The Four African Emperors were Septimius Severus, Clodius Albinus, Marcus Macrinus and Aemilianus. Severus was born near Leptis Magna in Africa (in modern-day Libya), and came from a wealthy and distinguished equestrian family. Commodus. Commodus was born on 31 August 161 AD near Rome,and during the early years of his…
World War II wasn’t just a man’s war—350,000 American women answered the call and served their country. Nancy Wake. We usually think about the men and military leaders who made the Allies’ victory possible during World War II,but the WAC allowed women to make significant contributions … Ruby Bradley. An…
In late August 1619, twenty or more Africans were brought to Point Comfort on the James River in Virginia. They were sold first in exchange for food and then sold in Jamestown as indentured servants. The Africans came from the Kingdom of Ndongo, in what is now Angola. Where did…
Roughly 2,000 African American troops are believed to have hit the shores of Normandy in various capacities on June 6, 1944. Serving in a U.S. military still-segregated by race, they encountered discrimination both in the service and when they came home. But on Normandy, they faced the same danger as…
Known as the Agoge, the system emphasized duty, discipline and endurance. Although Spartan women were not active in the military, they were educated and enjoyed more status and freedom than other Greek women. Because Spartan men were professional soldiers, all manual labor was done by a slave class, the Helots.…
The 1900 aircraft was relatively large as you can tell by comparing with the size of the pilot. The aircraft had two wings covered by a tightly woven material called “sateen”. Each wing had a seventeen foot span and a five foot chord. Did the 19th century have airplanes? It…
The hijackers inside the cockpit are heard yelling “No!” over the sound of breaking glass. The final spoken words on the recorder were a calm voice in English instructing, “Pull it up.” The plane then crashed into an empty field in Stonycreek, Pennsylvania, about 20 minutes’ flying time from Washington,…
The hijackers inside the cockpit are heard yelling “No!” over the sound of breaking glass. The final spoken words on the recorder were a calm voice in English instructing, “Pull it up.” The plane then crashed into an empty field in Stonycreek, Pennsylvania, about 20 minutes’ flying time from Washington,…
The first record of the Amazons in Greek literature can be found in Homer’s Iliad, in which the female warriors are called ἀντιάνειραι, “equal to men”. [Homer, Iliad 3.189, 6.186.] In the Iliad, composed around the 8th Century BC, the Amazons were referred to as man-like, seasoned fighters. The implication…
Indeed, while there were a handful of Canadians involved in the rescue—including those commanding four Royal Canadian Navy destroyers—it was the British and French troops and their Belgian allies who were trapped at Dunkirk and eventually rescued. The only official Canadian military involvement at Dunkirk comes from the Royal Canadian…