Credited with single-handedly advancing the genre of “confessional” poetry, Sylvia Plath is considered one of the most dynamic and admired poets of the 20th Century. She is best known for her two highly acclaimed collections, The Colossus and Other Poems (published in 1960) and Ariel (in 1965). As well as her beautifully introspective semi-autobiographical novel, […]
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Can a gentleman be a pirate? There was one man who went against these seemingly opposite stereotypes and became both: Stede Bonnet. Born a gentleman, he turned to piracy in his later years. Bonnet was born to moderately wealthy English landowners in Barbados in 1688. He was educated like most English scions and was even
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This photograph captures one of the last moments of this woman’s life. Cheng Benhua was a resistance fighter who gave her life defending her home country of China against the Japanese Imperial Army. She has become a symbol of bravery in the face of death and unspeakable abuse. Not long before striking this defiant pose, Cheng
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Between 1900 and 1903, jockey James Winkfield rode in four consecutive Kentucky Derbies. He finished third, first, first, and second. In 1901 alone, he won somewhere between 160 and 220 races (depending on the source). But despite his extraordinary, natural talent as a jockey, Winkfield received little recognition from within or without the horse-racing community.
The Last Black Jockey to Win the Kentucky Derby:James Winkfield Read More »
Do these ten historical figures really deserve to be as celebrated as they are? You be the judge. 1. Spartacus A gladiator who rose up against the mighty Roman Empire. An inspiration to oppressed peoples everywhere. This is how Spartacus is often remembered. Beginning in the summer of 73 BC, a Thracian slave named Spartacus
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Art has the power to hold a mirror to our human psyches. It forces us to reflect on what it really means to be human. Sometimes, that process can reveal profound beauty. Other times, we find the ugly, the perverse, or even parts of us that are just plain scary. “Rhythm 0” was a groundbreaking
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In 1890, a remarkable photograph was taken. It captured the scars of a little-known American man. He was a survivor of an unimaginable ordeal in American frontier history. The picture would continue to pass down through the ages. It was a reminder of not only a distant time in American history but of the individual
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For millions of people around the world, December 8, 1980, will forever be remembered as one of the darkest days in modern history. It was the day former Beatle John Lennon was gunned down outside his New York City apartment building by a man named Mark David Chapman. Chapman was a former Beatles fan who
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There are plenty of events and names that stand out over the several centuries of American political history. But one name, in particular, stands out as both tragic and controversial: Budd Dwyer. He was a man whose career was marred by charges of corruption and bribery. His life seemed to be balanced on a razor’s
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Elvita Adams was a fascinating woman. She gained notoriety for surviving a jump from the Empire State Building in 1979. The Empire State Building is one of the world’s most iconic skyscrapers. Located in downtown New York City, it was constructed in 1931 and comprises a whopping 102 stories. At the time of Adams’ jump,
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