-
Yu Gwan-sun- Korea’s Joan of Arc
In 1904, Korea allied with Japan during the first Russo-Japanese war and lent its territory for Japan’s military operations. This was only a stepping stone to the Japanese occupation of Korea. They came and never left. This was the government’s plan to make Japan a world power. Tough luck for anyone in Korea that wasn’t fine with this plan. On March 1, 1919, the Korean independence movement began. The so called March 1st Movement started with demonstrations mainly made up of students and Christians as all other political groups had been disbanded by the Japanese government. The rebels created a Declaration of Independence, which was signed by thirty-three representatives. Then…
-
Alas, poor Yorick- The Curious Case of Shakespeare’s missing skull
William Shakespeare was the celebrated poet of the Elizabethan age. (For more on his life, please read our post on him: http://www.historynaked.com/william-shakespeare/ ) However, his death was shrouded in mystery. He died at age 52, which was relatively young for a person of wealth at that time. There were theories he died of syphilis, picked up at the Southwark brothels near his theater The Globe. There have also been theories that he was murdered. The most likely explanation comes from an account written by John Ward, the Vicar of Church of the Holy Trinity, Stratford-upon-Avon, fifty years after Shakespeare’s death. He writes of a drinking bout with Shakespeare, his friend Michael…
-
The Strange Case of Mercy Brown
In the late 1800s, tuberculosis was running rampant through New England. Exeter, Rhode Island was no exception. The Brown family was hit hard. George T. Brown was a respected farmer, and had lost his wife Mary in December 1883. George lost his oldest daughter to the same disease six months later. George was left with a remaining daughter, Mercy, and a son, Edwin. They seemed healthy for several years, then Edwin began to feel ill. He exhibited the telltale signs of tuberculosis and traveled west to Colorado Springs to take the mineral waters cure. In the meantime, Mercy also became ill. Her tuberculosis progressed much faster than her brother’s and…
-
Historical Vampires
Before you go all horror-fiction-freakout on me, I am not here to confirm or deny the existence of vampires. Not my place to tell you what to believe – this article is designed to address the formerly popular belief that vampires were a real danger, attribute them to possible mostly unheard of medical conditions of the time (by way of possible explanation) and discuss the ways and practices of dealing with a vampire in the past. Whether you like it or not, vampires were a very real fear to our ancestors, and there are still some, by historical comparison, civilized countries who still hold those beliefs even today. Every dispirit…
-
Hauntings – Theodore Roosevelt
We all know Teddy Roosevelt was a badass. This is a guy who was a soldier in some of the roughest most dangerous areas; dealt with the rampant corruption of the New York City Police Department at a time when no one else could; and finished a speech with a bullet in his chest. If I had to pick a candidate for badassiest president, it would be Teddy. Need further proof? Take a read through our article on him, and then head back. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=248183865523703&id=147401292268628 But what if I told you that TR didn’t leave us when he died? Mr. Roosevelt was not a young man (by the standards of the…
