Browsing: Society

A Brief History This article presents key events in the life of Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years’ War. Digging Deeper On August 2, 1343, Olivier Clisson, a French nobleman from Brittany, was convicted of treason in Paris and beheaded.  He had been fighting the British in the Hundred Years War, and when his success tapered off, he was criticized and accused of treason, perhaps to deflect blame from French losses. On August 26, 1346, at the battle of Crecy, English archers proved the superiority of the English Longbow over the combination of armored knights and crossbowmen fielded by the…

A Brief History On July 1, 1874, E. Remington and Sons placed the first successful typewriter on the market, a model also known as the Remington No. 1 and invented by Christopher Sholes, Samuel Soule, and Carlos Glidden. Digging Deeper Not particularly easy to manufacture, the inventors had sold out to Remington after failing to easily produce the machine.  Remington did not find an immediate market, as the machines were costly to make and still had some shortcomings such as the inability to type lower case letters.  It did however, introduce the familiar QWERTY 4 row keyboard, which despite appearances made typing much faster than an ABCtype…

A Brief History At the time of Richard’s birth, no one could have foreseen that he would one day be king for he was the 12th of his parents’ 13 offspring and only the fourth son to reach adulthood, with two of his elder brothers having children of their own. Digging Deeper So how was Richard able to become king? Actually quite legally and surprisingly peacefully. Unlike his kinsmen who attained the throne through battle, conquest or even murder, Richard was asked by the citizens of London to assume the throne after they had drawn up a petition. His right to reign…

A Brief History On June 25, 1843, Marie Anne Lenormand, France’s most famous fortune teller and cartomancer (card reader), died. Digging Deeper Born in 1772 and educated at a convent school in Alençon, she moved to Paris sometime between 1786 and 1790 and set up a type of office for clairvoyance. Early clients included the heads of the French Revolution (Marat, Robespierre and Saint-Just). She is said to have predicted their violent demise. Her imprisonment by the Committee of Public Safety which had been created by the National Convention and which formed the de facto executive government during the Reign…

A Brief History On June 22, 2002, Ann Landers died after dispensing advice for nearly 50 years. Well, it  was not actually Ann Landers who died but rather Esther “Eppie” Lederer who wrote the column. Eppie Lederer had taken over the pen name from Ruth Crowley who had used it from 1943 to 1955. Under Eppie Lederer’s penmanship, Ask Ann Landers became a national phenomenon that launched the popularity of syndicated advice columns in newspapers. Eventually she even became owner of the copyright. Her status as a cultural icon was only rivaled by that of her twin sister, Pauline Phillips, who…