This Day In History: July 16, 1557 Anne of Cleves was arguably the luckiest of Henry VIII’s six wives. Had she been less agreeable, she could have found herself facing the executioner’s block, but instead she led a happy life of luxury and privilege. When she died on July 16, 1557, it was as the late King Henry’s “beloved sister” […]

This Day In History: July 15, 1500 It’s a rare wedding that goes off without a single hitch, be it big or small. But few, if any, can rival the nuptials-turned-massacre of Astorre Baglioni and Lavinia Colonna on July 15, 1500 in Peruglia, Italy. In Peruglia, civic unrest was the name of the game in the 14th century. There was […]

This Day In History: July 14, 1966 Carrying a revolver and a knife, a 24-year-old drifter named Richard Speck, who had numerous run-ins with the law to his name already despite his young age, broke into a townhouse that functioned as a girls’ dormitory on Chicago’s southeast side. Reeking of alcohol, he ordered six student nurses living in the building […]

This Day In History: July 13, 1793 Charlotte Corday hailed from Normandy where her family was part of the minor nobility. Despite her (slightly) blue blood, she supported the Revolution and backed the Gironde, a group of moderate republicans who advocated a constitutional government. She believed their reasoned approach would enable France to avoid all-out civil war and save the […]

This Day In History: July 9, 1893 An important step in medicine occurred as the result of one James Cornish getting stabbed in the chest on July 9, 1893. His physician, an African-American doctor from Chicago named Daniel Hale Williams, performed the second successful operation on the pericardium (the lining around his heart). Dr. Williams was born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania […]

This Day In History: July 8, 1776 Like many beloved tales of early Americana, such as Betsy Ross creating the flag, the Declaration of Independence being signed on July 4th (it was actually about a month later), and Paul Revere doing that midnight ride as a solo act, the tale of the Liberty Bell ringing to mark the first reading […]

This Day In History: July 7, 1980 In the late 1970s, the members of Led Zeppelin were plagued by misfortune. Singer Robert Plant was put out of commission by a serious car accident in 1975. When he had almost fully recovered two years later, his 5-year-old son died suddenly of an infection. Just days before little Karac’s death, drummer John […]

This Day In History: July 6, 1535 “Let not your spirits be cast down, for I hope we shall see one another in a better place, where we shall be free to live and love in eternal bliss.” – Sir Thomas More It wasn’t just Henry VIII’s wives that bore the brunt of his ire. His closest pals also met […]

This Day In History: July 3, 1775 Just a couple of weeks after the Battle of Bunker Hill, there was an uneasy stalemate between the British troops and the American colonists as both sides took their measure and regrouped. The British stationed at Bunker Hill had a lovely view of the 20,000 Colonial troops and their sturdy fortifications across the […]

This Day In History: July 2, 1566 Michel de Nostradame was born on December 14, 1503 in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France. His family’s roots were Jewish, but they converted to Catholicism to avoid the terrible persecution inflicted on the Jews during the Inquisition. His grandfather saw potential in the boy and taught him Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, as well as mathematics, and […]

This Day In History: July 1, 1961 “I was supposed to be a boy,” she often said. And yes, her birth must have been somewhat of a disappointment to an aristocratic family with two daughters who had suffered the death of baby boy the year before. Unlike her older sisters, her christening was a relatively subdued affair, and she boasted […]

This Day In History: June 30, 1956 “Gone With the Wind” may never have been written if author Margaret Mitchell hadn’t suffered an accident that forced her off her feet. Mitchell suffered a serious ankle injury that led to arthritis, which ended her career as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal – as well as her hectic social life. This […]

This Day In History: June 29, 1914 Grigori Rasputin was born in Siberia around 1869. He was a healer and prophet to those who swore by his powers, but was known as the “mad monk” by those who believed him to be a con artist. He arrived in St. Petersburg in 1906 and was introduced to the Czar and Czarina, […]

This Day In History: June 26, 1945 On June 26, 1945, delegates from 50 nations joined in San Francisco, California to sign the United Nations Charter in the hopes of sparing “succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” The precursor to the United Nations, the League of Nations, was conceived under the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 “to promote international […]

This Day In History: June 25, 1533 Mary Tudor was considered one of the most attractive princesses in Europe in her time. This, coupled with her high station, made her a very hot commodity on the royal marriage market. Her first fiancé was the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles, nephew of her sister-in-law Catherine of Aragon. That deal fell through […]

This Day In History: June 24, 1916 In the days before women had the right to vote, one of the most powerful players in Hollywood was a diminutive blonde with corkscrew curls. Mary Pickford began her career appearing in “flickers”, short films shown in Nickelodeons where the actors were merely considered hired help. They weren’t given any billing at all […]

This Day In History: June 23, 1894 On June 23, 1894, Alfred Charles Kinsey, one of the most influential and controversial figures of the 20th century, was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. He is widely recognized as one of the first people to approach human sexuality, in all its forms, from a scientific angle. The son of a religious zealot, […]