Edith Cavell was a pioneering British Red Cross nurse, working in German-occupied Belgium during the World War I. Despite the risks, she secretly helped hundreds of wounded British, French and Belgian soldiers escape from German custody into Holland. She was arrested and executed in October 1915 by a firing squad of German soldiers. Who wasContinue reading “Heroic WWI Nurse Edith Cavell – shot by German Firing Squad”
Author Archives: andrewspaulw
The Windscale Nuclear Disaster – Britain’s Chernobyl
In 1957, in an English seaside town, a new type of disaster occurred when a fire broke out at the Windscale nuclear reactors. The fire, at the two-reactor facility in Cumbria (now Sellafield), was due to poor design and gross mismanagement, leading to deadly consequences. The incident became embroiled in Cold War-era secrecy and provedContinue reading “The Windscale Nuclear Disaster – Britain’s Chernobyl”
The MV Doña Paz – the Worst Maritime Disaster in History
While the Titanic may be the most famous shipwreck, its death toll was but a third of the world’s deadliest, taking the lives of over 4,300 souls. Just five days before Christmas, the MV Doña Paz ferry collided with an oil tanker, burnt to the water line, and sank in the Philippine Sea. “Asia’s Titanic”Continue reading “The MV Doña Paz – the Worst Maritime Disaster in History”
The Spirited Alice Roosevelt Longworth – Teddy’s Oldest Daughter
Alice Roosevelt Longworth was the oldest daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt. She grew up to become just as outspoken and strong-willed as her father. Alice was the most unconventional first daughter ever to live in the White House. She became a Washington socialite and political power broker with a keen intellect and a razor-sharp tongue.Continue reading “The Spirited Alice Roosevelt Longworth – Teddy’s Oldest Daughter”
How Saint Paul spread Christianity in the Roman Empire
Saint Paul is one of the most central figures in the religious history of the western world. Following his conversion from Judaism to Christianity, he travelled tens of thousands of miles around the Mediterranean Sea. During four, long missionary journeys, he spread the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It was Saint Paul who planted theContinue reading “How Saint Paul spread Christianity in the Roman Empire”
Smallpox and the American Revolution
During the 1700’s, smallpox epidemics raged throughout the American colonies. They would severely impact the new Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The first signs came during the early battles of the American Revolution in 1775-1776 – at the siege of Boston, the siege of Quebec, and Britain’s Virginia regiments. These deadly outbreaks pushed WashingtonContinue reading “Smallpox and the American Revolution”
The Great Bengal Famine and the Boston Tea Party
The Indian Famine of 1770 is one of the greatest disasters in human history. Over ten million people, a third of the population of Bengal, died. A drought lasting 5 years, bad harvests, and cruel British rule all contributed. The British East India Company compounded the famine with heavy taxation, leading to millions of BengalisContinue reading “The Great Bengal Famine and the Boston Tea Party”
The Downfall of New York’s Boss Tweed
William Tweed, aka “Boss Tweed,” was a ruthless 19th-century New York City politician. He is known for his powerful influence within the NY Democratic political machine (Tammany Hall), and well as for flaunting his over-the-top corruption, fraud, and greed for over two decades.
The Ignored and Forgotten Lake Nyos Disaster
The 1986 Lake Nyos Disaster occurred when volcanic carbon dioxide (CO2) gas erupted from beneath an African lake in Cameroon, bubbling to the surface, forming a deadly cloud. There was no huge eruption, no great boom or blast that evening. What resulted was like a scene from a horror movie. The deadly gas flowed downContinue reading “The Ignored and Forgotten Lake Nyos Disaster”
The Forgotten Sinking of the Empress of Ireland
Just two years after the Titanic, and a year before Lusitania, another passenger ship sank with an even greater loss of life, yet few remember the tragic tale. The Empress of Ireland sank in Canada’s St. Lawrence River in the spring of 1914 after colliding with another ship in a dense fog bank in theContinue reading “The Forgotten Sinking of the Empress of Ireland”