This Week in History:
On July 28, 1851, the first-ever photograph of a total solar eclipse was captured on a daguerreotype by Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski at the Royal Observatory in Königsberg, Prussia.
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On or about July 28, 1586, English astronomer and mathematician Thomas Harriot introduced potatoes to England on his return from Roanoke Island, in modern-day North Carolina. (The date is disputed.)
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July 29, 238: [1] The Roman Senate and Praetorian Guard proclaimed 13-year-old Gordian III as Emperor. He was the youngest-ever emperor of a united Rome.
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July 29, 1609: Samuel de Champlain shot and killed two Iroquois chiefs at Ticonderoga, New York. This set the stage for French-Iroquois conflicts for the next 150 years.
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And on July 30, 1619, the House of Burgesses in Virginia was formed. It was the first elected American governing body.
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Some upcoming gun shows: I will have four tables at each of the following Idaho gun shows. I’ll have most of the Elk Creek Company [2] inventory with me. Feel free to bring any of the books that I authored, for me to autograph. Thanks, – JWR
- Post Falls, Idaho: September 12-13, 2026 (Greyhound Park & Event Center)
- Coeur d’Alene, Idaho: October 3-4, 2026 (Kootenai County Fairgrounds)
- Lewiston, Idaho: November 21-22, 2026, (Nez Perce County Fairgrounds Pavilion)