What was so disappointing about Disappointment Island ?

One of the Auckland Islands is called Disappointment Island. Is there agreement among Historians as to where this name comes from ?

1 Answers 2017-01-02

References to "God" in ancient historical texts like Livy

I'm reading Livy's Early History of Rome (Books I - V) from Penguin Classics. There have been a few passages which refer to "God". It's odd because it's both capitalized and used in the singular without surrounding context that would imply reference to a specific god. It reads like the way Christians refer to god.

Is this just a failure of translation or something else?

3 Answers 2017-01-02

We often hear about FDR's domestic policies - what about his foreign ones?

Quite a lot of Americans see his presidency as a huge success. In Poland - on the contrary. He's regarded here as a weak president, who betrayed his Polish allies and helped to establish the dominant position of USSR in Eastern Europe. I am aware, that this view may be influenced by the widespread sense of national pride/Poland the Christ of Nations. Your opinions?

1 Answers 2017-01-02

How did Britain and France go from being at war during the time of Napoleon I to allies at the start of WW1?

1 Answers 2017-01-02

In Europe, alcoholic drinks are often called 'Water of life'. Why?

All of these are various alcoholic drinks that translate to 'water of life':

Irish/Scottish Gaelic: Uisce beatha
French: Eau de vie
Italian: Acquavite
Scandinavian: akvavit
Polish: okowita
Russian: яковита (yakovita)
etc.

I'm guessing these all come from the Latin aqua vitae, but it's unusual (isn't it?) that the phrase seems to have (at least a few times) been translated instead of the Latin word being loaned phonetically.

Why water of life? I can take a bunch of guesses, but do we know why exactly it was seen to be related to life?

I was going to ask this in a linguistics subreddit, but I think this might have more to do with the way people viewed alcohol historical rather than just being an etymological question.

1 Answers 2017-01-02

Is there a genealogy equivalent to this sub? Or can I post a question about a possible ancestor here?

My question is pretty much what the title says. The ancestor I have in mind is possibly at least partly historically relevant. I've recently moved to England and learning about some ancestors and history while here has added some new interest and intrigue to my family's history.

1 Answers 2017-01-02

How do the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki compare to all other bombs dropped during WWII?

Sorry if this is more of an /r/askscience question, but I figured this sub would have more data on bombings.

Were the atomic bombs so powerful that they made up a large percentage of explosive power used in WWII? Or did we drop so many other bombs that the total contributions of the atomic bombs aren't very much?

2 Answers 2017-01-02

Can anyone recommend a good book on Hobbes?

I find the writing of his era somewhat difficult to parse. Looking for something that gives an overview.

1 Answers 2017-01-02

In the supposedly historically accurate movie The Siege of Jadotville there was talk of the actions taken in the Congo potentially leading to WWIII. How accurate are these claims? Was there ever any real danger of WWIII breaking out due to conflicts taking place within the Congo?

4 Answers 2017-01-02

How widespread was human cannibalism in the time of the Ice Age?

2 Answers 2017-01-02

Did the Soviet Union and former Socialist countries in Eastern Europe had minimum wage laws?

1 Answers 2017-01-02

When/how were the days of the week decided?

For example, many may call today "Monday". How was it decided that a certain day would be Monday? When was this system put into effect, and who was the person/group who put this system into effect?

1 Answers 2017-01-02

Why didn't Germans emigrating to the United States settle in the South?

Columbia, South Carolina and Hickory, North Carolina seem to be the only major cities in the Deep South that Germans settled in any great numbers. My understanding is there were also minor settlements in New Orleans, New Braunfels, Texas, and Sarasota, Florida. Other than that, there were very little German settlements in the South. Why?

Why was the North more desirable to them than the South? Even today in the South, despite migration to the Sunbelt there is very little in the way of German influence and culture in the South.

1 Answers 2017-01-02

What are some good resources on the history of software and computing, specifically the late 70's and early 80's during the rise of the personal computer?

I'm in a computer science course this semester, but I'm not particularly well versed on the topic or its history, so I was wondering if there were any good books or other resources that provide a good intro and overview on the period while being fairly easy to pick up.

3 Answers 2017-01-02

Why is Omaha beach the most famous D-Day landing, when there were 4 other beaches taken on D-Day by American, Canadian, French and British troops?

4 Answers 2017-01-02

Best Of December Voting Thread

Here we go again!

Get in here and upvote answers you like and think are most exemplary. Feel free to submit answers you think are worthy of nomination but don't currently see listed.

And please keep comment posts under this please to not clutter up the thread!

12 Answers 2017-01-02

Ulster prison handmade basket

This handmade basket was offered to my father by an Irish friend back in the 70's. He said it was from a prison in Ireland that hosted IRA members. The back was signed by some. What can you tell me about it? What does the symbols mean?

1 Answers 2017-01-02

Was (combat) rolling something Cowboys actually did?

An example would be McCree from the game Overwatch and I know I've seen it elsewhere, did cowboys in the old west actually roll to cover or was it something people now believe they did?

edit: hey guy who commented, you're shadowbanned.

1 Answers 2017-01-02

Why were Luftwaffe pilots in WWII required(?) to retrieve the clock from their aircraft if they crash landed?

Steinhoff mentioned this in his book, making particular note of the fact he retrieved the clock from his crashed 109 after being shot up by a Spitfire over Sicily.

Was this a requirement or just a habit? What's the reason behind it either way?

3 Answers 2017-01-02

What happened to Muslims living in what is now Israel during and before 1948

I know this is a complicated issue but basically what I'd like to know is

  1. Between the Balfour Declaration and the UN establishment of Israel in 1948 how did Jews settle in Palestine. Did they violently take land, legally buy it, or a mixture of the two?

  2. What was the general Palestinian response to this?

  3. During the mass migrations in 1948 did Palestinians leave voluntarily or were they forced out?

1 Answers 2017-01-02

Did people call close-quarters weapons such as swords and spears "melee weapons" before DnD and other tabletop RPGs?

Sort of a goofy question I know, but in writing done before RPGs popularized "melee" to refer to non-ranged weaponry I've only seen the word "melee" used to refer to a chaotic tussle or fight rather than a specific weapon designation. Is this a case of an RPG term being picked up by historians and medieval weapons enthusiasts, or was the word always used this way?

2 Answers 2017-01-02

I inherited part of an elaborate old pen from my grandfather (pics). Inside is a note saying "Nai Keim Bee, Prince Siam, about 1913" Was this a real person?

image

Imgur

Imgur

tip of inside tube: Imgur

note that my granddad had inside: Imgur

It says: "Nai Keim Bee, Prince Siam, about 1913" (as you can see, the "Keim" might be "Kim"

1 Answers 2017-01-02

Which battle(s) in WW2 resulted in most captives (POWs)?

1 Answers 2017-01-02

What do we know about the ceremonies of medieval guilds? Do the Freemason rites of the last few centuries have any historical grounding in those?

Thanks. Curious about what actually happened among guild members, apart from business talk and of course practicing a skill. Were there secret meetings? Rituals or festivities when members became journeymen or masters?

Wikipedia (forgive me!) says that their precursors, the Roman craft organizations, were "originally formed as religious confraternities."

Answers or resources for further reading—or medievalists working in this area—would be most welcome!

1 Answers 2017-01-02

Did John Wilkes Booth actually die in 1865?

[deleted]

1 Answers 2017-01-02

⯇ 3709 / 7255 ⯈

Back to start