February 23, 1821 — John Keats dies
John Keats was one of the great Romantic poets, a fact all the more surprising considering that he died at...
April 7, 2021
The Past
June 16, 1816 — A party at the Villa Diodati inspires Mary Shelley to write “Frankenstein”
It must have been some party. George, Lord Byron was the host, and his guests were the recently married Percy...
April 9, 2021
June 18, 1815 — The Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was the final defeat of Napoleon, and the end of the Napoleonic Wars. On the one...
April 12, 2021
January 8, 1815 — The Battle of New Orleans takes place
In the annals of military pointlessness, few battles are quite as ridiculous as the Battle of New Orleans. It was...
April 14, 2021
December 14, 1812 — French begin retreat from Moscow
It is possibly the most notorious defeat in military history, a textbook example of strategic and logistical errors: Napoleon’s retreat...
April 19, 2021
October 19, 1806 — Benjamin Banneker dies
Benjamin Banneker was born a free black man in Virginia in 1731 – his mother was also a free black,...
April 24, 2021
April 27, 1805 — The Battle of Derna commences
The first extra-territorial land battle fought by the armed forces of young United States of America. It is the source...
April 29, 2021
November 4, 1804 — Sacajawea joins the Lewis and Clark expedition
Probably the most famous member of Shoshone tribe of North American Indians, Sacajawea (or Sacagawea, depending on your translation) is...
May 4, 2021
July 11, 1804 — Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr fight a duel
People like to describe modern American politics as a blood sport. They have no idea. Back in 1804, former Secretary...
May 9, 2021
February 21, 1804 — The First Steam Train runs
The first ever steam train was built by Richard Trevithick in Wales in the early 19th century. On its maiden...
May 14, 2021
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