In reply to:

For example, historic, to me, carries a weight that historical doesn't. "This historic occasion…" vs. "the historical marker on Rte. 13 marking the site of…".

Sounds about right. I was always taught that historical was the ordinary adjective for history (a dictionary on historical principles)or meant past not present (the historical events described in Shakespeare's plays) while historic meant important enough to be recorded as a major event in history (the historic landing on the moon).

Bingley


Bingley