An opportunist businessman with a taste for the finer things in life, Oskar Schindler seemed an unlikely candidate to become a wartime rescuer—and he was, indeed, a long way from perfect—but during World War II, he rescued more than 1,000 Jews from deportation to Auschwitz—Nazi Germany's largest camp complex.

In many ways, it is the imperfections in Oskar Schindler’s character and the nuances in the historical record that make his story even more remarkable.

Oskar Schindler was born on April 28, 1908, in Svitavy (or Zwittau), Moravia, at that time a province of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. An ethnic German and a Catholic, he remained in Svitavy during the interwar period and held Czech citizenship after Moravia was incorporated into the newly established Czechoslovak Republic in 1918.

Schindler grew up in Zwittau, Moravia, and worked in several trades.

His father was Johann "Hans" Schindler, the owner of a farm machinery business, and his mother was Franziska "Fanny" Schindler....

When the smoke cleared on this day, 245 years ago, April 19, 1775, here were the casualties of the Battle of Lexington and Concord:

KILLED.

Of Lexington.

* Mr. Robert Munroe,
* Mr. Jonas Parker,
* Mr. Samuel Hadley,
* Mr. Jonan Harrington,
* Mr. Caleb Harrington,
* Mr. Isaac Muzzy,
* Mr. John Brown,
Mr. John Raymond,
Mr. Nathaniel Wyman,
Mr. Jedediah Munroe.

Of Menotomy.

Mr. Jason Russel,
Mr. Jabez Wyman,
Mr. Jason Winship,
Of Sudbury.
Deacon Haynes,
Mr. ----- Reed.

Of Concord.

Capt. James Miles,
Of Bedford.
Capt. Jonathan Willson,
Of Acton.
Capt. Davis,
Mr. ----- Hosmer,
Mr. James Howard.

Of Woburn.

* Mr. Azael Porter,
Mr. Daniel Thompson.
Of Charlestown.
Mr. James Miller,
Capt. William Barber's Son.
Of Brookline.
Isaac Gardner, Esq;

Of Cambridge.

Mr. John Hicks,
Mr. Moses Richardson,
Mr. William Massey.
Of Medford.
Mr. Henry Putnam.

Of Lynn.

Mr. Abednego Ramsdell,
Mr. Daniel Townsend,
Mr. William Flint,
Mr. Thomas Hadley.

Of Danvers.

Mr. Henry Jacobs,
Mr. Samuel Cook,
Mr. Ebenezer Goldthwait,
Mr. George Southwick,
Mr. Benjamin Dalan...

245 years ago, On this Day—April 19, 1775—the American Revolution begins with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Minute Men and militias rush to confront the British Regulars early that morning.

Robert Munroe is one of the first eight Patriot casualties in that opening engagement of the Revolutionary War—and the first officer killed on Lexington Common.

He is a soldier from Cambridge Farm who was born in 1712, who later had moved to Lexington, Massachusetts. Robert married Anna Stone on July 28, 1737, in Lexington. They have 6 children. Their first and last children did not survive childhood.

Robert is one of the 77 men present when the Company meets the British on Lexington Common. He is the third-highest ranking militia officer in the action there.

At the time of his death, at 63 years of age, he is one of sixteen Munroe's who are members of Captain John Parker's Company of Minute Men, and holds the rank of Ensign, the lowest infantry officer rank.

His wife, Anna, passes away f...

On This Day, April 12, 1862, Union soldiers and sympathizers steal a passenger train and take it from Atlanta, Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee sabotaging railway tracks, bridges, and telegraph lines along the way. They were pursued by Confederate troops, first on foot, then by handcar, and eventually by train. The raiders eventually ran out of wood for the steam engine and had to abandon the train, where they tried to escape on foot. The leader of the raid, civilian scout James J. Andrews, and his men were eventually captured. Eight of the men, including Andrews, were hanged. Six of the soldiers became the first to receive the Medal of Honor. However, Andrews was not eligible since he was a civilian.

The raid became known as "The Great Locomotive Chase.”

The Great Locomotive Chase has become a legendary, but still relatively little-known event that unfolded during the early years of the Civil War. It was an attempt by Union forces and sympathizers to destroy railroad infrastructu...