In 1940, Jackson Doane, of Binghamton, unearthed a packet of letters, a ring and a picture in his family’s attic from Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, the older sister of Jackson’s great-grandmother. She was a family member that seemed to be little spoken about — and little known. In 1976, Jackson read those letters, discovering that theyContinue reading “Sarah Rosetta Wakeman aka Lyons Wakeman: A Woman’s Life as a Man in the Civil War”
Category Archives: event & history
Black and White Photos of the New York Auto Show in 1965
The New York International Auto Show is an annual auto show that is held in Manhattan in late March or early April. It is held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. It usually opens on or just before Easter weekend and closes on the first Sunday after Easter. The show has been held annually sinceContinue reading “Black and White Photos of the New York Auto Show in 1965”
14 Stunning Colorized Photos of Legendary Soviet Female Snipers From WWII, Including One Dubbed ‘Lady Death’ Who Killed 309 Nazis
Stunning colorized images have given new life to WWII female snipers who protected their territory against German attacks, including the most successful female sniper in history, Lyudmila Pavlichenko also known as ‘Lady Death’. The photographs were colorized by Moscow artist Olga Shirnina. “There are very few [color or colorized] images with Red Army soldiers, IContinue reading “14 Stunning Colorized Photos of Legendary Soviet Female Snipers From WWII, Including One Dubbed ‘Lady Death’ Who Killed 309 Nazis”
Portraits of Archduke Ludwig Viktor, an Openly Homosexual Younger Brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria
Archduke Ludwig Viktor Joseph Anton of Austria (1842–1919) was the youngest child of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria, and as such was the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I. He had a military career, as was usual for archdukes, but did not take part in politics. HeContinue reading “Portraits of Archduke Ludwig Viktor, an Openly Homosexual Younger Brother of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria”
Historic Image of Jack Daniel Seated Next to George Green, the Son of Nathan “Nearest” Green, ca. 1904
There is an interesting picture that hangs in Mr. Jack Daniel’s old office. It’s a picture of Mr. Jack taken with his Distillery crew. What makes the portrait so intriguing is the gentleman sitting immediately to Jack’s right, an African-American worker. Given the time period when this photograph was taken – around the 1900s –Continue reading “Historic Image of Jack Daniel Seated Next to George Green, the Son of Nathan “Nearest” Green, ca. 1904”
The Story of the Famous Photograph of Captain Jonathan Walker’s Branded Hand, ca. 1845
The letters “S.S.,” for slave stealer, were branded on the hand of Captain Jonathan W. Walker, an ardent abolitionist, as shown in this dramatic photograph. Walker was born in Harwich on Cape Cod in 1799 and spent his early years between the shipyard and the sea. His life-long interest in the abolition of slavery probablyContinue reading “The Story of the Famous Photograph of Captain Jonathan Walker’s Branded Hand, ca. 1845”
Camille du Gast, the First Woman to Race Consistently at International Level
“The danger of an accident is always present in my mind, though I am never afraid.” – Camille du Gast, Motor Monthly, Dec. 1903. Camille du Gast (1868–1942) became the first woman to race consistently at international level in 1904. After witnessing the start of the Paris-Lyon road race, the following year she was satContinue reading “Camille du Gast, the First Woman to Race Consistently at International Level”
“Blown Away Guy”: The Most Iconic Music Image of All Time
Maxell cassette tape in 1980 created the all-time iconic music image that will last far into the future, the “Blown Away Guy.” In the 1980s, Maxell became an icon of pop culture when it produced advertisements popularly known as “Blown Away Guy” for its line of audio cassettes. The campaign began as a two-page advertisingContinue reading ““Blown Away Guy”: The Most Iconic Music Image of All Time”
1923 Christie Monowheel, the Mother of All Monowheels
The product of the fertile imagination of a Professor E. J. Christie of Marion, Ohio, this gyroscopic unicycle was supposedly capable of speeds of up to 400 miles per hour, although at the time of an article from the April, 1923 issue of Popular Science, it had yet to be tested. To be fair, theContinue reading “1923 Christie Monowheel, the Mother of All Monowheels”
Scalped in 1867 by Cheyenne in Nebraska, Here’s the Story Behind William Thompson’s Scalp
Scalping is often depicted in old-timey cowboy-and-Indian movies with lots of quavering music and dramatic pauses. But then you see the real scalp under a bell jar and it isn’t so melodramatic anymore. William Thompson’s scalp, archived at the Main Library in Omaha, Nebraska, looks more like some sort of rodent than an impactful partContinue reading “Scalped in 1867 by Cheyenne in Nebraska, Here’s the Story Behind William Thompson’s Scalp”