Historical Fun

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 26th FEBRUARY On This Day in 1570 Elizabeth-The-First-Virginger-Queen was excommunicated by Pope-Pius-V-For-Vendetta for being ginger, and not catholic.   On This Day in 1616, after having a very rough week, Galileo Galilei, so good they named him twice, is formally banned from teaching or defending his views on the Earth orbiting the Sun, by the Catholic Church.   Burn the witch.   Hmm, I wonder if he was actually right about the Earth orbiting the sun? And, instead of being a witch, perhaps he was a scientist with real and factual scientific knowledge?   Nah, Burn the Witch.   On This Day in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act of Congress to establish the Grand Canyon, that massive hole in the ground that's hundreds of miles long, as a United States National Park.   On This Day in 1929, President Calvin Coolidge signed an Executive Order, because who needs an act of Congress when you're Cal...

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 25th FEBRUARY On This Day in 138, Roman Emperor Hadrian, the guy who hated the Scots so much he built a massive wall across northern England to keep them out, adopted Antoninus Pius as his son.   That is so sweet, adopting a little boy because he had no kids of his own. His adoption, as well as getting a daddy, also made little Antoninus heir to the Roman Empire.   Hang on, one plus two, multiply by the square root of .... son of a .... Antoninus wasn't a little boy when he was adopted. He was 44 years old.   On This Day in 1797, the Last Invasion of Britain ends after Colonel William Tate issues an unconditional surrender.   On This Day in 1870, Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first African-American to sit in the US Congress, is sworn into the United States Senate. He was a Republican from Mississippi. Oh, come on, no one's perfect.   On This Day in 1919, the state of Oregon put a 1cent per US gall...