I love running across historical facts and oddities that have heretofore escaped my attention or which suddenly catch up my interest or perhaps pop into my restless (and mostly unused) brain. Obviously, there are legions of such stories out there so I will occasionally lay out a few from time to time for your edification. I really do need to get a life. Aren’t you thrilled to be following my blog. Where else can you be entertained like this?

Let’s start with Cleopatra, the Greek seductress of Egypt who mesmerized Caesar and Marc Antony. But here’s the thing about her. She is closer (time wise) to the IPhone than to the great Egyptian Pyramids. Yup, some of them were erected in 2,500 BC while Cleo was doing her thing almost 2,500 years later. It has been only two millenia since she stopped doing her feminine mischief and offed herself.

Speaking of Caesar, as a young man he was more or less an ordinary soldier but from a family with some means. He was captured by some pirates at one point and held for ransom. While in captivity, he disprespected his captors and even promised to kill them all when he had a chance in the future. They never took him seriously and, in fact, laughed at his boasts. Eventualy, he was released upon receiving the ransom demand. Bad mistake on their part since Caesar made good on his boast. He raised a fleet of ships before returning and executing them all. Some people are more than blowhards.

Now, Joseph Stalin was not a blowhard. In fact, he never said very much at all, especially in public where he was embarrassed by his heavy Georgian accent (the country, not the state). He was ruthless though and not always the sharpest knufe in the drawer. In 1941, his spies and other officials from neighboring countries screamed at him that Hitler was about to invade. He refused to believe them. Unbelievably, Stalin trusted another tyrant more than his friends. (Hmm, reminds me of Trump’s love match with Putin.) Then, in response to the invasion many saw coming, he got drunk and stayed drunk for several days. Fortunately, he had not killed Georgy Zhukov during his 1937 purges of the miltary and political leadership. This brilliant general bailed him out and Stalin managed to become a hero to his people despite his insane insecurities and murderous rampages. Stalin was so feared that, when he collapsed and died, no one wanted to touch the body just in case he was still alive. As the story goes, the cleaning lady was the only one brave enough to determine that this tyrant really had gone to meet his maker.

Did a wrong turn cause the 20 million deaths of World War I? Who knows for sure. But the fact remains that the dominoes toward war began with the assassination of Archduke Fedinand by a Serbian nationalist during a State Visit. The plotters thought they had failed to knock of the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne when a grenade thrown under his car only managed to injure nearby spectators. One of the group, Gavrilo Princip, was sitting dejectedly at a cafe despairing that they had missed their chance. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, the car carrying the Archduke and his wife stopped right in front of him. The driver had taken a wrong turn, got confused, and then experienced dificulty with the vehicle. Gavrilo broke out of his depression, stood up, walked across the street, pulled out a pistol, and killed Ferdinand and his wife Sophia. The rest, as they say, is history.

Speaking of history, Hannibal, the great Carthaginian military leader, took on the great Roman Empire just as it was emerging into its glory. In fact, he did one hell of a job. Helped by his secret weapon, a bunch of elephants, he circled around though the Iberian peninsula and over the Alps (no small feat) before beating the Roman legions in three battles. It is estimated that some 20 percent of Roman adults were killed during the so-called Punic Wars. That should have been enough to bring most empires to their knees but the Romans fought on. Eventually, Hannibal was defeated, and the grounds around Carthage were salted so crops could not be grown in the future. Rome now controlled the Mediteranean and went on to become the empire we remember. But it was a close run thing and maybe we would be studying the Carthaginian empire if it had turned out differently.

We ignore so much of history, usually focusing on our world and that of our closest ancestors. For example, the Taipeng Rebellion in China took place around the same time as our Civil War. A cult leader named Hong Xuiguan claimed, oddly enough, to be related to Jesus Christ. While that seems an odd way to lead a revolt against the existing Chinese Imperial leadership, it worked. A long and bitter Civil War ensued in which it has been estimated that anywhere from 10 to 100 million died in battle or from starvation. Most put the figure in the 30 to 40 million range, higher than WWI but less than WWII. To put it in perspective, our Civil War cost between 600,000 and 700,000 American lives, by far the worst conflict in our history. Yet, few of us have heard of this more devastating catastrophe on the other side of the world.

Speaking of China, did you know that there is evidence that Christianity may have reached that remote land before it reached northern Europe. There is evidence that Nestorean Christians had settled in China as early as the 7th century. So, perhaps the aprochyphral story of a rebellious leader claiming to be a relative of Christ is not so far fetched. Then again, it stikes me that Asian spiritual beliefs are more cultural in character and less institutional. They can more easily absorb new thought and traditions and weave them into existing frameworks. I don’t recall the Catholicism in which I was raised being so adaptable.

Now, here’s an odd little fact. Who remembers Audie Murphy? Well, he was the most decorated American soldier in World War II. His start toward military fame was, however, less than auspicious. He was rejected by the Army, Navy, and the Marine Corps as being unfit for service. He kept trying to sign up to fight. I suppose that any life, even one in battle, had to be better than living in Texas. So, after his older sister lied about his age for him, he finally squeeked into the Army. Again, as they say, the rest is history. After the war and the publication of his heroics in a book titled To Hell and Back, he parlayed his military fame into a pretty decent movie career though, as I vaguely recall, he couldn’t act worth a damn.

Sometimes, things happen that many of us find difficult to understand from afar. Britain was so grateful to Winston Churchill for bringing them through to victory over the Nazis in 1945 that they resoundedly voted his government out of office. It seemed odd timing since the war in the Pacific was yet to be won. Instead, they ushered in Clement Atlee as the Labor (or should I spell it Labour) Party Prime Minister. Clement is not known to us as well as Churchill of course. No one has made a movie about him (as far as I know). However, he is ranked as one of the better PM’s in British history and is credited with introducing the modern welfare state and the country’s National Health Service (NHS). I recall the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London. During their opening ceremony, they organized a part of it to honor their NHS, something in which they obviously take pride. Can you imagine America honoring the shambles we call a health care ‘system?’ There are better organized riots than our so called system.

Speaking of leaders, do you realize how close we came to not having FDR during a crucial time in our history. Roosvevelt was visiting Miami in early 1933 after defeating Hoover for the Presidency but before being sworn in. A nutter decided to kill the President-elect and had a clear shot at him from the crowd at a short distance. Apparently, the would-be assassin was jostled at the key moment just as the Mayor of Chicago leaned into the open car to shake FDR’s hand. The mayor was hit and died within days. If FDR had been killed, we would have had John Nance Garner to lead us through the Depression and perhaps the War. Garner was from Texas and a conservative. While helpful to FDR at the beginning, he came to oppose much of the New Deal. You have to wonder what would have happened had he been in the White House during the the hard days of the 1930s.

One final note from my memory. I recall my dad telling me about the outcome of a sports event that impacted the lives of some in a big way. In New England back then, the Boston College-Holy Cross football rivalry was a big deal. These were two fine Jesuit Colleges located only about 40 miles apart. Then, Holy Cross annually played Penn State, Syracuse, Army, and other big powers. Anyway, in 1942 Boston College had a powerhouse team. They had outscored their opponents that year by a 249-19 margin and were headed for the Orange Bowl. On the other hand, the Holy Cross Crusaders stunk big time. A rout was anticipated. And a rout there was, but the Crusaders came out on top by an unbelievable 55-12 score, a game often referred to as the biggest college football upset ever. But here’s the thing, a large number of Boston supporters had reserved places at the Cocoanut Grove Night Club to celebrate what they were certain would be an undefeated season. Stunned, and dismayed, they cancelled their plans. That very night (November 28, 1942), the Cocoanut Grove burned down in a flash fire that took 492 lives. It was to be the 2nd most fatalities associated with a single fire in U.S. history.

So, there you go. All the stuff you could have lived the remainder of your life without knowing. You can thank me later.

I’m going out to see if I can find a real life now.