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: 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 inventory with me. Feel free to bring any of the books that I authored, for me to autograph. Thanks, – JWR
- Post Falls, Idaho Sep. 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)
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