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Theodore Roosevelt at rest. (source: Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1906 Theodore Roosevelt made a trip to visit the construction site of the Panama Canal. The Canal, an 82 km (51 mile) long shipping waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, was an important part of US foreign policy and is still an integral…
NSDAP agitators in what we now consider "classic Nazi" attire during the failed uprising at the Marienplatz. (source: Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1923 members of the NSDAP (National Socialist German Worker's Party, or Nazis) staged the Munich Beer Hall Putsch. Inspired by Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini's successful march on Rome, Nazi leader…
A drawing of the Gatling Gun showing its multiple barrels and old-fashioned design. (source: Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1862 Dr Richard J. Gatling patented the Gatling gun. The Gatling, a multi-barreled hand-cranked firearm, was one of the first machine guns and the deadliest rapid-firing weapon of its kind up to that point. The…
Luther at the Diet of Worms, 1521. The assembly declared Luther an outcast of the Holy Roman Empire. (source: Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1517 Martin Luther, a German theology professor, nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. The document, known as the "Disputation on the Power and Efficacy…
A Mongolian Air Mail stamp depicting Laika. (source: Flickr) On this day in 1957 the Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2 (or, Elementary Satellite 2) spacecraft was launched by the USSR. Sputnik 2 sent Laika, a stray dog from Moscow, into outer space. Laika became the first living being to orbit the earth; tragically, the samoyed-husky mix died from exposure to…
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