Archive for the ‘History’ Category
A soldier’s view of World War I
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. I hope longtime readers will forgive my republishing this piece, but I can think of no better way to honor the soldiers who died than to keep their memories alive. I am immensely and forever indebted to Gilles Thomas and Gilles Chauwin […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history | 54 Comments
Tags: Armistice Day, Braye quarry, Braye-en-Laon, Carriere de Braye, Chemin des Dames, Gilles Chauwin, Gilles Thomas, La creute des Yankees, Laon, Veterans Day, World War i, World War I centennary
Paris’ most famous cemetery
Friends think I’m macabre (or maybe just weird) when I urge them to visit Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. But this is no common graveyard: It’s a living museum, filled with the stories of more than one million souls. The luminaries’ names span the centuries — from the 12th-century lovers Héloïse and Abélard to the […]
Filed under: History, Paris | 101 Comments
Tags: Héloïse and Abélard, Jean-Joseph Carriès, Marcel Marceau, Oscar Wilde, Paris cemeteries, Pere Lachaise, Pere Lachaise cemetery, Théodore Géricault, Victor Noir
Not many sports can trace their origin as decisively as basketball: Fans know the first game was played on December 21, 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts. But few Americans are aware that the oldest surviving basketball court is in Paris, inside an unassuming building at 14, rue Trévise in the 9th arrondissement. The entrance, in a […]
Filed under: History, Paris | 40 Comments
Tags: First basketball game, Gilles Thomas, James Stokes, Paris YMCA, Thêatre Trévise, UCJG Paris, YMCA history
The day Paris caved in
This post is dedicated with admiration and gratitude to my friend Gilles Thomas, for his knowledge of Paris’ history — and for his generosity in sharing it. Paris’ history is full of unsung heroes whose names have largely been forgotten. One of these is Charles-Axel Guillaumot. Charles-Axel Guillaumot, “the man who saved Paris.” Esteban and […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Travel | 73 Comments
Tags: Carrière de Cochin, catacombes, Charles-Axel Guillaumot, Cochin quarry, Gilles Thomas, Graham Robb, Paris catacombs, Paris history, paris underground, rue d'Enfer
On this day 73 years ago, French and American troops liberated Paris from Nazi occupation. Louise Dillery remembers; she was there. Louise was born in Paris on December 14, 1925 to Radjzla (“Rose”) Silberstein and Israël Gradstein, Jewish Polish immigrants who met in Paris. My mother was from Warsaw, and my father was from Lodz […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history, Paris, Psychology | 51 Comments
Tags: Israel Gradstein, Liberation of Paris, Louise Gradstein, Lycée Victor Hugo, Paris deportations, Paris occupation, Père Théomir Devaux, Radjzla Rose Silberstein, Renée Lévy, Shoah Paris
One man’s journey to Hiroshima
Before visiting a new city Esteban and I usually read up on its history. But thanks to an overambitious itinerary, we knew little about Rouen when we arrived in September of 2015. Rouen was among Europe’s most prosperous and influential cities during the Middle Ages. Our first night was a blur (I’ll tell you about […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history, Psychology | 46 Comments
Tags: atomic bomb, Enola Gay, Hiroshima, Paul Tibbets, Rouen, Rouen bombing, World War II
Paris connections, revealed
From its doorknobs to its house numbers, Paris is rich in architectural details. But it was the city’s iconic pavers that led me on my most recent historical adventure. In some streets the pavers are still arranged in beautiful fan-like patterns. The rue de l’Abreuvoir offers a nice view of the Sacré Coeur in Montmartre, […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Photography, Travel | 90 Comments
Tags: Conciergerie, Dr. Guillotin, French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, Paris, Paris pavers, Paris photography, Paris riots, Pavé de Paris
Paris connections, part 5
The Cour du Commerce Saint-André in Paris’ sixth arrondissement is little more than a cobbled alley. Open only to pedestrians, it connects the tony and traffic-choked Boulevard Saint-Germain with the bustling little rue de Buci. But when you step onto its uneven paving stones, you’re stepping onto a spot where centuries of history converge. (Full […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Photography | 23 Comments
Tags: Boulevard Saint-Germain, Cour du Commerce Saint-André, Paris, rue de Buci
Paris connections, part 1
One of my favorite things about Paris is that everything is somehow connected. Over the next week I’ll show you seven photos that at first glance may seem unrelated — and next Sunday I’ll reveal what they share in common. The Place du Trocadéro offers a great view of the Eiffel Tower, but it had […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Photography | 31 Comments
Tags: Eiffel Tower, Paris photography, Place du Trocadéro
Remembering Douglas Albert Munro
Today is Memorial Day in the U.S. — a day to remember and honor those we’ve lost to the senseless tragedy that is war. Here’s one story, about a distant relative, I first published in 2014. May Doug and his sacrifice never be forgotten. On September 27 1942, Douglas Albert Munro sacrificed his life in […]
Filed under: Friends and family, History, On this day in history | 23 Comments
Tags: Battle of Matanikau, Douglas Albert Munro, Douglas Munro, Guadalcanal, Medal of Honor
Goodnight, sweet Prince
My only personal connection to Prince Rogers Nelson is that I once saw him walking across the street. is presence belied his tiny stature, and I thought him one of the most elegant, regal, and — yes — beautiful men I’d ever seen. He made such an impression in that fleeting moment, in fact, that […]
Filed under: History, Music, On being creative | 37 Comments
Tags: Prince, Prince Rogers Nelson
Remember that day I walked 25.9 miles (41km)? Here’s one-third of the story. I first heard of the Petite Ceinture a couple of years ago through MessyNessy Chic, where one photo in particular captured my imagination. Could this really exist in the heart of Paris? Photo via MessyNessy Chic During my next trip I vowed […]
Filed under: Friends and family, History, Paris, Photography, Travel | 29 Comments
Tags: Fitbit, Gilles Thomas, Paris, Paris abandoned railway, Paris Little Beltway, Petite Ceinture, urban exploration, urbex
Honoring the man who saved Paris
This post is dedicated to my friend Gilles Thomas, for his tireless devotion to preserving the work — and honoring the memory — of Charles-Axel Guillaumot. Suppose you’ve been hired to oversee a vast and vital railroad network. Now imagine that, on the very first day of your new job, one of the trains on […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history, Paris, Travel | 9 Comments
Tags: Carrière Cochin, catacombes de Paris, cataphiles, Charles-Axel Guillaumot, Cochin quarry, Gilles Thomas, Graham Robb, La sauveur de Paris, Paris catacombs, rue d'Enfer
“Have you read How Paris Became Paris?” my new blog-friend Nomad Woman asked recently. I had indeed — and I loved Joan DeJean’s approach of (re)telling the city’s history through architectural and technological innovations. I especially appreciated DeJean’s characterization of Henry IV (1554 – 1610) as a visionary. I had never before regarded his urban […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Photography | 20 Comments
Tags: Henri IV, Henry IV, Musée Carnavalet, Paris history, Place Dauphine, Place des Vosges, Pont Neuf, Square de Vert Galant, Vedettes du Pont Neuf, Victor Hugo
Roaming through Roman Paris
I’m always happy to offer Paris travel tips (check out a first-timer’s guide to Paris, a walking/photography tour, and my list of 10 small museums.) But I was truly intrigued when a blogfriend asked me recently about sightseeing in Roman Paris. Here are my top picks — and a quick history lesson to give them […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Travel | 15 Comments
Tags: Arènes de Lutèce, Cluny Museum, Crypte Archeologique, Lutetia, Lutetia Parisiorum, Musée Cluny, Roman Paris
Stumbling stones into the past
During my first visit to Freiburg, Germany, one of the things that most impressed me was the meticulously cobbled streets. So precisely cut are the stones that you can walk on them for hours without tiring — and the mosaics are as much of a feast for the eyes as the shop windows above them. […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history, Psychology | 20 Comments
Tags: Alice Berta Günzburger, Freiburg, Gunter Demnig, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Leslie Maitland, Samuel Sigmar Günzburger, Stolpersteine
The Christmas Truce of 1914
Today marks the centenary of my favorite Christmas story. It happened in 1914, only five months after the beginning of World War I. The British soldiers who huddled in the trenches must have been miserable that clear December evening, as a blanket of damp and darkness enveloped them. The winter of 1914 had been fierce […]
Filed under: History, On this day in history, Psychology | 6 Comments
Tags: Christmas, Christmas Truce of 1914, Heilige Nacht, World War i
Walking in the footsteps of WWI
One of the highlights of my trip to Paris in December of 2013 was a visit to the Catacombs with my friend Des, author of the extraordinary Soundlandscapes blog. I was happy to share with him what I’d learned about the Catacombs’ history, and even happier to give credit to Gilles Thomas, who arguably knows […]
Filed under: History, Paris, Psychology, Travel | 14 Comments
Tags: Aisne, Braye Quarries, Carrières de Braye, Charles Leo Boucher, Chemin des Dames, Corporal Earle Madeley, Gilles Chauwin, Gilles Thomas, Laon, World War i
