How long is the Gettysburg Address?
The speech known as the Gettysburg Address, given by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, runs 271 words, if you count “resting place” as two words.
Formally known as the “United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing,” the Shakers sect got its name from the involuntary trembling of its members during moments of religious ecstasy. Founded in England by Mother Ann Lee, the Shakers came to America in 1774. Lee’s followers practiced celibacy, communal ownership, and sacred dancing. By the…
A white amateur photographer named George Holliday happened to be on hand to videotape the scene of Rodney King’s beating by Los Angeles police on March 3, 1991, while testing his new camcorder. The images of black motorist King being kicked and clubbed by white officers shocked the country. A year later, news of the…
Confederate general Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson died of a battle wound, but it was not inflicted by a Union soldier. One of his own men accidentally shot him in the arm during the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 1-3, 1863. Although the battle was a Confederate victory, Jackson’s arm had to be amputated. The general contracted…
There have been sixteen chief justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Beginning with John Jay and running through William H. Rehnquist, who joined the court as an associate in 1972 and became chief justice in 1986.
There are seven states that are part of the Tennessee Valley: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The valley of the Tennessee River and its tributaries encompasses 41,000 square miles, with the largest part in Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created in 1933 to control floods, improve navigation, and bring…
The inventor of the Derringer was Henry Deringer, Jr., (1786-1868), spelled with one “r”. The Philadelphia gunsmith started making pistols in 1825 and came to specialize in the short-barreled, large-caliber pistol that bears his name. The extra “r” was added to “Derringer” by an imitator making similar pistols, and that became the accepted spelling.