History: Fact or Fiction?

Yes I am about to write about some wondrous history that isn't exactly complete facts. Now we all know about the historic ride of Paul Revere, what most don't know is that Paul Revere only got about 19 miles before he was captured. So who was it that really rode a horse through-out the eastern states yelling 'the British are coming!!' Well the man's name that truly did make the ride to warn the new Americans was Israel Bissell. Now why is it most of us were taught (and still is being taught) that Paul Revere made that ever so important ride? Simply put an fictional author wrote the Paul Revere's Ride, can you guess who this author was? Well before I give you the name of this famous author I will list some of his other works. See one well known work of this author is 'The Song Of Hiawatha' and 'Evangeline'. He also wrote the first American translation of Dante Alighieri's 'Inferno'. Any questions who this author was yet? Yes you are correct it was in fact Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Now you might ask yourself why would Henry Wadsworth Longfellow write of Paul Revere as one who completed that historic ride... well have catchy does the name Israel Bissell sound (makes one think of a vacuum cleaner).(Paul Revere's Ride)


Through out history legends are not exactly facts, hence term legend. Take Alexander Graham Bell (Bell) we all know what he is famous for, right? He was the inventor of the telephone...wrong. It is true that in March 7, 1876, the U.S. Patent Office granted Bell a patent for a communication device for "transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically." So what do I mean wrong, read on my friend. On September 25, 2001, the United States Congress officially recognized Antonio Meucci as the inventor of the telephone, denying Bell's claim to its invention. Seems that Antonio Meucci demonstrated his "teletrofono" in New York in 1860, made him the inventor of the telephone in the place of Bell, who had access to Meucci's materials and who took out a patent 16 years later. Yet still children are taught that Bell invented the telephone. (Antonio Meucci)

Well that is all for this fact or fiction history class (lol) Next time perhaps we will talk about The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and what changes Washington Irving made to history with his writing or maybe we will talk about how not all the Founding Fathers were Christian. Till later remember history at times is a work of fiction :)