Famous and Forgotten Names Through Everyday Phrases
A playful survey traces how famous figures like Gallaher, Garrison, Guillotin, Lynch, Macadam, Macintosh, and Morse left legacies in language. It connects the origins of common words and expressions to their historical bearers and brief biographical notes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Orville A. Roorback
Mr. Webster
James K. Polk
John
Earl of Sandwich
Rugger
Antoine
Adolphe
Joseph Sax
California
Sequoyah
George Gist
Etienne Silhouette
Controleur-Generale of
France
Unpleasant Ninth Ward Oasis Becomes Solly Isaacs Court Hero
Solomon Brady Isaacs a ward resident turned avocat returns to claim power over the Ninth ward. He builds a criminal defense fortune by intimidating witnesses and coaching alibis then expands into predatory legal tactics until his plotting leads to his downfall in a public back alley saga.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Colonel Maverick
Maverick
William Morris
Jean Sieur de Ville-Main Nicot
France
Solomon Brady Isaacs
Sally
Solly
Lowenthal
Ninth Ward
Isaacs
Grimm Street
Iowenthal
Mr. Ginsburg
From Whose Names Were These Words Derived
A list of terms and phrases linked to personal or family names or brand origins, tracing etymology from Gallagher to Watt. Each item hints at its eponym or origin, including phrases like let her go, garrison finish, macadam, maverick, and van dyke.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Burnside
van Dyke
Anthony van Dyck
John Wallop
Western Newspaper Union
Gallagher
Garrison
Sam Hill
Lynch
Macadam Road
Mackintosh Maverick
Morse Code
Morris Chair Negus Nicotine
Ohm
Great feats of memory put on historic record
A Belgrade youth reportedly set a world record by memorizing over eighty figures in ten minutes. James Milnes Gaskell, linked to Lord Houghton, boasted long memory games tracing parliamentary reps. A New Zealand veteran-turned-professor recalled every battalion soldier after records were destroyed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Belgrade
James Milnes Gaskell
Lord Houghton
Monckton Milnes
House of Commons
Gaskell
New Zealand Expeditionary Force
Edinburgh University
Montreal Herald
Also Mentioned on This Page
Elmo Scott Watson
Tipton County
Harrodsburg
Edward
Snapper
Joseph Ignace Guillotin
Paris
National Assembly of France
Messieurs
Guillotin
National Assembly
Col
Samuel Hill
Guilford
Conn
Sam Hil
Charles Lynch
Virginia
House of Burgesses
John Loudon Macadam
America
Scotland
Charles Macintosh
Samuel A. Maverick
Yale College
Texas Independence
Congress of the Republic of Texas
Matagorda Bay
Louis Pasteur
Samuel Finley Breese
Morse
Joel R. Poingett
United States
Mexico
Rio Grande
Latin America
George Mortimer Pullman
New York
Georg Simon Ohm
Alessandro Volta
James Watt
Col Francis Negus
Joseph K. Rickey
Fulton
Rhode Island
Ambrose Everett Burnside
Burnsides
J. J. Guillotin
Joel R. Poinsett
George M. Pullman
Gen
A. E. Burnside
Scott W. Ryall
McClure Hlewsnaper Syndicate Service
Poinsettia Pullman
Ramos
Sequoia
Tom and Jerry
van Dyke Beard
Volt Wallop
Watt
London
Ferry
A. M. Todd Company
Mentha
Mich
Kalamazoo
Beauty
Simoniz
Ueveland
Sii
Hollenden
Columbus iii
Neilhouse
Mayflower
Secor Hr
Miami
DeWitt Operated
Uticura
Hance
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!