History of the Holidays: the Backstory of Holidays

HISTORY OF THE HOLIDAYS Welcome to this year’s edition of the History of the Holidays. I’m Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian. From now through the Spring or vernal equinox, we celebrate most of the major secular and sacred holidays. This series recounts the backstory, the history behind the major American holidays, some of the…

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History of I Have A Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. — 59 Years Ago

I Have A Dream

HISTORY OF I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH It was 59 years ago that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. It continues to echo down the halls of history almost six decades later. On August 28, 1963, the occasion for his speech was the March on Washington at the…

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History of the 19th Amendment: Women’s Right to Vote, 102 Years Ago

Women's Equality Day

HISTORY OF THE 19TH AMENDMENT: WOMEN’S RIGHT TO VOTE Over a hundred years ago, on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted. This prohibited both the Federal and State governments from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States based on sex. Effectively, this meant that the…

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History of the California Gold Rush: How It Created the State

California Gold Rush

HISTORY OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH: HOW IT CREATED THE STATE On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald reported the news along the American East Coast of the California Gold Rush. It was not new news to those further West, as the gold rush had started in January and was publicized in San Francisco…

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History of Woodstock: Over 50 Years Ago

Woodstock

HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK August 15 marks the anniversary of the “3 Days of Peace & Music” held in 1969 at Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm in the rural town of Bethel, New York, southwest of the village of Woodstock. This outdoor music event, despite thundershowers, gave voice to the counterculture youth generation of its time.…

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History of the IBM PC: 41 Years Ago – Why It Was So Important

IBM PC

HISTORY OF THE IBM PC: 41 YEARS AGO Forty-one years ago, the IBM PC was released. On August 12, 1981, IBM announced its first “personal computer,” though it had previously been famous for its IBM System/370 mainframe computer. I operated one of these mainframes in a raised-floor data center in the early ’80s.

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History of Infinity Day: Why is it on August 8

Infinity Day

HISTORY OF INFINITY DAY: AUGUST 8 Infinity Day is also known as Universal & International Infinity Day. It is a commemoration held on the 8th day of the 8th month of each year to celebrate and promote Philosophy and Philosophizing for the ordinary person.   Why 8 is significant, apart from Infinity Day 8 planets…

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Italy Tour: Pisa in a Day

The_Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa_SB.jpeg

ITALY TOUR: PISA IN A DAY Can you visit Pisa on an Italy Tour in a single day? Yes, a day trip will do it quite easily. Cruise ships regularly dock at the nearby Port of Livorno.   Pisa is a Tuscan city passed through by the Arno River, which also passes through Florence further…

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Italy Tour: Naples in a Day? Pizza!

Pizza_Margherita

ITALY TOUR: NAPLES IN A DAY Can you visit Naples on an Italy Tour in a single day? Yes, but you are required by law to eat pizza while there.   I went to Naples by mistake (see my funny story here), but while there, I had some pizza; it was invented there. Very popular there…

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Italy Tour: Venice in a Day

Venice

ITALY TOUR: VENICE IN A DAY Can you visit the major sites of Venice on an Italy Tour in a single day? It is quite doable; “Venezia” is a smallish island.

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Italy Tour: Florence in a Day

Florence

ITALY TOUR: FLORENCE IN A DAY (OR TWO) Can you visit the major Florence sites on an Italy Tour in a single day? If you’re fast or have a bit more than a day. Think of Florence as “Renaissance with a capital R.” Thanks in part to the patronage of the Medici family, the city…

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Italy Tour: Rome in a Day

Rome

ITALY TOUR: ROME IN A DAY (OR TWO) A friend of mine is going on an Italy cruise and asked me to suggest some places for the cities where he has a day or two. I was going to put together a spreadsheet, but I didn’t have enough time, so I wrote this Italy Tour…

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