A Brief History Earlier today, we noted how on April 5, 1614, Pocahontas married John Rolfe. In honor of the great historic union between not just two lovers, but people representing two culture (one English and the other Native American), we celebrate 10 of history’s most famous Native Americans, focusing on those north of what is today the border between the United States and Mexico. A potential future list could concern famous Aztecs, Incas, and Mayans. Digging Deeper 10. Squanto Known for helping Pilgrims cope with life in North America at the Plymouth colony, Squanto went to Europe several times…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On April 5, 1614, a milestone in European and Native American relations was reached when John Rolfe, English colonist, married Pocahontas, Native American princess! Digging Deeper The English colony of Jamestown, Virginia was the location of one of American history’s most famous marriages. Pocahontas was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, a sort of chief of chiefs in the eastern Virginia area. In 1607, English prisoner of the local Native Americans, John Smith, was to be executed by having his head smashed with a club by Powhatan himself. Pocahontas famously (allegedly) laid her head on Smith’s head to…
A Brief History On April 4, 1969, Dr. Denton Cooley performed surgery to implant the first artificial (temporary) heart in history! Digging Deeper Dr. Cooley was a renowned heart surgeon and founder of the Texas Heart Institute. Having worked with Dr. Michael DeBakey (another renowned heart surgeon that invented the pump that makes heart surgery possible), Cooley was part of the team that performed the first heart transplant in the United States as well as his artificial heart work. He also pioneered techniques using artificial heart valves which reduced mortality in heart valve replacement surgery from 70% to 8%! Unfortunately,…
A Brief History On April 4, 1841, a stunned nation learned that for the first time in American history a serving president died while in office! Digging Deeper William Henry Harrison from Ohio gave his inaugural address bareheaded despite poor weather. Perhaps because of this blunder, the new president contracted pneumonia and died 31 days later, becoming the first president to die in office and the president with the shortest time served. A total of eight US presidents have died in office over the 238 years of our nation’s history, and the weirdest part of that is that four of…
A Brief History On February 20th, we covered how Ted Kaczynski (the “Unabomber”) blew up a computer store in 1987. Today marked the end of his reign of terror as he was finally arrested on April 3, 1996. A recluse who was anti-technology, he probably would not have been caught without his brother having turned him in. Here are 10 civilian people who are known for bombing, good or bad. (For our companion list of military bombers, please see this article). Please Note: This list is not a rogues’ gallery! It includes good guys as well as bad guys famously…
