Montana became the forty-first state of the United States in 1889. Its name comes from the Spanish word montana, meaning mountainous. Its nicknames are the Treasure State and Big Sky Country. Copper mining, lumbering, and tourism are major sources of income. The state’s southeastern section has reserves of low-sulphur coal. Montana ranks fourth in area and forty-fourth in population. Children could learn more about Montana by visiting: Montana.
Louvre opened in Paris, France, in 1793. Probably one of its most famous paintings is the Mona Lisa. The Louvre galleries measure eight miles in total, and the museum owns over one million pieces of art. I. M. Pei designed the Louvre Pyramid, completed in 1989. The Louvre website is filled with great online tours and activities: Louvre.
X-rays were discovered by Dr. Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895. He was conducting experiments in other fields when he recognized the importance of the rays he called X-rays. He then began to systematically study and document the newly discovered X-rays. He received the the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. Children can learn a great deal about X-rays at: Nobel and they can view a video about X-rays at: X-Ray Video.
John Dickinson (born Talbot Count, Maryland, 1732; died Wilmington, Delaware, February 14, 1808) was a Revolutionary War hero. He was known as the Penman of the Revolution because of the various papers he wrote. He fought at the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania. After the Revolutionary War, he was governor of both Delaware and Pennsylvania, and for two months he was the governor of the two states at the same time! He helped draft the Articles of Confederation, but he knew that the country needed a strong central government. He attended the Constitutional Convention and approved the new government framework.
Edmund Halley (born London, England, 1656; died Greenwich, England, January 14, 1742) was an astronomer and mathematician. Halley’s Comet is named in his honor. He first saw it in 1682. After conducting some research, he realized the comet returned approximately every seventy-six years. It has been sighted 28 times. The first recorded sighting was in 240 BC. Children can view an excellent video about Halley’s Comet at: Edmund Halley.
Margaret Mitchell (born Atlanta, Georgia, 1900; died after being struck by a car in Atlanta, Georgia, August 16, 1949) was a writer. Her most famous book, Gone with the Wind, has sold over 30 million copies and has been translated into 30 languages. It received the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Bram Stoker (born Dublin, Ireland, 1847; died London, England, April 20, 1912) was a writer. He wrote at least twelve books and many short stories. However, he is most famous for his book Dracula. You can read Dracula and other works by him at: Project Gutenberg.