Leo McKern also played the Great Swami Clang of the Thuggee cult, who tries to retrieve the sacrificial virgin’s ring from Ringo, in the Beatles’ 1965 film Help!
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Democrat of Minnesota, was sworn in for his only term as Vice President of the United States on Jan. 20, 1965.
Hubert Humphrey gained national prominence at the 1948 Democratic National Convention where he argued passionately for a strong Civil Rights plank in the party’s platform. The Democrats, Republicans and Progressive Party all held their 1948 conventions during June and July at Convention Hall in Philadelphia.
Humphrey Bogart was buried with a small, gold whistle in his coffin, put there by his wife, Lauren Bacall.
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Lauren Bacall was the stage name of Betty Joan Persky (and prefers being called “Betty”), who made her film debut in To Have and Have Not, where she taught Humphrey Bogart how to whistle: “You just put your lips together and blow.”
Lauren Bacall was chosen by Empire as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#6) in 1995.
Emperor Leonidas, named after the ancient Greek hero-king, is sovereign of the Empire of Humanity in the Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle first-contact classic novel The Mote in God’s Eye.
The Ancient Greek phrase μολών λαβέ (molon labé) - usually translated as “come and take them”- is considered an example par excellence of the laconic phrase. It is traditionally ascribed to King Leonidas of Sparta as he and his small army, facing almost certain defeat, made a defiant stand against the Persians and rejected requests that the Spartans surrender.
Like “laconic phrase,” the term “Parthian shot” also originated in the Classical Era. It refers to the Parthian cavalry who, in fighting against the Romans, were able to turn in their saddles and fire arrows at the enemy as they were galloping away—a hit-and-run tactic similar to those still used in guerilla warfare today.
The Parthian Empire, 247 BC – 224 AD, also known as the Arsacid Empire, was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now south-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran.
The Mesopotamian campaign during World War I, was one of the great disasters of the war for the UK. Sent to secure Basra as an oil port, General Charles Townsend sent an unnecessary expedition up the Tigris and Euphrates toward Baghdad. It’s speculated that Townsend wanted the glory of capturing Baghdad, even though it was militarily unimportant. His army was attacked and surrounded in the city of Kut-al-Amara. Townsend did nothing to try to break the siege (no attacks or sorties), other than calling for more help, and eventually surrendered. While Townsend and his officers were treated with respect by the Ottoman captors, his soldiers suffered tremendous abuse and privation before being repatriated.
Brevet Major General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was awarded the Medal of Honor for his leadership of the 20th Maine volunteer infantry regiment during the struggle over Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. He was not awarded the medal until thirty years later, in 1893, however.
Maine is the only state in the U.S. with just one syllable in its name.
Maine is the easternmost of the 48 contiguous US states, but Alaska is technically the easternmost of all 50, since its territory extends beyond 180 degrees west longitude (it is also the westernmost US state).
Maine is one of three states now represented by two women in the U.S. Senate (the others are Washington State and California).
At the time of the Civil War, the capital of the US was called “Washington City.” The “City” was later dropped.
The Civil War capital of the Confederacy was Montgomery AL until 29-May-1861, and then was Richmond VA until 3-Apr-1865.
The “Danville Train” (actually the Richamond and Danville Railroad) is mentioned in the song “The Night Drove Old Dixie Down.” It was written by Robbie Robertson, a Canadian.
The famous “train fight scene” from the second Bond film, From Russia With Love, is considered by many to be among the best fight scenes in the franchise. Notably, it takes place in the dark, with no music-- no sound but the battling combatants and the sounds of the train.
Spoiler alert: Bond wins the fight.