Can anybody tell me anything about an early associate of Johnny Torrio called Danny "Big Wang" Glaister?

I was reading about Johnny Torrio's early days in the Five Points gang on Wikipedia, and the article mentioned a gangster with a questionable nickname: "big wang." A cursory Google search turned up zero results. Does anybody have information about this guy? The article states: "Torrio's business acumen caught the eye of Paul Kelly, the leader of the infamous Five Points Gang. Torrio's gang ran legitimate businesses, but its main concern was the numbers game, supplemented by incomes from bookmaking, loan sharking, hijacking, prostitution, and opium trafficking. Jimmy "The Shiv" DeStefano, Danny "Big Wang" Glaister and Al Capone, who worked at Kelly's club, admired Torrio's quick mind and looked to him as their mentor."

Does "wang" as a nickname for "penis" really date back to the early 20th century?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

What are potential careers with a History of Science and Technology degree?

I'm a high school senior hoping to apply as a HOST or a STS (Sci, Tech, Society) major. What are some career options available to me? Or will I have to go towards research?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

How was the clothing industry (especially haute couture) affected by WWII both during and afterwards?

I've heard rumors about designers like Christian Dior and Hugp Boss capitalizing greatly on the rich nazi-wives, but i haven't been able to find anything about it. Would love to hear more about it, and maybe get some book recommendations.

1 Answers 2017-10-24

Was Ireland ruled by the English for 800 years?

I am half-Irish, but born and raised in England. It is an article of faith in the Irish side of my family that the English ruled over the Irish for 800 years until the War of Independence and the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1921-22.

To my eternal shame I have never had even 5 minutes of formal education that covered Irish history, so this idea of 800 years of English rule has been a sort of uncontested truth in the back of my mind. In order to remedy my great ignorance, I have been listening to BBC Radio Ulster's A Short History of Ireland, to give me a general overview, before I jump into some more serious academic material.

So far I have made it as far as the death of Shane O'Neill in 1567. The series is about to move on to consider the start of mass plantations. The picture I am getting is, needless to say, rather more complex than that given to me by my grandmother as a small child.

The origins of English power in Ireland seem to lie with the Norman invasion of Gaelic Ireland in the 12th century. But how "English" were the Normans, given that they had only conquered England itself a century earlier? And to what extent should they be seen as invaders, and to what extent the invited guests of Irish actors, attempting to leverage external power to settle internal conflicts?

What then follows seems to be centuries of ebb and flow, as different English monarchs pay more or less attention to Ireland, holding more or less territory at various points, and inspiring varying levels of loyalty, obedience and rebellion from (both English and Irish) noblemen at different stages. Henry VIII had himself declared King of Ireland, but it seems like the control of the English Crown over the island during his reign was incomplete at best. But obviously by the time we get to the later modern period, English (by then British) control over Ireland was comprehensive.

So how accurate is it to speak of 800 years of English rule in Ireland? How did the nature of that rule change over time? To what extent was it a subjugation of the Irish by the English? And just how English was it, both in terms of the identity of the rulers, and in terms of the interests that they served?

Any suggestions for academic books or articles on any aspect of Irish history are also very welcome; the sub's book list is exclusively limited to material covering the Tudor and Stuart period.

3 Answers 2017-10-24

How far back can we go before what is called English is unrecognizable to a modern English speaker?

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1 Answers 2017-10-24

Was caffeine responsible for the enlightenment?

In this CGP Grey video, he claims that caffeine was responsible for the enlightenment because people went from drinking mostly alcohol to caffeine.

1 Answers 2017-10-24

Is there any comprehensive source of knowledge of the history ?

I am looking for something that would contain everything that we know and have connected topics so I would need only one source instead of 20. I am realising that if there would be something like this I would probably know about it but I am testing my luck ... it could only contain data till technical revolution in England or similar date because closer to the present the amount of data rises exponentialy and it may not be possible to write it all down. It could be book but I would be more glad for some online source, thanks.

1 Answers 2017-10-24

What was the thinking behind the design of London’s main railway stations? Why are they all an end of the journey? Was it not more efficient and more convenient to connect them together (or at least some of them), before there was a metro system in place?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

People often say "I'm 25% Jewish" or something similar, and this has always bugged me because no other religion is considered "hereditary". Has the idea of hereditary "Jewishness" always existed in a secular way, or is it a remnant of Nazi ideology?

Yes, I know that the Jewish authorities consider you to be Jewish if your mother was Jewish. Yet Christian authorities consider you to be Christian if you're baptized, and this is not recognized outside of the religion. No one says "she's a Christian, but she's atheist". But you'll commonly hear people say "she's Jewish, but she's atheist".

Basically, Jewishness seems to be recognized as hereditary in a secular way while other religions are not. Why is this?

2 Answers 2017-10-24

Were there atheists or agnostics in the Ancient world? What did they believe and how were they treated?

2 Answers 2017-10-24

What rights did women have in Britain vs. French-controlled territory in the Napoleonic period?

I'm a fan of Regency novels. I was reading Amazon reviews for Anne Brontë's Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and came across this quote from a reader

At that time, unfortunately for all women, the law in Britain still followed the Napoleonic Code, which said that women were basically sub-human, in the same category as children, and mental incompetents.

I know the British did not adopt the Napoleonic Code, and this person is mistaken! However, it did get me to thinking about what the lives of women were like across the channel during 1789-1815. I'd imagine it wasn't great shakes either way, but how did they compare?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

In the film Patton, the German command is depicted as being almost obsessed with the American general up to tracking his movements as signs of the next Allied invasion. Is this accurate?

For example, in the film, the German command takes Patton's trips to Malta and Cairo as signs of an upcoming Allied invasion of Greece.

Additionally, he's often spoken of as being held in high regard by German generals, but was it any more peculiar to him than to any other significant Allied general?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

Origen, one of the church fathers is said to have castrated himself. Do we know if this is true? What would this have meant to his fellow early christians?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

A question regarding history and archaeology degrees.

TL;DR: Is it useless or beneficial to get an archaeology masters on top of a history Ph.D?

Hello everyone, I also posted this in r/gradschool, but figured I should ask the pros. I'm a student working toward a Ph.D in Asian Studies, with a concentration in Song and Tang dynasty history. I have always imagined myself remaining in academia, doing research and perhaps teaching. I'm pretty set on having this career. That being said, I have a lifelong love of archaeology and a decent amount of experience in it. It was a difficult decision to go full history. Do you think it would be benefocial to my career or a waste of time to get a masters in archaeology on top of my other degree?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

Questions about James I and VII involvement with his mother's(Mary, Queen of Scots) execution.

I read that he was 21 and King of Scotland at the time. Also I think he was first in the line of succession to Queen Elizabeth for the English throne. What was his view of his mothers execution and did he try to stop it in any way?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

Is Zeus and Jupiter the same god?

2 Answers 2017-10-24

"Sulfa" in World War 2?

I've seen this dozens of times in movies and series like Band of Brothers: some guy gets hit by anything (explosion, schrapnel, bayonet, bullet,...), medic drops by, dumps some white powder on it (mentioning "sulfa" in the background) and the guy pulls through.

How did it work, was it as abundant as portrayed, is it still in use today?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

Can someone shed light on the moral and social reforms implemented by Augustus as Rome's first emperor to return society to its foundational republican virtues?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

The upcoming film 'The Death of Stalin' portrays Zhukov as having a mischievous sense of humour. Are there any notable examples of his sense of humour in real life? Did he keep his humanity while overseeing the horrendous campaign?

Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJ5dMYx2no

Urban dictionary has an interesting definition: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Zhukov

Edit: please note that I'm not looking for general examples of Soviet or Russian humour, those are well covered elsewhere. This is specifically about Zhukov (Marshal not Moderator)

1 Answers 2017-10-24

In Medieval to Renaissance Europe, were forests often the personal property of a Lord? Did hunters have to pay specific taxes for hunting rights? What are some examples of this tax rate, and how strictly was this enforced?

Forest not in the England sense of hunting grounds belong to the royalty, but the broader, more modern meaning.

1 Answers 2017-10-24

In the West we see the Persian empire as terrible people who tried to claim Greece. I learned later in life that they granted freedoms to most of its citizens and tested them with respect. My question is what is the truth and what is the bias of the Persian empire taught

4 Answers 2017-10-24

In "The Last Kingdom" the main character cuts down someone stealing resources from his land. His wife and some of the other villagers are horrified and consider it unjust. Wouldn't that be pretty "normal" in that era[800s]?

The main character is a Saxon noble who was raised as a Dane and a pagan, and thus not super-popular or agreeable to most of the Saxons. That being said in the story this particular local peasant foreman guy keeps stealing shit from him and using his stuff when he's off and eventually the main character kills him after catching him in the act.

It seems like this would be pretty normal, but everyone and his wife in particular are utterly horrified by what he does. How accurate is this?

2 Answers 2017-10-24

What is the history of the northern part of Myanmar claimed by the Republic of China?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

According to Mike Duncan's 'Revolutions', during the ancien regime, the poor actually paid more taxes than the aristocracy. How did this come about, and could they see they were headed for a disaster?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

How did the US go from colony to one of the world's super power so fast, when compared to other new world countries?

1 Answers 2017-10-24

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