In 1893 a sensational trial in the District of Columbia pitted a young woman against a powerful US Congressman. The salacious allegations captivated the nation, and went to the very heart of the power structure of the Gilded age. The Breckinridge-Pollard affair is nearly forgotten today, but at the time it was, as a contemporary account of the trial explained, “The Most Noted Breach of Promise suit in the history of court records.”
In 1906, a famed explorer saw something on the horizon that would lead an expedition of men to search for a magnificent land they hoped would be full of new and undiscovered treasures for science.
One famous dolphin lived near the shores of New Zealand in the late 1800s, and swam alongside hundreds of ships, becoming a beloved figure to locals and foreigners alike, and described as ”the best known fish in the world.”
It was relatively common in the middle ages for Kings, royals, and various other titled men to die in combat, and they were at least usually expected to fight personally. Despite the dangers of medieval combat and the expectations of nobility, however, many at the highest levels of aristocracy died in less than noble mundane accidents, and even in embarrassing circumstances.
A 2019 edition of the Philadelphia Tribune notes: While you may find it hard to believe, of all clothing, socks are the oldest type of clothing that is still in use today.
After Apollo NASA conducted a set of studies for a manned mission around Mars. More than half a century later, we are still far from the goal of sending people to our planetary neighbors. But sometimes the most interesting history is the history of what might have been.