Early explorers must have been superstitious, or at least they were attuned to the importance of historic anniversaries of fellow explorers' deeds. How so? Well, consider the following three events that all occurred on this date during the so-called Age of Exploration, yet they were years apart. First, on this date in 1492, Christopher Columbus , an Italian, entered into contract with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Christopher Columbus By the terms of the contract, Columbus's...

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The following day, April 10, Lee delivered his farewell address to his troops, outlining the terms of surrender and issuing to them his final order, known as General Order No. 9 . Lee dictated the order to his aide de camp Colonel Charles Marshall and then edited it himself to produce the final version. It was released for...

Edison, Howe, Bell, Henry, Smith, and Wesson. These are the names of men renowned for not only their numerous inventions but also the fortunes those inventions brought them. They were both great idea men and shrewd businessmen. Walter Hunt, inventor Like them, Walter Hunt was an accomplished inventor. He has been referred to as a "prolific inventor," a man with "a penchant for invention and innovation," and one who was "compulsively creative." But he was also described as a "business...