In 1492, the explorer Christopher Columbus became the first European to arrive at the West Indies. It’s believed by historians that he first stepped foot in the Bahamas. Columbus called these islands the Indies because he thought he had finally reached Asia (and the East Indies). Spain, when Columbus’ mistake was discovered, renamed them the West Indies, to distinguish them from the Spice Islands in the Pacific Ocean, (the East Indies) which we now call Indonesia.
Today the West Indies, better know as the Caribbean, is comprised of many island countries, dependencies and territories, and (as a group) remain one of the premier tourist destinations on the planet.
The Danish West Indies islands were sold to the United States in 1916 under the terms of the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and were organized as the United States Virgin Islands in 1917.
The statue of Athena Parthenos was the most renowned image in Athens, and was housed in the Parthenon (παρθένος being the Ancient Greek word for ‘virgin’).
There is a replica of the statue in, of all places, Nashville.
Volvo was founded in 1927 in Göteborg (or Gothenburg), Sweden. Göteborg is Sweden’s second largest city, and it has an Italian district called Little Italy.
Cleveland, Ohio has a Little Italy, too, located near the University Circle area. It is now best-known for its concentration of restaurants, bakeries and coffeeshops.
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States and is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897) and to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents.
Cleveland was the middle child in his family of nine children.
Henry VIII did not see Anne of Cleves until they were about to be married. His only guide to her appearance was a small cameo by Hans Holbein. Her appearance disappointed him, and he refused to have sex with her, allowing the marriage to be annulled (Henry did not actually divorce any of his wives).
Henry Alfred Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973:
“For the 1973 Paris agreement intended to bring about a cease-fire in the Vietnam war and a withdrawal of the American forces.”
He shared the prize with Le Duc Tho, who refused the prize. His reasons were because peace had not yet been established in Vietnam, and he claimed the US and South Vietnam were in violation of the Paris Peace Accords.
Upon the occasion, Tom Lehrer observed “Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize.” Despite the popular meme, that was not the reason Lehrer stopped doing it, since he had lost his mojo for it several years earlier.
The last individual to win the Nobel Peace Prize alone was Liu Xiaobo in 2010 for his “long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.”
Medjugorje is a town in Bosnia and Herzegovina which has become a popular pilgrimage destination due to reports of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It’s a common misconception among non-Catholics that The Immaculate Conception refers to the birth of Jesus Christ. In truth, it refers to the birth of the Virgin Mary herself.
The Feast of the Immaculate Reception is celebrated in Pittsburgh… oh… wait a minute…
The Nativity of the BVM celebrates her birth. Her parents are said to have been Saint Anne and Saint Joachim.