the Waldorf-Astoria on Park Avenue in Manhattan, New York received the first part of its name from the small town that the first American multi-millonaire and the patriarch of the wealthy and influential Astor family, John Jacob Astor, was born in, in 1763? And that this grand hotel used to be two separate hotels - the Waldorf and the Astoria - built by two feuding relatives, William Waldorf Astor (opened in 1893) and John Jacob Astor IV (in 1897)? Continue reading

As popular as Star Trek: The Original Series was (and has always been), one wonders how come it only aired for three seasons. The fans protested of course, but NBC cancelled the show in February 1969 after just 79 episodes. The cancellation has been named one of the biggest TV blunders. Still, we do get to enjoy the three seasons of the Original Series, and all the other subsequent Star Trek series. Continue reading

After a long while, here is another great quotation for you in our series Who Said That! A very practical advice that truly doesn’t discern what age and time we live in. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” Here was certainly a person who lived up to his own advice. We can see that in his life, and we can see it in his creations. Continue reading

This time in Language Day a word daily used and a product in high demand all over the world in 2020. The face mask. Or respirator. Like the one in this picture that looks pretty home-made - and is prettier that many of the more official face masks that seemed to be sold out in so many pharmacies and other stores everywhere. The picture at the bottom of the page taken end of March tells that story (EI hengityssuojia is Finnish for NO face masks). Continue reading

[](By I, JF Lepage, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link) New France in 1750, photo credit to JF Lepage In the year 1763, the Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Year’s War, marking the beginning of an era of British dominance outside Europe. France cedes Canada (New France) to Great Britain (Feb 10), Chief Pontiac of the Odawa people begins “Pontiac’s War” in the Great Lakes region, resulting later in British policy changes (May 7), Touro Synagogue, the oldest synague bulding in the U. Continue reading

Captain Cook’s first landing at Botany Bay 16 years earlier (1770) In the year 1786, Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro premieres in Vienna (May 1), the Cabinet of Great Britain approves the establishment of a penal colony at Botany Bay, Australia (Aug), Reykjavik is founded (Aug 18), the Confederation Congress establishes the United States Mint to make common coinage and currency for the U.S., to replace individual state coins (Oct 16), Grand Duke of Tuscany promulgates a penal reform, making his country the first state to abolish the death penalty (Nov 30) - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

Another one in our series First Names First! Your “task” – should you accept it – is to pick one of the names below, then follow the Wikipedia link to read about the person, and to see what if anything she could contribute your life with. Lives lived have all something to tell us – let them! This time it is all about Wendy! Not a very common name, but you might just find someone interesting here as well! Continue reading

In the year 1599, the Kalmar Bloodbath takes place in Kalmar, Sweden (May 16), the Earl of Essex takes Cahir Castle in Ireland (May 29), a Dutch fleet returns to Amsterdam from the Second Dutch Expedition to Indonesia, carrying large amounts of pepper, cloves and nutmeg (Jul 19), the Swedish King Sigismund is dethroned by his uncle Duke Charles (Jul 24), the Åbo Bloodbath takes place in Swedish Finland (Nov 10) and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

This time in Streets and Squares let us travel to the Windy City - Chicago - in the U.S. state of Illinois. By going through the streets and squares and other places of the city, we get to know more about its history - as with all the previous cities we have visited in this article series. The river that starts from Lake Michigan and divides the city is called - well, what do you know - Chicago River (with its South and North Branches), and later with the South Branch turning into Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Continue reading

In the year 1757, Rigshospitalet is founded at Copenhagen (Mar 30), the works of Galileo Galilei espousing heliocentrism (that he had been condemned for in 1633 and kept under house arrest until his death) are removed from the list of books banned by Roman Catholic Church (Apr 16), Hungarian raiders plunder Berlin, Prussia (Oct 16), the French and Indian War (1754–1763) goes on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

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Here’s yet another piece in this article series, taking us back exactly 1000 years. This time to June 15th in the year 1020. Troia is a city situated in the northernmost part of Apulia (shown in magenta in the map) , south of Benevento. According to legend, it was founded in the 10th century BC by the Greek hero Diomedes who had participated in the Trojan War and helped destroy the ancient Troy - a city in the northwest of Asia Minor (in today’s Turkey). Continue reading

In the year 1726, Isaac Newton tells William Stukeley the story of how he developed his theory of gravity (Apr 15), Voltaire begins his exile in England (May 1), Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is first published in London (Oct 28), the settlement of Montevideo is founded by the Spaniards (Dec 24) - and all these fine people were born: 1726-0116 Hugh Mercer* physician/to America at age 21/soldier and general in the American Revolution - Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (1777/50) 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 William. A name that has been widely used for centuries. Continue reading

La Mort de Marat by Jacques-Louis David In the year 1793, Louis XVI of France is guillotined in Paris (Jan 21), George Washington is sworn in as President of the United States for his second term (Mar 4), Jean-Paul Marat is killed in his bath (Jul 13), the Louvre in Paris opens to the public as an art museum (Aug 10), New York City’s first daily newspaper, the American Minerva, is established by Noah Webster (Dec 9), the French Revolution goes on - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

In the year 1449, the last in a line of rulers that can be traced to the founding of Rome, Constantine XI Palaiologos, is crowned Byzantine Emperor (Jan 6), the French recapture Rouen from the English (Oct 29), Karl Knutsson Bonde becomes the King of Norway (Nov 20) - and all these fine people were born: 1449-0101 Lorenzo de Medici* statesman/patron of Renaissance culture in Italy - Florence, Republic of Florence (1492/43) Continue reading

The Law on the Freedom of Printing, December 2, 1766 In the year 1766, Savannah in the American colony of Georgia receives its first slaves, from Senegal (Apr 9), members of the Sons of Liberty in Manhattan erect their first liberty pole as a protest against the British rule (Jun 4), France cedes its rights to the Malouines Islands to Spain, later captured by the British and renamed the Falkland Islands (Oct 4), Sweden becomes the first country in the world to introduce constitutional protection of press freedom (Dec 2), James Christie holds the first sale at Christie’s auction house in London (Dec 5), and all these fine people were born: Continue reading

How often do we get misunderstood when we try to tell our name, address, the license plate number (or rather, letter and number combination) of our car, etc? And when traveling abroad, it doesn’t help of course that each country has its own way of spelling. So here is a helpful list: spelling alphabets in different countries. The main order of all of the alphabets is as follows: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Å Ä Ö Continue reading

This is the 24th city in Streets & Squares, and today we visit Vienna, the capital of Austria. The big river Donau flows to the east of the city, and Donau channel through it. Lots of eponymous streets here and a lot of history! As always, clicking on the address links leads you to Google Maps, and clinking on the names to the person’s Wikipedia page. Don’t forget to also read about the people born in this city throughout the years. Continue reading

In the year 1794, the French First Republic abolishes slavery (Feb 4), Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin (Mar 14), the U.S. Congress prohibits American ships from supplying slaves to any nation other than the United States (Mar 22), Horatio Nelson loses the sight in his right eye, in the British Siege of Calvi in Corsica (Jul 12), a great fire destroys 200 buildings in the French Quarter of New Orleans (Dec 8), coffee is forbidden by royal decree in Sweden - and all these fine people were born: Continue reading