May 11th — May 11th 330 — Constantinople becomes capital of Roman Empire. Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor, moved the capital from Rome to an ancient city he renamed after himself. Constantinople flourished from the 5th through the 13th centuries as the wealthiest and most prominent city in the world. It stood between…

May 6th — May 6th 1861 — Arkansas and Tennessee secede from the Union. Jefferson Davis approves a bill declaring war. Some speculation. What if a weaker President, not Lincoln, would have said, “Ah, what the hell, go for it. We’ll be two nations, one slave and one free.” Where would we be…

May 1st — May 1st 1846 — Ida Pfeiffer begins trip around the world. Pfeiffer was an Austrian woman, born in 1797, who had possessed a wanderlust since she was a little girl. On this trip she sailed from Europe to South America, then on to Tahiti, China, India, Persia, the Russian empire…

April 30th — April 30th 1900 — Hawaiian Organic Act. This act established the Territory of Hawaii as part of the United States. The Hawaiian Kingdom and Queen Lili’uokalani had been overthrown in 1893 and the new government had lobbied for annexation by the U.S. The act granted U.S. citizenship to Hawaiians but…

April 25th — April 25th Anzac Day. For the countries of Australia and New Zealand, Anzac Day is a commemorative holiday the same as Memorial Day in America. Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. As part of the British Commonwealth, the two countries eagerly joined England at the start of…

April 15th — April 15th 1715 — Yamasee War. This was an uprising of the Yamasee Indian tribe against the British settlers in the colony of South Carolina. The Yamasee were resentful of unfair trading practices, encroachment upon their land and the depletion of wildlife. The war spread quickly and a number of…

April 9th — April 9th 1913 — First game at Ebbets Field. Charles Ebbets, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, built the ballpark and named it after himself. The Dodgers lost to Philadelphia in that first game. Called the most nostalgic of stadiums, Ebbets Field played host to the World Series nine times and…

April 8th — April 8th 1904 — Longacre Square renamed Times Square. New York City’s famous tourist destination was originally named after Long Acre Square in London. The change came about because of competition between daily newspapers. The New York Herald built a new large building on 34th St. and convinced the city…

April 7th — April 7th 1739 — Dick Turpin hung for horse stealing. Turpin was a famous outlaw in England, much like Jesse James in America or Ned Kelly in Australia. He started out as a butcher and became involved in crime when a gang brought cattle they had rustled to him. He…