Fort Bragg, California is a city located in coastal Mendocino County along State Route 1, which is the major north-south highway along the Pacific Coast. It was founded in 1857 as a military garrison. First Lieutenant Horatio G. Gibson, then serving at the Presidio of San Francisco, established the camp and named it for his former commanding officer Captain Braxton Bragg, who later became a General in the Army of the Confederacy.
Four Martello towers were built in Kingston, Province of Canada, in response to the Oregon crisis. One of the four, Murney Tower, is open to the public as an historical site.
Off-game. I have toured both Fort Denison and Murney Tower within a couple of months of each other.
At 620 feet (189 m), Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon.
The two Roman consuls in the year 189 BC were Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and Gnaeus Manlius Vulso.
Noted black nationalist Marcus Garvey had a thing for military uniform, despite never having served.
Despite what many freemen-on-the-land assert, the Uniform Commercial Code does not apply in Canada.
Australian Aboriginal runner Cathy Freeman lit the torch at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and went on to win the women’s 400 meter race there. She has the phrase " 'Cos I’m Free" tattooed on her right arm.
(Sorry to hear the sickness has spread across the border despite our best efforts to eradicate it here, NP)
When Freddy Freeman said the name “Captain Marvel,” he turned into Captain Marvel, Jr. He was thus the only superhero who couldn’t really tell people his name or his secret identity would be revealed.
Miles Davis’ track “Freddie Freeloader” from his seminal album Kind of Blue may owe its name to Red Skelton’s famous character, a hobo clown he named Freddie the Freeloader. Solos on the track are by Davis, Wynton Kelly, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, and Paul Chambers.
The Blue Flame was a rocket-powered car driven by Gary Gabelich that set the land speed record at 622.407 miles per hour at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in 1970.
The Salt of State, a salt cellar in the form of a miniature gold castle, is part of the Queen’s collection of Crown Jewels.
The Irish Crown Jewels consisted of the regalia of the Grand Master of the Order of St Patrick. They were stolen in 1907 and have never been recovered.
The Arctic Archipelago was transferred from Britain to Canada in 1880 by an Order-in-Council enacted under the Royal Prerogative and the common law, rather than under statutory authority.
The term Arctic comes from the Greek word ‘arktikos’, meaning northern, which is itself derived from the word ‘arktos’, meaning bear, in reference to the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Starry Night Over the Rhone, painted by Vincent Van Gough in September of 1888, depicts the night sky over the Rhone River in Arles, including the Ursa Major constellation.
The Don McLean song, “Vincent”, was written in 1971 as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. Its opening line, “Starry Starry Night”, is a reference to van Gogh’s painting, The Starry Night, and the song describes other van Gogh paintings as well. The song reached #1 in 1972 in the UK and #12 in the US.
The smallest of the 88 constellations recognised by the International Astronomical Union is Crux, familiarly known as the Southern Cross.
Crux is one of three constellations that includes two first magnitude stars. The other two are Orion and Centaurus.
Southern Cross, a town in Western Australia, was founded by gold prospectors in 1888. It is named after the Southern Cross constellation, and the town’s streets are named after constellations and stars.
Perth, Western Australia, is the only Australian state capital named for a place (Perth in Scotland) rather than for a person.
Sydney is the capital city of New South Wales. It is named after Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney.
Melbourne is the capital city of Victoria. It is named after William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne.
Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland. It is named after the Brisbane River on which it is located, which in turn was named after Scotsman Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825.
Perth is the capital city of Western Australia. It is named after… well, Cunctator already took care of that.
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia. It is named after Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV.
Hobart is the capital city of Tasmania. It is named after Lord Hobart, the Colonial Secretary.
Darwin is the capital city of Northern Territory. It is named after Charles Darwin, author of On the Origin of Species.
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. It was named by Joshua John Moore, the first settler in the region, and its meaning is not known.