5 of the World’s Most Devastating Financial Crises

Never the Twain Shall Duel


Twain, Mark
Mark Twain in Constantinople, c. 1867, during the travels he later described in The Innocents Abroad (1869).
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. LC-USZ62-28851
In 1864, while working for a newspaper in Nevada, Mark Twain became involved in a heated dispute with James Laird, the publisher of a rival paper. Reportedly, the conflict started when Twain accused Laird’s paper of failing to follow through on a promise to give money to a charity. Things quickly escalated, and the two men agreed to duel. However, Twain’s pistol was no match for his pen. He was a horrible shot, despite shooting lessons from Steve Gillis, his second. Shortly before Laird was to arrive for the duel, Gillis shot a bird and then informed Laird’s supporters that Twain had killed the animal, from a distance of 30 feet. The nervous Laird subsequently agreed to call off the duel. Twain wrote about the experience on several occasions, but some historians believe that the duel was never even scheduled and that Twain’s version is pure fiction.
HomeListWorld History
5 Unbelievable Facts About Christopher Columbus
Cite Share
BY Alison Eldridge

• 
  Christopher Columbus Was Not His Real Name
  

Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus, oil painting, said to be the most accurate likeness of the explorer, attributed to Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, c. 1525.
The Granger Collection, New York
Although Columbus remains a prominent historical figure around the world and has been researched and written about for centuries, there are many details of his life that are still a mystery. Many scholars agree that he was born in Genoa, which is now part of Italy, although there are theories that he may have originated in Spain or even in Poland or Greece. In Italian he is known as Cristoforo Colombo, which was long thought to be his birth name, and in Spanish as Cristóbal Colón. But he has also been referred to, by himself and others, as Christoual, Christovam, Christofferus de Colombo, and even Xpoual de Colón. There is even a theory that he adopted the name from a pirate named Colombo.

•