Breaking News

WW I soldier found, still clutching his gun

Ninety-one years ago, an Australian soldier fell dead on a Belgian battlefield and unnoticed by his mates, was buried, perhaps by a shell blast. Last week he was found, astonishingly still clutching his rifle and carrying every other item of equipment with which he lumbered into battle. Battlefield historian Mat McLachlan said that made him very unusual indeed. "This is an interesting discovery and a lot more important for us because he was dressed in

Cracked: the Wesley code

A 270-year-old diary of Charles Wesley, one of the country's foremost hymn-writers, has revealed the extent of the author's depression, anxiety over his wife's miscarriage and disputes over the future of the Methodist Church founded by his brother John. The coded diary, written between 1736 and 1756, has been decrypted by a Liverpool professor who worked on 1,000 hand-written pages for 10 years. It sheds a highly personal and human as well as religious light on the author of a

Historic cannon missing from Civil War park

First, it was simply some vandalism near Fort Huger, a Civil War park in northern Isle of Wight, that was reported to the sheriff's office on Aug. 19. The next day, a replica Civil War cannon was gone, along with a historic sign, 1st Sgt. Paul Phelps said. So far, investigators don't have any leads, he said. The crime scene is in a remote area, so no one saw anything, he said. Phelps said he doesn't know how someone made off with the cannon, which was behind a low red-b

Virgin Mary spotted in suburban tree trunk

The image, which resembles the mother of Jesus in her traditional open-armed pose, has reportedly been causing local residents to shake and cry in wonder. Christopher Moreau, who first spotted the tree’s markings in his neighbour’s garden in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, believes that it may have helped the health of his mother-in-law, who recently recovered from cancer. "At first I thought I was seeing things," the 47-year-old said. "Then I went a

Former Outsider Navigated a Path to the Marquee

The Democratic National Convention is akin to a longstanding family reunion. And eight years ago, Barack Obama was not on the guest list. He was drained of money and confidence, fresh from a punishing defeat in a Congressional primary race here. Even the Illinois delegation did not have room at the party’s gathering in Los Angeles for Mr. Obama, then a 39-year-old lawyer, who had annoyed some state Democrats for not waiting his turn to seek a higher office. Never mind

Shackleton descendants to restage South Pole journey

Descendants of Sir Ernest Shackleton are trying to recruit a final explorer to help them replicate their ancestor's journey to the South Pole. Legend has it Sir Ernest recruited his expedition members with an ad promising "small wages", "constant danger" and a "doubtful safe return". A century later, the new team wants someone with a "relentless passion to succeed" and a supply of "good jokes". They will also hav

Kennedys And Conventions: An Emotional History

The first night of the Democratic convention here in Denver was about the Obama family, to be followed the next two days by the Clinton family — Hillary on Tuesday and Bill on Wednesday. But Monday's emotional moment was about the last surviving brother of the Kennedy family, Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in May. It wasn't the first time convention delegates were brought to tears by a Kennedy. That was in 1964. Lyndon Johnson, wh

Archaeologists unearth 1,300-year-old mummy in Peruvian capital

Archaeologists have unearthed a well-preserved 1,300-year-old female mummy in a residential area of the Peruvian capital. The woman was from the Wari culture, said archaeologist Isabel Flores, who heads work at the Huaca Pucllana, a mud-brick complex several blocks large located in the Miraflores district of Lima. "It is an important find, because we have found over the years several tombs that have been looted, but never one that was intact," Flores told AFP

Soon to be available on the Web: Dead Sea Scrolls

In a crowded laboratory painted in gray and cooled like a cave, half a dozen specialists embarked this week on an historic undertaking: digitally photographing every one of the thousands of fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls with the aim of making the entire file - among the most sought-after and examined documents on earth - available to all on the Internet. Equipped with highly powerful cameras with resolution and clarity many times greater than those of conventional models, and w

Italy's Iceman mummy court-battle settled

A 14 year legal battle over the reward for finding Italy's famous Iceman mummy is to be settled with an out of court 70,000 pound payment, it has emerged. According to reports in the Italian media the local authorities are ready to give German couple Helmut and Erika Simon, who found the 5,000 year old mummified corpse a "generous" settlement to end the ongoing court battle. Since his discovery in 1991 the Iceman has been subject to many legal battles with Aus

Son of wanted Nazi wants him declared dead

A son of notorious Nazi doctor Aribert Heim was quoted as saying Sunday that he wants his father declared legally dead so he can take control of his money and donate some of it to help document the suffering that occurred at a former concentration camp. Ruediger Heim told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that his father -- dubbed "Dr. Death" and atop the Simon Wiesenthal Center's list of most-wanted suspected Nazi war criminals -- should officially be declared missing and the

Release Rosenberg spy case transcripts

A federal judge has ordered key secret grand jury testimony released in the atomic spy trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled Tuesday regarding the testimony of several witnesses whose sealed testimony was taken in 1950 and 1951. He cited the needs of historians. Federal prosecutors had already agreed to release the records of 35 of the 45 witnesses. Hellerstein's rulings mean testimony from all but three witnesses can be public.

A brief video history of conventions

Where do parties stand on funding needs of the National Park system?

With the Democratic National Convention under way, and the Republican National Convention soon to follow, it's natural to wonder what these two parties are thinking of in terms of the environment in general and national parks specifically. Of course, earlier this year the Traveler touched on where Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama stood on national parks in response to questions from the National Parks Conservation Association. At that time Senator Barack Obama said he believ

Legal setback for man who claims he found Confederate sub, Hunley

An underwater archaeologist who claims he found the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley said Monday he will keep fighting for official credit for the discovery, despite a lawsuit over the matter being dismissed. Lee Spence claimed he found the Hunley in 1970 when a fishing net snagged on the submarine's wreckage and says he has the documents to prove it. But the state gave shipwreck hunter Clive Cussler credit, saying he located the sub off Sullivans Island near Charleston in 1995.

Civics Summit to be held in Virginia in September

2008 Civics Summit September 19, 2008 Capitol Building, Richmond, VirginiaCivic Engagement in a Changing WorldSUMMIT SESSIONSThe Hidden Dimension of Civic Education and Engagement Professor David Wilkins Kirkland and Ellis Professor of Law, Harvard Law SchoolCivic Engagement in the 2008 Election Dr. Robert Holsworth Professor of Political Science and Public Administration Virginia C

Statue of 'Gladiator emperor' found

A large statue of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius has been unearthed in Turkey. The marble sculpture, which includes a 1metre-tall head, was found at Sagalassos, a city in the south of the country. The emperor, who ruled from AD 161-80 and was depicted by Richard Harris in the film Gladiator, was an advocate of Stoicism and was famous for his philosophical work Meditations. The right arm and legs were also discovered on August 20th in a 13,500 sq ft room at Sagalassos' Roman baths, which was d

Washington's Hanford B Reactor named National Historic Landmark

Hanford's B Reactor was named a National Historic Landmark on Monday, recognizing the role it played in shaping 50 years of U.S. and world history. Not only will that designation help efforts to preserve the reactor as a museum, but the growing interest in the reactor has led the Department of Energy to increase public access to it. Starting in March, the reactor will be open to the public at least three days a week and no advance registration will be required for "

Why Neanderthal man may not have been as stupid as he looks

Neanderthals were not as stupid as they have been portrayed, according to a study showing their stone tools were just as good as those made by the early ancestors of modern humans, Homo sapiens. Scientists who spent years learning how to make replicas of the stone instruments used by Neanderthals and Homo sapiens have found the Neanderthal tools were just as efficient as anything made by Stone Age man. And researchers believe that the demise of the Neanderthals – which

Battle Over Faked Holocaust Memoir in Mass. Court

It was a shock to Misha Defonseca's readers this year when she admitted that the best-selling story of her tortured childhood during the Holocaust was false, but her U.S. publisher saw it as an opportunity to undo a stinging, 7-year-old court judgment. Jane Daniel says she never would have been ordered to pay Defonseca and her ghost writer $32.4 million over her handling of profits from "Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years" had the jury known the book was filled with l