2024 is, the UN has proclaimed, the international year of the camelid. That may seem odd to Americans, whose, if having encountered them at all, most common close encounter with a camel was likely paying a few dollars to ride on one at a country fair. Still, camels have a fascinating history, even some here in the United States, and are still vitally important in many parts of the world.
On October 8, 1842 US Navy Captain Lawrence Kearny sent a letter to the Viceroy of Liangjiang urging that American merchants in China be granted the same treaty privileges as the British. The negotiation would set the tone of US China relations for the next hundred years, and establish a still recognized principle in world trade-. It was an extraordinary act, given Kearney’s limited authority.
In time for Halloween, three classic ghoulish The History Guy Episodes about history and human cadavers.
The Sargo Class submarine USS Seawolf was one of the most active American submarines in the early war in the Pacific. Her extraordinary service was kept secret for operational reasons during the war, but would later be described to two reporters by her chief radioman, and published as a book in 1945.