Top 10 World History News Stories of 2011
There have been many great discoveries this year. Here is a list of the Top 10 World History News stories of 2011. Check out my other countdown lists – Top 10 World History Articles, Top 10 Historic Travel Destination Stories, Top 10 History Book Reviews.
10. Nicholas Cage’s Civil War doppelganger photo posted on eBay for $1million
The antique dealer jokes that his photo is proof Nicholas Cage is more than just an a-list actor – he’s also a vampire who lived during the American Civil War.
An eBay seller claims to have a 4” by 2.5” carte de visite photo from around 1870 of a man who looks exactly like the 47-year-old star of Con Air, Ghost Rider and The Rock.
9. Rebel flags barred from Lexington poles
The arguments have been made thousands of times before. The Confederate flag is a symbol of history and Southern heritage. No, the flag is a symbol of hatred and racism.
In essence, the same arguments dominated a public hearing held Thursday night by the Lexington City Council to solicit input about an ordinance amendment that will effectively ban the display of the flags of the Confederacy from public light poles in the city.
8. Hitler’s Nazi World Capital
Adolf Hitler’s deranged vision of Germany’s Berlin as the Nazi capital of the world have gone on show for the first time.
The exhibition in Nuremberg illustrates the sheer scale of Hitler’s madness with his new city ‘Germania’ and its immense buildings designed by his favourite architect Albert Speer.
7. Prince Philip’s 90th birthday service announced
The Duke of Edinburgh’s 90th birthday will be celebrated by a service attended by the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, Buckingham Palace has said.
The service will take place at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle on 12 June, two days after his birthday.
6. Putin’s dive treasure find was staged
The widely publicized incident in which Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pulled up ancient Greek jug fragments from the seabed on a diving expedition was staged, his chief spokesman said.Vladimir Putin on a Horse
The August dive in the Kerch Strait that connects the Black and Azov seas was reported extensively in Russian and overseas media.
5. Up in the Air
The first manned balloon flight took place in France during the early 1780s and, not surprisingly, people began thinking of how to turn the balloon into an implement of war. Within a few years, the French army was using observation balloons in battle, and Benjamin Franklin even suggested that balloons might actually be used to convey soldiers into the fray. In 1849 the Austrian high command sent some 200 unmanned balloons, laden with timed explosives, over Venice. Unfortunately, the wind shifted, carrying them back over the hapless Austrians.
4. Varosha — the lost city of Cyprus
In the 1960s and 1970s Varosha (a neighborhood of the Cypriot walled city of Famagusta) was one of the island’s most (if not the most) glamorous and delightful holiday spots. With its beautiful sandy beaches it was a top tourist destination for the rich and famous.
Today Varosha is still there but it is no longer a dazzling and vivacious resort. The tourists are long gone — as are Varosha’s residents.
3. Inside the Eiffel Tower’s ‘secret’ bunker
If the Eiffel Tower makes you think of a direction, I’m willing to bet it’s up. But for some people, the iconic French landmark can also mean down.
Down, as into a “secret” military bunker that has an entrance just feet from the south pillar, or leg, of the tower, and which then goes underground and which is full of Eiffel Tower history and even legend.
2. King Tut: Pharaoh May Have Been Buried Quickly; Ancient Microbes in Tomb Provide Clues
King Tut, silent in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings for 3,000 years, may still have secrets to reveal. Researchers, examining what remains of ancient microbes on the walls of the young pharaoh’s tomb, surmise that he may have been buried in a hurry, so quickly that the walls had not even dried when the tomb was closed.
1. What is Prince William’s last name?
What is Prince William’s last name?
The question seems simple enough, but in fact has a confusing history that even finds origin in anti-German sentiment from the British public at wartime.
They’ve already made headlines twice this week, once for the release of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Royal wedding stamps and then again – rather sheepishly – the following day after it was discovered they botched up Prince William’s birth date on the promotional material.
Chris Rivait
Chris loves history and hopes that Yesteeyear becomes a place where everyone can share their history knowledge. Chris owns an Internet Marketing company, Arrivait Marketing. He has a wonderful wife and four great children.
Follow Me:
Leave a Reply
Follow Me!
Amazon Discount Search
US UK CAN
to
Sponsors
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|