Introduction

       Hello, My name is Phil Easter. I live in Baltimore, Maryland, where I was born in 1952. I am known by many people -- including my friends and associates -- as "The Amazing Memory Man." I have a very good memory for many dates in world history; as well as an excellent recall of many events in my own life, at least since the age of seven. Indeed, many of my interests, especially an appreciation of history, and how people lived long ago -- and a lifelong interest in travel -- came about thanks to something that occurred back in 1960. In May and June of that year, I traveled with my mother to Europe, a trip of seven weeks. We traveled by ship across the Atlantic Ocean -- that in itself I found fascinating and very enjoyable. We arrived at the French port of Le Havre, and took a train to the beautiful city of Paris. Some time later we took a train through Switzerland, on to the nation of Austria. In that country we visited the cities of Gratz, Innsbruck, Salzburg, and Vienna. In Gratz, I remember going to a museum which had many knights' suits of armour on display. Even by the age of seven I was interested in learning about ancient and medieval history; I was different than most other children I knew, whose main interests were playing games, etc. I certainly played some of the time, but I also enjoyed reading about history and literature. Also, listening to my mother and grandmother tell me their stories of what life was like during the decades of the 1930's and '40's -- those difficult days of the great depression and World War II, I found very interesting. Naturally, no one knows exactly what it is like to go through a tragic or difficult time that occurred before they were born -- compared to the people who lived through it -- but I believe I have at least a fairly good idea, better than many other people, about the sacrifices and challenges that people went through during the greatest war in history. I have read many books on World War II, and some of my favorite films are set during that great conflict -- (notably "Casablanca," "The Longest Day," and "Saving Private Ryan"). I have great admiration and respect for those men and women who contributed to the cause of liberty and justice, who fought against the tyranny and oppression of the fascist regimes of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

       Sometimes I entertain people, my friends and people I meet, with examples of events I know from dates, what I sometimes call "The Tapestry of Time." Sometimes, when I ask a person what date is their birthday, I mention what I know from that date in history.

       On the more serious side, I really care about historical accuracy, and over the years I have noticed many mistakes regarding time and dates in books, magazines, newspapers, and on TV news. But even I was amazed by what I discovered on the afternoon of Monday April 29, 1985.

       In the area of Baltimore called Mt. Vernon Place, where I lived for the first 34 years of my life, there is the first monument to George Washington to begin construction and the second to be completed (between 1815-1829). The first to be completed was the Washington Monument in Boonsboro, Maryland which was completed sometime before 1829. Both are at least a half century older than the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. The Baltimore monument is, in my opinion, more architecturally interesting than the one in the nation's capital. There is a statue of Washington on top, and on the 4 sides of the base of the monument there are various inscriptions regarding important dates in his life; for example, his birth and death dates, his battles -- and the date he became President -- and the date he left office. When my eyes glanced at the (supposedly correct) inauguration date "4 March" 1789 -- I said "Oh my God -- it's wrong." You see, in 1789, he was inaugurated on "30 April" not "4 March"! The builders of the monument got it wrong! It is worth noting that his second inauguration, in 1793, was on March 4. However, his first one was on April 30, 1789. In the almost 200 years since the monument was built, one can only wonder how many people walking or driving by have looked at that date, and assumed it was right.

       So, I contacted one of the local newspapers, The Evening Sun, and an article appeared on July 8, 1985 -- I was very proud to be recognized as the man who noticed the "Monumental Error." A few weeks later, on July 22, I was interviewed on a local radio station, WBAL -- and billed as "The Amazing Memory Man." I was also interviewed by reporter Dan Rodricks on WBAL-TV on September 16. Several times in more recent years I have been interviewed on radio and TV stations, sometimes billed as Olympic Sports Historian.

Several times since 1978 I have taught sports history courses for the Baltimore Free University of Johns Hopkins University. In 1978 and 2007, I taught the Sports History Seminar -- sharing with my class stories of athletes and events from a variety of sports. In 1980, 1984, and 2004, Olympic years, I taught the course "History of the Modern Olympic Games." I spoke about many unusual and controversial events since the Modern Games began in 1896 and shared human interest stories about various athletes -- and also my eyewitness observations of the 1972 and 1976 Summer Games in Munich and Montreal.

So, having studied political and sports history both reasonably well, I enjoy sharing my observations, human interest stories, and info about many historical dates with people I meet.

The following is a summary of the longest and most interesting of my international trips thus far.