June 1- History

I don't mean to brag, but I have quite an extensive iTunes collection. Miles Davis, Grateful Dead, Talking Heads-you name it, its on there. But with a great iTunes library, also comes embarrassment. One time, I was talking to my friend on the phone and listening to my iPod on shuffle, and it was blasting over the speakers, and then, to my dismay and utter chagrin, ABBA pops on. I had a good reason, it was on there for a mix tape I had previously made for my mom, but the deed had been done. So why am I telling you this? Well, it's not an interesting story, but is in fact a quintessential anecdote! You see, the song that popped on was Waterloo, and being the history buff that I am, decided to check out the lyrics to see if there was any relation to the famous battle; and in fact, there was! The songs states: My, my/ At Waterloo Napoleon did surrender. Anyway, you can see where this is going. So for my daily question, I ask: Where was the Battle of Waterloo and what was it about?













The Battle of Waterloo was Napoleon's last ditch attempt to save his thrown on his 100 days back from exile during the Waterloo Campaign. Napoleon was eventually forced to surrender. It was fought just South of Brussels, Belgium in Waterloo. The sides were basically France against all the other major European powers to protect their interests.

May 25- History

Since it is Memorial Day, I'm going to ask a question about said holiday. And also by happenstance, it is history day here at the Daily Question, so today's question will be about the history of Memorial Day. Originally called "Decoration Day", no one is really sure exactly where the holiday originated. Some say Waterloo, N.Y. Others, in the deep South. Anyway, New York was the first state to officially recognize the holiday. By World War 1, all the states in the Union celebrated Memorial Day. Now, we celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday in May (Passed by Congress with National Holiday Act.) But for my daily question, I ask: Which war is responsible for spurring the idea of a Memorial Day?






On May 5, 1868, General John Logan declared Memorial Day, and it was celebrated on May 30th. General Logan the national commander for the Grand Army of the Republic. He originally started it for the fallen veterans of the Civil War.
For more info visit: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

May 18- History

This question entails a lesser known country, so bear with me. A few weeks ago, I was sitting around the table with my family, and we were debating why my ancestors left Germany. (We weren't exactly sure about the timeline, so it was up to guessing.) There were famine theories, over population, all the classic 1800's migration grounds, or trying to pinpoint the main raison d'être, if you will. Anyway, one of the ideas I threw out there was that it was the fall of the Holy Roman Empire that drove them away. That really got things confusing, since the Holy Roman Empire existed at a completely different time period than the real Roman Empire. And since I didn't know enough about the Empire at the time, that theory was entirely smooshed. (It was incorrect anyway, because my ancestors left 40 years after the disestablishment, but that doesn't matter right now.) So now, without further ado nor rhetoric, I give, the daily question: When was the Holy Roman Empire established, and how long did it last to?







Lasting for almost 1,000 years, the Holy Roman Empire spanned from around 962 AD to 1806 AD. (One famous leader of this country was Charlemagne, but you don't hear much about it otherwise.)
For more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire

May 11- History

History is such a massive subject, sometimes it is difficult to delve deep into the catacombs of my brain to come up with a sufficient question for Mondays. So for my question today, I am going to ask a question about... PRE-history. A pre-historic question? Is this even possible? Alas my friends, it is, so with that sentiment I will be asking my question about Dinosaurs. Since science was making leaps and bounds in the 1700's, and fossils were being found, Dinosaurs became a hot topic. Were they cold or warm blooded? Tail carried up or down? Most of this we still don't know, but paleontologists (dinosaur researchers) are coming closer to finding the answers every day. (If you don't believe me, check out the New York Museum of Natural History) Anyway, one thing we were able to figure out over time was how to classify things using time periods. Scientists and historians just loving doing that. (Think Bronze Age, Romantic Era, Gilded Age) So even though you might think this question comes out of left-field, it really doesn't, considering all the things we use time periods for. And with that, I present this question: What are the three main periods in which Dinosaurs roamed the Earth?





The three are listed from most recent to least recent:
Cretaceous 65-145 million years ago
Jurassic 145-208 million years ago
Triassic 208-245 million years ago

May 4- History

For most of the 1800's, trouble had been brewing in America. Two distinct regions of the nation started growing apart, the North and the South. Ever since early colonization, these different regions were in for trouble. The Compromise of 1820 did little to offset the tension, neither did the compromise of 1850 or the Kansas- Nebraska act. New territories joining the union all the time didn't help it's problems either. And eventually, it came to war when the first Southern state seceded. Which brings me to my question of the day: Which was the first state to secede?





The first state to secede was South Carolina on December 20, 1860.

April 27- History

As it turns out, females have been vying for the seat of President of the United States. Before Hilary, other women have run for the seat in the past, but much longer before most people think. Which brings me to the question: Who was the first woman to run for president, and when? (Hint: It was before women had the right to vote.)





Victoria Woodhull ran in 1876, but lost. Suffrage was passed in 1920.