Cuba Leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States (1903)

The city of Guantánamo is located in southeast Cuba. Founded in the early 19th century by French colonists from Haiti, it is well known today as the home of the US Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, which has installations covering roughly 45 sq mi (116 sq km). The site was leased to the US in 1903, but the Cuban government has refused since 1960 to accept the token annual rent of $5,000 from the US and has pressured for the surrender of the base. What was established at the base in 2002? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Brunei National Day

Brunei is an independent sultanate on the island of Borneo in the Malay Archipelago; it is officially named Brunei Darussalam. It had been a British protectorate since 1888. The sultanate gained independence in 1984 and observes its National Day each year on February 23. Many people prepare months in advance to participate in colorful crowd formations, a favorite National Day event, and prayer services take place at mosques around the country. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868)

Du Bois was an early African-American civil rights leader and scholar, as well as the first African American to receive a PhD from Harvard University. He was an outspoken critic of the social inequalities that existed in the US during the early part of the 20th century, and he helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). What led Du Bois to seek Ghanaian citizenship at the age of 95? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Battle of Leyte Gulf

Widely considered one of the greatest naval engagements of all time, the Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought in the seas near the Philippines during World War II. The Japanese occupied the island of Leyte, which became the site of the first American landing in the campaign to recover the Philippines. Over three days in October 1944, American naval forces defeated almost the entire Japanese navy—thereby ensuring ultimate Allied victory. The battle saw the first use of what kind of aircraft tactic? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Johns Hopkins University Opens (1876)

Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University is named for philanthropist Johns Hopkins. Poorly educated and aware of Baltimore’s lack of medical facilities, Hopkins donated $7 million for the foundation of Johns Hopkins University and Hospital. The university was modeled after European universities and emphasized graduate research rather than collegiate instruction—two groundbreaking and successful decisions that influenced many other US universities. How did Hopkins get his unusual first name? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

George Washington (1732)

Washington is often called the “Father of his Country” because of the central role he played in the founding of the United States. As commander of the Continental Army, he led colonial forces to victory over the British and served as the new nation’s first president. He then relinquished that power and retired after two terms, thereby setting a key precedent for republican democracy. What other precedent of the US presidency did Washington set? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Great Gatsby

Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American novelist of the Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby is today considered standard reading in high school courses on American literature. It tells the story of a bootlegger whose obsessive dream of wealth and lost love is destroyed by a corrupt reality. Cynical yet poignant, the novel is a devastating portrait of the so-called American Dream, which measures success and love in terms of money. What other titles did Fitzgerald consider for this novel? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary