What was a “mechanic” in 18th and early 19th-century America?
The term “mechanic” in 18th and early 19th-century America referred to a craftsman, such as a potter, blacksmith, or housewright.
In 1789, George Washington was wealthy in land but short of cash. He borrowed £600 to travel from Mount Vernon to New York City, the site of his first inauguration.
This classified history of American involvement in Vietnam called the Pentagon Papers first began to run in the New York Times on June 13, 1971. Despite legal challenges from the White House, the Supreme Court permitted the Times and the Washington Post to continue publishing the documents. Leaked by former Pentagon employee Daniel Ells-berg, the…
Wolfman Jack’s real name was Robert Weston Smith. Born in Brooklyn, the disc jockey began broadcasting as the “Wolfman” in 1960 at border station XERF in Via Cuncio, Mexico, just north of Del Rio, Texas. His raunchy, outlaw pronouncements were heard widely in the U.S. but remained beyond the jurisdiction of the FCC.
Benjamin Franklin performed the kite experiment that proved lightning is electricity in 1751.
It was Brooklyn-born Shirley Chisholm (1924), who was the first black woman elected to Congress from that borough in 1969. In 1972, she ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for president.
Yes, an airplane has indeed crashed into the Empire State Building. On July 28, 1945, a U.S. Army bomber crashed into the New York landmark, killing 13.