Browsing: Society

A Brief History On September 5, 1725, Louis the XV, King of France, married Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczynska, the daughter of King Stanislaw I of Poland.  Known as Queen (consort) Marie of France, she served in that role until her death in 1768 at the age of 65.  For a whopping 43 years between Louis XIV (“The Sun King” famous for his namesake furniture style) and Louis XVI  (the guy that wed Marie Antoinette and got his head lopped off) there was a Polish lady serving as Queen of France.  If you did not know this, perhaps you are…

A Brief History On an unknown date in 324 BC, the Macedonian (Greek) King Alexander the Great arranged about 80 weddings in the Persian city of Susa between the daughters of Persian nobles and Greeks of high office.  An astute judge of culture, Alexander regularly acknowledged a conquered people’s customs and culture and attempted to show respect and acceptance for their ways in order to better incorporate the new lands into his empire.  Of course, Alexander also meant to further Greek culture into conquered lands as well. Digging Deeper Alexander had already married Roxana (aka Roxanne or Roxanna) the beautiful…

A Brief History On an unknown date in 495 BC, one of the greatest  Athenian heroes of their “Golden Age” was born, Pericles, the man that came to be known as “The First Citizen of Athens.”  So important and influential was Pericles that his time as leader of Athens is called “The Age of Pericles” (461-429 BC). Digging Deeper Like many truly great men, Pericles was multi-dimensional, and served as a military general, statesman, and orator, as well as being a great patron of the arts and education.  A strong advocate of democracy, Pericles is responsible for most of the…

A Brief History On an unknown date around 638 BC one of the greatest of the Ancient Greeks was born in Athens into a modestly wealthy family of the noble class.   A Renaissance Man before there was such a thing, Solon had many facets and many talents.  Engaging in commerce and in military leadership, he became known for high intelligence and persuasive debate. Digging Deeper Eventually becoming a major reformer of Athenian society, Solon is often remembered as “The Lawgiver” for his wise legislation as Chief Magistrate of Athens starting around 594 BC.  During his time as autocrat of Athens,…

A Brief History On August 31, 1943, the Buckley Class destroyer, USS Harmon (DE-678) was commissioned, the first American Navy ship named after an African-American person.  The Harmon got its name from the heroic Leonard Roy Harmon, a Mess Attendant aboard the USS San Francisco in 1942. Digging Deeper Back in World War II there were limited specialties available to African-American sailors in the segregated armed forces of the United States, and for the most part African-American sailors were limited to service type positions.  Of course, on board a warship sailors have to have emergency duties assigned for combat, and…