Browsing: Beth Michaels

A Brief History On September 25, 1996, the last of the Magdalene asylums for prostitutes closed.  Named after Mary Magdalene, a former prostitute who had repented her sins upon meeting Jesus, these asylums housed ” fallen” and wayward women. Digging Deeper After the first Magdalene asylum founded in Whitechapel, England in 1758, the concept quickly spread across Europe and to the United States, with the first American Magdalene asylum there being the Magdalen (sic.) Society of Philadelphia founded in 1800.  For over for 200 years, these asylums, or laundries as they were also called because the women were often kept busy…

A Brief History On August 7th, 1908, the Venus of Willendorf, one of the earliest depictions of female nudity, was discovered in Austria. In our previous article in this series, we had listed the top ten women famous for being naked, or who, at one point in their lives, had famously been naked. Of course there are many more prominent ladies who have disrobed in a public setting or who have been artistically represented in a state of undress. In this article, we examine eleven more such women. For the latest installment in this series,  the “Top 10 Black Women Famous…

A Brief History This article provides a table of contents and timeline or sorts for History and Headlines’ editor Beth Michaels’ series of counterfactuals concerning the wives of King Henry VIII of England in which she takes a less-than-conventional approach and highlights aspects from their lives about which even Tudor enthusiasts may not have thought. Digging Deeper Introduction: A Timeline of Tudor Britain Wife no. 1: Could Catherine of Aragon have Lied? Wife no. 2: What if Anne Boleyn Had Slept with Henry VIII? Wife no. 3: What if Jane Seymour Had Survived? Wife no. 4: What if Anne of Cleves Had Been Beautiful? Wife no. 5:…

A Brief History Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is an intolerance of chemicals, cleaning products, pesticides, smells, odors, fragrances, etc. and exposure to such substances may cause physiological and psychological side effects that can resemble allergic reactions.  Sufferers, sometimes fearing for their lives, are often forced to avoid social gatherings; many can no longer pursue employment as the workplace environment may not be safe; and most live isolated and lonely lives with others showing little understanding, consideration or sympathy for their predicament. Digging Deeper Deemed an environmental illness, MCS can also be described as a “mystery illness” such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme disease, electromagnetic…

A Brief History Today, on May 2, 2015, to much jubilation and fanfare, the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to a baby girl at 8:34 a.m. following a seemingly short labor as “Kate” had only been admitted to the hospital about 2 and 1/2 hours before.  Digging Deeper Though her birth was not as eagerly anticipated as that of her brother who will one day be king was, her mother’s second pregnancy still made the headlines, and people were beginning to get impatient as the expected mid to late April due date had come and passed.  So, what does this British princess have to look forward…