Aiming north, he thought it might be droll
To switch tacks to an opposite goal
Roald told all his fans
“There’s a small change in plans
Looks like we’re heading for the South Pole”

Event: Roald Amundsen and his team become the first to reach the South Pole
Year: 1911
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amundsen%27s_South_Pole_expedition

Near four months the Convention had spent
But would the states with it be content?
Little Delaware rose
And with all “Yeas” (no “Noes”)
They declared their unquestioned assent

Event: Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution
Year: 1787
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution

Joltin’ Joe hit in fifty-six straight
Dolphins with their champagne bottles wait
Ken did not have to strain
As his thumb and his brain
Got his name onto lists of streaks great

Event: Ken Jennings loses to Nancy Zerg, ending his record-setting Jeopardy! winning streak at 74 games
Year: 2004
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Jennings

There once was a man named Warbeck
Who caused King Henry all kinds of heck
Said he was Ed Four’s son
Tried to fool everyone
But he was caught, and hanged by the neck

Event: Execution of Perkin Warbeck, pretender to the English throne
Year: 1499
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkin_Warbeck

Mozart had his Rondo alla Turc
But a plumber’s this man’s best known work
Plus a donkey named Kong
(Or did I get that wrong?)
And a boy, a princess, and a jerk

Event: Birth of Miyamoto Shigeru, creator of some of the most successful video game franchises in history, including Mario, Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda
Year: 1952
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigeru_Miyamoto

In the coup of the Eighteenth Brumaire
Bonaparte took the country with flair
At the first he would be
One of the consuls three
But it turned out that he couldn’t share

Event: The coup of 18 Brumaire ends the French Directory and replaces it with the Consulate
Year: 1799 (or 8 by the French Republican Calendar)
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18_Brumaire

Quite a day for the transmitted word
Human sounds, but by EM waves spurred
Once our speech barely spanned
Past the reach of one’s hand
Now today it’s around the world heard

Events: KDKA, the first commercially licensed radio station in the U.S., goes on the air; founding of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; the British Broadcasting Corporation launches the BBC Television Service (now BBC One)
Years: 1920; 1936; 1936
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDKA_%28AM%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_One

“Clinton’s Folly” they all called the ditch
The Mohawk just had too steep a pitch
The surveyors were new
But they somehow pulled through
And they made the surrounding lands rich

Event: Erie Canal completed
Year: 1825
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal

An ancient battle full of drama
Horns sent elephants back to their mama
Scipio had hands full
Going ‘gainst Hannibal
But he beat the tactician at Zama

Event: Roman victory at Zama, last battle of the Second Punic War
Year: 202 BC
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Zama

On a blue planet, far, far away
Mostly harmless, as some like to say
Starts the tale of a book
Give the cover a look
“DO NOT PANIC”: a friendly display

Event: Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is published
Year: 1979
Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_%28novel%29