What happened on this day in history: St. Valentine is beheaded, Malcolm X's home is firebombed, and more events from February 14th.270 C.E.: Saint Valentine Is Beheaded A Roman priest named Valentine is beaten with clubs and beheaded. Valentine had drawn the ire of the Roman emperor Claudius by continuing to marry young couples even after Claudius had forbidden it in an attempt to lure more men into the Roman army. Read More...
What happened on this day in history: Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn, Nellie Bly completes her journey around the world in 72 days, and more landmark events from January 25th.41 A.D.: Claudius Is Declared Emperor Of Rome Claudius is declared emperor of Rome following the assassination of Caligula, his nephew, by the Praetorian Guard. Though sickly and studious, Claudius proved to be an able ruler who completed Rome’s annexation of Britain. Read More...
While smallpox blankets may be a popularly accepted truth in American history, there is just one recorded case of colonists giving disease-infected blankets to Indigenous Americans.The arrival of white settlers in North America devastated Indigenous populations. Over the centuries, the colonists warred with Indigenous Americans, gobbled up their land, and forced them onto reservations. But did they also deliberately infect Indigenous Americans with smallpox blankets?
Though the story of the blankets infected with smallpox looms large in American history, with one doctor calling it “bioterrorism,” the truth is complicated. Read More...
