The theme for today’s installment of “This Week in History” seems to be the 19^th century. I didn’t plan it that way, but isn’t it nice when themes just drop in your lap like that? So take off your frock coat, lay back on your “fainting couch,” turn on the gramophone, and plan to sit a spell. It’s time for…

This Week in History

December 2, 1804: France crowned Napoleon as its emperor.
Interested in French history? Have a particular fondness for French military history? Check out Jonathan R. Dull’s The French Navy and the Seven Years’ War (University of Nebraska Press, 2005).

December 3, 1895: Austrian-born psychologist Anna Freud was born.
For a unique, global take on the field of psychology, pick up a copy of International Psychology: Views from Around the World edited by Virginia Staudt Sexton and John D. Hogan (University of Nebraska Press, 1992).

December 4, 1849: American Indian Chief Crazy Horse was born.
For a thorough, enlightening account of the life of this heroic military leader of the Oglala Sioux, you’ll want to grab a copy of Crazy Horse, Second Edition by Mari Sandoz (University of Nebraska Press, 2004).

December 5, 1848: President Polk confirmed that gold had been discovered in California, triggering the Gold Rush of 1949.
Read the diary of Alonzo Delano (1806–74) of Ottawa, Illinois, who made the challenging and often-harrowing journey to California to partake in the Gold Rush in On the Trail to the California Gold Rush (University of Nebraska Press, 2005).

December 6, 1889: The only president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, died at the age of 81 in New Orleans.
Did you know that there was a plot to kidnap Jefferson Davis in 1862? You can read all about it in Victor Vifquain’s memoir, The 1862 Plot to Kidnap Jefferson Davis (University of Nebraska Press, 2005). It’s an engaging, firsthand account of a bold attempt to kidnap the president of the Confederate States of America.

December 7, 1873: The great American novelist Willa Cather was born.
Are you wild for Willa? If so, the University of Nebraska Press has you covered! Visit us here and take your pick from our fine selection of Cather titles. If you’re a Cather novice, start with My Ántonia and we guarantee you’ll be hooked!