The US flag with 13 stars, in use 1777-1795 In the year 1777, American forces under General George Washington defeat British troops at the Battle of Princeton (Jan 3), the Stars and Stripes is adopted by the Continental Congress as the flag of the United States (Jun 14), San Jose is founded (Nov 29), the United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving, marking October’s victory by the American rebels over the British troops at Saratoga (Dec 18), Captain Cook locates Kiritimati, later named Christmas Island (Dec 24), the American Revolutionary War goes on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

light moves around 300 000 km in a second, whereas the speed of sound is only one millionth of it, around 330 meters per second? Based on that, there is a formula on how to count how far a lightning occurs once we know when the thunder occurs. And did you know that the person who invented the lightning rod was Benjamin Franklin? By the year 1750 Franklin - in addition to wanting to prove that lightning was electricity - began to think about protecting people, buildings, and other structures from lightning. Continue reading

[caption id=“attachment_1749” align=“alignleft” width=“367”]The Aztec Calendar Stone from late 15th or early 16th century[/caption] George Washington gives the very first State of the Union address, in the provisional capital, New York City (Jan 8), Sweden sends a battle fleet to Reval (now Tallinn) to get rid of the Russian troops wintering there, but lose (May 13), the future site of the U.S. capital is decided upon (Jul 16), Samuel Hopkins becomes the first to be issued a U. Continue reading

In the year 1792, the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, takes office (Mar 1), the United States Mint is established (Apr 2), guillotine becomes the official method of execution in France (Apr 25), Denmark-Norway becomes the first country to outlaw slavery, The Tables of the Sun - an essential early work for navigation - is published, the French Revolution goes on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Yes! Jesari! This time in Language Day we concentrate in one single language. There will be other times too when we do the same. Today’s language will be Finnish, and we concentrate here on the peculiar way the Finns shorten words with the ending -ri. Sometimes a pretty long word in Finnish (a language of many, many long words) gets to be shortened to a mere three syllable word which of course is the main purpose with abbreviation of words. Continue reading

In the year 1689, the Protestant William III and Mary II are proclaimed co-rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland (Feb 13), the pro-British New England Governor Sir Edmund Andros and other officials are overthrown by a “mob” of Bostonians (Apr 18), Peter the Great decrees the construction of the Great Siberian Road to China (Nov 22), Isaac Newton becomes a Member of Parliament - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

HMS Endeavour In the year 1771, Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden (Feb 12), the first voyage of James Cook around the world ends as HMS Endeavour returns to England after almost three years (Jul 12), Russian troops occupy the Crimea during the Russo-Turkish War (Jul 13), the bubonic plague ravaging in Moscow causes riots there (Sep 15), the Dutch merchant ship Vrouw Maria sinks off the coast of Finland (Oct 9) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Yet another piece in our series First Names First! This time about Priscilla! Not a very common name for sure, but still, below is a chronological list of some of the women born with that name. Pick one and then follow the Wikipedia link to read about these women, and see what if anything they could contribute your life with. Give a couple of minutes of your life to this. Lives lived all have something to tell us – let them! Continue reading

This is the 26th city in Streets & Squares, and today we visit Georgetown, the capital of Guyana which was a British colony called British Guiana, until 1966. Long before that, between 1667 and 1814, it was Dutch Guiana. At that time the capital was called Stabroek, but was renamed Georgetown by the British in 1812, in honour of the English monarch King George III. Georgetown sits on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River. Continue reading

How many of you have seen all the 201 episodes i.e. nine seasons of the American verson of The Office? This NBC mockumentary sitcom was developed for the American audience from the original British series with the same name - which also is full of that same crazy humor. Since then the franchise has been remade in many other countries as well. Anyways, if you haven’t seen it, there are luckily many avenues to do that. Continue reading

In the year 1765, the term Sons of Liberty is coined by Isaac Barré (Feb 8), James Watt receives the inspiration during a stroll that provides the breakthrough in his development of the steam engine (May 26), Russian Empress Catherine II issues a decree authorizing the new way to produce vodka (Aug 9), the much criticized Stamp Act (a way to help finance British military operations in colonial America) goes into effect in the thirteen American colonies (Nov 1), the first true restaurant opens in Paris - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

The tombstone of the Cherokee leader Oconastota in Monroe County, Tennessee In the year 1767, the first annual volume of The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris gives navigators the means to find longitude at sea (Jan 1), Norway’s oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is first published (Jul 3), at a London hospital, Dr. William Watson becomes the first physician to conduct a controlled clinical trial (Oct 12), Oconastota and other leaders of native American tribes gather in New York to begin peace negotiations with the British Empire (Dec 29) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1479, Ferdinand II ascends the throne of Aragon, and rules together with his wife Isabella I over most of the Iberian peninsula (Jan 20), Christopher Columbus marries Felipa Perestrelo Moniz, and receives as dowry her late father’s maps and papers (May 13), Munich Frauenkirche is completed - and all these fine people were born: 1479-0313 Lazarus Spengler* leader of the Protestant Reformation in Nuremberg/hymnwriter - Nuremberg, Germany (1534/55) Continue reading

In the year 1714, with the defeat of Battle of Isokyrö, Sweden loses for years all of Finland to Russia (Feb 19), the Parliament of Great Britain votes to offer a huge reward for anyone who discovers a method to determine a ship’s close to exact longitude (Jul), the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Republic of Venice (Dec 9), Stockholm County is founded - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Another one in First Names First! A chronological list of persons with their first names here. Your “task” is to pick one, follow the Wikipedia link and see what if anything the person in question could contribute your life with. Spend a couple of minutes of your life with this. Lives lived have all something worthwhile to tell us – let them! This time it’s all about the French name Pierre, also included names starting with Pierre. Continue reading

Kalasan Temple in Java, constructed in 778 This page comprises the year 701 thru 800. It will later on be divided into decades, but not into individual years. Until then this is a century page. It was a century when Classical Maya civilization begins to decline, when the poem Beowulf was probably composed, and an account of Buddha’s life was translated into Greek. More info to be read under individual decades. Continue reading

Kevin Kivi - Oct 2, 2020Great addition to your website. I love both features! Thanks for your comment Kevin! Yes, I like this feature (Random articles) for example in Wikipedia (which I used a lot), so I thought it would be a nice addition here as well.

Added today a new page in the upper part of the site page that will show you all the existing posts written here in Journeys of Life. As you click ALL POSTS and scroll down the page, new article posts will appear ten at a time. And if you want to read one, all you need to do is click on the title! Also added today Random Posts. That section you find on the right side of the page under List of Articles. Continue reading

You can now find all of the postings of Journeys of Life here by scrolling down the page. Keep in mind that the year posts are being continually updated. [ajax_load_more css_classes=“ajax-load-more-custom” post_type=“post” posts_per_page=“10”]

Captain Kidd in New York Harbor. By J.L.G. Ferris, picture courtesy of Library of Congress In the year 1699, The Edinburgh Gazette is first published in Scotland (Mar 2), Thomas Savery demonstrates his first steam pump to the Royal Society of London (Jun 14), pirate Captain William Kidd is arrested and imprisoned in Boston, Massachusetts Bay (Jul 6), the Treaty of Preobrazhenskoye calls for the partition of the Swedish Empire - the Great Northern War follows (Sep 22), Peter the Great orders the Russian New Year changed, from 1 September to 1 January (Dec 20) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading