tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86068649178607970842011-11-27T16:21:16.393-08:00Anecdotes, trivia, and quirky tales about people and events in history.John Ropernoreply@blogger.comBlogger131100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-38568908581343417712008-02-19T09:29:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:40.461-08:00

He was a man of colorful metaphors; she was a woman of complex calculations. He was involved in numerous affairs and scandals; she was a faithful wife and mother. He was reckless and once famously dubbed "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." She was stable but with enough flair in her pursuit of mathematics to be called “The Enchantress of Numbers.” In many ways they were polar opposites, but they

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-62343438844839374722008-02-15T09:15:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:40.736-08:00

A Spanish MastiffHistory is made up of stories not only about people and events but also starring animals, even common ones like man’s best friend, the dog. One famous canine from the days of the Spanish conquest of the Americas was named Leoncico or “little lion” by his owner, Vasco Balboa. Son of another well-known dog, Bercerillo, Leoncico was named after his father’s owner, the famous

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-9749965507926925262008-02-14T10:11:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:40.969-08:00

Valentine’s Day is most often associated with love, happiness, and, of course, CHOCOLATE. Candy hearts with cute, little sayings abound; elementary students rush home with handmade crafts for their moms and dads; shopkeepers smile deeper with every beep at the checkout stand; and if his creator was still alive and drawing, Charlie Brown would go another year without a valentine. Today will

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-36835261328550378692008-02-13T09:32:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:41.182-08:00

In America, every child in school learns the tale of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas. In England, King Arthur and Robin Hood hold the imaginations of the young captive. In France, though, they have a different set of national heroes to inspire their youth. One of these heroes is Clovis, King of the Franks, and of the tales told of him none is perhaps more famous than that of the Soissons

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-90051247702041177782008-02-12T11:22:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:41.603-08:00

Her life had more drama and plot twists than any fictional tale Hollywood could ever dream up for her. During her lifetime she was quite possibly the most powerful woman in the world. She broke the gender boundaries of her generation and yet still managed to work within her culture to achieve her goals. Ruler of her own vast lands, she ended up becoming queen of first France and then later of

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-25861676809234624112008-02-11T09:22:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:42.261-08:00

Family squabbles are normal, but when you are royalty your fights can affect nations. Throughout history we have seen the armies of royal relatives duke it out over lands, crowns, and religions, with disastrous consequences for thousands. But one royal feud between cousins tops them all in casualties, a war that cost millions of lives and transformed the globe forever: World War I.In all fairness

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-4589999584689992082008-02-08T08:21:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:42.475-08:00

He meant well, he really did, but he couldn’t quite pull it off. Even being Emperor has its limitations. Joseph II, heir to the Habsburg throne in Austria and Holy Roman Emperor, was the most “enlightened” of the “enlightened monarchs” during the 18th century. Joseph seemed to really care for his people, and would on occasion disguise himself so that he could walk among them unrecognized to learn

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-25534239591500754182008-02-07T09:21:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:43.027-08:00

He was born only a few months before the world his ancestors had carved out for themselves was shattered forever. Prince Mutsuhito was too young to understand the significance of the “Black Dragons” that sailed into Edo Bay in July, 1853, but his people weren’t. The stronger, more militaristic groups resisted the pressure to open trade relations with the “friendly” visitors. Then one group,

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-81828592523432492902008-02-06T13:27:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:43.289-08:00

The boy waited in the rain for hours. He had been given a tremendous honor, to give the welcoming speech (in Latin) for the newly crowned king and his young queen. But the king and queen were late, and the boy was wet. Finally, the royal coach arrived, and the boy’s moment of glory arrived. Only the royal couple never exited the coach, probably due to the weather, and so one wonders if the

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-64244536899692907742008-02-05T14:21:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:43.447-08:00

Few historical figures are as widely imitated (and ridiculed) in movies and commercials as Napoleon Bonaparte. He is usually portrayed as a short, fiery, selfish, little man who constantly walked around with his hand stuck inside his shirt. Comedians make him look like a buffoon, a fool. In actuality, Napoleon was of average height for his time period (five foot six inches by British standards

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-63985837649845065312008-02-04T02:35:00.001-08:002008-12-14T00:10:43.610-08:00

Frankly, Ibrahim Lodhi was not a nice guy. Taking on the mantle of the Sultan of Delhi and ruler of a large portion of India after the death of his father in 1517, Ibrahim immediately began making people angry. Unjust, cruel, and insulting, he made his nobles so mad they decided to call for help from Babur, an up-and-coming Mughal invader. Babur agreed, but taking out the heavily armed Lodhi

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-54177383371565346232008-01-31T01:21:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:43.764-08:00

Did Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States and a vocal opponent to slavery, actually father a child of one of his own slaves? The controversy over the parentage of Eston Hemings and his siblings has caused disquieting ripples in the waters of American history for over 200 years. Abolitionists, critics of democracy, and a host of others have kept the rumors going, but is there any

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8606864917860797084.post-55814152045473919132008-01-30T08:11:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:10:44.015-08:00

Almost everyone has some type of hobby, but some people have really bizarre ones. Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia (1688-1740), for example, liked to collect tall soldiers. Some parents give their children toy soldiers to play with, but Friedrich was given an entire regiment of live ones by his dad when he was young. That gift was the beginning of a bizarre passion that led to fever-pitched

John Ropernoreply@blogger.com0