History
George Washington Carver statute. Photo: Tonya Fitzpatrick
“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.”
— Moslih Eddin Saadi
No matter where you go, every place has a story and historical travel unpacks those stories.
From great struggles against oppressive forces to human ingenuity, the people and the places who have defined significant eras in human history move many to travel see where history was made. Travel through the historical places, see and observe what was then and how things are now. Every place has evolved over ages and become what it is today , hence you must visit history to understand the struggles and changes that came through with time.
Being able to walk where history was made, seeing the places that shaped legendary figures or experiencing life as our ancestors did, historical travel allows history to come to life in ways that transcend a history book.
Although the Times Square Ball made it’s debut on the roof of One Times Square in New York on December 31, 1906 to ring in 1907, Dick Clark began a new holiday tradition to televise the international event and surrounding celebrations as his first New Year’s Rockin’ Eve broadcast rang in 1973.
Just after midnight on Christmas morning, Allied and German troops engaged in World War I put down their weapons to sing Christmas carols. Soldiers exchanged presents of cigarettes, plum puddings, and even played friendly games of soccer. The so-called "Christmas Truce of 1914" was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare.
On this day in 2014, President Obama signed a proclamation regarding Wright Brothers Day in which he wrote in part: ...On December 17, 1903, two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, would write their own chapter in America’s long history of discovery and achievement.
On this day in history, December 6, 1773, the Boston Tea Party took place. Patriot leader Samuel Adams organized the "tea party" with about 60 members of the Sons of Liberty, his underground resistance group.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, in 1901, The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. The ceremony came on the fifth anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite and other high explosives.
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback on this day in 1872 became the first person of African-American descent to serve as the governor of a U.S. State. Pinchback served as the Governor of Louisiana, rising to the office after serving as the acting lieutenant governor. When the governor of Louisiana was impeached and removed from office, Pinchback became governor for the last few weeks of the term.
On December 4, 1872, the captain of the commercial sailing vessel Dei Gratia, spotted the American ship Mary Celeste sailing toward the Straights of Gibraltar. Captain David Reed Morehouse of the Dei Gratia knew the Mary Celeste had sailed out of New York only a few weeks before.
On this day in 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens was welcomed into the world as the sixth child of John Marshall and Jane Lampton Clemens in the small town of Florida, Missouri. Mark Twain was the sixth of seven children born to John Clemens, a lawyer, and his wife Jane, although three of Samuel’s siblings died in childhood.
On November 29, 1781, the crew of a British slave ship called The Zong, murdered over one hundred African slaves that were bound for Jamaica. The crew threw the 133 slaves overboard so that they could claim insurance for the “lost cargo”.
World Footprints will cross the border into the country of Jordan, uncover Dr. Suess's social and artistic legacies and share one of our "Best Of" features with filmmaker Ken Burns.
Fifty years ago today on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in an open-top convertible. He was struck by two bullets to the neck and the skull. Less than an hour and ½ after the President’s death, 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald was captured and charged with the murder and the nation was left to mourn. JFK Assassination was a dark day in American History.
Just off the coast of the land border with Albania, Corfu lies on the far northwest corner of Greece. Considered as the second largest Ionian islands along with its small surrounding islands. Many tours to Greece highlight Corfu as a must-visit destination because of its rich history and breathtaking landscapes. In Corfu’s history, this island was where a shipwrecked Odysseus sought refuge from the storms and where other travelers have rested. Its stunning bays, great hills, and lush coastline have drawn visitors since the 8th century BC. Corfu holds a historic location of strategic importance and has been fought over for centuries.
