The Folly Chronicles

Vivien Theodore Thomas’s dreams of becoming a doctor collapsed in the October 1929 financial crash. However, he still made an enormously important contribution to medicine, one that’s been used to this this day. For years, white doctors took the credit for it.

Chances are you've never heard of Ching Shih, "The Terror of the South Seas" in the 1800s, whose command of 1,200 pirate ships and 80,000 pirates puts the famous pirates to shame. Be prepared to be amazed! Sources: · Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Pirates Who Ruled the Seven Seas, by Laura Sook Duncombe · Atlas Obscura: Ching Shih: The Chinese Female Pirate Who Commanded 80,000 Outlaws · History Hit/10 Facts About C...

A conclusion to the tale of Dr. James Miranda Barry. Check out part 1 first if you haven't already! Sources: Book: The Secret Life of Dr. James Barry by Rachel Holmes Online article: How History Keeps Ignoring James Barry/History.com by Brynn Holland Online article: The Extraordinary Secret Life of Dr. James Barry/History.com Online article: Hektoen International: A Surgeon and a Gentleman: The Life of James Barry, by Mariel Tishma Victorian Web Book Review by Joan Grant Children’s book: We...

In the 1800s, this brilliant medical surgeon of the British Army traveled the empire from South Africa to Canada, setting standards of care still used today. He even performed one of the first C-sections -- and both baby and mother survived! So after his death, why did the British Army seal his records for 100 years? Sources: Book: The Secret Life of Dr. James Barry by Rachel Holmes Online article: How History Keeps Ignoring James Barry/History.com by Brynn Holland Online article: The Extra...

In Georgia Gilmore's pursuit of Black equality, she fought first with her fists and then with lawsuits – but always with a side of sweet potato pie! Jo Ann Robinson, a Civil Rights activist, president of the Women’s Political Council (WPC) and a professor at Alabama State College, organized a one-day bus boycott after Rosa Parks’ arrest — which preceded and was crucial to the year-plus 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. To learn more about the boycotts and Robinson’s remarkable achievement o...