Jennifer's 20th Century History Blog January 2007 Archive

Already joyous at Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's ill health, many Miami residents are ready to literally dance in the streets when Castro dies. Miami officials are planning ahead in order ... Read More

On September 30, 1955, movie star James Dean was driving his new Porsche 550 Spyder when he hit another car nearly head-on. James Dean died in the crash at age ... Read More

Charles M. Schulz wrote the Peanuts comic strip for five decades. Did you know that Schulz never liked the name Peanuts? Find out more about the very first Peanuts comic ... Read More

A collection of pictures of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, including photos of the crew, icicles, launch, explosion, and collected debris.

The Charleston dance became a popular 1920s dance craze after appearing along with the song, "The Charleston," by James P. Johnson in the Broadway musical Runnin' Wild in 1923.

There were numerous battles in World War II. Some of these battles lasted only days while others took months or years. Some of the battles were notable for the material ... Read More

Most codes during WWII were broken; yet the Navajo Code Talkers confounded the enemy by talking in a seemingly unbreakable code.

Fidel Castro, the ailing dictator of Cuba, took control of Cuba by force in the late 1950s. Find out more about the man who has been the leader of the ... Read More

Leon Trotsky was a Communist theorist, prolific writer, and a leader in the 1917 Russian Revolution. Although second only to Lenin in the formative years of the new Soviet government, ... Read More

On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the world's first successful "test-tube" baby was born in Great Britain. Now, 28 years later, Brown gave birth to her own child who ... Read More

Afraid of becoming victims of the horrors being perpetrated in Eastern Europe, 769 Jews attempted to flee to Palestine on board the Struma. But, instead of finding freedom, they found ... Read More

Take a moment to remember Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 15, 2007) by reading through this collection of quotes by civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. about ... Read More

It had only been five years since Orville and Wilbur Wright made their famous flight at Kitty Hawk. By 1908, the Wright brothers were traveling across the United States and ... Read More

Enrico Fermi made important discoveries about the atom which led to the splitting of the atom (atomic bombs) and the harnessing of its heat into an energy source (nuclear energy).

The yellow star, inscribed with the word "Jude," has become a symbol of Nazi persecution. Its likeness abounds upon Holocaust literature and materials. What is the history of this symbol?

In 1928, bacteriologist Alexander Fleming found a mold had contaminated one of his experiments. To his surprise, the mold was an antibacterial agent that could kill many harmful bacteria. He ... Read More

A collection of photographs from the First World War, including historic photos of trenches, planes, tanks, and soldiers in action.

Howard Hughes was a businessman, a movie producer, and an aviator; however, he is perhaps best remembered for spending his later years as an eccentric, reclusive billionaire.