“In 1940, Heinrich Himmler, wanting to extend SS influence to the rocket program, pressured Wernher von Braun into joining the organization despite his lack of political commitment. Von Braun joined chiefly to keep working on his passion, rocketry, but his… — Charles River Editors Copy Share
“Iwo Jima is more officially known as “Sulfur Island,” and it lies in a chain of volcanic islands south of the Ogasawara Islands. In total, the area is known as the Ogasawara Archipelago or the Bonin Islands, and it was critically important because Iwo Jima is situated approximately 650 nautical miles south of Tokyo. For U.S. naval and air forces,… — Charles River Editors Copy Share
“Rachel’s tomb is located a short distance north of Bethlehem, on the road between Jerusalem and Hebron. It consists of a small building with… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“By the following morning, September 15, Jackson had positioned nearly fifty guns on Maryland Heights and at the base of Loudoun Heights. Then he began a fierce artillery barrage from all sides, followed by a full-out infantry assault. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, Col. Miles raised the white flag of surrender, enraging some of the men, one of whom… — Charles River Editors Copy Share
“Washington is the only President to be elected unanimously – not once, but twice.” — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“As the story goes, the cardinals began to regret their decision the very night of Pope Urban VI's coronation. During the celebratory feast that evening, the cardinals caught more than a glimpse of the ferocious nature the former archbishop had so expertly hidden. There, it was said that the small, stocky man wolfed down more alcohol than any of the… — Charles River Editors Copy Share
“When Lee heard of Jackson’s injuries, he sent his religious leader Chaplain Lacy to Stonewall with the message, “Give him my affectionate regards, and… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“For the first time, the Ottoman Empire was forced to recognize the full independence of a nation, not because of a war with a… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“Midway was merely a convenient target chosen by Yamamoto to draw the Americans out, and both sides’ objectives were attritional attempts to degrade their opponents’ carrier units. Nevertheless, the result created space for the Americans to begin their cautious advance back across the Pacific. This started with Guadalcanal and proceeded along two axes. Nimitz would command the larger and predominantly… — Charles River Editors Copy Share
“Paris had heard of Helen of Sparta’s beauty, and though she was married to the warlike Menelaus, he immediately consented to awarding Aphrodite the apple. “Discord” was brought to the Mediterranean. 10 years later, the world was still feeling the effects of Aphrodite’s actions and Menelaus’s response. The Greeks and Trojans had been well matched, and the Greeks just could… — Charles River Editors Copy Share
“Although cargo shipments of precious metals as described here seem quite fanciful to modern ears, archaeologists recently excavated a shipwreck at Uluburun with a… — Charles River Editors Copy Share Image
“The British government in 1807 had issued the “Orders in Council,” which enforced a naval blockade against France, and with a shortage of seamen to man the Royal Navy, Britain also felt justified in stopping and sometimes firing on ships flying the American flag in the name of apprehending escaped British sailors. The other main cause of war was distress… — Charles River Editors Copy Share
“Fearing for his life, Urban stayed put. He publicly blasted the French cardinals and attempted to revoke their titles, breaking records by appointing 26 new cardinals in a single day. A jurist named Baldus jumped to Urban's defense in a treatise, in which he stated that there were “no grounds on which the cardinals could repudiate a pope once they… — Charles River Editors Copy Share
