Photo of the Sphinx in the late 1800s.

This is a photo of the Sphinx in the late 1800s. It was taken from a hot air balloon and it was still covered by sand. Read More: Natchez Indian Trail History

 

The Crown of Bahadur Shah Zafar 1775-1862)

The Crown was crafted in the second quarter of the 19th century CE, most probably in Delhi or surrounding areas, by goldsmiths and jewelers. It is, strictly speaking, not a crown, but an article of headdress. the Aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857 CE, and Delhi was recaptured from Indian freedom fighters by East India Company's Army on September 21, 1857 CE, Their atrocities and intimidation reached the end of tolerance. Emperor along with his two sons and grand son took shelter in Humayun's Tomb in Delhi. 

Mirza Ilahi Bux, a close associate of the ruler was forced to reveal where the ruler and others were hiding. At last emperor and his heirs surrendered to Major Hodson who took his captives back to Red Fort. On the way near Khooni Gate (Dharwaza), the major ordered Bahadur Shah Zafar's sons, Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizer Khan, and his grandson, Mirza Abu Bakr, to get off the carriage and disrobe. 

He then shot them dead in cold blood and hung their bodies near the gate. The official end of the Mughal Empire was marked in Delhi by the auction of quantities of jewels and other valuable relics from Bahadur Shah’s court. Bahadur Shah (1775–1862 CE), was held prisoner in a dingy room of his ancestral fort during the summer and later exiled to Rangoon, Burma (Myanmar), where the last Mughal Emperor, died at 5am on Friday, November 7, 1862. He was given a hurried and ignominious burial in Rangoon. 

Read More: The Modoc War 1872

Cherry Street looking toward the intersection with Oliver Street.

New York City, circa 1932.Cherry Street looking toward the intersection with Oliver Street.The building in the middle with the columns is a free public bath house at 100 Cherry Street. The whole area was demolished in late 1940's to make way for an Alfred E. Smith housing complex.

Credit: Percy L. Sperr / The New York Public Library. 

Read More: James Holman – A British Blind Traveler

Eridu, First city in history according to Mesopotamian sources.

Eridu, First city in history according to Mesopotamian sources. The Sumerian King List it’s referenced with the mythical rulers before the Universal Flood with incredibly long reigns. Founded in 5400 BC during the Early Ubaid period. 

Read More: The Mysterious Tarim Mummies Buried in a Boats in Chinese Desert

A Massive Ancient Tree found in Thailand

A fossilized tree was discovered in northern Thailand, with a height estimated at 72.2m, it suggests that this ancient tree could have stood over 100m. It's presence in this humid tropical environment dates it back 800,000 years. Read More: The Golden Uraeus

A Neanderthal footprint preserved in the sediments of the Grotte di Toirano, Liguria,

A Neanderthal footprint preserved in the sediments of the Grotte di Toirano, Liguria, Italy. The last Neanderthals left the stage around 40,000 years ago. 

Read More: The Unbelievable Chinchorro Mummification Culture

Liba Radij aged 17, Executed by the Nazis in 1943

Photo of the Yugoslavian fighter girl (Liba Radij) aged 17, while executed by the Nazis in 1943. The commander said to her: If you mention the names of your colleagues , I will release you immediately. She said to him: You will know them when they come to avenge me. And indeed , they later came and executed him on the same tree !!. The cowards die while they are alive, and the brave live while they are dead. Read More: Topkapı Dagger: Most Valuable Dagger in the World

Cheddar Man, the oldest complete human skeleton found in the British Isles

Cheddar Man, the oldest complete human skeleton found in the British Isles, was discovered in Somerset, England, back in 1903. Dating back around 10,000 years, this Mesolithic find shed light on early human life in the region. What made Cheddar Man intriguing was his physical appearance, revealed through DNA testing in 2018. He had dark skin, blue eyes, and curly hair, challenging previous assumptions about the complexion of early Europeans. Genetic analysis linked him to the Western Hunter-Gatherers, an ancient population who were the early inhabitants of Europe after the Ice Age. The skeleton was found in Gough’s Cave alongside various artifacts, including flint tools and animal remains. Descendants of these early humans are believed to have influenced the genetic makeup of present-day Europeans. Cheddar Man's remains, on display at the Natural History Museum in London, continue to captivate visitors, offering a glimpse into the enigmatic past of our ancient ancestors.

Read More: Chokundi Cemetery – Masterpiece of Architecture and Sculpture

Remarkable Picture of World War I

We did not get any sleep at all last night because our artillery kept firing nonstop. Everything was trembling, and the Germans only gave us a meek response. However, the day is still young and they might send us more artillery. There is nothing to fear because I do not have any chores to complete today.

Jewish refugee granted entry into Palestine shortly before the creation of Israel.

 See the below image of jewish refugee granted permission to enter in Palestine.

Mahatma Gandhi's letter to Hitler appealing him to call off the WW2

Hist friends have been urging him to write a letter for the sake of humanity. You will be surprise to see the Mahatma Gandhi's letter to Adlof Hitler appealing him to call of the WW2.

Electric Cannon uses no Gunpowder

Silent guns sending their whistling messengers of death into the sky at speeds far beyond those now attained by powder-driven shells seem likely for the next war, using for propulsion magnetic fields so powerful that when they are short-circuited they produce miniature earthquakes. Dr. Kapitza, F. R. S., working at the Cavendish Laboratory of Cambridge University, England, in his attempts to disrupt the atom has produced magnetic fields so powerful that they "explode" the coils that produce them. This man has finally revealed the secret of the magnetic gun so long anticipated by ballistic experts. Dr. Kapitza accomplishes the electric firing of a shell by short-circuiting powerful dynamos for periods of one one-hundredth of a second. 

Another English experimenter, Dr. Wall, seeking the same thing, produces ultra-magnetic fields with a more simple apparatus. Dr. Wall simply charges electrostatic condensers and permits them to discharge their powerful currents into specially-made coils immersed in oil baths. Here also magnetic fields so powerful that they tear the coils to pieces have been produced. So great are these magnetic fields that they are capable of pulling iron nails out of shoes. While the magnetic effects produced by both of these experimenters are of very short duration, they could be employed to impart their terrible energy to steel shells. The time limit, which cannot exceed one one-hundredth of a second, is imposed be- cause of the powerful currents used. 

If these currents were permitted to flow through wire for a greater period of time, the wire would melt and temperatures greater than those existing in some of the hottest stars would be produced. To produce a magnetic gun-a silent Big- Bertha-it will only be necessary to arrange a series of powerful coils within the gun barrel. Each coil will have its own generator and the shell advancing through the barrel will automatically energize the coil just ahead of it. By the time the shell reaches the end of the barrel it will have attained a speed far in excess of the speeds plosives known. Now attainable with even the highest ex-Owing to the entire absence of internal. pressures these guns may be made of ordinary iron or even purely non-magnetic materials. 

The "magnetic explosions' will be initiated by the simple closing of a switch which will energize the first coil and snatch the shell from the breech in the first leg of its journey of destruction. The magnetic gun, pictured on this month's cover, is foreshadowed by achievements of two English experimenters. Powerful currents working through coils around the gun barrel exert a magnetic effect on the steel shell, pulling it through the barrel at tremendous speed. Each coil has its generator, and the shell advancing through the barrel will automatically energize the coil just ahead of it. A rotary switch could be employed to adapt the idea to machine guns.

Octavius: The legendary 18th-century ghost ship

The Octavius was a legendary 18th-century ghost ship. The story goes that it was discovered off the coast of Greenland in 1775.

Initially assumed to be empty upon being sighted, when boarded, a spine-shivering sight awaited. Below the deck, they came across the entire crew, completely frozen.

The captain sat rooted, almost stoically, at the table in front of him with a pen still in hand and his log laid out before him.

Written there was the log’s last entry, dated November 11, 1762, and its last recorded position marked their location about 250 miles north of Alaska’s arctic coast.

The ghost ship had been adrift for thirteen years before its discovery, meandering aimlessly for hundreds of miles. Though it is a great story, there is no proof of whether the ship existed or not.

Pontiac: Ottawa Chief in about 1720

Pontiac was an Ottawa chief, born on the Ottawa River, in Canada, about 1720. While yet a young man he became the principal chief of the allied Ottawas, Ojibways, and Pottawatomies. He was always a firm ally of the French, to whose interests he was devotedly attached, defending them at Detroit against an attack by the Northern tribes, and (it is generally believed) leading the Ottawas in the defeat of Braddock.

He reluctantly acquiesced in the issue of the French and Indian War, although at first strongly disposed to dispute the progress of Major Rogers, the British officer sent to take possession of the western forts. In 1762, he dispatched emissaries to many tribes in order to unite them in an alliance to exterminate the English. His proposals were favorably received, and thus organized what is commonly spoken of as the “Conspiracy of Pontiac.” He himself undertook to lead an assault upon Detroit.

His intention was, however, informed to the garrison and they prepared accordingly. Pontiac thereupon laid siege to the fort but was unable to prevent the ingress of provisions. The Canadian settlers furnished supplies to both the besieged and besiegers with absolute impartiality. Finally, a boatload of ammunition and supplies landed at Detroit from Lake Erie, and the English made an unsuccessful sortie on July 31, 1763.

After a desultory warfare, lasting for nearly three months, the Indians withdrew into Indiana, where Pontiac tried in vain to organize another movement. The Indians did not capture Detroit, but they captured Fort Sandusky, St. Joseph, Miami, Ouiatanon, LeBoeuf, and Venango, along with Mackinaw and Presque Isle. Throughout the country, garrisons were massacred at all of these locations and countless other atrocities occurred.

Additional British troops were sent west, and the Indians were finally brought under control. Pontiac was present at Oswego when a treaty was signed with Sir William Johnson, but remained implacable. His end was tragic. Broken in heart, but still proud in spirit and relentless in purpose, he applied to the former (and last) French Governor of Illinois, the younger St. Ange, who was then at St. Louis, for cooperation and support in another raid against the British.

Being refused aid or countenance, according to a story long popularly received, he returned to the vicinity of Cahokia, where, in 1769, he was murdered by a Kaskaskia Indian in consideration of a barrel of liquor. Col. Joseph N. Bourassa, a Kansas-educated half-breed, is cited as authority for this statement by Matson, author of several volumes pertaining to early history in Illinois. It has been claimed that the Indians killed at Cahokia were imposters and that Kineboo, the Head Chief of Illinois, assassinated the true Pontiac in a council held near Joliet on the Des Plaines River.

So well convinced, it is said, was Pierre Chouteau, the St. Louis Indian trader, of the truth of this last story, that he caused a monument, which he had erected over the grave of the false Pontiac, to be removed. A majority of historians agree that Pontiac's murder, whether it occurred at Cahokia or Joliet, resulted in the extermination of Illinois and the tragedy of the Starved Rock.