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Today in History

Henry Ford Put the World on Wheels

Editor's note: I often marvel at the pace of invention and innovation in the early years of the 20th century. In December 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright conquered human, powered flight in an airplane they made at their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio and flew for the first time...

October 06

1981: Anwar Sadat, the president of Egypt, was assassinated. In 1978, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Israel's Prime Minister Begin, for the Camp David Accord (Peace Treaty) that was mediated by United States President Jimmy Carter.

1866: The first robbery of a moving train in a remote location took place in Indiana. A wave of train robberies followed. Train robberies became frequent in the 1870s and peaked in the 1890s. Specialists in this form of crime included the Reno brothers, who operated in southern Indiana; the Farringtons, whose escapades took them into Kentucky and Tennessee; and the Jesse James gang, who wreaked havoc upon rails in the Midwest. Hired by railroad companies anxious to protect themselves, Pinkerton detectives were seldom far behind the robberies. (Source: Library of Congress)

STAY CURRENT

25th Anniversary of 9/11 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania

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Editor’s Note: Sept. 14, 2026 – On September 11, 2001, I was producing a student news section within a major broadcast network’s website. While...

Independence One Draws Thousands at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh

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Aug. 10, 2026 – Independence One, Southwest Airlines’ tribute to the nationwide America250 celebration, recently attracted thousands of visitors when it was on display...

SCIENCE IN HISTORY

Pathfinder Pilot Recalls D-Day

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Editor's Note: In May 2019 I traveled to Oxford, Connecticut for media day hosted by the D-Day Squadron as they prepared to depart to...

See the Forest AND the Trees at Redwood National Park

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Editor's Note: In 2015, I visited a redwood forest in northern California for the first time. Before arriving at the edge of the forest,...

Take a Hike – Into a Cauldron!

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Editor's Note: In 2015, I visited Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California. Its history is the history of the National Park Service because...

Glass: a Hot and Cool Combo of Art and Science

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Editor's note: One of the hottest and coolest stories I have covered was my 2016 visit to the Toledo Museum of Art's Glass Pavilion...

Sneakers Have Soles – and Soul

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Editor's note: In December 2015 I learned of a new exhibit at the Toledo Museum of Art - The Rise of Sneaker Culture. Curated...

A Graphic Novel: On the Front Lines with Larry Lather*

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Editor's note: Feb. 11, 2026 - In 2020 as the pandemic unfolded, I decided to create a graphic novel about the importance of handwashing...

RECOMMENDED READING

Nancy Love: WASP Pilot

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May 22, 2026 - Nancy Love: WASP Pilot by Sarah Byrn Rickman (2019) is the story of...

Book Recommendation: The Berlin Candy Bomber

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March 20, 2026 - The Berlin Candy Bomber by Gail Halvorsen (2010, 244 pages) is Halvorsen's autobiography...

Book Recommendation: Rosa Parks: A Life

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March 17, 2026 - In the 1990s, Douglas Brinkley, author and historian, was searching for a definitive...