If you enjoyed the article in our current issue about amputee naval officers in the 19th-century British Navy, here’s good news: The book on which the article is based is now available. It’s called Lame Captains and Left-Handed Admirals: Amputee Officers in Nelson’s Navy, and you can get it direct from the publisher or from...
Category: History
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The Amputee Who Wrote the US Constitution
Most historians agree that amputee statesman Gouverneur Morris wrote the Constitution's Preamble, and some credit him as the primary author of the entire document.
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5 Reasons Why Amputees Make Better Spies
Sonia Purnell explains how Virginia Hall stood fast against the Nazis—with a wooden leg. March 24 brings the paperback release of A Woman of No Importance, Sonia Purnell’s riveting history of the LBKA spy who did spectacular work organizing the Resistance in Vichy France during World War II. Perhaps the most harrowing passage arrives in Chapter...
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The Wounded Warriors Who Saved Washington DC
“History isn’t only written by the victors,” quips documentary filmmaker Day al-Mohamed. “It’s also written by the victors who happen to have a historian in their unit.” In this instance, al-Mohamed is referring to the Battle of Fort Stevens, in which a Confederate army led by Lt. Gen Jubal Early narrowly missed capturing Washington DC...
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The Hanger Prosthetic Leg Turns 149 Years Old
The end of this week marks the 149th anniversary of U.S. Patent No. 111,741, filed on February 14, 1871, by James E. Hanger of Staunton, Virginia, for “Improvement in Artificial Legs.” The main innovations Hanger claimed were dual capacities in the knee and ankle joints: They could flex for mobility and lock for stability. As...