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Who is L.A. Burr?

The patent for the first lawn mower was granted on August 31,1830 to Edwin Beard Budding from England. In 1870, Elwood McGuire created the first popular lawn mower capable of being pushed by humans. After constant revisions, John Albert Burr was able to provide the design that remains the model used in modern times. U.S. Patent Number 624,749, which was granted on May 9, 1899, led to the production of lawn mowers that could be used by most people.\nFocusing on designs of earlier versions of the rotary-blade lawn mower that were difficult to use and unsafe, Burr implemented traction wheels that..

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Did the Victorians have electricity?

BuildingConservation.com notes that gas lighting was still the predominant choice of the early 20th century, and that many small towns and villages still relied on oil lamps and candles. Thomas Edison was able to beat rivals by producing the first working incandescent light bulb in 1879. A year later, Cragside, a mansion located in Northumberland, England, was the first house to be powered by electricity. Electric bulbs, however, remained a relative novelty for the next several decades.

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How many people have died in wars?

History Guy notes that the 20th century was the bloodiest century in human history. When factoring in the number of revolutions and World Wars I and II, the number of people who suffered surpasses all previous centuries. According to History Learning Site, World War I killed 8.5 million people, with the total number of missing and wounded held at 37 million. Many people celebrated when various European nations were going to war, but they were shocked at the number of casualties and destruction. World War I was subsequently called "the war to end all wars," but history shows otherwise. History ..

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Did Lydia Darragh have any children?

Though no hard evidence exists to confirm the story, Lydia Darragh's daughter Ann gave the account after her mother's death. British soldiers commandeered Darragh's home to use as a meeting place, but they agreed to allow some of the family to stay there. According to the National Women's History Museum, Lydia overheard plans to attack George Washington's army. Claiming she wanted to go visit her younger children who had been sent to stay with relatives, she left her home and took news of the planned attack to an American officer. General Washington and his troops were..

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What country first colonized the region that became the nation of Tanzania?

As a British colony in the years following Word War I, the area that was formerly known as part of German East Africa was called Tanganyika. British rule ended on December 9, 1961. In April 1964, Tanganyika merged with Zanzibar, an archipelago country comprised of two islands close to its Indian Ocean coast. The new nation was officially renamed the Republic of Tanzania on October 29, 1964.The 365,756-square-mile East African nation has a wide variety of topographical features including Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain peak in Africa. Although its government was originally based on the ..

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Who were some of the conductors of the Underground Railroad?

One of the other most well-known conductors was Frederick Douglass, a famed anti-slavery activist who escaped slavery himself when he was a teenager. He worked as a conductor on one of the final stops on the Underground Railroad.\nAnother conductor, Thomas Garrett, worked closely with Harriet Tubman and the other conductors. A Quaker from Delaware, Garrett opened his home to slaves once they had been led out of Maryland. He then encouraged many of the escapees to continue on to Philadelphia where the abolitionist movement was strong.\nSamuel Burress, a free black man born in Delaware, worked a..

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Who won the Persian War?

The Battle of Marathon was fought in 490 B.C., and this first stage saw the Persians defeated by the Athenains and Plataeans. In the second stage, the Athenians were joined by the Spartans, Phocians and Locrians, who famously held off a massive Persian army near Thermopylae. The Athenian-led Greeks decisively defeated the Persian navy at Salamis in 480 B.C. The final battle saw the Persians defeated by Greeks under Spartan command at Plataea in 479 B.C.

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What did Guglielmo Marconi invent?

Marconi's experiments paved the way for all radio technology. He used the initial work of H.R. Hertz to develop a basic system of wireless telegraphy. After that, he founded the Marconi Telegraph Company in 1899. He continued his experiments to expand the range of his wireless signals until he finally achieved transatlantic service from Canada to Ireland. The feat earned him a shared Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Braun. The crew of the RMS Titanic used Marconi's wireless system to call for help when the ship began to sink after hitting an iceberg in 1912.

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What is the meaning of a ghost bead necklace created by the Navajos?

Ghost bead necklaces are also believed to ward off evil spirits and negative energy, as well as protect the wearer from nightmares. Juniper berries are a common food staple of the Navajos and are also used as a natural remedy to treat illnesses such as diabetes. The early Navajos held a strong belief in the spirit world and practiced many rituals to ward off negative energy. In addition to wearing juniper berry necklaces, the Navajos also smeared juniper ashes on their skin prior to venturing out in the dark.\nAnother common belief surrounding ghost beads is that the beads kept the spirits hap..

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Which presidents were assassinated?

As the ultimate symbol of the American republic, nearly every president has faced some form of threat against his life. The United States Secret Service was tasked with the protection of the president following the 1901 murder of McKinley. Since that time, six attempts have been made, but only one has succeeded - the Dallas shooting of John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963.

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