History Facts

Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator, colonizer, and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the Western Hemisphere. He was falsely given credit for discovering the “New World” for a long time, however, now it is commonly believed Viking explorers landed in North America some 500 years prior. Columbus is still an important person in our history though. Continue reading to find out why.

Fact #1 - Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451.

Columbus was not born into a wealthy family. He moved up the sailing ranks starting as a teenager when he was a pirate. He eventually became a skilled sailor.

Fact #2 - Christopher Columbus set sail for Asia in 1492 under the Spanish flag.

Even though Columbus was Italian, he was unable to secure funding from Italy for his voyage. Many Europeans thought it was a death trap (in those days they still believe the Earth was flat). Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain eventually said ‘yes’ to funding his voyage.

Fact #3 - Christopher Columbus was given three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Queen Isabella gave Columbus money and ninety sailors.

These vessels were very small. Movies depict Columbus sailing with large Galleons, however the three ships he used carried 25-40 men each. Columbus himself sailed to the New World on the Santa Maria, then returned to Europe on the Nina.

Fact #4 - Christopher Columbus and his crew first sighted land on October 12, 1492.

It is believed that the island Columbus first saw was part of the Bahamas. He named it San Salvador. When they set foot on the land, there were in fact natives already settled there. I’m not sure if Columbus was surprised or not, because he was under the impression that he landed on an island in Southeast Asia, which they knew was populated. He later sailed to what is now Cuba.

Fact #5 - Christopher Columbus made 4 voyages to the New World.

Each voyage brought him to new islands, which he continued to name. He spent a lot of time stranded on Jamaica, but after a year was rescued and returned to Spain where he would retire and eventually pass away in 1506. Columbus died thinking he hand landed on the East Coast of Asia. He never knew how big the Americas were.

It is impossible to put into words everything Leonardo da Vicni was and everything he contributed to the world. He is arguably the most brilliant man in history, having a mind hundreds of years ahead of his time. Da Vinci is a renowned painter, inventor, scientist, and engineer. Some of the greatest masterpieces every created were done so with his hands. In today’s post, we’ll learn several interesting Leonardo da Vinci facts.

Fact #1 - Leonardo da Vinci was an illegitimate child.

He was the illegitimate son of Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci, a Florentine notary, and Caterina, a peasant. Some historians believe that Caterina may have even been a slave from the Middle East. Having kids out of wedlock was heavily looked down upon during this time period. I wonder if he or his father caught any flack because of it?

Fact #2 - Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

These two paintings are the most famous, most reproduced and most parodied portrait and religious paintings of all time. These two paintings alone helped make da Vinci a household name.

Fact #3 - Despite claiming to be a humanitarian, Leonardo da Vinci invented and designed numerous military weapons and machines.

Some of his works include an armored tank, submarines, finned mortar shells and a steam cannon. It is said that anytime he invented a device to could be used as an offensive weapon, he would counter is with a defensive invention.

Fact #4 - Leonardo da Vinci disected roughly 30 human bodies.

He was a master at human anatomy. His journal is filled with pages of skeletal designs. He was very curious about how the body worked and even where the human soul was located. One of the most famous drawings he made, was of an unborn child in the womb of a woman, correctly attached by the umbilical cord.

What can we really say about the most brilliant man in history? Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist and is best known for his theory of relativity and that funny little equation E = mc². There have been countless shows on the History Channel about him and even a few popular films. In today’s post we’ll learn several interesting facts about Albert Einstein.

Fact #1 - Albert Einstein didn’t talk until he was about three or four years old.

All children are different, but most start saying “momma” and “dadda” at under a year old and eventually begin talking and forming sentences around two years old. Despite his speech deficiencies, Einstein still excelled in early school.

Fact #2 - Albert Einstein’s father gave him a compass when he was five years old.

This is a significant gift because it sparked his curiosity in the unknown. Why did the compass needle always face north? Was there some invisible force acting on the object? It’s these questions that may have steered Einstein into the world of physics.

Fact #3 - Einstein worked at the Swiss Patent Office.

After graduating from ETH Zurich, Albert was unable to find a teaching job. He took up a small position as an assistant examiner in the Swiss Patent Office. It was his job to evaluate and approve patent applications for electromagnetic devices.

Fact #4 - In 1921 Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, “for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect”.

Unfortunately for Albert, he wasn’t able to keep the prize money. As part of his divorce settlement from his first wife, he was ordered to give the money to her.

Fact #5 - Einstein became a citizen of the United States in 1940 and remained there the rest of his life.

I’m glad we can claim him!

Fact #6 - In 1939, Einstein signed a letter to U.S. President Roosevelt urging U.S. development of an atomic weapon.

Contrary to popular belief, Albert Einstein wasn’t actually involved in the development of the weapon.

Fact #7 - In 1999 Time magazine named him the “Person of the Century”.

Quite an accomplishment. Who were the runner-ups you ask? FDR and Ghandi.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British politician known mainly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historical writer, and an artist. Churchill is one of the greatest leaders in the history of the world. Check out these interesting facts about it.

Fact #1 - Winston Churchill was born with a speech impediment.

It’s hard to believe that one of the greatest orators in history was born with a speech impediment. It must have taken him a lot of time and practice to overcome his disability. After many years, he finally stated, “My impediment is no hindrance.”

Fact #2 - Winston Churchill served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.

On the outbreak of WWII, Churchill was a proponent of rearmament and advocated joining forces with France and the Soviet Union in a fight against Nazi Germany.

Fact #3 - Winston Churchill is famous for his “finest hour speech.”

One June 18, 1940, just weeks after Hitler had major victories that led to the fall of Paris, Churchill delivered one of the most recognizable speeches in history to the British House of Commons. It ends with this: “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour’.”

Fact #4 - When Winston Churchill passed away, his body lay in state for three days and a state funeral service was held at St Paul’s Cathedral.

No other state funerals have been held for non-members of the Royal family since Churchill’s in 1965.

Fact #5 - In a poll by the BBC in 2002, Winston Churchill was ranked #1 on a list of the 100 Greatest Britons of All Time.

That’s quite an honour.

Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest conquerers the world has ever seen. He was an educated man and an outstanding military leader. If you’re going to war, Napoleon is at the top of a short list of people you want leading your army. Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica and became a French lieutenant at the young age of 16. Continue on for more interesting facts about Napoleon Bonaparte.

Fact #1 - Napoleon Bonaparte stood a mere 5′6″ tall (by English standards) or 5′2″ (by French Standards).

While today 5′6″ may seem short for a man, it was a respectable height for a man in the 18th century. Some people say he was ridiculed by classmates and friends for being short. It’s hard to say if that is true or not. Regardless, Napoleon got them best of them later on in his life. It is also said that he surrounded himself with very tall guards and wore high boots, maybe to make himself appear as tall as one of them.

Fact #2 - Napoleon invaded Russia with 650,000 French troops but was defeated and returned to France with only 40,000 troops.

A loss of over 500,000 troops is an astonishing number. Not all the troops were lost in battle though. The bitter Russia winter caused many of the troops to freeze to death or die of starvation.

Fact #3 - Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled on more then one occasion.

In the Treaty of Fontainebleau the victors exiled him to Elba, a small island in the Mediterranean 20 km off the coast of Italy. After his abdication Napoleon attempted to commit suicide by taking poison from a vial he had always carried. However the poison had weakened with age and he survived to be deported to Elba. In his exile, he ran Elba as a little country.

After his return to France, and later defeat… Napoleon was exiled again. This time to St. Helena, a small island in the South Atlantic. St. Helena would ultimately be his last home before death.

Fact #4 - Napoleon was responsible for the invention of canned goods.

Napoleon’s armies were away from home for so long that most of the food they would travel with would spoil. He sent out a notice to all the nation’s top inventors offering a large monetary prize to anyone who could come up with a way to preserve food for a long period of time. This led to the invention of canned food.

Joseph Stalin was one of history’s most ruthless dictators. He murdered millions of his own innocent countrymen, often times without warning or cause. In the process, he took the Soviet Union from a rural country into an industrial super power.

Fact #1 - Joseph Stalin’s official title was General Secretary of the Communist Party. He was given this title in 1922.

This position was actually a modest post when Stalin was first assigned. It was only after several years that Stalin had developed it into the USSR’s most powerful office. I still think the title ‘Dictator’ sounds more ruthless then ‘Secretary’.

Fact #2 - The Russian word stalin means ‘man of steel.’

Joseph does not look like Superman to me.

Fact #3 - At the end of 1930s, Stalin launched the Great Purges, a major campaign of repression. Millions of people who were suspected of being a threat to the party were executed or exiled to Gulag labor camps in remote areas of Siberia or Central Asia.

Those who opposed or had different views from that of the Communist Party were considered threats to Stalin. It is estimated to up to 2 million people died during the Purge.

Fact #4 - Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union played a major role in the defeat of Nazi Germany during WWII.

The United States and Great Britain pushed the forces east while the Soviet Union pushed Germany back to the west. Germany was ultimately surrounded and could not fight a war on two fronts.

Fact #5 - It is rumored that Joseph Stalin had a 2-year affair with Lidia Pereprygina, then aged 13, with whom he fathered two children.

Wow! And we thought Michael Jackson liked them young. So not only was Stalin a ruthless murderer, but he was also a pedofile.

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognizable structures in the world. It sits on the Seine River in Paris, France. Though just over 100 years old, the Eiffel Tower is home to a lot of history and interesting facts.

Fact #1 - The Eiffel tower was created between 1887-1889 by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. It took dozens of engineers and hundreds of workers 2 years, 2 months and 5 days to complete this massive project. At one time, this 984-foot structure was the tallest structure in the world.

I have never been to the Eiffel Tower, but based on all the pictures I’ve seen of it, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most magnificent structures ever built. It stands out over Paris like the pyramids stand out over the Egyptian desert.

Fact #2 - Only one worker was killed in building the Eiffel Tower.

This is an amazing fact considering the project took nearly 3 years to complete. Such extreme caution must have been used by all workers while building the tower. So many other construction projects in history caused dozens of deaths.

Fact #3 - It was created to celebrate the anniversary of the French revolution.

The French Revolution took place 100 years earlier and was a war needed to get rid of France’s absolute monarchy.

Fact #4 - After the celebration it was saved from being demolished by being turned into a radio transmitter.

Also, having a structure this large made of 18,038 steel and iron pieces would have come in handy during WWI and WWII. France desperately needed to find a way to keep the Eiffel Tower erect during war times when precious metals were so valuable.

Fact #5 - There are 1665 steps to the top.

That’s one climb I wouldn’t mind taking!

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