She approached Charles Schulz about adding a character of color — On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The event sent the country reeling. A new surge of anger rose through those working towards racial equality. Many worried about what would happen without the civil rights leader setting the tone for the movement. Harriet Glickman was one…

Shavarash Karapetyan was a finswimmer who retired at age twenty-three, a hero. — This mild man would never speak about the night he rescued more than thirty people from a frozen river. This was not the first time that Karapetyan had saved a life and it would not be the last. Early life Karapetyan was born in Armenia on 19th May 1953; at an early…

Unlucky or lucky, you decide? — In the 1900s, travelling by sea was hugely popular. Then, the waters were as congested as the skies are today. One company producing liners for these travels was the White Star Line. White Star had three important ships over its years of operating. The first was the RMS Olympic, the…

As the Sunset Boulevard musical moved from the West End to Broadway, an epic battle began — Patti LuPone’s relationship with Andrew Lloyd Weber started in the 1970s. She was cast as Eva Peron in Evita, the musical he wrote with Tim Rice. The production was a success all the way around. Broadway’s favorite diva made her debut as Eva Peron in 1979 to rapturous acclaim, even…

Female pioneer who fought for women’s rights whilst changing the landscape of mental health treatment. — Nellie Bly is my hero, and I don’t say that often because usually, my heroes let me down. Nellie Bly was born Elizabeth Cochran on 5th May 1864 in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. …

How much of the iconic couple’s relationship was performative and how much was real? — In 1960, 20th Century Fox contracted Elizabeth Taylor to play Cleopatra in a movie that shared its main character’s name; they already knew the project would be the most expensive they’d undertaken. Elizabeth’s salary of $1 million plus 10% of the box office gross was the most any actor had…

The wind was blowing in the wrong direction — When Mount Vesuvius erupted on 24th August 79AD, it left one of the most unique and remarkable historical, archaeological sites. The desolation of Pompeii was one of the most devastating natural events in ancient history and resulted in a huge death toll. However, few people know that out of the…

The love story of Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret — Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret first met on the set of Viva Las Vegas in 1964. Their first meeting happened when the set was empty of everyone but them and a few crew members setting things up. The other person there was George Sidney, the director of the film. George introduced…

At a time when few admitted to being gay, she and her character came out — “Yep, I’m gay!” Those three iconic words were the headline of the April 14, 1997, Time magazine cover. It was the first time comedian, and then-sitcom star Ellen DeGeneres openly admitted to being a lesbian to the public. Those who knew Ellen personally were in on the secret. She was…