist who invented a soft drink made with kola nut extract, vanilla, and “rare oils.” He believed his drink aided digestion and renamed it “Pepsi-Cola” after the kola nut and pepsin, an enzyme that aids in digestion. In 1902, he incorporated the Pepsi-Cola Co, and, in 1931, the trademark and assets were bought by Charles Guth, who improved the formula and marketed a 12-ounce bottle for five cents with huge success. What did Bradham originally call his drink? Discuss