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OBSCURE
HISTORIES
BRINGING HISTORY TO LIGHT
Dana Rovang
- May 5, 2022
- 8 min
The "weird" law against killing camels in Arizona
Dana Rovang It is a true fact that there was once a law in Arizona making killing a camel a crime. But, what if you didn’t know what a...
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Dana Rovang
- Apr 19, 2022
- 7 min
"Save the Day": The American Civil War origins of a superhero phrase
Dana Rovang What would a superhero story be without someone swooping in at the last moment to “Save The Day?” Snatching victory from the...
246
Dana Rovang
- Mar 22, 2022
- 7 min
Frances Perkins: Labor Secretary for FDR, and the brains behind the New Deal
While we take for granted the 40-hour work week and generally safe working conditions, not many know about the woman who spearheaded the...
318
Dana Rovang
- Feb 15, 2022
- 4 min
Maude Callen: Nurse-Midwife provided medical care to the poorest in her community
In the mid-twentieth-century American South, Black women had limited access to medical services and maternal care. Many gave birth at...
376
Dana Rovang
- Feb 3, 2022
- 8 min
Phillis Wheatley: A Black and enslaved poet who helped shape Revolutionary America
Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), was a Black and enslaved poet who lived in the American Colonies during the Revolutionary War. Through her...
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Brendan Wolfe
- Nov 22, 2021
- 7 min
A War by Any Other Name
CONFLICT IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES When the English landed at Jamestown, Virginia was in the middle of a seven-year drought and the worst...
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Brendan Wolfe
- Nov 22, 2021
- 4 min
PAQUIQUINEO (DON LUIS)
Virginia Indian Traveled throughout Early Modern World Paquiquineo was a Virginia Indian who for nine years traveled throughout the...
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Julia Chen
- Nov 22, 2021
- 3 min
THE PILGRIMS' BAN ON CHRISTMAS
Christmas Festivities Forbidden in17th Century American Colonies Christmas was once outlawed in Boston, and festive cheer was greeted...
204
Dana Rovang
- Nov 22, 2021
- 2 min
Wingfoot Express Airship Disaster, Chicago 1919
Almost two decades before the disaster of the LZ 189 Hindenburg Zeppelin (1937), Chicago witnessed the horrific destruction of the...
52
Herbert Wignall
- Nov 22, 2021
- 3 min
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, Medal of Honor Recipient
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919) was born on a farm in Oswego, New York in November 1832. She attended Syracuse Medical College,...
17
Dana Rovang
- Nov 22, 2021
- 2 min
Bushnell's Turtle
The American Revolutionary War marked a period of great expansion in martime history. One of the most significant developments was the...
25
Dana Rovang
- Nov 22, 2021
- 2 min
Kate Shelley and the Great Train Rescue of 1881
On 6 July 1881, a massive storm in Boone County, Iowa caused a flash flood. The flood washed out the support trestles for the train...
271
Herbert Wignall
- Nov 22, 2021
- 2 min
"Billy" Mitchell; or, How to Sink a Battleship
US Army General William “Billy” Mitchell (1879-1936) was the commander of the Army Air Services in WWI. After the war, Mitchell lobbied...
40
Herbert Wignall
- Nov 22, 2021
- 2 min
Adolphus Greely and the Lady Franklin Expedition
In 1881, First Lieutenant Adolphus Greely was placed in command of the Lady Franklin Expedition aboard the ship Proteus. It was to...
20
Marcie Holmes, PhD
- Jul 17, 2015
- 16 min
US Air Force Training
By Marcie Holmes, PhD MATCHING HUMANS TO MACHINES “There’s no such thing as a natural-born pilot.” - Chuck Yeager Good airplane pilots...
19
Julia Chen
- Jun 12, 2015
- 11 min
COLUMBIA: ALLEGORY OF AMERICA
Before there was Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam, Columbia hailed as one of the earliest personifications of the United States. While she has...
386
Brendan Wolfe
- Jan 27, 2015
- 3 min
IRENE MORGAN
Before Rosa Parks, a Woman Refused to Give Up Her Seat In 1955, Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery,...
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