100 Year Old Dear Santa Letter

In 1992, a Dublin, Ireland homeowner discovered this 100 year old letter to Santa Claus in his fireplace. The letter, written in 1911, managed to survive with minor damage, given its' age and exposure to the fireplace's use. In that era, fireplaces were built with two shelves in the interior. The letter was found on one of the shelves.

D-Day June 6,1944

The D-Day attack on Normandy Beach on June 6, 1944 is seen in this well narrated actual video footage. Click the link below to watch.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/160aLr/www.youtube.com/watch%253Fv%253DY_qeCNg8fO0

Ted Williams Home Run Seat

On June 9, 1946 Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox hit the longest home run ever hit in Boston's Fenway Park. A lone red seat in section 42, row 37, seat 21 marks the spot in the right center field stands where Williams' 502 foot home run landed.

Ultimate Forgiveness

Pope John Paul II is pictured on December 27, 1983, meeting with Mehmet Ali Agca of Turkey in his jail cell in Rome. Agca was imprisoned for his attempted assassination of The Pontiff on May 13, 1981 in Vatican City's St Peter's Square. In addition to granting the would-be assassin his forgiveness, John Paul kept in touch with Agca's family over the years. At the conclusion of their brief visit, Agca kissed The Pontiff's ring and wished him well.

Longfellow's Birthplace

Photographed in Portland, Maine c1900, the house where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in 1807, when Portland was actually part of Massachusetts. 

Radio School - 1920

Taken at the National Radio School in Washington, DC in 1920, this picture displays the type of high tech equipment utilized in those days.

Save, Save, Save!

This photo shows the 1918 version of today's ATM machine. Made to resemble a bank building, it was put out by the 'Bankers Automatic Receiving Teller Co.' in Washington, DC. One of its' primary uses was in the local public schools, where children were strongly encouraged to save on a regular basis.

The First Stanley Cup

The Montreal Hockey Club of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) was the first team to officially win the Stanley Cup on March 17, 1893. Donated in 1892 by the Governor General of Canada,  Lord Stanley of Preston, the Stanley Cup was to be awarded to the amateur hockey team that finished their season with the best record. Today's version of the cup features several layers of rings bearing the names of players on the winning teams, topped off by the original bowl, which can be seen in this picture.

Together Forever

On April 30, 1945, with Allied troops closing in, Adolf Hitler is pictured with his wife Eva Braun. The couple married that day, and shortly after they would both commit suicide in Hitler's bunker. Braun would do so by biting on a cyanide capsule, while Hitler shot himself.

An Overdue Apology

In 1942 during World War II, Japanese Americans were incarcerated in internment camps throughout the country. Fifty plus years later, President Bill Clinton issued the above letter of apology to all those Japanese American citizens and their families.

The Boardwalk

The famous Atlantic City Boardwalk is pictured in the Summer of 1920.

It's A Small World

A few days before their wedding, Alex Voutsinas and his fiancee Donna were looking through her family's pictures from her childhood days. Alex was holding a picture taken at Disney World in which Donna, then 5 years old, was posing with her two brothers and a Disney character. To the left in the background, he then noticed a man resembling his father, pushing a stroller with  him in it. As it turned out, they in fact had crossed paths 20 years before they ever met.

Donna met Alex through work and not realizing their incredible coincidence, they fell in love and eventually married. What makes this even more unbelievable is that they both lived in different countries at the time; he in Canada, and her in Florida. Now, after 8 years together with 3 children, they  decided to share their story.

Avoiding Capture

On April 20, 1945, in order to avoid capture by approaching American troops, Leipzigs Deputy Mayor and Municipal Treasurer Dr. jur. Ernst Kurt Lisso (at desk), his wife Renate Stephanie (in chair) and their daughter Regina Lisso all committed suicide in the New Town Hall by taking cyanide.

Then And Now

This ad appeared in the March 19, 1979 edition of Le Point. In this simple ad that then pictured one of America's most identifying landmarks, we are poignantly reminded now of her painful history. 

World War I Color Pics

This photograph was taken on the western front of World War I. While color photography was around prior to 1903, it was the Lumiere brothers, Auguste and Louis who would patent the process in 1903 and develop the first color photos of World War I in 1907.

President John Hanson

On March 1, 1781, our country was formed and the Articles of Confederation were adopted. With that, Congress unanimously chose John Hanson as the first president of the United States. Under the Articles, the president was allowed to only serve one term, and Hanson was succeeded by six other presidents between 1783 and 1788. Ultimately, the Articles of Confederation never worked properly, and so the Constitution that we follow today was adopted, and George Washington was elected the first president under that Constitution. In history, the first seven presidents remain forgotten.

The Kennedy Coconut

Lieutenant John F. Kennedy served as commander of the PT109 during World War II. His boat was struck and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, stranding him and his crew in the Solomon Islands. Kennedy carved a message on a coconut shell which was delivered by a native to the PT base a Rendova, and they were all eventually rescued. 

The message read:       NAURO ISL
                                   COMMANDER...NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT...
                                   HE CAN PILOT...11 ALIVE
                                   NEED SMALL BOAT...KENNEDY

Kennedy later had the coconut shell encased in a clear paperweight, which he kept on his desk in the Oval Office.

Poe House

Edgar Allen Poe's mother's house, Richmond, VA, circa 1930

Abu Simbel

The Great Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, built in approximately 1244 BC, is located in southern Egypt on the shores of the Nile River. In 1813, J.L. Burckhardt discovered the temple, but was unable to locate the entrance, because a large portion of the front of the structure was buried in sand. In 1964, because of the construction of the Aswan Dam, the temple was in danger of being submerged deep underwater in what would become Lake Nasser. It was decided that the historic structure would be completely disassembled and moved 65 meters higher up the cliff and 200 meters back in order to save it. The entire project would cost 40 million dollars and would take four years to complete. 

His Final Picture

Bill Biggart was a photo journalist working in New York City on September 11, 2001 where he was killed when Tower #2 of the World Trade Center collapsed. When his photographic equipment was recovered from Ground Zero, the digital card from  his camera was found to be intact. Shown below, Tower #2 falling, which proved to be the last image recorded on Bill Biggart's camera before he perished.

Craving Freedom

With history developing constantly around us, today I feel it appropriate to recognize the historic event that is taking place in Egypt before our very eyes. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian citizens have found themselves protesting in Cairo's Tahrir Square, and at other locations throughout the country over the past two weeks demanding changes in their government. Refusing to leave until their key demand was met, today President Hosni Mubarak announced that he would step down after 30 years in office, meeting the protestors' demand.

With the exception of a brief period of violence instilled by Mubarak supporters, the protesters accomplished their goal with totally peaceful demonstrations. The Egyptian Army has been assigned to run the country until democratic style elections can be scheduled in the near future. 

Paul Revere House

Undated photograph of the Paul Revere House in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Boston Molasses Disaster

On January 15, 1919, a massive storage tank at the Purity Distilling Company in Boston's North End filled with 2,300,000 gallons of molasses exploded, injuring 21 people and killing 150. The high pressure from the explosion created an 8 to 15 foot wave which traveled at 35 miles per hour destroying anyone and anything in its' path. Local folklore states that on a hot summer day one can still smell the molasses.

Presidential Visit

Lincoln's Son

Tad Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln, is pictured in a Union uniform in the early 1860's. 

His 30 Year War

Hiroo Onoda is pictured in 1974 surrendering to authorities in the Philippines. In December of 1944 during WWII, Onoda, an intelligence officer, originally was assigned to Lubang Island in the Philippines. There he was to 'do whatever he could' to hamper enemy efforts to take the island. He and three other Japanese soldiers survived an attack on the island, and managed to escape into the nearby mountains.

Onoda held up there for the next 30 years, never knowing that the war was over. During  that time, his three fellow soldiers died, and repeated efforts to find him included dropping leaflets, which he believed were fake. Hiroo Onoda had told Norio Suzuki, a college student who had met up with him a few years earlier, that the only way he would surrender would be to his commanding officer. In February of 1974, Suzuki returned to Lubang Island with Onoda's former commanding officer, who persuaded him to surrender.  

The Afghan Girl

The cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic featured this picture of an Afghan girl taken at a Pakistani refugee camp. The 12 year old had been orphaned  after the Russians had invaded her homeland in 1984, killing both her parents. Journalist Steve McCurry was covering the war torn area for the magazine, and he would eventually photograph the girl who would become known around the world as simply the Afghan Girl. 

Sharbat Gula is pictured in 2002  after Steve McCurry returned to Afghanistan and successfully located the then 29 year old mother of three and her family. Up until that time, neither Gula nor her husband had ever heard of or seen the 1985 photograph. 

1917 WWI Draft Card

George Herman "Babe" Ruth's World War I draft card (1917)

The Eduard Bohlen

The Eduard Bohlen ran aground in heavy fog on September 5, 1909 along the Skeleton Coast of Namibia. Over the years, the wreck sits half burried in the sand, a result of having drifted far inland.

Madame Curie

Marie Curie won the Nobel Peace Prize for physics and chemistry, the only woman ever to do so for both categories. She did so for her discovery of the theory of radioactivity. Her work kept her constantly exposed to radiation throughout her working life, contributing to her death on July 4, 1934 from aplastic anemia. She was 66 years old. To this day, her papers have been stored in special lead lined boxes, and anyone wishing to research them must do so wearing protective clothing.

This Is Not A Drill

The U.S.S. Ranger's Naval Dispatch from the Commander in Chief Pacific (CICPAC) announcing Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December, 1941.