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Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch Renaissance painter renowned for symbolic works depicting religious and
moral themes. He is known for grotesque creatures. His work critiques human
folly, sin, and societal corruption.
Here death comes for a
miser. The miser tries to buy death off,
but death is not impressed by the miser’s wealth.
Mount Vernon has always
been a place of pilgrimage because of the tomb of George Washington, America’s
secular saint. Prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War,
Mount Vernon was visited by HRH Prince Albert, Prince of Wales (later King Edward
VII). On October 5, 1860 President James Buchanan accompanied the Prince
on a tour of Mount Vernon and visited Washington’s tomb, which was not in very
good shape. A British correspondent wrote, “No pious care seems to have
ever tended this neglected grave. . .It is here alone in its glory, uncared
for, unvisited, unwatched, with the night-wind for its only mourner sighing
through the waste of trees, and strewing the dead brown leaves like ashes
before the tomb. Such is the grave of Washington!”
On March 18, 2015, HRH Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall laid a wreath at Washington’s tomb. The Prince, a major force in raising awareness about environmental issues, found Washington’s tomb in considerably better shape than did his great-great grandfather.
How Sherlock Holmes Lived: Victorian Customs
This
dramatic painting is based on a true story, the rescue of fourteen year old
Brook Watson from the jaws of a hungry shark in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, in
1749.
Watson
survived. Years later, after he became a successful merchant and mayor of
London, he commissioned the American painter John Singleton Copley to portray
the incident.
H His dentures were not wooden. Washington’s famous “wooden teeth” were actually made from gold, ivory, lead, and human and animal teeth, held together with a spring that forced him to clench his jaw. By his inauguration, he had only one original tooth. He lost nearly all his teeth by age 57.
2 His real birthday wasn’t February 22. He was born February 11, 1731 under the Julian calendar. The switch to the Gregorian calendar moved his birthday to February 22 and changed his birth year to 1732.
3. The cherry tree story is completely made up. The tale of young George confessing to chopping down a cherry tree was invented by biographer Mason Locke Weems after Washington’s death.
4. He created his own dog breed. Washington selectively bred foxhounds and is considered the father of the American Foxhound, giving his dogs mushy names like Sweet Lips, Tipsy, and Venus.
5. He ran one of America’s
largest whiskey distilleries. By
1799, his Mount Vernon distillery produced nearly 11,000 gallons of whiskey a year, making it the largest in
the nation.
Bat
Masterson stands out as one of the Old West’s most unusual figures—a man who
balanced frontier grit with refined elegance. In Dodge City, he earned his
reputation as a cool‑headed sheriff and gunfighter, facing down outlaws with
steady aim and steady nerves. Yet unlike the dust‑covered men around him,
Masterson favored tailored suits, silk vests, bowler hats, and the polished
cane he carried everywhere. His style became as legendary as his courage.
Later, he traded the chaos of the frontier for New York City, reinventing
himself as a respected sportswriter. Masterson proved that even in the Wild
West, a gentleman could thrive without losing his edge.
Legends of the Superstition Mountains
George Armstrong Custer’s buckskin coat at the Smithsonian
is one of the most evocative artifacts tied to the frontier cavalry legend. The
double‑breasted coat, made of light buckskin and trimmed with fringe, was worn
during his service as lieutenant colonel of the 7th U.S. Cavalry in the
Dakotas. Custer favored frontier dress, believing it suited the rugged
conditions of the West. In 1912, his widow Elizabeth “Libbie” Custer donated
the coat to the Smithsonian, preserving it as a tribute to her husband’s dramatic
life and legacy. Today, it remains a striking reminder of Custer’s persona and
the era he helped define.
Gold, Murder and Monsters in the Superstition Mountains
Mysterious Treasure Legends of Arizona
Extensive archaeological work has been done at the Slave Memorial which encompasses and African-American burial ground.
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