November 8, 2025
Mount Holyoke Female Seminary Opens Its Doors (1837)
The first of the Seven Sisters—traditionally female colleges often considered the equivalent to the historically male-dominated Ivy League—Mount Holyoke is one of the oldest women's colleges in the US. It was founded by Mary Lyon, a pioneer in women's education, in the midst of a movement that created unprecedented new educational opportunities for women in the US. Many colleges were later modeled on Mount Holyoke. What unusual feature did each dorm room at the seminary originally have? Discuss
November 7, 2025
Basketball Star Earvin "Magic" Johnson Announces He Has HIV (1991)
Johnson had been a basketball star for more than a decade when he announced, at a press conference, that he had tested positive for HIV and would retire. He vowed to battle the disease, while confirming that neither his pregnant wife nor their unborn child was infected. As a popular athlete, Johnson helped combat the stigma of HIV, which was then predominantly associated with disproportionately affected groups such as drug addicts and homosexuals. Did Johnson ever return to basketball?
November 6, 2025
The Green March Begins (1975)
Extremely arid and almost entirely sand and gravel, the sparsely populated territory of Western Sahara was a protectorate of Spain until the 1970s. Despite internal calls for independence, the king of neighboring Morocco led a march of more than 300,000 unarmed Moroccans into the territory as a show of support for annexation. Known as the Green March, the mass demonstration led to Spanish withdrawal, but control of the region is still contested. What other group claims the territory?
