January 22 is a date with some interesting juxtapositions, and some fascinating coincidences. Maybe the most notable juxtaposition happened in 1879, in Africa. The Anglo-Zulu war was in progress. It’s not one of the conflicts you’ve probably heard of, but it was fought between the British Empire (which you’ve heard of) and the Zulu Empire Continue reading

Welcome to January 21. It’s a date that seems to sit slightly off to the side, just a little bit out of the spotlight. Some dates are like that; they don’t feature the main events, but the supporting cast. For instance, January 21 is the birthday of a central figure in the epic tales of Continue reading

The twentieth of January has seen some “move-ins” as a new crew entered to try to control an established place. Remember back in 1997 when Great Britain returned Hong Kong to China after their 99-year lease expired? As it happens, there’s a lot more to the Hong Kong story. The English originally occupied the Hong Continue reading

“I think that I shall never see / A poem as lovely as a tree.” Many, if not most people remember that’s the first couplet of Trees, a poem by Joyce Kilmer. Not quite as many remember that in spite of the name, Joyce Kilmer was a man (“Joyce” was actually his middle name). He Continue reading

Today is the 75th anniversary of Flight 19, the five US Air Force bombers that disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. They were on a training mission and reported that their compasses had stopped working and they’d gotten lost. Although they knew they were due east of Florida, where they’d taken off, for some reason they Continue reading

As everybody knows, December 4, at least in the US, is National Cookie Day. December, of course, is well known for National Food Days; it all starts on the first, which is Eat a Red Apple Day. The next day takes a left turn away from healthy choices to be National Fritter Day. Then after Continue reading

December 3, 1800, was the day that Aaron Burr nearly became the third president of the US. The 1800 election resulted in a tie between Burr and Thomas Jefferson, so it was up to the House of Representatives to hold a contingent election. After the first ballot, that was tied too, and it stayed that Continue reading

It was December 2, 1823 that US President James Monroe delivered the State of the Union address where he announced what’s now called the “Monroe Doctrine” — the US was going to be neutral in all future European conflicts. The Monroe Doctrine lasted quite a while, although of course the US eventually got involved in Continue reading

Everybody in the US has heard about Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, just so a white person could sit in it. It was a seminal moment in the civil rights movement, and it happened on this date, December 1, in 1955. Parks probably didn’t choose the date, Continue reading

Today is the anniversary of the day that Enos, the only chimpanzee to orbit the earth, was launched aboard Mercury-Atlas 5 in 1961. It was the final rehearsal of the Mercury program before John Glenn’s orbital flight. Enos completed two orbits, then his capsule reentered the atmosphere and splashed down in the Atlantic. Enos was Continue reading