Tag Archives: Vocabulary

Today in History (October 21st): 1805: In one of history’s greatest naval battles, the British fleet under Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated the combined French-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar off the coast of Spain. 1833: Birthdays: Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel, … Continue reading →

Today in History (October 18th): 1776: The border between Maryland and Pennsylvania was settled. Dubbed the Mason-Dixon line, it became the unofficial boundary between North and South. 1851: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville was published. 1859: Birthdays: French philosopher Henri Bergson. … Continue reading →

Today in History (October 17th): 1711: Birthdays: Jupiter Hammon, America’s first published black poet. 1777: At one of the turning points of the American Revolution, British Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American Gen. Horatio Gates at Saratoga, N.Y. 1886: Birthdays: … Continue reading →

Quotes “A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.” – Mildred Witte Stouven Pollyanna PRONUNCIATION: (pol-ee-AN-uh) http://wordsmith.org/words/pollyanna.mp3 Thus, an impotent male … Continue reading →

Today in History (October 11th): 1759: Birthdays: Clergyman Mason Locke Weems, who invented the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. 1811: The first steam-powered ferry in the world started its run between New York City and Hoboken, N.J. … Continue reading →

Today in History (October 10th): 1731: Birthdays: English chemist-physicist Henry Cavendish, discoverer of hydrogen. 1813: Birthdays: Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. 1845: The U.S. Naval Academy was formally opened at Fort Severn, Annapolis, Md., with 50 midshipmen in the first class. … Continue reading →

Today in History (October 9th): 1859: Birthdays: French officer Alfred Dreyfus, who was accused of treason; 1873: Birthdays: Charles Rudolph Walgreen, drug store chain founder; 1886: Birthdays: Baseball Hall of Fame member Rube Marquard; 1888: The Washington Monument in Washington, … Continue reading →

Today in History (October 8th): 1871: The massive Chicago fire destroyed more than 17,000 buildings, killed more than 300 people and left 90,000 homeless. A forest fire broke out at Peshtigo, Wis., killing about 1,100 people while burning some 850 … Continue reading →