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Insula Tiberina- The Island in the Middle of the Tiber
In the center of the Tiber River, the Tiber Island, or Insula Tiberina in Latin, has always been a place connected to the founding of Rome. Legend says that it was created when Roman citizens expelled Tarquinius Superbus , or Tarquin the Proud in Latin. Citizens through the wheat sheaves they had stolen from the the king into the river. Supposedly, the dirt and the silt accumulated around the wheat in the river and formed the island. Another legend says it was built on the ruins of an ancient ship. However, these are just legends as the island was present as a crossing place for the Tiber since prehistoric times.…
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Jalal al-Din Rumi
The latest news is that Beyoncé named one of her new babies after a Persian poet. Everyone is abuzz with discussions of who this man was and what exactly this means. Although the poetry was written in the 13th century, it has gathered popularity in the west beginning in the early 21st century. So who was Jalal al-Din Rumi? Jalal al-Din Rumi was born September 30, 1207 in the city of Balkh, which is is in present day Afghanistan. He lived with his family on this far eastern edge of the Persian Empire, and was raised in the tradition of his family as an Islamic jurist. His father Baha ud-Din…
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The Current Wars
AC/DC- It’s not just a band. It was the culmination of the struggle between two geniuses. In the late 19th century, electricity was the hot new technology. Thomas Edison had begun work with this field and in the 1870’s invented the first practical light bulb. Arc lamps were used in cities on larger scales, but were not suitable for a business or a home. Edison’s light bulb filled that niche. To power all these new electric light bulbs, Edison created the investor-owned Edison Illuminating Company. One problem. These all used direct current or DC, which had a major drawback of a very short transmission range. Customers had to be less…
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The Fox Sisters
Spiritualism was sweeping the United States in the late 1840’s. As discussed in the book Occult America, this was the first chance for women to exercise any type of religious or political leadership. There were many women who were involved with the Spiritualist practices of seances and spirit channeling. The first American-born woman to become a recognized public preacher was Jemima Wilkinson or the Publick Universal Friend as she preferred to be called (For more on her, please see this post: http://www.historynaked.com/publick-universal-friend/ ) The Fox Sisters were American women that took up the mantle o f Spiritualism and their legacy is shrouded in accusations of fraud. In March 1848, strange…
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Eva Ekeblad
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I could use a nice cold drink. We’ve talked about the origins of beer (Please see this post: http://www.historynaked.com/nin-kasi-lady-fills-mouth-beer/), but sometimes something a bit stronger is necessary. So we move on to vodka. In fairness, the lady who is the subject of this post did not only pave the way for vodka but many other things. However, as I sip a Moscow Mule, vodka seems the most important. Eva Ekeblad was born July 10, 1724 to statesman Count Magnus Julius De La Gardie and his wife Hedvig Catharina Lilja. Interestingly, her brother was married to Catherine Charlotte De La Gardie, who also a…
