Browsing: Society

A Brief History On March 21, 1800, Pius VII was crowned Pope of the Roman Catholic Church in Venice, Italy. In Venice because of armed conflict taking place in Italy at the time, Pius was crowned with a tiara (crown) made of papier-mache! Popes are normally seen wearing either their imposing Mitre or their beanie-like Zucchetto. Today we use this historical deviation from normal papal headwear to list 10 Famous Religious Hats and Headgear, head coverings either famous or of particular interest. (Note: That circle of light around my head is called a “halo”…) Digging Deeper 1. Papal Tiara. A…

A Brief History On March 20, 1922, the USS Langley CV-1 was commissioned as the first American aircraft carrier in the US Navy. The ship had previously been a coal hauling ship (collier) named USS Jupiter AC-3 and had been converted for use with airplanes. The US Navy had seen the value of airplanes as anti-ship weapons when Army Air Corp Maj. Gen. Billy Mitchell demonstrated his ability to sink or heavily damage battleships by aerial attack. Of course, the scouting ability of an air fleet greatly expanded the ability of a sea going commander to reconnoiter the seas around…

A Brief History On March 18, 1850, the future financial services giant American Express Company was founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo, 2 years before those business partners founded Wells Fargo and Company. Famous today for their credit cards and travelers cheques, American Express rakes in revenues over $33 billion per year, placing them among the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market indicating group. Digging Deeper American Express started out as an express mail delivery company, a merger of companies owned by Wells, Fargo, and John Butterfield (who co-owned another company with Wells). Headquartered…

A Brief History On March 17, 2017, much of the English speaking world celebrates St. Patrick’s Day in honor of the English (possibly of Roman descent) missionary and Bishop that brought Christianity to much of Ireland. Recognized as a saint by the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches, St. Patrick is remembered on March 17 as the supposed day of his death, although his birth and death dates are lost to history, his life most likely having occurred during the 5th Century A.D.. Digging Deeper Born in England of English and probably Roman descent sometime in the 5th Century,…

A Brief History On March 16, 1995, Mississippi became the last state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the amendment that outlawed slavery in the United States. With decades of Affirmative Action and other forms of perceived reverse discrimination, we take a moment to remind Americans how recently some of the outlandish discriminatory laws and practices against Americans because of race have finally been put to rest. Millions of adult African Americans were alive when some of these most egregious slights were in effect, so a certain amount of wariness about declaring the end to racism in the…