Schicksalstag is a German word meaning, “Day of Fate.” It is used by Germans to describe November 9. Apparently it was first used by some German historians after WWII, but it picked up in popularity after 1989. There are several major events in German history that occurred on this date, with conflicting emotional baggage. However, [...]

There’s an article in this month’s issue of Smithsonian talking about how ‘genealogy is bunk’. Some bloggers have already talked about it, such as here. Not having read the article, I’m not going to talk about it, except to think about why I have dived so furiously into this activity, and why I enjoy doing [...]

1802 Author Victor Hugo was born in Besancon, France. 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba to begin his second conquest of France. 1846 Frontiersman-turned-showman William F. ”Buffalo Bill” Cody was born in Scott County, Iowa. 1848 The Second French Republic was proclaimed. 1929 President Calvin Coolidge signed a measure establishing Grand Teton [...]

1802 Author Victor Hugo was born in Besancon, France. 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba to begin his second conquest of France. 1846 Frontiersman-turned-showman William F. ”Buffalo Bill” Cody was born in Scott County, Iowa. 1848 The Second French Republic was proclaimed. 1929 President Calvin Coolidge signed a measure establishing Grand Teton [...]

Happy Bastille Day The Worst Treason – by Victor Hugo Translated by: Henry Carrington The deepest infamy man can attain, Is to strangle Rome, or France enchain; Whate’er the place, the land, the city be, ‘T is to rob man of soul and liberty; ‘T is with drawn sword the senate to invade, And murder [...]

Schicksalstag is a German word meaning, “Day of Fate.” It is used by Germans to describe November 9. Apparently it was first used by some German historians after WWII, but it picked up in popularity after 1989. There are five major events in German history that occurred on this date, with conflicting emotional baggage. However, [...]

Political Analyst, Gwynn Dyer, in a work entitled "War", said "We normally count only the two great wars of our own century as "world wars," but what this phrase means in practice is a war in which all the great powers of the time are involved. By that criterion, there have been six world wars in [...]

Here’s a PDF with a picture and description of the Supreme Court Frieze Here’s a list of all historical figures displayed in the frieze Menes (c. 3200 B.C.) Hammurabi (c. 1700s B.C.) Moses (c. 1300s B.C.) Solomon (c. 900s B.C.) Lycurgus (c. 800 B.C.) Solon (c. 638–558 B.C.) Draco (c. 600s B.C.) Confucius (551–478 B.C.) [...]

Numerology can be fun. Let’s look at a few dates: November 9th, 1938 September 11th, 2001 What do these dates have in common? Well, Americans and Europeans write their dates differently. Americans use Month/Date/Year, while the Europeans use Date/Month/Year. So September 11th is 9/11 in America. And November 9th is 9/11 in Europe. So what [...]

Today is Bastille Day. My ancestors were spread out all over Europe: Polish, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, Dutch…and French. With respect to literature at least, I consider myself a Francophile. I have enjoyed most everything I have read from pens dipped in the Seine. Primary are Hugo, Baudelaire, and Montaigne…though there is much I have not [...]