Articles by Kelli Ballard

“If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.” George Bernard Shaw September 16, 1620: The Mayflower Departs for the New World The Pilgrims, as we call them today, began the… Read More

“Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.” ~ C. Wright Mills The Birth of the United States September 5, 1774 The American colonists were tired of the control Britain… Read More

An art heist in Canada led to the theft of a famous photo of the renowned British leader Winston Churchill. The portrait, named “The Roaring Lion,” had been displayed in the hotel Chateau Laurier’s reading room for years. It was… Read More

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” ~ Maya Angelou September 1, 1939: The Beginning of World War II On this day, more than 80 years ago, German forces… Read More

“I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know no way of judging of the future but by the past.” ~ Edward Gibbon August 24, AD 79: Volcano Eruption… Read More

Scientists want to bring back the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, which has been extinct since 1936. While the name of the animal might make you think of a cross between a tiger and the Tasmanian Devil from the Looney Tunes… Read More

“The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.” ~ Aldous Huxley August 14, 1945: V-J Day On this day, Japanese Emperor Hirohito formally… Read More

“Today is either the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning. Today we are making history.” ~ Eckhard Pfeiffer August 13, 1961: Building the Berlin Wall After World War II ended in 1945, Germany was split into… Read More

“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” ~ George Bernard Shaw August 3, 1492: Christopher Columbus Sets Sail History credits Christopher Columbus with discovering America, although the land was… Read More

“Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts.” ~ Edward Murrow July 26, 1953: Cuban Revolution Began This day in history, also known as the beginning of the “26th of July Movement,” was the beginning of Fidel Castro’s revolution that eventually… Read More

“Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.” ~ C. Wright Mills July 20, 1969: First Man on the Moon With today’s technology, landing on the moon might not seem… Read More

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”  ~ Maya Angelou July 14, 1789: The Storming of the Bastille The Bastille, a royal fortress and prison, was the scene of… Read More