# Question for UK Dopers: What famous Americans did you learn about in your history classes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2013, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-uk-dopers-what-famous-americans-did-you-learn-about-in-your-history-classes/674602 "2013-11-23T05:50:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-uk-dopers-what-famous-americans-did-you-learn-about-in-your-history-classes/674602/61 "2013-11-27T16:37:46Z")
British, took history from around 1980 to 1988 (I dropped it when it came to GCSE time). I honestly don’t remember anything American at all in history class. Everything we did seemed to be medieval, I can’t even remember doing the World Wars. I seem to remember crop rotation appearing about once a year for some unknown reason. The US figured better in English class. I definitely remember studying “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and the work of TS Eliot (my “extended essay” for A-Level English Literature was “Discuss how Eliot’s writing went from despair to hope, taking into account “The Wasteland”, “Ash Wednesday” and “Burnt Norton””). Canada got a look in too with “The Handmaid’s Tale”. Growing up in Warwickshire though, we did a LOT of Shakespeare. ETA: It might be relevant that I went to a private Catholic school that, I believe, didn’t have to follow the National Curriculum. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-uk-dopers-what-famous-americans-did-you-learn-about-in-your-history-classes/674602/62 "2013-11-27T16:41:38Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > British, took history from around 1980 to 1988 (I dropped it when it came to GCSE time). > > I honestly don’t remember anything American at all in history class. Everything we did seemed to be medieval, I can’t even remember doing the World Wars. I seem to remember crop rotation appearing about once a year for some unknown reason. Egads, that reminds me, we seemed to do the Corn Laws for years. Anyone else remember doing the Corn Laws? Yes? Now, can anyone remember a damn thing about them? ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-uk-dopers-what-famous-americans-did-you-learn-about-in-your-history-classes/674602/63 "2013-11-27T17:18:02Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Egads, that reminds me, we seemed to do the Corn Laws for years. Anyone else remember doing the Corn Laws? Yes? Now, can anyone remember a damn thing about them? …and that reminds me of a seemingly endless year of learning the Enclosure Acts and sodding field systems. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-uk-dopers-what-famous-americans-did-you-learn-about-in-your-history-classes/674602/64 "2013-11-27T17:32:56Z")
Spinning Jennies. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-uk-dopers-what-famous-americans-did-you-learn-about-in-your-history-classes/674602/65 "2013-11-28T00:05:53Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I wonder how much better American students would do trying to label all the counties that make up Great Britain? I got five and a half… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-uk-dopers-what-famous-americans-did-you-learn-about-in-your-history-classes/674602.md?page=3)