On this day in history.

[scifan57]

Challenger Disaster This Day in 1986 -

This is an event that I remember my exact location - Susan & I (and our son) were on St. Thomas at my departmental's 'Winter Meeting' - the three of us saw the disaster on TV in the hotel room and were completely shocked - still remember standing there staring at each other - Dave




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The worst part of the disaster is that they believe the astronauts may have survived the actual explosion as the crew compartment was blown out intact and they may have survived for part or all of the fall to the ocean.

 

[giradman]

The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution Passed in Congress Today in 1865

The final ratification of the 13th Amendment in December 1865 by the required number of States abolished slavery in the entire country and its territories - some more details quoted below - but, this was only a beginning, the 14th & 15th Amendments quickly followed and all three are shown below - of course, the ladies were still left out of the vote! Dave

On this day in 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in America. When the Civil War began, President Abraham Lincoln’s professed goal was the restoration of the Union. But early in the war, the Union began keeping escaped slaves rather than returning them to their owners, so slavery essentially ended wherever the Union army was victorious. In September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in areas that were still in rebellion against the Union. This measure opened the issue of what to do about slavery in border states that had not seceded or in areas that had been captured by the Union before the proclamation (Source).

In 1864, an amendment abolishing slavery passed the U.S. Senate but died in the House as Democrats rallied in the name of states’ rights. The election of 1864 brought Lincoln back to the White Housealong with significant Republican majorities in both houses, so it appeared the amendment was headed for passage when the new Congress convened in March 1865. Lincoln preferred that the amendment receive bipartisan support. The amendment passed 119 to 56, seven votes above the necessary two-thirds majority; the 13th Amendment was sent to the states for ratification, which came in December 1865. With the passage of the amendment, the institution that had indelibly shaped American history was eradicated (Source).

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[scifan57]

February 1, 2003;
The space shuttle Columbia breaks up over Texas during re-entry. Space Shuttle Columbia disaster - Wikipedia

 

[giradman]

Groundhog Day Declared in 1887!

Well not my favorite day to celebrate - But today is Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil is the name of a succession of groundhogs in Punsxutawney, Pennsylvania - today, he saw his shadow and returned to his burrow predicting 6 more weeks of winter; but not to worry, according to the link "as of 2016, Punxsutawney Phil has made 129 predictions, with an early spring (no shadow) predicted 18 times (15.0%). According to Stormfax, as of 2016 the predictions have proven correct 39% of the time. Boy, worst than flipping a coin! Dave

P.S. The 1993 film Groundhog Day w/ Bill Murray & Andie MacDowell is a fun watch as I recall but have not seen in over 20 years!

On this day in 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring.

Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas Day, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal–the hedgehog–as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were plentiful in the Keystone State (Source).

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[giradman]

August 4th,1900. Queen Elizabeth,the Queen Mother is born.

Hi Mea..... - you seem to not understand this thread, i.e. 'On This Day in History..', the point is to post an event related to the current date (maybe w/ a few days one way or the other), BUT August 4 is not appropriate - also the link provided had nothing to do w/ the Queen Mother (i.e. mother of Elizabeth II) - are you trying to spam us? Few of us seem to be interested in this thread and would love to see more participating, but your post here is rather spurious, just saying - Dave

ADDENDUM: Just saw that you left nearly a dozen posts w/ the same link - nasty!
You'll likely be banned from the forum which is appropriate - my time was wasted!

 

[twerppoet]

Pretty sure this was just a spambot. The many of the messages look vaugly familiar, so I'm guessing it's copy/pasting them from earlier posts. In this case, I think it's actually copying them fro entirely different threads.

 

[scifan57]

Hi Mea..... - you seem to not understand this thread, i.e. 'On This Day in History..', the point is to post an event related to the current date (maybe w/ a few days one way or the other), BUT August 4 is not appropriate - also the link provided had nothing to do w/ the Queen Mother (i.e. mother of Elizabeth II) - are you trying to spam us? Few of us seem to be interested in this thread and would love to see more participating, but your post here is rather spurious, just saying - Dave

ADDENDUM: Just saw that you left nearly a dozen posts w/ the same link - nasty!
You'll likely be banned from the forum which is appropriate - my time was wasted!

Pretty sure this was just a spambot. The many of the messages look vaugly familiar, so I'm guessing it's copy/pasting them from earlier posts. In this case, I think it's actually copying them fro entirely different threads.

That member will no longer bother us.

 

[giradman]

Washington Elected Unanimously This Day by Electoral College in 1789

For both his first and second terms, George Washington was elected unanimously for the First President of the United States; John Adams receiving the second most votes became the Vice President - Washington took the oath of office for his first term at Federal Hall which was on Wall Street in NYC - there is now a newer building which serves as a National Monument (pics below of the ceremony & the Federal Hall Monument w/ a statue of George W.) - the first capital of the United States was New York City for a short time, but then moved to Philadelphia for ten years (1790-1800) while the future Washington, D.C. on the Potomac river was being built. Dave

On this day in 1789, George Washington becomes the first and only president to be unanimously elected by the Electoral College. He repeated this notable feat on the same day in 1792. The peculiarities of early American voting procedure meant that although Washington won unanimous election, he still had a runner-up, John Adams, who served as vice president during both of Washington’s terms. Electors in what is now called the Electoral College named two choices for president. They each cast two ballots without noting a distinction between their choice for president and vice president. Washington was chosen by all of the electors and therefore is considered to have been unanimously elected. Of those also named on the electors’ ballots, Adams had the most votes and became vice president (Source).

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[giradman]

Abraham Lincoln Born Today in 1809!

On this day in 1809, Abraham Lincoln is born in Hodgenville, Kentucky - he spent his adult years in Illinois, met and married Mary Todd from Lexington (see my travelogue about Lexington & her restored house, if interested). He was the tallest president (see first two quotes below) and in his youth, a legendary wrestler, losing only one of about 300 matches; he is even honored in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (see third quote). Pics below of him with and without this beard w/ one colorized; also his statue in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Dave

Addendum: Two of my favorite presidents were Washington & Lincoln - one of my favorite classical composers is Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809) who was born the same year as Washington and died the year Lincoln was born!

Lincoln, one of America’s most admired presidents, grew up a member of a poor family in Kentucky and Indiana. He attended school for only one year, but thereafter read on his own in a continual effort to improve his mind. As an adult, he lived in Illinois and performed a variety of jobs including stints as a postmaster, surveyor and shopkeeper, before entering politics. He served in the Illinois legislature from 1834 to 1836, and then became an attorney. In 1842, Lincoln married Mary Todd; together, the pair raised four sons (Source).

Lincoln was the tallest president at 6′ 4. As a young man, he impressed others with his sheer physical strength–he was a legendary wrestler in Illinois–and entertained friends and strangers alike with his dry, folksy wit, which was still in evidence years later. Exasperated by one Civil War military defeat after another, Lincoln wrote to a lethargic general if you are not using the army I should like to borrow it for awhile. An animal lover, Lincoln once declared, “I care not for a man’s religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.” Fittingly, a variety of pets took up residence at the Lincoln White House, including a pet turkey named Jack and a goat called Nanko. Lincoln’s son Tad frequently hitched Nanko to a small wagon and drove around the White House grounds (Source).

The Great Emancipator wasn’t quite WWE material, but thanks to his long limbs he was an accomplished wrestler as a young man. Defeated only once in approximately 300 matches, Lincoln reportedly talked a little smack in the ring. According to Carl Sandburg’s biography of Lincoln, Honest Abe once challenged an entire crowd of onlookers after dispatching an opponent: “I’m the big buck of this lick. If any of you want to try it, come on and whet your horns.” There were no takers. Lincoln’s grappling exploits earned him an “Outstanding American” honor in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Source).

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[scifan57]

February 13, 1633;

Galileo arrives in Rome to face the inquisition because of his advocation of the Copernican theory that the earth revolved around the Sun. Galileo Galilei - Wikipedia

In April of that year he agreed to plead guilty in return for a lighter sentence. Pope Urban Vlll sentenced him to indefinite house arrest at his villa at Arcetri near Florence where he died on January 8, 1642.

 

[giradman]

USS Maine Explodes in Havana Harbor This Day in 1898 Initiating the Spanish-American War

The USS Maine exploded this day in Havana Harbor and shortly started the short-lived Spanish-American War, which was fought in both the Caribbean and the far off Pacific (story quoted below). Theodore Roosevelt led his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill in Cuba leading to his nomination for Vice President w/ William McKinley, who was soon assassinated after their Republican victory for the White House, making Teddy Roosevelt the 26th President and the youngest to assume office at age 42 years.

With the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the United States - Hawaii was also annexed at that time becoming the 50th State in the USA in 1959 (see third quote below) - finally, in bold in that quote - the Spanish were freed of blame for the explosion of the USS Maine. Dave

A massive explosion of unknown origin sinks the battleship USS Maine in Cuba’s Havana harbor, killing 260 of the fewer than 400 American crew members aboard. One of the first American battleships, the Maine weighed more than 6,000 tons and was built at a cost of more than $2 million. Ostensibly on a friendly visit, the Maine had been sent to Cuba to protect the interests of Americans there after a rebellion against Spanish rule broke out in Havana in January (Source).

An official U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry ruled in March that the ship was blown up by a mine, without directly placing the blame on Spain. Much of Congress and a majority of the American public expressed little doubt that Spain was responsible and called for a declaration of war. Subsequent diplomatic failures to resolve the Maine matter, coupled with United States indignation over Spain’s brutal suppression of the Cuban rebellion and continued losses to American investment, led to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in April 1898 (Source).

Within three months, the United States had decisively defeated Spanish forces on land and sea, and in August an armistice halted the fighting. On December 12, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed between the United States and Spain, officially ending the Spanish-American War and granting the United States its first overseas empire with the ceding of such former Spanish possessions as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. In 1976, a team of American naval investigators concluded that the Maine explosion was likely caused by a fire that ignited its ammunition stocks, not by a Spanish mine or act of sabotage. (Source)

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[scifan57]

February 16, 1923;
On this day, Howard Carter enters the burial chamber of Tutankhamen in the Valkey of the Kings.
Tutankhamun - Wikipedia

 

[giradman]

February 16, 1923;
On this day, Howard Carter enters the burial chamber of Tutankhamen in the Valkey of the Kings.
Tutankhamun - Wikipedia

Over the decades, there have been numerous King Tut Exhibits throughout the world - we were fortunate to see the one in Atlanta, GA (a 5-hour drive) in the spring of 2009 - impressive as I recall (before my 'travelogue' days) - Dave
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[scifan57]

Over the decades, there have been numerous King Tut Exhibits throughout the world - we were fortunate to see the one in Atlanta, GA (a 5-hour drive) in the spring of 2009 - impressive as I recall (before my 'travelogue' days) - Dave
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View attachment 76067

In the Valley of the Kings today, there's only one Pharaoh still in his tomb, Tutankhamen. If you want to see his mummy, you have to go there.

 

[giradman]

Roosevelt Signs Order For Internment of 120,000 Japanese-Americans This Day in 1942!

The general history of America's internment of its own citizens during World War II has focused on the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese, 62% of them American-born, who were forcibly evacuated from the Pacific coast after the bombing of Pearl Harbor (Source).

In my mind, a terrible event in American history - not sure how I would have felt in 1942 (not even born), but an unfair and disruptive occurrence for so many Japanese-Americans at the time - quotes above and below, if interested in more details, and just some selected pics - Dave

Ten weeks after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal of any or all people from military areas “as deemed necessary or desirable.” The military in turn defined the entire West Coast, home to the majority of Americans of Japanese ancestry or citizenship, as a military area. By June, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to remote internment camps built by the U.S. military in scattered locations around the country. For the next two and a half years, many of these Japanese Americans endured extremely difficult living conditions and poor treatment by their military guards (Source).

On December 17, 1944, U.S. Major General Henry C. Pratt issued Public Proclamation No. 21, declaring that, effective January 2, 1945, Japanese-American “evacuees” from the West Coast could return to their homes. During the course of World War II, 10 Americans were convicted of spying for Japan, but not one of them was of Japanese ancestry. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to recompense each surviving internee with a tax-free check for $20,000 and an apology from the U.S. government (Source).

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