In 1771, Ben Franklin’s common-law wife, Deborah Read Franklin shipped a live gift to young Georgiana Shipley, the daughter of British friends in London. It was an American gray squirrel…
Category: Historical quotes
An update on the origin of the term “a self-made man”…
If you start looking into claims about the origins of common phrases, you find that many of those claims are myths that have simply been repeated so long that they…
“The Mother of All Battles”
In the Middle East and Greece, the idiomatic expression “the mother of all —” has been used to describe the biggest, most extreme or ultimate examples of various things for…
“Politics is not an exact science,” said Bismark. But is it an art?
On this date in 1863, the Prussian statesman Otto von Bismark made a famous remark about politics to members of the Prussian parliament. “Politics is not an exact science,” he…
Is Nathan Hale’s legendary line “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country” a true quote, a misquote or pure fiction?
On September 22, 1776, during the Revolutionary War, a former school teacher named Nathan Hale was hanged by the British for being a rebel spy. According to legend, Hale uttered…
On this date in 1813, Oliver Hazard Perry launched two immortal naval quotations…
On September 10, 1813, American ships under the command of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry engaged a British naval squadron on Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Perry’s flagship was…
“Paris is worth a mass.” (“Paris vaut une messe.”)
From 1562 to 1598, a series of bloody wars was waged in France between Catholics and Protestant Huguenots, collectively called “The French Wars of Religion.” This particular series of European…
First they came for the Communists – or was it the Industrialists?
On October 14, 1968, Congressman Henry S. Reuss of Wisconsin made some remarks on the floor of Congress that included what became a very famous quotation – or, more accurately,…
Dan Quayle is no Jack Kennedy – and Lloyd Bentsen is no Michael Sheehan…
It’s not often that debates between candidates for Vice President of the United States generate a famous quotation – or even much attention. But there are some notable exceptions. One…