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May 28, 2001:
Did you know Memorial
Day was first celebrated in 1868?
Yes, Memorial
Day was first celebrated
in the United States on May 30, 1868, to honor the
soldiers killed in during the American
Civil War by decorating
their graves with flowers and flags. It was originally
called Decoration Day and was celebrated every May
30. In 1882, the name was changed from Declaration
Day to Memorial Day, and in 1971, Memorial Day was
declared a national holiday to be held on the last
Monday in May. Today, Memorial Day honors all men
and women of the U.S. armed services who have been
killed in wartime. It is tradition to have parades,
speeches, and ceremonies.
Photo: Cemetery
in Lexington, Virginia, on Memorial Day lined with
American Flags.
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May 21, 2001:
  Did
you know Galileo was born the same year Michelangelo
died -- 1564?
Yes, not only
was it the same year, it was almost the same day!
Galileo
was born on February 15, and Michelangelo
died just three days later on February 18. They
both lived during the Renaissance which swept through
Europe from the 1400's to the 1600's. The Renaissance
was a "rebirth" of painting, sculpting, literature,
architecture, and science.
Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer
who changed the way we look at the universe through
his discoveries of Jupiter's moon, the rings of
Saturn, the phases of Venus, and sunspots. Read
a book about Galileo.
Michelangelo Bounarroti was an Italian sculptor,
painter, and architect. He is well known for his
16-foot-high marble sculpture of David
and the painting of the ceiling in the Sistine
Chapel in St. Peter's
Cathedral in Rome while lying on his back. Read
a book about Michelangelo.
Photos:
Michelangelo (left), Galileo (right)
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May 14, 2001:
 Did
you know the Sojourner Rover was named after
Sojourner Truth?
Yes, when the
Mars
Pathfinder landed on Mars
on July 4, 1997, its rover was named the Sojourner
Rover after the abolitionist and champion of women's
rights, Sojourner
Truth. NASA chose the
name Sojourner (which means "traveler") after a
year-long world-wide essay competition among 3,500
students. In their essays, the students explained
how the heroine's traits related to the exploration
of Mars. The winner was Valerie Ambroise, age 12.
The other names considered for the rover were: Marie
Curie (chemist), Judith
Resnik (astronaut), Sacagawea
(guide and interpreter), Harriet
Tubman (abolitionist and
Underground Railroad conductor), and Amelia
Earhart (aviator).
Read
a book about Sojourner Truth…
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May 7, 2001:
Did you know
Florence Nightingale was known as "The Lady with
the Lamp?"
Yes, in 1854,
Florence
Nightingale
went to the Crimea (near Turkey) to care for wounded
soldiers in the Crimean War. She was kind and gentle,
and she brought hope to the soldiers. Florence could
not visit all the men during the day, and she continued
her rounds at night by using a lamp to light her
way. The wounded men knew she was coming by the
light from the lamp she carried. Because of this,
Florence became known as "The Lady with the Lamp."
The men would kiss her shadow on the walls as she
walked passed them.
Read
a book about Florence.
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April 30, 2001:
Did you know Abe Lincoln was the first Republican
President?
Yes, the Republican
Party was a newly formed political party when Abe
Lincoln joined
in 1856. In 1860, Abe was elected the 16th President
of the United States, and he became the first Republican
President. The Republican Party's objective at that
time was to contain slavery to the Southern states
and preserve the Union.
Read a book about Abe…
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April 23, 2001:
 Did
you know Ulysses was the first person to become
a Four Star General in the U.S. Army?
Yes, when
the American Civil War began in 1861, Ulysses
S. Grant
was a Brigadier General in command of the 21st Illinois
Volunteers. After winning decisive victories at
Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg,
Ulysses was promoted to Lieutenant General. On March
12, 1864, he was appointed General in Chief of the
Armies of the United States and was in charge of
winning the war for the Union (which he did). In
1866, a year after the Civil War ended, Ulysses
was promoted to a Four Star General. This was a
new military rank, and Ulysses was the first person
promoted to a Four Star General. Ulysses also served
as Secretary of War under President Johnson from
1867 to 1868 (when he was elected President). Read
more…
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April 16, 2001:
Did you know William Shakespeare created
over 2,000 words and phrases in the English language?
Yes, William
Shakespeare influenced the English
language more than any other writer in the world.
In addition to his amazing plays and poems, he created
over 2,000 new words and phrases in the English
language. They include: bedroom,
critic, tardiness,
eyeball, freezing,
silliness, laughing
stock, day's work,
bump, shipwrecked,
priceless, partner,
cheap, catlike,
love-letter, tongue-tied,
as luck would have it,
send him packing, led
a charmed life, laughed
yourself into stitches, budge
an inch, lie low,
played fast and loose,
the truth were known,
vanish into thin air,
and seen better days.
Read
More…
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April 9, 2001:
 Did
you know the North and the South sometimes refered
to the same battle by different names during the
American Civil War?
Yes, the North named the battles after a
nearby river or stream, and the South named the
battles after the nearest towns. For example, a
battle occured on July 21, 1861, in Northern Virginia.
The North called this the Battle of Bull Run and
the South called this the Battle of Manassas. Here
are more examples: Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg
(in Maryland), the Battle of Shiloh or Pittsburg
Landing (in Tennessee), and the Battle of Stones
River or Murfreesboro (in Tennesee). Read
More about the Civil War…
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April 2, 2001:
 Did
you know Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart asked Marie
Antoinette to marry him when he was a boy?
Yes, in
1762, Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart
and his family went on their first concert tour
of Europe. Wolfgang was 6 years old. In Vienna,
Wolfgang and his sister, Nannerl, performed for
the Emperor and Empress of the Austrian Empire.
The Empress' six year old daughter was Marie Antoinette,
and Wolfgang jokingly asked her to marry him. Marie
Antoinette said no, of course, and later became
the Queen of France Read
More…
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March 26, 2001:
  Did
you know Florence Nightingale
met Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor
in the United States?
Yes, Florence
Nightingale
met Dr.
Elizabeth Blackwell, and
Florence learned a lot from Dr. Blackwell about
women achieving great things. Elizabeth was born
in England and grew up in the United States. When
Elizabeth was 24 years old, she decided to become
a doctor. Elizabeth graduated at the top of her
class from Geneva Medical College in New York, and
she opened a hospital staffed by women doctors and
started a medical school for women. Read
More…
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March 19, 2001:
 Did
you know Sacagawea
was given the right to vote by the Lewis and Clark
Expedition during the winter of 1805-06?
Yes, the Lewis and Clark Expedition spent
the winter of 1805-06 on the west coast. Before
they build their fort, however, they had to decide
if they would stay on the Pacific Ocean or up the
Columbia River. On November 24, 1805, Captains Lewis
and Clark put the decision to a vote. The men and
Sacagawea voted. This is the first time a woman
was given the opportunity to vote. It would be over
another 100 years before women in the United States
were given the right to vote in the 19th Amendment.
Read
More…
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March 12, 2001:
 Did
you know Ben
Franklin helped
organize the first public library in America?
Yes, in 1727, Ben organized
the Leather Apron Club or Junto in Philadelphia.
A Leather Apron Man was a man who wore a leather
apron when he worked, like a shoemaker, a blacksmith,
or a silversmith. The Leather Apron Club met every
Friday night to share their ideas on different subjects.
Its purpose was to further the education and business
successes of young men. The members shared their
ideas, papers, and books with each other. In 1731,
they combined their books and started the first
public circulating library in America. Read
More…
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February 26, 2001:
 Did
you know Frederick Douglass was born Frederick
Baily?
Yes, Frederick
Douglass was born Frederick
Baily in February, 1818. Frederick was born a slave
on the Eastern Shore in Maryland. At age 20, he
escaped north and went to New York City. Frederick
decided to change his name to make it more difficult
for slave catchers to find him. He changed his name
to Frederick Douglass based on a character in the
novel, The Lady of the Lake, by Sir Walter
Scott. Douglass is spelled with two "s"
at the end. Read
a book about Frederick Douglass.
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February 19, 2001:
 Did
you know teddy bears got their name from President
Theodore Roosevelt?
Yes, in November, 1902, President Theodore
Roosevelt went on a hunting
trip in Mississippi. The other members of the hunting
party tied a bear to a tree for President Roosevelt
to shoot, but Roosevelt refused to shoot the helpless
bear. The next day, political cartoonist Clifford
Berryman, drew a cartoon
showing President Roosevelt refusing to hurt the
bear. From this event, stuffed teddy bears were
made and called "Teddy's Bears."
Read
about the History of the Teddy Bear.
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February 12, 2001:
 Did
you know Abe
Lincoln
earned the nickname "Honest Abe" after he paid off
his debts when his store went bankrupt?
Yes, Abe and his partner opened up a store
together. Unfortunately, Abe's partner died
and the store went bankrupt. Abe was not required
to pay off any of the store's debts. However, Abe
worked hard and paid off all the debts. Afterwards,
people began calling him "Honest Abe."
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