Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 142
April 2, 2018
Today in History: The Fountain of Youth
On this day (April 2) in 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon first spotted the land that would one day become known as Florida. Pond de Leon is most famous today for his quest for the legendary Fountain of Youth. Those accounts are all posthumous and there is no contemporary evidence that Ponce de Leon ever actually searched for the fountain. Still, it’s a wonderful and intriguing story that has recurred repeatedly in our popular culture including in the original Spiderman cartoon (the Fountain of Terror episode) and Tim Powers’ amazing novel, On Stranger Tides.
April 1, 2018
Today in History: April Fools Day
On this day (April 1) much of the world celebrates April Fools Day—a day of pranks and jokes. It’s not clear just how long this celebration has been practiced. Some scholars believe that Geoffrey Chaucer references the custom in the Nun’s Priest’s Tale when he mentions the 32nd Day of March (written in 1392). A French poet, Eloy d’Amerval, may also have mentioned it in 1508 when he refers to “poissons d’avril.” But the first clear reference was in 1539 when a Flemish noble was reported to have sent his servants on foolish errands on April 1.
March 31, 2018
Today in History: The Intolerable Acts
On this day (March 31) in 1774, Great Britain passed the Boston Port Act—one of the Intolerable Acts that helped to spark the American Revolution. The Act closed the port of Boston to all shipping as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. Parliament passed the act with overwhelming support, but the colonies considered it to be unconstitutional collective punishment. It sparked massive sympathy for radical Boston in the rest of the colonies and helped to unite the colonies in opposition to Britain and the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774 to formulate a joint response to the Intolerable Acts.
March 30, 2018
Today in History: Seward's Folly
On this day (March 30) in 1867, Secretary of State Seward bought Alaska from Russia for the United States. The U.S. paid roughly 2 cents per acre ($7.2 million). The purchase was generally popular in the U.S. but there were opponents who called it Seward’s Folly. Those in opposition tended to focus their complaints around the worry that a non-contiguous territory would become a colony, or that the money was wasted because manifest destiny would lead the U.S. to take the territory anyway.
March 29, 2018
Last Chance--Jeweled Hills 25% Off
There's just one more week to take advantage of the 25% discount on my new book, The Jeweled Hills--the third book in the Legionnaire series--before it publishes on April 5, 2018. Check it out on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks , etc.
Today in History: America's Wealthiest Man Dies
On this day (March 29) in 1848, John Jacob Astor died. Astor became the richest man in the United States. In adjusted dollars, he would still qualify as the fifth wealthiest person in American history. He got his start in the fur business establishing a global trade network, but he correctly predicted the end of the trade and sold his business, taking his profits and investing them in New York real estate anticipating where property values would soar as the city continued to expand.
March 28, 2018
Today in History: 2 Pallas
On this day (March 28) in 1802, Heinrich Wilhelm Matthaus Olber discovered the asteroid now called 2 Pallas. It was the second asteroid ever discovered (after Ceres) and is the third most massive asteroid in the asteroid belt (containing approximately 7% of the mass of the asteroid belt). Initially it was thought to be a planet, but after several other asteroids were discovered the “planets” were reclassified.
March 27, 2018
Today in History: Geronimo
On this day (March 27) in 1886, Geronimo surrendered to the U.S. Army for the final time. Geronimo was an Apache who fought for 36 years against Mexico and the United States to keep the traditional home of his people free. After his first two surrenders, he was placed on a reservation, but the non-traditional lifestyle proved too confining and he went back to war each time. After his third surrender, he was treated as a prisoner of war and moved from the Apache homeland in Arizona to Florida. Here, despite his prisoner status, he became a celebrity, attending fairs and selling photographs of himself.
March 26, 2018
Today in History: Pope-Elect Stephen Dies
On this day (March 26) in 752 Pope-Elect Stephen died after suffering a stroke. He may be the only man properly elected pope not to become pope. When elected, he had not yet been consecrated a bishop, and he died before the consecration took place.
March 25, 2018
Today in History: Britain Ends the Slave Trade
On this day (March 25) in 1807, the British government abolished the slave trade in its empire. The Slave Trade Act followed the American Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves passed on March 2, 1807. Neither Act ended slavery, merely the importation of new slaves. The British went further than the Americans, actively seeking to get other European and African powers to end the slave trade. They decided to treat slave traders like pirates and they established fines of up to 100 pounds per slave for the captains of ships caught transporting slaves. (Unfortunately, this led captains to throw slaves overboard when they thought they were going to be boarded.) The Royal Navy’s West Africa Squadron seized some 1600 slave ships and freed some 150,000 kidnapped Africans between 1808 and 1860.
