Travel Through Time

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A Bloody Summer: The Peasants Revolt of 1381

The Peasants Revolt of 1381 was one of the largest revolts in English history and one that set fear into the court of Richard II. It presented many progressive ideals that helped shaped future rebellions in history! #history #blog #medieval

The summer of 1381 was a particularly tumultuous year in English history. Unlike many rebellions up to that point, the Peasants Revolt of 1381 was initiated by the lower classes. This revolt placed fear in the hearts of the English upper-class. Their ideas were progressive for their era, though their methods proved to be violent. I found this research to be fascinating and I noticed many common…

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Anna Komnene, Princess and Historian

Anna Komnene is one of our only sources on the First Crusade from the Byzantine perspective. She was a Byzantine princess, historian, and intellectual. Read more about her life here! #history #crusades #womenshistory #AnnaKomnene #historian #writer

“For even the greatest of deeds, if not haply preserved in written words and handed down to remembrance, become extinguished in the obscurity of silence” -Preface, The Alexiad Anna Komnene is one of the first female historians and one of the most valuable primary sources of the Middle Ages. Her written account of her father’s reign, The Alexiad, is our only source of the First Crusade from a…

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My Original Work: "War Against the High Cost of Living", A Local History, Now Published On My Blog

I wanted my original work about Polish-American women labor strikes in Hamtramck/Detroit to be accessible to others who were interested in learning. I have published the entire file on my blog! #history #women #detroit #greatdepression #hamtramck

I cannot believe it has already been six years since I wrote my capstone project at university. I still remember all the work that went into it. I traveled back and forth from my university and Detroit. I spent hours in the Detroit Public Library archives combing over newspaper articles from the 1930s. I visited museums in Hamtramck and found the inspiration for my story. I was reading over it…

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Jane Grey: The Doomed Queen

The tragic story of Lady Jane Grey, the nine day Queen of England #history #blog #womenshistory #janegrey #englishhistory #tudors #monarchy

Mary I is considered to be the first queen of England to rule in her own right. Her brother, Edward VI, died at a young age with no heirs which meant, according to Henry VIII’s most recent Act of Succession (1544), his daughters (Mary and then Elizabeth) would be the next to inherit. Yet, Henry VIII never expected that his son’s death would cause a religious crisis. Edward VI and his Council…

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Myth and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871

Myth and the Great Chicago Fire of 1871

It was evening on the night of October 8, 1871 at 137 Devon Street in Chicago’s southwest side. Catherine O’Leary was trying to fall asleep after a long day of working at her profitable dairy business. Catherine and her husband, Patrick, were Irish immigrants who had escaped Ireland after the famine and were searching for a better life. They had bought a $500 double cottage and barn. Catherine’s…

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The Astor Family and the Titanic Tragedy

This month is the 110th Anniversary of the Titanic disaster. I have written a blog post about one of the survivors who has a connection to the Astor family (as discussed in my previous Gilded Age post). #history #titanic #historyblog #americanhistory

This month recognizes the 110th anniversary of the Titanic disaster. It was a terrible tragedy, but the legacy provided better maritime safety measures that still assist us today. It is interesting to read stories from the survivors (most of the accounts were stories from women) and how their lives were impacted due to this disaster. Last month, I wrote about Mrs. Caroline Astor who was the…

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Mrs. Astor, Queen of the Gilded Age

Mrs. Astor was queen over one of the most opulent eras in American history. It was very interesting to research the Gilded Age for this post... #history #gildedage #historyblog #americanhistory #america #womenshistory

The Gilded Age, specifically in New York City, took place from about 1870-1900. This time period is so fascinating because of the absurd amount of wealth that was being thrown around by the upper class. The rules of society (specifically for women) were so strange and so confining. This is a time that the average modern American would not be able to connect to (maybe today’s technology…

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The "Shining" Women and the Battle for Workers Health Rights: Part 2

Part 2 of the story of the Radium Girls! This time it is the fight between the brave young women of Ottawa, Illinois vs Radium Dial. This would impact workers safety laws for years to come... #history #radiumgirls #womenshistory #industrialhistory #blog

Part 1: https://historynavigator.org/2022/01/28/the-shining-women-and-the-battle-for-workers-health-rights-part-1/ Ottawa, Illinois is a small town in the rural Midwest that is about 85 miles southwest from Chicago. In 1922, to the excitement of many of the residents, a small ad ran in the local paper which stated that young women were needed for fine brushwork. It advertised “ideal location and…

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The "Shining" Women and the Battle for Workers Health Rights: Part 1

The Radium Girls took their difficult situation and used it to fight for the safety of others and future generations. This is part 1 of my series on their inspirational story #history #womenshistory #workersrights #industrialhistory #historyblog #1920s

In 1917, a new factory opened in New Jersey. It advertised that it was hiring young women of the local community. For a working-class woman, this was a great opportunity. The pay was above average and it was a skilled job where a young woman could gain experience. The advertised job was a dial painter. They would paint the faces of luminous watches (the numbers and hands of the clock). The paint…

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The Great Hunger 1845-1852

For the past two months I have been working on a post regarding the Irish Potato Famine 1845-1852. It is a very interesting, but sad tale. Its effect was felt worldwide. #history #historyblog

I have been doing research lately on the Irish potato famine (1845- 1852). The famine was a terrible disaster. Countless lives due to a blight affecting the potato crop which was the primary food source for a large part of the population. It is likely that many lives could have been saved if certain aspects were handled differently. This is easy to say in hindsight, but at the time the future was…

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Lady Mary Wortley Montagu- Advocate for Vaccines

This month's post is about Lady Mary Wortley Montagu who was an advocate for the inoculation process against the smallpox disease! #history #womenshistory #vaccine #historyblog

Vaccines have long been important in our current medical care. As children, we are protected from harmful diseases due to the development of these vaccines like measles, tuberculosis, meningitis, etc. The list goes on and on. Most recently, the development of the COVID-19 vaccine has allowed many of us to take steps in ending the pandemic that has changed the face of our world this past year.…

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The Riders of the Orphan Train ( 1854-1929)

From 1854-1929, about 200,000 orphans were transported from the streets of NYC to various new homes in the American West. Learn more about this little known social program in the 19th century in my newest blog post #history #orphantrain #blog #american

I took a bit of a hiatus from the blog as it has been difficult to find the motivation to research and write. It has been a bit of a struggle to find topics I am passionate with especially with the worries of the past year. I recently took a trip to New York City and I found a bit of that passion once again. I visited Ellis Island and it was a great museum where I learned quite a bit. One small…

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Agnes Keleti- The Amazing Story of the Oldest Living Olympic Champion

Agnes Keleti- The Amazing Story of the Oldest Living Olympic Champion

I was watching the open ceremonies for the Olympic games this past week and was introduced to an amazing woman. Agnes Keleti is the oldest living Olympic champion and turned 100 years old this year. She was a 10 times Olympic medalist and five of those were gold. She lived through a lot of difficulties during her life, but in the end she came out on top. I find her to be very impressive and I…

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Empress Zenobia: Rebel Queen

Empress Zenobia: Rebel Queen

Empress Zenobia is an example of a strong and ambitious woman of the ancient world. Unfortunately, not many sources survive to tell her story. Zenobia ruled the city-state of Palmyra from around 267 AD to 272 AD and, after leading a rebellion, she united much of the Eastern portion of the Roman empire under her banner. Though she was defeated in the end, her legacy lives on throughout history and…

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The Strength of Queen Katherine

The Strength of Queen Katherine of Aragon #history #tudors #medieval #queen #spanishprincess #katherineofaragon

In this post, I wanted to focus on Queen Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII of England. With all the focus on Anne Boleyn, Katherine is typically remembered for her struggles later in life. She is remembered as the old, unattractive, stubborn woman who was being replaced by her young and vivacious lady in waiting. In reality, Katherine of Aragon was an extremely strong woman, a…

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Women and the Evolution of Writing

First post of 2021!! Through my study of the Japanese language, I discovered that women had a great impact on the development of the modern Japanese writing system. #history #blog #womenshistory #language

I started to learn Japanese a couple months ago. It has always been something I wanted to do, but I had never really had the motivation until now. I have always wanted to travel to Japan and that is one of my main goals in studying the language (it is also something to look forward too once the COVID pandemic has died down). I believe it is really important to learn at least some parts of the…

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When Christmas was Banned...

The Holidays this year are going to be very different than usual, but it can't ever be truly cancelled, right? Well, in the 1600s that is exactly what happened #history #christmas #holidays #blog

The holidays this year have been a struggle. Many did not even expect the holidays would have been affected when the pandemic started in March . Gatherings will be smaller or over video chats and the holidays will not feel like the big event that they have usually been. Yet, it also gives us sometime time to focus on the things we are grateful for. Christmas could never truly be cancelled,…

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