... great wall by extending and enlarging preexisting walls made by previous rulers. This "great" wall would serve as a barricade to keep out all tribes that wanted to invade China. It also served to separate the civilized acts of the farmers in China to the barbaric acts of the nomadic tribes. What Shih did not know was that the construction would cause many deaths and much suffering to the builders of the wall. The wall which Meng and his men created had watchtowers, forty feet tall, every two hundred yards. The purpose of these towers was to alert the defending soldiers of approaching, attacking tribes. The soldiers at the towers signalled to each other by day using ...
... to write the paper, and he agreed. The document was a direct statement to King George III of the colonies' demand for independence. The declaration recounted the grievances of the colonies against the British crown and declared the colonies to be free and independent states. Since solely Jefferson wrote it, the declaration held the essence of his ideals, and he spent the rest of his life applying its principles to the new American government. Jefferson's chief accomplishment as president was the Louisiana Purchase. This land which once belonged to France, is close to one-third of the amount of land that makes up the United States today. In the early ye ...
... soldier in an irregular company of Confederate cavalry. Later that year he accompanied his brother to the newly created Nevada Territory, where he tried his hand at silver mining. In 1862 he became a reporter on the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City, Nevada, and in 1863 he began signing his articles with the pseudonym “Mark Twain,” a Mississippi River phrase meaning two fathoms deep. After moving to San Francisco in 1864, Twain met the American writers Artemus Ward and Bret Harte, who encouraged him in his work. In 1865 Twain reworked a tale he had heard in the California gold fields; within months the author and the story, “The Celebrat ...
... Also, he was very close with his younger sister, Maja, and they could often be found in the lakes that were scattered about the countryside near Munich. As a child, Einstein's sense of curiosity had already begun to stir. A favorite toy of his was his father's compass, and he often marvelled at his uncle's explanations of algebra. Although young Albert was intrigued by certain mysteries of science, he was considered a slow learner. His failure to become fluent in German until the age of nine even led some teachers to believe he was disabled. Einstein's post-basic education began at the Luitpold Gymnasium when he was ten. It was here that he first encountered the ...
... Lamarck's theoretical observations on evolution, referred to in the early 19th century as transformism or transmutation, preceded his extensive observational work on invertebrates. With his colleagues, Lamarck accepted the view that animals in nature were arranged on one continuous natural scale. According to Lamarck, once nature formed life, the arrangement of all subsequent forms of life was the result of time and environment interacting with the organization of organic beings. From the simplest forms of life, more complex forms emerged naturally. These ideas were initially presented in Lamarck's major theoretical work, Zoological Philosophy, and he ...
... inherited Valentine's large estate in trust, making her a very wealthy woman. The trust, though, cut her out if she ever re-married. This provision virtually guaranteed that she would remain forever Valentine's widow, regardless of other loves or circumstances. The knowledge of Ian's late father's looming wealth, and Ian's lack of access to it was bound to make the young Fleming feel disinherited. The unattainable Fleming fortune and high achievements of Valentine and Peter, Ian's older brother, seem to have put a chip on Ian's shoulder. As Ian failed to fill their shoes, it appears he became more determined to build his own empire, create his own identit ...
... a backup crew was made. The backup crew consisted of Charles Conrad Junior, and Richard Gordon Junior. The objectives of the mission were: A. (Main) Rendezvous and dock with Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) and conduct EVA operations. B. (Secondary) Rendezvous and dock in the 4th revolution. Perform docked-vehicle maneuvers, Evaluate systems and conduct 10 experiments. The mission was set to launch on March 15, 1966. Due to minor problems with the spacecraft and launch vehicle hardware the launch was delayed one day. The launch was successful. Because of problems with the spacecraft control system, the crew was forced to undock after approximately thirty ...
... craftsmen. When he was 17, John began to work at the Plague Hospital de la Concepcion, and its founder offered to let him attend the Jesuit College, so long as he did not neglect his hospital duties. From 1559 to 1563, John studied with the Jesuits, learning Latin, Greek, and other subjects. He was offered the chance to study for the secular priesthood, which would have given him material security, but he felt God was calling him to Religious life. At age 20, he entered the Carmelite Order, being clothed with the habit on February 24, 1563, and taking the name Juan de Santo Matia (John of Saint Matthias). He was ordained in 1567, and said his first Mass in Med ...
... is suddenly opened that was always securely shut until then. For myself, the experience was invigorating. It suddenly seemed that the audience was a mass of blood relations, and I sensed a warmth in the world that had not been there before. It made it possible to dream of daring more and risking more." He did however push the limits when he released his controversial piece Death of a Salesman. And, he gained even more acclaim. Soon he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. He was quickly catapulted into the realm of the great, living, American playwrights; and once was compared to Ibsen and the Greek tragedians. After his grad ...
... was doing. George Washington and his father, "Light-Horse Harry Lee," were his two heroes and he wanted to be just like them when he grew up. In 1811 the Lee family moved to a larger home in Alexandria, Virginia. The next year his father received injuries in a Baltimore riot from which he never fully recovered and that also caused his leaving of Alexandria for a warmer climate. He died six years later at Cumberland Island, Georgia when Robert was only 12. Robert was forced to become the man of the family and cared for his mother and sisters because his father and elder brothers had left. Robert would stuff papers to block cracks in the carriage and go driving to h ...
