Age of Discovery

       Leif Erikson  

                      Leif Erikson, who was a Viking, was an explorer. He was born around the year 975 and dwelled in Iceland. Like his legendary father, Eric the Red, he had a knack for exploring. In 1002, Leif, the daring viking ,sailed on a long boat to Canada, North America. Leif Erikson called this unexplored territory Vinland after the amount of vines he saw. Although many people believe that Christopher Columbus founded America, we now know that Leif Erikson is the real forefather.

                                           

Marco Polo

                             Born in 1254 and travelling 24,240 miles in all, Italian explorer Marco Polo zig-zagged throughout Asia for 20 years of his lifetime while working for the Asian ruler, Kublai Khan.

Prince Henry the Navigator

                                     In the year 1394, a prince of Portugal was born. He would become a master of navigation and started the Age of Discover. Since he was not sailing on his ships, he sent a crew to do the work. With Prince Henry's navigational skills and a quality crew, they were the first European explorers to discover Liberia, which is at the bulge of Africa.

Bartholomew Dias

                          Sent out by King John II of Portugal to sail around the tip of Africa, Bartholomew Dias made it, and, on coming back, told the king he had partially the water route to the Indies, a sought-after destination because of its richness in popular spices.



John Cabot

                                   John Cabot, who was sponsored by the English king, Henry the VII, had an idea of going north to the Indies instead of east. Without knowing the fact that North America was in the way, Cabot sailed toward it. When he landed, Cabot thoroughly believed that he had found the Indies. On a different voyage to the suspected "Indies," Cabot and his ships were caught up in a storm and were NEVER heard from again. They probably died never knowing they didn't actually discover a route north to the Indies, but instead North America. 

Christopher Columbus 

                      After years of waiting for Queen Ysbella and King Ferdinand's consent to embark in a journey to the west instead of the usual East, Christopher Columbus finally set sail for the west looking for a new water route to the Indies for Spain. Although he was convinced to his very death that he had located Asia, Columbus had actually reached the Caribbean Islands of North America. 

Amerigo Vespucci

                  Does the word Amerigo sound familiar? Well, if it does than great! America was credited to an Italian explorer named Amerigo Vespucci. When he sailed to the New World, which consisted of the Americas, he realized that it wasn't  Asia but a whole new land instead! Before, many people believed that North America was the Indies but now Amerigo proved it to be wrong.

Vasco da Gama

While Christopher Columbus was sailing westward to the "Indies," Portuguese Vasco da Gama was continuing to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, looking for a water route to the Indies, where, earlier, Bartholomew Dias had turned back his crew. Not only did he get around Africa, but he also sailed straight to India, finally discovering the water route to the Indies. 

Vasco Nunez de Balboa


                   Vasco Nunez de Balboa, who was a Spaniard, was an explorer during the Golden Age of Discovery. He is best known for being the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. Once seeing this sea, Balboa called it peaceful for the calm waves.
  

                                           

Giovanni de Verrazzano


                      King Francis I of France had a different idea. Instead of typically sending explorers around North America to reach the East, he chose to send an explorer through the New World, as the Americas were called. That explorer was Giovanni da Verrazzano. Giovanni completed two voyages searching for the ever-elusive route to China but failed. On his second exploration, he never returned; likely he was captured by some local Indians, the Cuna. 

Hernan Cortes

                                            Cortes was a conquistador. He conquered the Aztecs Indians in Mexico. This was one of his biggest accomplishments. He destroyed their population because he wanted their wealth.

Jacques Cartier

                        French Jacques Cartier, like Verrazano, was seeking a passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. However, Cartier's voyage was a flop. A flip flop. Instead of discovering the passage, Jacques found a vast expanse of land absolutely teeming with fish, as well as furs, which, in a way, brought a fortune to the French. 

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado

           Sponsored by Spain, Coronado was a ruler, explorer, and finally a conquistador. He is known for being the first European to explore North America's Southwest. To this very day, Coronado is credited for discovering the Grand Canyon and other famous landmarks. 

Sir Francis Drake

                                                         Sent by England's Queen, Elizabeth I, as a privateer, Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated Earth in one voyage from 1577-1580, and was the first Englishman to do so. 

                                     

William Baffin

                              William Baffin was a English explorer and navigator. He was one of many explorers to search for the Northwest Passage. Although he did not discover the sought after passage, he did find the Canada Arctic seaway, and Baffin Island. 

Henry Hudson 

                When English explorer Henry Hudson made his fourth and final voyage, he didn't predict that he wouldn't return. Hudson was a adept seaman working for his grandfather's company, The Muscovy Company, who sponsored his later voyages.  All of his voyages were directed toward his goal of discovering a path from Europe to Asia though the Arctic Ocean. On his first exploration, he attempted to go directly over the North Pole. Unluckily, although Henry Hudson believed he discovered a route through the Arctic Ocean, he never actually did, and on his last journal, his un-loyal second-mate cast him along with his song and sick crew mates, amount a small boat and stranded him in the sea. 

Ferdinand Magellan


                               Portuguese explore Ferdinand Magellan sailed the ocean in the year 1519. He traveled on ship through a strait, which would later be called Magellan's Strait, and was the first European to cross the Pacific Ocean. 

Francisco Pizarro

                      Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro is best known for unveiling the Incan empire with the help of his half brothers and then, in 1532, gruesomely killing all Incans and claiming their native land, Peru, for Spain.  

1960's

      The 1960's were both a fascinating and appalling time of year. From the Berlin Wall to the March on Washington, this series of years was very intriguing. 

Berlin Wall

16 short years after the end of the brutal World War Two, the Berlin Wall materialized. In early August  1961, the United States of America, along with France and Britain, got one half of Germany and the capital, Berlin. They called it West Germany. The other half was received by the USSR, which is an abbreviation for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, because they helped the USA win WW2. Russia took order over one side of Berlin. Western Germany was rich, plentiful, and was governed by capitalism. Unlike the west, Eastern Germany was ruled by communism and was very poor. Many people, who lived in the east, were leaving because they did not have as many rights as the westerners. At first, they escaped by climbing over the fence that separated the two halves. Once the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, realized that his people were escaping he and the Communist East German Authorities decided to put up the Berlin Wall. This wall was over 81 miles long and around 11 feet in height. East Germans were shot if they tried to cross over the wall. Approximately, 136 people died from trying to get to freedom. Although there were hardships, many people were very lucky. Around 5,000 people were fortunate enough to live to get to the other side. The Berlin Wall was up for 28 long years. Many families were split by this massive wall and didn’t see each other for a long period of time. Ronald Reagan, who was the president on the US, demanded that Mikhail Gorbachev bring down the wall that was separating families for too long. In the end, Gorbachev destroyed the Berlin wall and families and friends were reunited.

The Cold War

Although a dreadful time filled with the threat of nuclear war and a Communist world, the Cold War has also sparked the huge launch of advanced technology, such as the very first man to step upon the moon’s dusty gray gravel. In the late 1940’s, tensions, as well as economic separations, rooted in both America and the U.S.S.R.’s hearts toward each other. While the U.S. believed in capitalism, which  is, in the dictionary’s definition, a ‘‘political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state,’ the U.S.S.R fiercely supported communism, the belief of  ‘a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs’. Just south of America’s Florida, Cuba-turned-Communist lay. Because Cuba was Communist, and the U.S.S.R. was corresponding with it, the U.S. president, Eisenhower feared something called a ‘domino’ effect, which was if the powerful superpower, the U.S.S.R., would convert every country to Communism. In order to scare the U.S.S.R. off, America began producing may Atomic bombs, which, in turn, caused the Soviets to make their own atomic bombs, and more than the Americans. This is the start of the Cold War. with Russia and Cuba teamed up, America became increasingly worried. They apprehended that Russia would transport ships loaded with missiles over to Cuba, which, because of its closeness to Florida, would bomb the U.S.A. America, trying to prevent this disaster, devised a plan to invade and overthrow Cuba. It was a failure. Fidel Castro, Cuba’s dictator, had learned of the invasion, called the Bay of Pigs, and the two-day dispute resulted in the capture of 1,100 and the deaths of 114 individuals. During the height of the Cold War, America not only disagreed with the U.S.S.R., but also competed against them. One thing, nicknamed the ‘Space Race’ was started by the Soviets. The U.S.S.R. launched the first satellite in space, Sputnik, in 1957. The reason for their competing was to prove which country was the stronger of the two and should be most feared. America was losing dramatically when Russia put  both the first man in space followed by the first woman. Finally, the U.S.A. made the biggest accomplishment of the 1960’s when they put Neil Armstrong on the moon. For approximately 45 years, the Cold War Dragged on, until Gorbachev put a stop to it. Mikhail saw that the people of Russia had not ideal living standards and wanted to resolve it. Their living standards were poor because of the expenses the country was spending on the nuclear weapons, and Gorbachev decided the only way to stop this from continuing, he would have to befriend the west. In order to do this, Gorbachev set up a meeting with the president of the US, President George W. Bush. The meeting, which lasted a full 6 hours, went surprisingly well, and the two met again on even more meetings. These meetings accomplished much, and on one of them, the Strategic Arms Reduction treaty (START) was signed. Finally, in December the 2nd, 1989, when George Bush and Gorbachev met again, they declared the Cold War, finally, over. 

Mikhail Gorbachev leader of the Soviet Union during the Cold War/Berlin Wall. 

Here is a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. One, of many, activist against segregation. He lead the March on Washington which many different races came together and protested about segregation. Around 250,000 people attended this march. 

The 1950's

The 1950's was an era where many things were accomplished. Polio was defeated, integration was partly successful, and the structure of DNA was discovered.

Segregation

During the 1950's, many white American people believed in segregation. They

wanted to be separated from the black race. For example, blacks and whites, at the time, had

separate water fountains, bathrooms, and schools. This system was called Jim Crow's laws.

African-Americans felt that they were being taken advantage of. They were getting paid less

money although they were working just as diligently and as long as white people. This was

simply because they were black. Many others were getting beaten and killed if they made even

a minor mistake. Surprisingly, policemen allowed them to be beaten. Some African Americans

were brave enough to stand up for their rights. They protested that they wanted to be treated

equally to white people. Many contacted lawyers to help them fight for equality. Sadly, it barely

made a difference. A while later, a brilliant woman changed that. Rosa Parks was that woman.

She was a respected woman among the African American community and was working to

make Mountrygoumey a better place for black people. One day, a tired Rosa Parks collapsed

on the back seat of a bus. As the bus gathered more people, she

was asked to stand up and allow a white to take her seat. She refused. The bus driver called

the police and had her arrested. When Rosa Parks was at the police station, fellow African

Americans busted her out. This started the Montgomery bus boycott. Almost every black

person participated in this act. Instead of riding on the buses that took them to work, they either

walked to their destination or were carpooled by other African Americans. Over the year that

they did this, they caused the bus company to go out of business. This was

a successful start to the end of segregation.

Rosa Parks when she was arrested.

Polio and a Cure

An unfortunate staple in the 1950's was a raging summer epidemic that, when caught,

would cripple and paralyze a person. Polio was the disease that many Americans were so

desperate for a cure to. Two scientists, Albert Sabin and Jonas Salk, dramatically helped the

discovery of polio's cure. They had the same goal, however, were on opposite sides; Sabin

experimenting with a dead virus, and Salk rooting for a live one. Although both were hard-

headed men, Jonas Salk won the battle of polio's cure when he successfully discovered what

he called the Salk Vaccine. Thanks to Salk, polio is now a thing of the past.

Jonas Salk, the discover to polio's cure.

                                                     
                                                           Fidel Castro

Dying just one day after Thanksgiving 2016, Fidel Castro, was for many years, the dictator of

Cuba. Earlier in his lifetime, Fidel was a strangely caring man who believed strongly in rights for

the poverty-stricken people. He even went so far to overtake Fulgenicence Batista, an earlier

dictator of Cuba. Fidel eventually became the Cuban president, because of his hard work and

the Cubans' love for him. Later in his life, he abused his power by nationalizing businesses and

participating in murders. After many years of dictating, Fidel stepped down and gave the

position to his younger brother. Raul Castro.

Fidel Castro

 DNA’s Discoverers                                                      

                                                                  By Karis

Starting off as just James Watson’s dream, DNA’s discovery was a giant leap in the biological world. Watson literally saw DNA because of his dream, in which he dreamt up DNA’s spiral formation. Besides James Watson and Francis Crick, who are commonly credited for its discovery, there are actually many scientists who uncovered DNA. Inwardly erected of deoxyribose, a phosphate molecule, and four different nitrogenous bases, DNA is like a minuscule twisted ladder, although its shape is technically a double-helix.

Of the earlier people who discovered deoxyribonucleic acid, or at least heredity, was a man named Gregor Mendel. Differing from DNA, heredity is the passing on of physical or mental characteristics from generation to generation, almost like whisper down the lane, a popular children’s game where a word, or a person’s DNA, would change slightly as it is passed on. Mendel was a 19th-century monk. Curiously, he recognized heredity because of his pea plants.  After examining and breeding them, he noted that the results of growth varied. Although his work is somewhat unknown, he kept a notebook of his discoveries which helped scientists of the future figure out heredity and DNA more clearly.

Fast forwarding to the 1950’s, Crick and Watson had just discovered the solution to heredity. When the two scientists began on the project they recognized much of DNA’s structure. Snapping and studying photographs was another keen scientist of the time, Rosalind Franklin. Her photos were much clearer because of a more detailed microscope. The X-ray crystallography. Against Rosalind’s wishes,Crick and Watson used her photos for their discovery, and when they later received the Nobel Prize for their discovery, Rosalind’s name wasn’t mentioned.  Probably this was so because she died of cancer four years earlier, and unfortunately didn’t receive her proper recognition. DNA was like a key to heredity and opened up a whole new world in biology. Thanks to the many scientists who discovered or helped discover it, we now know what and how DNA makes people and things who they are.

The Discovery Of DNA Over A Decade

By Lexi

The structure of DNA was discovered by two scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick. They were scientists at Cavendish Laboratory which is in Cambridge, United Kingdom. They won, along with Maurice Wilkins, the 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine for finding the structure of DNA. Maurice Wilkins was a DNA scientist. These three men obviously weren’t the only people to discover and learn about DNA. Rosalind Franklin was also a big help with it even though she was not recognized for her assistance. Because she was a woman, she wasn’t credited for all for the work that she put into finding information about DNA. She had provided a photo of the structure of DNA which was as clear and exact as a sunny day. Without her permission, Watson and Crick took her photo of DNA and used it to help them solve its structure. Unfortunately, Rosalind died a couple of years before the men received the Nobel reward, and she never got the credit that she deserved. Later, Watson and Crick tried to make amends when they wrote a book and thanked her for her generosity.

In his early life, Francis Crick, who was an Englishman, took physics in college and then turned to studying biology. Eventually, he went to Cavendish Laboratory. On the other hand, James Watson was an American. He dwelled in Chicago, Illinois.  When he was a boy, he was an extraordinarily clever child prodigy. During the year 1947, James was 15 years old and he attended the University of Chicago. Later, when he turned 23, he went to Cavendish Laboratory and met his soon-to-be scientist partner, James Watson. Even though these two men had different beginnings, they soon worked together as well as peanut butter goes with jelly.

DNA, which is in the form of a double helix, is a thin molecule made out of nucleoids. The nucleoids are Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine. Astonishingly, they are stuck together like glue by hydrogen bonds. Adenine always pairs with Thymine. Cytosine naturally always goes with Guanine. While the sides of DNA are called backbones, they are made out of two groups. They are a sugar and phosphate group. In the 1860s, the discovery of DNA began. It  was a process that involved many smart scientists over a period of decades.

James Watson (left) and Francis Crick (right).

                                 

                          

                          The French Revolution 

At the start of The French Revolution, France was divided into three main categories of people, known as Estates -- clergy, nobles, and the commoners. The Revolution was started by the commoners of France who were revolting against the king, Louis XVI and who wanted to destroy the monarchy of France. 

   
      Several years prior to the French Revolution, King Louis XVI and France was in debt. He had lent money and soldiers to America's Revolution and had been in a war of his own, The French and Indian War. Also the King's wife, Marie Antoinette, spent money frivolously on her extravagant parties, jewels, and clothing. The King was not much better. Louis XVI was a slow-witted person and was not even interested in possessing the throne of France. As we will discover later, there were many protests, which Louis XVI blatantly ignored. The fourth and finale contribution to the beginning of the French Revolution, was a severely poor harvest.  

      The people of France had become angry at their King's ignorance. To show their wrath, they stormed the French prison, the Bastille, freed prisoners, and gathered multiple weapons. In the process, they severed the Bastille's prison guards' heads and speared them on pikes. This occurred on July 14, 1789, the official start of the French Revolution. 
   
  A month later, in August, 1789, the Rights of Man and Citizen was established. This was an important document of the French Revolution and in the history of human and civil rights.  Because the commoners' need for food was not met, on October 5, 1789, the women of France marched to the palace of Versailles and demanded bread for their famished families. The Women's  Bread Riot, as this was called, was accepted by King Louis XVI, and he granted their wish.

     Although King Louis XVI had granted the peasants' wish, they were still angry at him. To add to their vexation, King Louis attempted to flee France with his wife and children. They were disguised as servants to their real servants, who played as nobles. According to legend, they were discovered by either Louis XVI's distinguished nose, or the stench of the queen's perfume. Either way, they were captured, and dragged back to Paris, France. The commoners had suspected his plan of contacting Austria to help destroy the Revolution and restoring the monarchy back to his power. By the way, Austria was being ruled by Queen Marie Antoinette's brother. They locked away the whole royal family into the Temple, which was being used as a prison until they decided what to do with them. A bit later, the Revolution supporters put Louis XVI on trial. Once votes were taken, it was shown that between exile and death, there was a mere 50 vote difference. The death votes won. Robespierre scheduled King Louis XVI's death on January 21, 1793.  Soon enough Marie Antoinette, wife of King Louis XVI, was also beheaded. 

     One of the staples of the French Revolution was the Reign of Terror. This lasted from September 5th 1793-July 28th 1794. In summary, this terrible time period consisted of the mass killings of aristocrats, who were nobles of France. The leader of this cruel time was Maximilien Robespierre. He thoroughly believed that there shouldn't be a king of France.  Although Robespierre was liked and followed by the commoners at the beginning, they later disliked his over-the-top executions, and eventually voted for his execution. Robespierre was led to the guillotine on July 28th 1794. His death symbolically ended the Reign of Terror.

    After many of the main figures of the French Revolution were dead, Napoleon seized power of France, and declared himself emperor. Thus, the French Revolution came to an end.  It is an important piece of French history because it completely changed the  political and social structure of France. 

King Louis XVI 

                                                                      

Queen Marie Antoinette. 

The guillotine killing Ariosto.  

The Big Three: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt

       There were many brave leaders and tyrants in World War Two  and as many of us know about Adolf Hitler,we shall share some information about some of the other important people in this horrible war. We shall focus on Winston Churchill, FDR ( Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and Joseph Stalin. 

   

The Big Three: Joseph Stalin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill

                               
                                             






                                                     Winston Churchill   
                       

               
           Born on November 30th 1874,Winston Churchill was a determined and inspiring leader all his years, and he led many great attacks, as well as several failed missions. One unsuccessful mission ,in particular, kicked Winston from his chair; out of the political game.
 Churchill was the First Lord Admiral and very respected, until he launched one of his great plans. The Gallipoli mission. That mission failed miserably, and thus the Admiral was demoted.
 During those days when he was deprived of his title, Winston served as an army lieutenant colonel until 1916.
 Because Churchill lived in England, he oversaw Neville Chamberlain, the current Prime Minister. Neville was clearly a weak leader to Churchill and, taking advantage of that, Winston became popular again.  Eventually, he was voted in as Prime Minister in Chamberlains place.
 In time, Winston Churchill befriended F.D.R. and their friendship lasted until Franklin's death, on April 12th, 1945.
 Before the 2nd world war ended, Winston Churchill was oddly voted out.
 Churchill died on January 24th, 1965. 

                             

                                                           Joseph Stalin   

The world had many dictators that were thirsty for complete domination of the world 

but thankfully no one has reached there yet.  One man in particular got the point of ruling a huge area of land. This piece of land was called the Soviet Union, but now we recognize it as Russia. 

   This usurper was evil at first; but then he helped the Allies win the war by helping them defeat Japan. This man is identified as Joseph Stalin.

            He was  born on December 18, 1878 and had a very difficult childhood. In his early years as an adult, he overtook the Tsar of Russia and that was the beginning of his dictatorship. He joined in World War Two with neighboring tyrants including Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito.

            One thing that Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler did together was invade Poland. Soon enough, Poland surrender and it was occupied by both Germany and Russia. The Axis Powers only then consisted of the Germans and Russians but soon more tyrants would follow. 

             After a couple of years, Adolf Hitler wanted even more power even if it meant getting it from his Axis partners. Hitler soon invaded Russia in order to receive what he wanted. But he did not get it because of the harsh Russian snows that kept him behind.

        Because of this sudden attack coming from Germany. Stalin joined the United States of America and Great Britain. They worked together to end the war by the Russians helping the Allies fight off Japan and the Allies helping Stalin defeat Germany. 

         Soon the war ended and Joseph Stalin died from cerebral hemorrhage on March 5,1953. 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

   

            One of the unrivaled and most respected presidents of the United States of America was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He led us through two devastating events that caused hardships and much suffering,The Great Depression and World War Two.    

    

           He was born on January 30th, 1882 and became a remarkable leader. The 2nd Great War began for the U.S.A. when Japan unexpectedly bombed the naval base, Pearl Harbor. That was the last straw. The United States of America declared war on Japan. Soon enough, they also declared war on Germany and Italy. The whole world was basically at war and Franklin Roosevelt helped the Americans fight stronger than they ever fought before. As the Americans were getting stronger and winning the war, unfortunately FDR was getting weaker. 

       

         He passed away on April 12, 1945. The Americans were heartbroken because their brave and  great leader died just a couple of months before the war ended. But thankfully, Roosevelt knew that the United States of America would win the war. 

       Here is Franklin Delano Roosevelt talking at one
of his famous fireside chats. 

                                                  

  A pact was formed between Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt, and together, if Stalin would help the Allies fight the Japanese, then Americans would help destruct Adolf Hitler.