The rich tradition of the sea includes the beliefs and practices of mariners who traversed the globe in pursuit of wealth and adventure, many of which have become part of everyday life. The language of sailors has flavored everyday dialect with a liberal dose of salt, often unknown to those expressing themselves in everyday idioms.…
Author: Larry Holzwarth
In July 1969 – five decades ago, and just eight years after President Kennedy challenged the United States to land a man on the moon – Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin accomplished the task to international fanfare. They were of course just the tip of the sword. The lunar landings were a massive accomplishment, supported…
The United States remains a young country in relation to the rest of the world, its oldest shrines and historical places but recent stepping stones in the march of time. St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied city on the North American continent, was founded by the Spanish in 1565. That same year a Swiss…
When the soldiers of Rome first encountered the Sphinx they gazed upon an ancient structure which was already older than the ruins of the ancient Roman Empire are today. Staring with mouths no doubt agape in wonder, they likely formulated questions which for over two millennia have remained largely unanswered. What was it? Who built…
Despite the current debate over sources exerting undue influence on elections in America, and regardless of one’s level of outrage over reports of such influence, the use of less than savory activities to sway voters is been as American as cherry pie, as history plainly recounts. Means which were legal, quasi-legal, or clearly illegal have…
The Smithsonian Institution is often called America’s attic, and within its vast collections can be found items ranging from mundane to utterly unique. Over 150 million items are contained within the Institution’s collections, scattered throughout its many museums, affiliated museums, temporarily displayed at other locations on loan, or carefully stored. It should be no surprise…
The Founding Fathers too often appear to us across the sea of time as rigid, stern, and unemotional men, prone to piety in thought and deed. They gaze at us from cold marble statues and aging portraits, upright and correct in manners and morals. Time and legend has dehumanized them. In fact they were, for…
Americans have always had a love-hate relationships with outlaws, from the folk heroes of the Old West to the Mafiosi of the 20th century and beyond. Jesse James was the subject of dime novels depicting him as a heroic figure long before he was killed by Bob Ford. Wyatt Earp was well acquainted with both…
In 1797 an act of Congress created the United States Navy and authorized the construction of six frigates to fill the role of its capital ships. Three of the frigates were designed to be the heaviest and most powerfully armed ships of their type ever built. They were President, United States, and Constitution. A fourth,…
Since the end of the Second World War the escape activities of Allied troops and airmen in German custody as prisoners of war has been depicted in film, television, and literature, often by men who were part of the escape activities themselves. Hidden tunnels, forged papers, ingenious inventions to aid the men attempting to flee…
The history of civilization is replete with examples of humanity improving the world in which it lives. Through ingenuity, imagination, and hard work, humanity has spanned rivers, built roads, erected cities, and created the infrastructure to connect them. Some projects took centuries to complete; others were finished with alacrity, driven by immediate needs. Many were…