215 Years Ago Today...

The 16 Carmelite martyrs of Compiègne were guillotined during the French Revolution.

You can read more about them in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Also recommended are:

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud Von Le Fort (Neumann Press) - approriate for high school or adult

To Quell the Terror: The Mystery of the Vocation of the Sixteen Carmelites of Compiegne Guillotined July 17, 1794 by William Bush (not yet reviewed for age-appropriateness)

40 Years Ago Today

Apollo 11, the mission that culminated with the first landing on the moon, was launched.

You can watch and listen to the events in real-time + 40 years at this website:

We Choose the Moon

The NASA website also has a page commemorating the Apollo mission's 40th anniversary here:

NASA - Apollo

Also check out:

Google Moon

Saints of Asia

Saints of Asia: 1500 to the Present by Vincent J. O'Malley, C.M. (Our Sunday Visitor)

Christians in China: AD 600 to 2000 by Fr. Jean Charbonnier (Ignatius Press)

Xavier: Missionary and Saint (DVD - narrated by Liam Neeson)

Picture Books and Links to accompany Mary Daly's "First Timeline"

A list in progress of picture books and a few links:

5. Si Ling - The Empress and the Silkworm

19. Patrick - Patrick by Tomie de Paola

20. Pope Gregory the Great - listen to the Salve Regina here. You can learn more about the Salve Regina here.

22. Pangur Ban

27. Leif Ericson - Leif the Lucky by Ingrid and Edgar Parin D'aulaire

28. Cathedrals - Cathedral by David Macaulay
Chartres Cathedral: Dover Publications has a book of postcards of the windows from Chartres

30. Chaucer - Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer, adapted and illustrated by Barbara Cooney

31. Columbus - Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

32. William Shakespeare - Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children by Edith Nesbit
The Bard of Avon by Diane Stanley
William Shakespeare and the Globe by Aliki

33. The Mayflower - Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla
more to come

Anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto (1571)

G.K. Chesterton wrote a very moving poem about the battle (best as a read-aloud) which you can read here.

Wikipedia has really detailed and interesting information about this battle.

Because Our Lady was implored throughout the empire by praying the Rosary, the anniversary of this decisive battle was named the feast of Our Lady of Victory, later changed to Our Lady of the Rosary.

Fifty Years Ago Yesterday

Sputnik was launched.

Archaeology News - And Lots of It

I just stumbled across a rather unexpected site - Fox News' Archaeology page! They have the latest archaeology news (not always VERY new!) in the following categories:

Latest News (all areas of Archaeology)
Biblical Archaeology
Classical Archaeology
East Asia, South Asia and Pacific
Egyptology
Medieval Archaeology
Pre-Columbian Archaeology
Prehistorical Archaeology
Post-Columbian Americas
Unusual Excavations.

The website can be found here