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| San Gabriel Dig Site Offers New Insight into California History February 02, 2012, Pasadena Star-News (CA) by Lauren Gold California's industrial revolution has its roots in a small grist mill built by an ex-pirate on a 40-acre farm at the San Gabriel Mission, archaeologists said. ...The mill was finished in 1823 and was built by Boston native Joseph Chapman. He became involved with pirates and was eventually captured by the Spanish and employed as a builder for the California Mission system. |
| 'That's the Way to do it!' Punch and Judy Turns 350 February 01, 2012, Deutsche Welle (Germany) by Daniel Zylbersztajn London marks the 350th anniversary of the Punch and Judy puppet shows this spring. Punch and his German counterpart Kasperl have their origins in 16th-century Italy although things have changed a lot since then. When Mr. Punch comes out on the puppet stage, he's instantly recognizable with his clownish grin, glowing red cheeks and a long, hooked nose. |
| Madrid Museum Finds 'Copy of Mona Lisa by da Vinci Pupil' February 01, 2012, The Telegraph (UK) by Fiona Govan A painting thought to be the earliest copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and painted alongside the original has been discovered in Madrid's Prado museum, giving a fresh insight into what the model for one of the world's most famous paintings actually looked like. The discovery, hailed as one of the most remarkable in recent times, was made during conservation work and is believed to reveal how the famous sitter would have looked at the time. |
| Tennessee Group Wants History Altered January 31, 2012, The Independent Florida Alligator by Francie Weinberg The president of the Gainesville Tea Party said she "would probably disagree" with the Tennessee Tea Party's push to remove slavery from textbook references that make the Founding Fathers look bad. "If they're asking for an accurate rendition of what happened, then yes, I'll support what they have to do, but I do not support a whitewash," said Laurie Newsom, president of the Gainesville Tea Party. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Tennessee Tea Party wants to remove material from textbooks so "no portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers." |
| Centuries-Old Bones Could Halt Danville Industrial Project January 31, 2012, GoDanRiver.com by Denice Thibodeau A 158-acre tract of land acquired by the Danville Industrial Development Authority for development as industrial sites has turned up some surprises — remnants of a plantation dating back to the 1700s, as well as signs of outbuildings and a cemetery. The property is located on Gypsum Road, with road frontage on Celotex Way as well. It stretches back to the banks of the Dan River, and was purchased from Ben Coleman for $635,182 in the fall of 2011. In 1783, Thomas Fearn — one of the original trustees of the Town of Danville — began acquiring property in that area, ultimately owning more than 1,200 acres. By 1823, the property had changed hands and his descendants had scattered around the country. Now, the only signs left of the Fearn family at the site are foundations and some bits of floors for the main house, what appears to be a separate kitchen, barns and other outbuildings, slave quarters, a cistern, a well and outhouses. |
| Escaped Slaves may have Lived in Great Dismal Swamp January 29, 2012, The Virginian-Pilot by Bill Bartel It's the closest thing to a clearing of dry LAND that can be found in the deep interior of the Great Dismal Swamp. Less than 20 acres of ground where the dense, shallow roots of tall beech trees help thin the forest by keeping other trees from sprouting nearby. |
| Monument for Black Revolutionary War Patriots Readied for Senate Consideration January 28, 2012, The Examiner by Charles Pekow A monument in Washington, DC to honor slaves and free blacks who fought in the American Revolution came once step closer to getting built. Legislation (S. 883) to authorize such a project was reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar. Similar legislation failed in the last Congress, however. |
| The Capitol Architect Wanted to Reanimate George Washington’s Dead Body January 28, 2012, io9 by Lauren Davis George Washington may have been America's first president, but was he nearly America's first zombie-in-chief? If William Thornton, physician and designer of the US Capitol, had had his way, Washington's body would have been subjected a scientific experiment designed to bring the deceased former president back to life. |
| Tutan-Cat-Mun: 18th Century Mummified Kitty Falls out of Ceiling as House is Being Renovated January 27, 2012, The Daily Mail (UK) by David Baker Bringing old homes up to scratch is nothing out of the ordinary for property renovators Andrew and George Hartley, But this professional couple nearly jumped out their skin when greeted by their most recent form of preservation - as a mummified cat fell on them. The couple got a face full of the ancient feline as they removed ceilings from an 18th century property in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. |
| Scale Models Show 17th Century France in 3D January 27, 2012, EuroNews by Staff VIDEO: Way before satellite photography and Google Earth, these intricate models give an amazing birds-eye view of French cities and forts from the 17th century. |
| President John Tyler’s Grandson Says Newt Gingrich is a 'Jerk' January 27, 2012, Politico by Mackenzie Weinger President John Tyler’s grandson Harrison Tyler, 84, says he’s not impressed with the state of politics today and particularly thinks Newt Gingrich is a “big jerk” for his three marriages. Incredibly, President Tyler, who was born in 1790 and became the 10th president in 1841, has two grandchildren still alive today. His grandson, Harrison Ruffin Tyler, currently maintains the Tyler presidential home, Sherwood Forest Plantation Foundation in Charles City, Va. |
| New Exhibit Explores Jefferson’s Slave Ownership January 26, 2012, The Associated Press by Brett Zongker Thomas Jefferson wrote "all men are created equal" to declare U.S. independence from Britain, yet he was also a lifelong slave owner who freed only nine of his more than 600 slaves during his lifetime. That contradiction between ideals and reality is at the center of a new exhibit opening Friday as the Smithsonian Institution continues developing a national black history museum. It offers a look at Jefferson's Monticello plantation in Virginia through the lives of six slave families and artifacts unearthed from where they lived. |
| Thou Eunuch of Language January 26, 2012, Letters of Note by Robert Burns In 1791, riled by a recent review that criticised a supposed abundance of "obscure language" and "imperfect grammar" in his poetry, celebrated Scottish poet Robert Burns channelled his anger and wrote the following magnificent letter to the critic responsible. It really is a thing of beauty. |
| Former President John Tyler’s (1790-1862) Grandchildren Still Alive January 25, 2012, The Sideshow by Eric Pfeiffer Former President John Tyler, born 221 years ago, still has two living grandchildren. The one-term president isn't a well-known historical figure; he's probably best remembered for helping to push through the annexation of Texas in 1845, shortly before leaving office. So, how is it possible that a former president who died 150 years ago would still have direct descendents alive today? As it turns out, the Tyler men were known for fathering children late in life. And that math is pretty outstanding when added up: |
| Liz Taylor-Owned Dutch Master Sells for $2M in NYC January 25, 2012, The Associated Press by Staff A 17th-century portrait that once hung in the living room of Elizabeth Taylor’s Bel Air home _ and was only recently reattributed to the Dutch master Frans Hals _ sold at auction Wednesday for $2 million. “Portrait of a Man,” painted in the early 1630s, went to a buyer bidding by phone at Christie’s sale of Old Masters. |
| Cabinet of Wonders: Personal Collection of Alfred Russel Wallace January 25, 2012, LiveScience by Lisa-Joy Zgorski "This is why I have the best job in the world," exclaimed Cynthia Sagers, a program manager from the National Science Foundation, when given the opportunity to see, smell, and even touch the very specimens that British naturalist and field biologist Alfred Russel Wallace collected nearly two centuries ago. The bugs, butterflies, moths, shells, botanical samples and personal mementoes are a treasure trove of evidence not only of the man himself — an explorer, collector and scientist who was a contemporary of Charles Darwin — but also of his scientific theories on geographical biodiversity and natural selection that were foundational to many fields of modern biological science. |
| City: Protect Historical Artifacts January 24, 2012, The St. Augustine Record (FL) by Peter Guinta Outrage over TV reality show sparked commission action Desiring to protect the city’s historic resources, St. Augustine City Commission this week passed a resolution reminding its residents that local archeological artifacts require protection from exploitation. |
| How the European Conquest Affected Native Americans January 23, 2012, European Commission by Staff Researchers from Germany and the United States suggest that the European conquest triggered the loss of more than half the Native American population. The results of their study provide new insight into the demise of the indigenous population. Experts recognise that Native Americans died while at war or due to diseases when Europeans first arrived in the Americas; the question this latest study addresses is how the overall population was impacted by the conquest. Extensive genetic analysis proved that a transient contradiction in population sizes by some 50% occurred approximately 500 years ago. The findings substantiate historical records indicating how the European settlers impacted the peoples of North and South America: diseases, wars, famine and slavery all played a part. The study was presented in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
| Tennessee Tea Party ‘Demands’ that References to Slavery be Removed from History Textbooks January 23, 2012, ThinkProgress by Marie Diamond In 2010, the conservatives who controlled the Texas Board of Education caused an uproar when they made radical changes to the history curriculum for the state’s 4.8 million public school students. The changes included referring to the country’s first black president as “Barack Hussein Obama,” and requiring students to “contrast” Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ inaugural address with Abraham Lincoln’s philosophical views. To whitewash one of the darkest practices in America history, conservatives proposed that textbooks refer to the slave trade as the “Atlantic triangular trade.” Now Tennessee Tea Party members are taking their efforts a step further and trying to eliminate references to slavery in American history textbooks. Salon reports that Tea Partiers who fetishize America’s founders are “demanding” that students not be taught that many of them owned slaves: |
| To See or Not to See? Shakespeare's Death Mask on Display for the First Time in Macabre Exhibition of Medical Artefacts January 23, 2012, The Daily Mail (UK) by George Mair and Rebecca Seales A cast taken from the face of William Shakespeare is to go on display for the first time later this month. The bard's death mask will be shown at the University of Edinburgh's Anatomy Museum from January 28, when it unveils a macabre collection of medical artefacts to the public. Presently on loan from the William Ramsay Henderson Collection, the famous face will soon find a permanent home at the museum. |
| Hms Victory 'Set to be Recovered' from Seabed January 22, 2012, BBC (UK) by Staff The wreck of HMS Victory, a predecessor of Nelson's famous flagship, was found near the Channel Islands in 2008. The British warship, which went down in a storm in 1744 killing more than 1,000 sailors, could contain gold coins worth an estimated £500m. |
| Residents Evacuated as Fire Breaks out at 18th Century Building January 21, 2012, The Independent (Ireland) by Breda Heffernan and Mark O'Regan RESIDENTS were evacuated from a five-storey apartment block after a fire broke out yesterday afternoon. ...The traditional stone building and former wool store dates from the 18th century. Yesterday, 20ft-high flames rose from the building while thick, black smoke hung over the surrounding area. |
| 187YO Shipwreck Found off Gladstone January 20, 2012, ABC News (Autralia) by Staff Divers have found the remains of a 187-year-old shipwreck in waters off Gladstone in central Queensland. For the past fortnight, divers have been scouring the ocean floor 450 kilometres off the Queensland coast for the wreck of the Royal Charlotte |
| Anthropology Researcher Searches for Slave-Era Shipwreck January 19, 2012, The GW Hatchet (DC) by Liza Dee Anthropology professor Stephen Lubkemann thinks his planned trek into the sea will soon help shape the understanding of one of the ugliest aspects of human history: the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Lubkemann has spent two years pinpointing the site of a shipwreck near Cape Town, South Africa that killed more than 200 slaves being transported between East Africa and the Americas during the 1790s. If he reaches the sunken ship, he says the findings will add the first archaeological evidence to the 18th-Century slave trade. |
| Poe Fans Call an End to 'Toaster' Tradition January 19, 2012, The Associated Press by Sarah Brumfield Edgar Allan Poe fans waited long past a midnight dreary, but it appears annual visits to the writer's grave in Baltimore by a mysterious figure called the "Poe Toaster" shall occur nevermore. ...Poe, who was born in Boston, lived in Baltimore, London, New York, Philadelphia and Richmond, Va. During a visit to Baltimore in 1849, he died under mysterious circumstances at age 40. The cause of his death has been the subject of much speculation over the years, with theories ranging from murder to rabies. |
