- Bellingham — Thumbnail History (historylink.org)
In 1852, two Californians in search of site for a lumber mill arrived at the mouth of northwest Washington’s Whatcom Creek, on the edge of the Puget Sound. The spot was close to the forests and streams they would need to supply and power their lumber business, and it had a good harbor that they could use to ship their products to market in San Francisco. The same natural bounty soon drew other newcomers. They formed four settlements: Whatcom, Sehome, Fairhaven, and Bellingham. In 1904, after a series of consolidations, the four towns became one city: Bellingham, at the time the state’s fourth-largest municipality. Yet even as the town boomed, most of its citizens – miners, cannery workers, railroad builders, and loggers – counted on the land and water around them for their livelihoods. At the beginning of the twenty-first century Bellingham still relies on the land to survive, but now caters to skiers, hikers, kayakers, and sightseers.
- Fidel Castro (Wikipedia)
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (/ˈkæstroʊ/ KASS-troh, Latin American Spanish: [fiˈðel aleˈxandɾo ˈkastɾo ˈrus]; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he also served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state; industry and business were nationalized, and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society.