The first mail-order catalogue was published by Chicago based Montgomery Ward & Co. and though the first edition was only a single sheet of paper it began what became a massive global industry.
Ward started the company in 1872 with $2,400 capital and the aim of buying large quantities of merchandise wholesale and then selling it [...]

Bill Clinton, President of the United States admitted having an inappropriate relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
In a televised address Mr Clinton told the American people that he took full responsibility for his actions. He said: “Indeed I did have a relationship with Ms Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was [...]

Elvis Presley, “The King of Rock and Roll” was found dead at Graceland, his mansion in Memphis.
The official cause of death was stated to be “congestive heart failure” but everyone knew drug abuse and alcohol were more that just contributing factors.  Unlike today when it almost seems obligatory to be a drug abuser in order [...]

The concept of a canal goes back almost to the day that European explorers first landed on the narrow land bridge that links North and South America.
They realised that the abundant natural lakes and waterways offered a unique opportunity to create a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans but it wasn’t until technological [...]

It was announced in Washington that Japan had sent a note via the Swiss government announcing that it was unconditionally surrendering.
President Truman summoned a special press conference in the Executive offices at 7 pm where he read out the text of the note he had received and declared it met the conditions laid down by [...]

Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro was born in the Oriente province of eastern Cuba.
His father was a wealthy Spanish immigrant who had made a fortune building railways to transport sugar cane. Fidel was educated at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Santiago de Cuba before entering university in Havana to study law.
While there he became involved [...]

The Personal Computer Era finally arrived.
Machines called “personal computers” were available as early as the mid-1970s. Of these the IBM (International Business Machines) Model 5100 Portable Computer was an early entry appearing in 1975. It weighed in at about 25 kilos with a tiny amount of storage but was limited in use with no general [...]