History Facts

    Random History Facts

    There are 163 History Facts!

    London's Pall Mall became the first street lit by gaslight in 1807!
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    Lincoln and Darwin Birthday
    Lincoln and Darwin Birthday
    Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on the same day.
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    Pirate Jean Lafitte Countered Governor's $500 Bounty for Him with a $5,000 Bounty for Governor
    When pirate Jean Lafitte saw the governor advertising a $500 reward for his capture, Lafitte offered $5,000 for the capture of the governor.
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    Ching Shih
    Ching Shih
    Ching Shih, once a prostitute, became one of the most powerful pirates to have ever sailed. She commanded one of the most formidable pirate fleets in all of China during the early 1800s, with hundreds of ships under her command.
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    Approximately 25,000 workers died during the building of the Panama Canal, and approximately 20,000 of them contracted malaria and yellow fever.
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    During the 1600's, boys and girls in England wore dresses until they were about seven years old.
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    In 1518, a "dancing plague" struck Strasbourg, Alsace, whereby hundreds of people danced fervently in the streets over the period of a month. Some suffered heart attacks or strokes, and many others died from sheer exhaustion. It remains unexplained.
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    Genghis Khan exempted the poor and clergy from taxes, encouraged literacy, and established free religion, leading many peoples to join his empire before they were even conquered.
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