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John Wilmot (b. April 1, 1647, d. July 26, 1680), the 2nd Earl of Rochester (Baron of Adderbury in England, Viscount Athlone in Ireland), was one of the most fascinating and entertaining figures in Restoration Period England. Known as a drunk, a rake, an intellectual, and good fun to have around at parties, he died young at the age of 33 from the collective effects of several venereal diseases along with nephritis. His lasting legacy besides his being a complete libertine was as a great poet of his time whose works were once censored during the Victorian Era for having been far too risqué.
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It didn’t have as compelling a birth as the first Special Air Service regiment. It didn’t have its great founder driving point in a souped-up jeep during attacks on German air bases. It didn’t have the romance of the desert as its initial stomping grounds. About the only thing it seemed to have going for it was the reputation of…read more
When it comes to polar exploration, history is the mother of all excursion. To close out 2018, Louis Rudd became the second person to complete a solo crossing of the continent of Antarctica. In what seems a repeat of the Shackleton/Amundsen race to the pole (that was a race to the pole and not a traversal of the continent), the…read more
This being the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended major fighting in WWI, SilverMedals.net presents “second” facts about the Great War.
After the fifth installment of the James Bond movie series You Only Live Twice hit the theaters, Harry Saltzman and Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, the producers of the lucrative franchise, had a problem. Their Bond didn’t want to be Bond anymore. After spying, killing, and sexing his way through five movies, Sean Connery was ready to go. There were several reasons for…read more
The armistice1 that ended the fighting in World War I was signed by representatives from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, at 5AM on 11/11/1918, in a railroad carriage in Compiègne, France, but the agreement didn’t go into effect for another six hours. WWI would end at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, which was fine for those who…read more
Thomas William Burgess got up on the morning of September 5, 1911, ready to make history. Having already tried and failed 15 times before, he knew what he was up against. He wanted to become the second person to swim across the English Channel, and the first to do so since 1875 when Captain Matthew Webb breast-stroked his way across the…read more
