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Who was the person who shot Abraham Lincoln?

John Wilkes Booth's father, Junius Brutus Booth, had been a famous actor, and his brothers Edwin and Junius, Jr., were also celebrated thespians; however, John Wilkes Booth was also a rabid supporter of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Trying to boost the secessionists' cause, he orchestrated a failed attempt to kidnap President Lincoln in March 1865, but this endeavor failed when the president did not arrive at the appointed place. A month later, however, Booth saw his chance to kill the president when Lincoln attended a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theat..

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Why is the Marquis de Lafayette famous?

Following the war, Lafayette joined the French Army and worked with Thomas Jefferson, who was then the U.S. Ambassador to France. As France veered toward revolution, his position gave him the responsibility for the protection of the French royal family. This job made it dangerous for him to stay in France as he could be looked at as sympathetic to the monarchy. He fled the country but returned following the French Revolution. He served as commander of the French National Guard until his death in 1834.

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Where did New Jersey's name come from?

The Delaware Indians were the first people to live on land that would later become New Jersey. They were there when the first Europeans arrived.\nIn 1609, Henry Hudson, a British national who worked for the Dutch, sailed through Newark Bay and took the land for the Dutch. He called the colony New Netherlands. In 1664, the British made it part of their colonies and re-named it New Jersey.\nIn the years leading up to the Revolutionary War, residents of the state were split over their feelings about British control. One-third supported breaking away from the British, one-third remained loyal to E..

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What are some unusual trivia facts about the United States?

The Statue of Liberty is not only a gift from France, but it is not actually located in the state of New York. It actually lies in New Jersey. New York was originally called New Amsterdam when it was settled by the Dutch, but the English changed the name once they took over the city. Another architectural masterpiece from Europe is the London Bridge, moved to Arizona in 1968.\nJohn Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third president of the United States respectively and two of the founding fathers, had a long-standing rivalry that included a bet on who would be the first to die. Both di..

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What do sweet potatoes, postage stamps and George Washington Carver have in common?

Carver was especially interested in helping Southern farmers grow crops beyond just cotton. The spread of the boll weevil was systematically destroying cotton farms, and Carver knew the South would be devastated economically if a solution was not found. Carver thought crop diversification was the key. He examined the existing conditions and resources on hand in the South and determined that peanuts, sweet potatoes, soybeans and rich clay soil could deliver thousands of useful products. In addition to sweet potato glue, Carver invented new paints, hundreds of foods and recipes, soy-based foods,..

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What were Jawaharlal Nehru's achievements?

Prior to becoming the Prime Minister, Nehru became involved in Gandhi's civil disobedience movement and was voted in as general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee. Once India gained its independence, Nehru was voted in as Prime Minster in 1947 and continued to hold the post until his death 1964.Nehru's work in India spread far and wide, influencing such people as Martin Luther King, Jr. During the Prime Minister's rule, he worked to make the new government and its law work for all people. Much of his work was aimed toward easing religious tensions in the country. Alon..

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What were the positive and negative effects of the Industrial Revolution?

The increased technology from the industrial revolution increased standard of living by lowering the cost of many basic products. Houses were built more effectively and with higher quality, transportation exploded exponentially with the advent of trains. It became much cheaper and easier to travel long distances over both land and sea.\nAll this increased wealth and standard of living meant that more people survived and moved to the cities to go after better work. Cities became highly populated, and these conditions created slums. Competition for work caused some workers to work too hard and i..

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Which country first used airplanes in World War I?

Prior to the war, many military officials were skeptical about the usefulness of airplanes in combat, though opinions quickly changed. In addition to reconnaissance, these early airplanes were outfitted with machine guns and small bombs, and were sometimes used to deliver chemical weapons. The German's relied heavily on Zeppelin airships for aerial reconnaissance and bombing runs. Developments made in World War I were crucial to the advancement of aviation.

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What did Augusta Ada Lovelace invent?

In 1832, at the age of 17, Lovelace attended an exhibit of Charles Babbage who was displaying his invention, which he called the Difference Engine. The Difference Engine was one of the earliest computers invented, and it was capable of calculating mathematical problems. However, the machine was limited by the fact that it could only interpret and calculate equations that contained only numbers. Lovelace, having a passion for mathematics, wrote to Babbage, and the two later collaborated on a subsequent invention, known as the Analytical Machine.\nOriginally, Lovelace was only supposed to transl..

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What was a colonial potter?

A potter would most often use a flat, circular worktable that spins around a central pivot much like a top, called a potter's wheel, to shape and mold his clay. Sometimes, the potter's wheel wasn't needed, and the potter would simply use his thumbs. When the potter was finished, he would remove the item from the potter's wheel and place it in the sun to dry. The practice of commercial-scale pottery was founded in 1688 by Dr. Daniel Coxe.

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