America
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Give Me Your John Hancock
The name John Hancock is synonymous with one’s signature. He was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence and legend has it that he purposely made his signature large and legible, so that King George III would be sure to read it clearly. Born on January 23, 1737 in Braintree (now Quincy), Province of Massachusetts Bay he was one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies; thanks to an inheritance from his successful mercantile uncle. Before his death on October 8, 1793, he was the 1st and 3rd Governor of Massachusetts.
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Founding Father Samuel Adams
One of the signers of The Declaration of Independence and an organizer of the Boston Tea Party, it is clear that Samuel Adams was a staunch opponent of Great Britain. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 27, 1722 and President John Adams was his second cousin. He was a graduate of Harvard and went on to become a U.S. Governor, Statesman before his death on October 2, 1803.
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Paul Revere Rides
On April 18, 1775, it was Dr. Joseph Warren who instructed Paul Revere to alert Adams and Hancock that the British Army was on the way to arrest them. On a borrowed horse Revere set out as messenger on his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington.
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History Today: The Alamo
Texas was once a Mexican state, when a push for independence from within became strong; a desire to be free from the rule of the Mexican government. Colonel William Travis was seen as a vital leader of this uprising. The Texas revolution began in 1835 and in February of 1836 Travis was appointed as a lieutenant colonel of the San Antonio troops. It was on February 23, that a surprise arrival of the Mexican army under General Santa Ana sent the Texas troops retreating into the old Spanish mission, the Alamo. It was there that they sought refuge from the 5,000 soldiers of the Mexican army. The Alamo defenders were 186 small. Knowing they were seriously outnumbered, Travis…
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History of Skid Row
The term “Skid Row” derives from Seattle. Washington, where “skid roads” were the places that loggers slid their cut timber to the ports for shipment. By the 1930’s the term referred to the rundown areas of cities, characterized by bars, brothels and the like originally attracted by loggers, and began to include the presence of homeless and other extremely low income populations.
