A Brief History On January 25, 1585, Walter Raleigh, an English explorer and adventurer, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England, perhaps because he named a region of North America “Virginia” in honor of the Virgin Queen. Digging Deeper Helping to suppress Irish rebellion, defending England against the Spanish Armada, and being a key figure in the colonization of North America, Raleigh became somewhat of a celebrity of his time, although he also had some problems along the way. Plunked into jail for marrying without the Queen’s permission, Raleigh was released and chased after the mythical city of gold,…
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A Brief History On January 22, 1992, NASA launched mission STS-42, the space shuttle Discovery, into space with a crew that included Ukrainian Canadian Dr. Roberta Bondar, a neurologist. The first Canadian woman and the first neurologist to become an astronaut, Bondar is a woman of many accomplishments, and is yet another example of Canadians of Ukrainian descent (such as Alex Trebek and Wayne Gretzky) to achieve great things. Digging Deeper A highly accomplished scholar, Bondar was educated at the University of Guelph (BSc), the University of Western Ontario (MSc), the University of Toronto (PhD), and McMaster University (MD). Bondar’s…
A Brief History On January 19, 2007, 3 intrepid Britons and their equally intrepid Canadian comrade made an incredible journey across Antarctica, using only leg power driving skis and the assistance of kites, to reach a point known as the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility. Digging Deeper The team, called “Team N2i,” trekked almost 1100 miles over the frozen terrain to the place called POI, for short, a spot on the globe previously visited by explorers using motorized tracked vehicles and aircraft back in 1965. So, what is this “POI?” It is defined as the point in Antarctica that is furthest…
A Brief History On December 22, 1965, a 70 mph speed limit was set on all British rural roads. Prior to this law, there had been no speed limit in Great Britain, a country that had the most cars per mile of road than any other country in the world. Alas, no more unlimited speed and no more bragging rights about car density. Digging Deeper Plus, the once mightiest empire on Earth is virtually gone, and the mighty Royal Navy no longer rules the seas (though it is still strong). But Britain has some great things about it, too! Great…
A Brief History On October 28, 1453, the Bohemian city of Prague witnessed the crowing of Ladislaus the Posthumous as King. Although you may think the name implies the guy was dead when crowned, it really referred to his father having died before the birth of Ladislaus. We have previously discussed some goofy names, and today ask you to tell us which monarch had the goofiest name, and we provide a list you can choose from, or you can name your own choice. Digging Deeper Æthelred the Unready, England Charles the Bald, West Francia Charles the Child, Aquitaine Charles the…
