We all know about Saturn’s rings. They were first observed by Galileo in 1610 but what about the planet itself. Turns out most of the focus of early astronomers (indeed even modern astronomers) has been on the rings but take a look at this letter in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London …
Category Archives: Ideas
And then he fainted just before the whole spectacle began
In June 3, 1769, after months of planning, the skies that had been cloudy for several days cleared over East Norriton, Pennsylvania. David Rittenhouse waited nervously for the moment when Venus would briefly become visible as it passed across the sun. This transit was an extremely rare event and according to computations by Edmund Halley, …
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Man does not live on beer alone — Cherry Bounce
A bounce is a drink made with a mixture of alcohol and sweetened cherry juice. The earliest reference for such a drink is 1693 where it was referenced in W. Robertson’s Phraseologia Generalis as a “mingled drink” called cherrybouncer. Sometimes cherry brandy (Kirsch) was also called bounce as the two beverages are very similar. The …
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Historical Tidbits — Virginia Plan
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. May 29, 1787 – At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the Virginia Plan calling for a bicameral legislature, an executive, and a judiciary branch of government was proposed by …
Join the Regimental Brewmeister
People are always welcome to come to my events and if you come in 18th Century kit, you can be part of the program or just hang out in the tent as you see fit. However, if you are truly interested in really learning the process, teaching the public, and being the brewer, you should …
The Westernmost Battle of the American Revolution — Fort San Carlos
Living near Philadelphia, I tend to have a very East Coast view of the American Revolution. After all, the BIG battles in North America were in New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas and Virginia. America west of the Mississippi River was a far of land deep in New Spain for most Americans in 1777. Not …
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Join the Regimental Brewmeister in 2024
People are always welcome to come to my events and if you come in 18th Century kit, you can be part of the program or just hang out in the tent as you see fit. However, if you are truly interested in really learning the process, teaching the public, and being the brewer, you should …
The SECOND Constitutional Congress Meets in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787
Four years after the United States won its independence from England, delegates convened in Philadelphia to compose a new U.S. Constitution. The current constitution, The Articles of Confederation, ratified several months before the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781, provided for a loose confederation of U.S. states, which totally were sovereign in most of their …
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Jewish Pirates in Jamaica
Under Muslim rule in Spain, Jews were largely protected from persecution. This led to an explosion of Jewish culture and learning in Iberia and a very prosperous merchant class. With the Reconquista and the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, many Jews began fleeing from Spain because of the persecution of the Spanish Inquisition and, …
The Battle of the Frogs
In May of 1754, war broke out between Great Britain and France. The earliest hostilities in what would ultimately become a global conflict were in North American and included colonist from each country as well as several tribes of Native Americans. While major battles of this war, often called the French and Indian War in …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 