Did Pyrrhic victories come from the Pyrrhic Wars?
You see it was the Pyrrhic Wars that led to the term “Pyrrhic victory”. These were wars fought by Pyrrhus, the King of Epirus. He was king of the Greek tribe, Molossians, from the royal house…
Gettysburg – what happened?
One important thing about this battle, in fact it is extraordinary, is that even though the battle was fought in and around the town only one citizen of Gettysburg was killed, Jennie Wade. However, she…
Would you date Khutulun, a descendant of Genghis Khan
Khutulun, a descendent of Genghis Khan, was a Mongol noblewoman, a wrestler, a feared warrior, and the most famous daughter of Kaidu, a cousin of Kublai Khan. Therefore, she was also the great-great-granddaughter of Genghis…
Did you know that coffee originally came from Ethiopia?
Yes, the little coffee bean originated from Ethiopia. Its history is fascinating. The coffee bean has been travelling around the globe for centuries, it has even been smuggled out of strict countries, stolen from royalty…
A naval battle in the middle of Africa, the Battle of Lake Tanganyika!
There are times in war when the actual fighting is an anti-climax, it is the logistics of getting a fighting force to the place of action, that wins it. An example of this is the…
Facts about the Battle of Britain
Did you know that ordinary men and women across the country played vital role in winning this battle? They were Air Raid Wardens, firefighters and even those in the Home Guard. However, don’t forget those…
The History of Recorded Music
Every school that puts on a History Portal Musical used to use a CD with both with backing track and show tracks. Today we all accept this as part of our lives, even though we…
Can you work out how big the world is?
Can your children work out how big the world is? They can. You see 2,000 years ago Eratosthenes actually worked it out. It would be a superb exercise to see if he was correct, which,…
1908 New York to Paris Race
The 1908 New York to Paris Race was a bizarre car race with the drivers attempting to drive from New York to Paris, westward! This meant they had to drive from New York City to…
The 1910 London to Manchester air race
In 1910 there was an air race between an Englishman and a French man. Why? It was all because in 1906 the Daily Mail issued a £10,000 challenge. However, it took until 1910 before…