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Today in History

Big Boy 4014 is a Big Deal

June 24, 2026 - Hundreds of thousands of railroad fans and history buffs are grateful to Union Pacific for their decision many years ago to restore their massive steam locomotive, the 4014 built in 1941, to her glory in time for America's 250th birthday. After completing her west coast...

July 02

2019: Lee Iococca, former CEO of Chrysler and auto executive responsible for introducing the Ford Mustang when he worked for Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, died. He was 94.

1881: President James Garfield was shot at a train station in Washington D.C. He died the following September.

1863: The lines of the Battle of Gettysburg, now in its second day, were drawn. Confederate General Robert E. Lee ordered General James Longstreet to attack the Union's southern flank, aiming for the hills. These hills, known as the Little Round Top and Big Round Top, had been left unoccupied. From Little Round Top, Union General G. K. Warren perceived the Confederate plan to attack in time to rouse his men to take the strategic hill, fending off the Confederate attack. (Source: Library of Congress)

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Big Boy 4014 is a Big Deal

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June 24, 2026 - Hundreds of thousands of railroad fans and history buffs are grateful to Union Pacific for their decision many years ago...

Pressure, New Movie About the D-Day Weather Forecast, Opens

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May 29, 2026 - Pressure, the new movie about the D-Day weather forecast, opens today in theaters nationwide. Brendan Fraser stars as Gen. Dwight...

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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