The tradition of African American History Month was initiated by the educator and historian Carter G. Woodson, a son of former slaves who became the second African American man to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915, which he operated […]
In May of 1864, General William T. Sherman and his Union force of 110,000 soldiers invaded Georgia from Chattanooga, beginning a series of battles with Confederate forces in north Georgia that historians later referred to as the Atlanta Campaign. Union troops captured the city of Atlanta on September 2 that same year. Following a brief […]
During this week in 1759, Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland. A writer and lyricist devoted to the representation of the lives and opinions of ordinary Scots and the assertion of Scottish cultural independence and identity, he is celebrated worldwide by people of Scottish descent on the anniversary of his birthday, January […]
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday that honors the memory of the most prominent African American leader of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s on his birthday (this year, Dr. King would have been 83 years old). The holiday was first observed in 1986, after years of effort […]
In the first decade of the twentieth century, Tuberculosis (sometimes referred to as TB or consumption) was the leading cause of death in the United States. Its prevalence led to the nationwide creation of organizations for combating the disease. In Atlanta, the Fulton County Medical Society created the Fulton Sanitary and Tuberculosis Prevention Society in […]
The first night of Hanukkah in 2011 begins on Tuesday, December 20. It is one of the best known Jewish holidays in the United States, despite the fact that it is of lesser religious significance than major holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover. The events commemorated by the celebration of Hanukkah do […]
Coca-Cola is an iconic soft drink, invented right here in Georgia by medical chemist and businessman John S. Pemberton in 1886. One of its earliest uses was as a cure for headaches, and the beverage was dispensed from drug store soda fountains. This can be seen in an early advertisement from druggists Evans and Howard, […]
Don’t fry a turkey indoors. Don’t give your child a BB gun (say it with me, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid”). And if you are thinking about giving someone a pet for Christmas, well…not such a hot idea according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture. You can read their press release for yourself in […]
Soil survey maps provide an inventory of the different kinds of soils tested in a single area (such as a county), identify the areas that specific soils occupy, and aid in establishing a location’s suitability for specific residential or commercial use. Soil surveys were first authorized in the United States by the United States Department […]
Richard Vonalbade “Von” Gammon played on some of UGA’s earliest football teams. He quarterbacked the team in 1896, then played fullback and on defense for the 1897 team. That team won their first two games against Clemson and Georgia Tech. The third game was against the University of Virginia, played in Atlanta on October 30. […]