Days before an important conference in 1923, Arthur Compton was sitting in his room late one night. He was exhausted, but his mind kept racing about what his discovery meant. He knew that his theory would be huge, bigger than anything he had discovered in the past. Then he prayed. Deeply religious his whole life,…
Famous Collector Discovers ‘Something We’ve Never Seen Before’
Significant moments in history are often misremembered, even forgotten. Artifacts may be misplaced or discarded. For people like Nathan Raab, the misplaced and forgotten are his métier. Raab is a principal at The Raab Collection, a Pennsylvania-based business that specializes in discovery, purchase, and selling of rare historical documents and artifacts. Those pieces have ranged…
TV Series Review: ‘Chimerica’: What Happened to ‘Tank Man’?
June 4th represents the anniversary of the CCP’s massacre of democracy protesters on and around Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Thirty-four years after the 1989 mass killings, the world still does not know the identity of the man dubbed “Tank Man,” who stood in front of a column of tanks, then leaving the scene of the…
Book Review: ‘The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder’
Author David Grann is no stranger to writing engrossing and compelling historical narratives. His previous title, “The Lost City of Z,” was made into a 2016 film telling the tale of British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for an Amazonian civilization. “Killers of The Flower Moon” is scheduled for film release in October of…
Andrew J. Russell: The Great Railroad Photographer
Andrew J. Russell (1829–1902) grew up in the northeast pursuing the life of an artist. As he progressed artistically, he received numerous commissions from political and railroad figures to paint portraits, along with landscapes. He slowly moved into photography by using photos as references for his paintings instead of creating sketches. His move toward photography…
Words Were Her Weapon: ‘The Incomparable Hannah More’
While researching his book “Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery,” writer and radio host Eric Metaxas encountered one of Wilberforce’s staunchest allies and good friends, Hannah More (1745–1833). In a later book, “Seven Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness,” Metaxas revisits More and describes her in glowing terms. She…
James Clerk Maxwell: The Curious Mind of the Father of Modern Physics
It was said that there was nothing the young James Clerk Mazwell couldn’t decode. Curiosity drove him to figure out how locks and keys and other puzzles worked. Maxwell grew up in Scotland, and his eccentric ways and introverted personality in school made him the butt of jokes among his classmates; they laughed at him…
Profiles in History: Charles Francis Hall: From Publisher to Arctic Explorer
May 26, 2023
admin
American Essencearctic explorationArts & CultureBrightCharles Francis HallFranklin expeditionHistory
0 Comment
Charles Francis Hall (1821–1871) was born in Vermont, moved with his family as a child to New Hampshire, and then moved westward to Cincinnati when he married. It was in Cincinnati that he developed his entrepreneurial spirit by founding a seal-engraving business and then starting two newspapers, the Cincinnati Occasional and the Daily Press. During…
The American Exploring Expedition That Changed How We See the World
May 21, 2023
admin
American EssenceArts & CultureArts & TraditionBrightexpeditionHistoryLt. Charles WilkesWilkes Expedition
0 Comment
The 19th century was the Age of American Expansion. Twenty years after signing the Treaty of Paris in 1783, America signed the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the new nation. A year later, the Lewis and Clark Expedition began. Thirty years after this expedition, a journalist and explorer by the name of J. N….
Profiles in History: Edward Schieffelin: The Man Who Found His Tombstone
In the high desert of Arizona, just northwest of Tombstone, rests the tombstone of Edward Schieffelin (1847–1897). It is about 25 feet tall in the shape of a prospector’s claim. Its inscription reads: “Ed Shieffelin, died May 12, 1897, aged 49 years, 8 months. A dutiful son, a faithful husband, a kind brother, a true…
-
Recent Posts
-
Archives
- May 2025
- April 2025
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- September 2013
- July 2013
- March 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- December 1
-
Meta