On this day in history.

[giradman]

Hi Scifan.. - I was on the History Channel Website today and saw the South Pole item - plenty of events happened today - just to mention a few others of interest to me:

Indy 'Brickyard' Completed Today in 1909!

This has come up in my travelogue to Indianapolis where my son lives - more details there for those interested - below just the first paragraph from HERE. Now I'm not a racing car fan (despite living in North Carolina) but when taking our son to Indiana University in Bloomington (early 1990s) we flew into Indianapolis and did some tourist stops including the Speedway - visited the museum and took a tour van around the track.

On this day in 1909, workers place the last of the 3.2 million 10-pound bricks that pave the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana (a town surrounded by the city of Indianapolis). Since then, most of that brick has been buried under asphalt, but one yard remains exposed at the start-finish line. Kissing those bricks after a successful race remains a tradition among Indy drivers.

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George Washington Died Today in 1799!

George Washington - Virginia farmer, Revolutionary War hero, and First President of the United States developed a respiratory infection after spending a day on his horse in bad weather on this Mt. Vernon Estate - he became ill and was 'bled' by his physicians - today's medicine would have easily cured him - he is buried w/ his wife, Martha, on the property (pic below) - I've been to Mt. Vernon many times but my last visit was special - a new museum has opened which is excellent - highly recommended for those in the area. Dave

George Washington, the American revolutionary leader and first president of the United States, dies of acute laryngitis at his estate in Mount Vernon, Virginia. He was 67 years old. In 1797, he finally began a long-awaited retirement at his estate in Virginia. He died two years later. His friend Henry Lee provided a famous eulogy for the father of the United States: “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” (Source)

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[giradman]

Wright Brothers First Flight Today in 1903 on the Outer Banks of North Carolina!

Quoted below is my post from a year ago (LINK) - check the link for more follow-up posts, if interested. Also, as stated in the second paragraph below, Susan & I did our Outer Banks trip in May of this year - check my Travelogue for details and many pics - not to be missed if you're traveling along the Carolina Coast. Dave

P.S. Open the quote below for more information and images.

First Airplane Flies on Outer Banks of North Carolina this day in 1903!

The Wright Brothers made the first successful aircraft flight in history (brief details quoted below) - the locale was the Outer Banks of my state, North Carolina near Kitty Hawk (see map - note that on Roanoke Island, the first attempt to establish an English colony in the mid-1580s) - plenty to see w/ pics provided below.

Susan & I have not been to the Outer Banks since the 1990s - SO, we are planning our probably last trip there for late spring next year - will drive to Roanoke Island and stay first in Nags Head, then south toward Hatteras Light; next to Ocracoke Island; and finally a ferry across to Cedar Island on the coast (near our last visit to Atlantic Beach-Morehead City) - looking forward to seeing the MOVED Hatteras Lighthouse. Dave

Near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight. The historic Wright brothers’ aircraft of 1903 is on permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. (Source)

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[giradman]

Vincent van Gogh Cuts Off Ear This Day in 1888

When I was an undergrad at Michigan, I took two art courses - French Impressionism and the post-periods were my favorite and I greatly enjoyed Vincent van Gogh. This day in 1888 in Arles, he chopped off his lower left ear w/ a razor (more details quoted below) - he painted his portrait after the ear was bandaged (also below) - appears to be his right ear, but he did his self-portraits using a mirror, hence the explanation (more HERE); pics below of some of his paintings and an apparent photograph of him found after his death.

Over the decades, I have seen innumerable paintings by van Gogh, but a treat was back in the 1980s when Susan & I took a trip to the European Lowland Countries (went to all three) - we started in Amsterdam and visited the famous Rijksmuseum and also the Van Gogh Museum (last pic below). Dave

This day in 1888, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, suffering from severe depression, cuts off the lower part of his left ear with a razor while staying in Arles, France.He later documented the event in a painting titled Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. Today, Van Gogh is regarded as an artistic genius and his masterpieces sell for record-breaking prices; however, during his lifetime, he was a poster boy for tortured starving artists and sold only one painting. He was born on March 30, 1853, in the Netherlands. He had a difficult, nervous personality and worked unsuccessfully at an art gallery and then as a preacher among poor miners in Belgium. In 1880, he decided to become an artist. His work from this period–the most famous of which is The Potato Eaters (1885). (Source)

In 1886, Van Gogh moved to Paris where his younger brother Theo, an art dealer, supported his brother introduced him to a number of artists, including Paul Gauguin. Influenced by these painters, Van Gogh’s own artistic style lightened up and he began using more color. In 1888, Van Gogh rented a house in Arles in the south of France - there he painted vivid scenes from the countryside. Gauguin came to stay with him in Arles and the two men worked together for almost two months. However, tensions developed and on December 23, in a fit of dementia, Van Gogh threatened his friend with a knife before turning it on himself and mutilating his ear lobe. Van Gogh then checked himself into a mental institution in Saint-Remy, where he fluctuated between periods of madness and intense creativity, in which he produced some of his best and most well-known works, including Starry Night and Irises. In May 1890, Van Gogh moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, where he continued to be plagued by despair and loneliness. On July 27, 1890, he shot himself and died two days later at age 37. (Source)

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[giradman]

Van Gogh Films - Lust for Life & Loving Vincent

Just a follow-up post about Vincent Van Gogh - first, Lust for Life (1956) bio film w/ Kirk Douglas as a convincing van Gogh and Anthony Quinn giving an Oscar winning performance as Paul Gauguin.

Second, Susan & I recently saw the 2017 film Loving Vincent - remarkable production and highly recommended (see second quote below).

Finally, there is always the wonderful song by Don McLean - play the YouTube, if interested. Dave

Lust for Life (1956) is a MGM biographical film about the life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Irving Stone and adapted by Norman Corwin. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by John Houseman. The film stars Kirk Douglas as Van Gogh, James Donald as his brother Theo, Pamela Brown, Everett Sloane and Anthony Quinn, who won an Oscar for his performance as Van Gogh's fast friend and rival Paul Gauguin. (Source)

Loving Vincent is a 2017 animated biographical drama film about the life of painter Vincent van Gogh, and in particular, the circumstances of his death. It is the first fully painted animated feature film. It is written and directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman. The development was funded by the Polish Film Institute, and partially through a Kickstartercampaign. Each of the film's 65,000 frames is an oil painting on canvas, using the same technique as Van Gogh, created by a team of 125 painters. The film premiered at the 2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. It was awarded Best Animated Feature Film Award at the 30th European Film Awards in Berlin. (Source)

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[scifan57]

December 23, 1986;

On this day the aircraft Voyager completes the first non stop flight around the world without refuelling. The plane took off from and landed at Edwards Air Force base in California and was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.
Rutan Voyager - Wikipedia
Takeoff

Flight

Landing

 

[giradman]

Massive Tsunami Off Sumatra Today in 2004 Killing 230,000 People!

On December 26, 2004, a 9.3 magnitude undersea earthquake occurred off the coast of Sumatra and spread across the Indian Ocean reaching the coast of Africa - Aceh, the heavily populated north end of Sumatra was hit by 80-100 ft waves causing unbelievable devastation and death (nearly two-thirds of those killed in this major natural disaster). Below are pics mainly from the Aceh area w/ two showing the initial destruction and recovery 10 years later (LINK 1 - LINK 2).

In 2012, a film called The Impossible was made about the disaster and is worth seeing - check the link for the 'true story' of a family on Christmas vacation in Thailand when the tsunami hit that country. Dave

A powerful earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, on this day in 2004 sets off a tsunami that wreaks death and devastation across the Indian Ocean coastline. The quake was the second strongest ever recorded and the estimated 230,000 dead made this disaster one of the 10 worst of all time. At 7:58 a.m. when the tremendous quake struck beneath the Indian Ocean 160 miles west of Sumatra. Not only did it register at approximately a 9.3 magnitude (only the 1960 Chile earthquake measured higher at 9.5, though there may have been stronger tremors prior to the invention of seismographic equipment) and last nearly 10 minutes, the quake moved a full 750 miles of underwater fault line earth up to 40 feet. The movement of the earth caused a massive displacement of water; the resulting tsunami had two times the energy of all the bombs used during World War II. (Source)

Within 15 minutes, tsunami waves were crashing the coast of Sumatra. At the north end of the island was a heavily populated region known as Aceh. There, waves reached 80 feet high over large stretches of the coast and up to 100 feet in some places. Entire communities were simply swept away by the water in a matter of minutes. The death toll in Indonesia is estimated at between 130,000 and 160,000 people, with an additional 500,000 people left homeless. About a third of the victims were children. The huge waves missed the coast of Indonesia on the north side and went on to Thailand, where between 5,000 and 8,000 people died. (Source)

The tsunami also moved east across the Indian Ocean. In Sri Lanka, the tsunami came ashore about 90 minutes after the earthquake; the waves were not as high as in Aceh but about 35,000 people died and half a million others lost their homes. In addition, about 15,000 people died in India. The killer waves even reached 5,000 miles away in South Africa, where two people perished. In total, about 190,000 people are confirmed dead with another 40,000 to 45,000 missing and presumed dead. Although billions of dollars of humanitarian aid poured in to the affected region in the aftermath of the disaster–an estimated $7 billion within the first 18 months—some areas are still suffering from the massive devastation. (Source)

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[scifan57]

December 29th, 1845;

The Republic of Texas is admitted to the United States as the 28th state 6 months after the Texas Congress accepts annexation by the United States. Texas had declared its independence from Mexico in March 1836.
Texas annexation - Wikipedia

 

[giradman]

December 29th, 1845;

The Republic of Texas is admitted to the United States as the 28th state 6 months after the Texas Congress accepts annexation by the United States. Texas had declared its independence from Mexico in March 1836.
Texas annexation - Wikipedia
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The James Polk presidency (1845-1849), just one term, added an enormous amount of territory to the United States, starting w/ the annexation of Texas at the end of 1845, as mentioned previously, continuing w/ settlement of the Oregon Territory boundary w/ Great Britain, and finally w/ the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) in which California entered the Union in 1850 (more facts quoted below) - map showing the country at the end of the Polk administration. Dave

James Polk (1795-1849) served as the 11th U.S. president from 1845 to 1849. During his tenure, America’s territory grew by more than one-third and extended across the continent for the first time. Before his presidency, Polk served in the Tennessee legislature and the U.S. Congress; in 1839 he became governor of Tennessee. A Democrat who was relatively unknown outside of political circles, Polk won the 1844 presidential election as the dark horse candidate. As president, he reduced tariffs, reformed the national banking system and settled a boundary dispute with the British that secured the Oregon Territory for the United States. Polk also led the nation into the Mexican-American War (1846-48), in which the United States acquired California and much of the present-day Southwest. Polk kept his campaign promise to be a one-term president and did not seek reelection. Soon after leaving the White House, he died at age 53. (Source)

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[giradman]

Massacre at Wounded Knee in South Dakota This Day in 1890!

On this day in 1890, the US Army murdered at least 150 and possibly 300 Native Americans (half women and children), arguably the WORST mass shooting in American history, depending on one's definition and criteria, I guess (Source) - more details below and just a few pics, including the 'famous one' of the Lakota Chief, Bigfoot. Dave

On this day in 1890, in the final chapter of America’s long Indian wars, the U.S. Cavalry kills 146 Sioux at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Throughout 1890, the U.S. government worried about the increasing influence at Pine Ridge of the Ghost Dance spiritual movement, which taught that Indians had been defeated and confined to reservations because they had angered the gods by abandoning their traditional customs. Many Sioux believed that if they practiced the Ghost Dance and rejected the ways of the white man, the gods would create the world anew and destroy all non-believers, including non-Indians. On December 15, 1890, reservation police tried to arrest Sitting Bull, the famous Sioux chief, who they mistakenly believed was a Ghost Dancer, and killed him in the process, increasing the tensions at Pine Ridge. (Source)

On December 29, the U.S. Army’s 7th cavalry surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers under the Sioux Chief Big Foot near Wounded Knee Creek and demanded they surrender their weapons. As that was happening, a fight broke out between an Indian and a U.S. soldier and a shot was fired, although it’s unclear from which side. A brutal massacre followed, in which it’s estimated almost 150 Indians were killed (some historians put this number at twice as high), nearly half of them women and children. The cavalry lost 25 men. The conflict at Wounded Knee was originally referred to as a battle, but in reality it was a tragic and avoidable massacre. Surrounded by heavily armed troops, it’s unlikely that Big Foot’s band would have intentionally started a fight. Some historians speculate that the soldiers of the 7th Cavalry were deliberately taking revenge for the regiment’s defeat at Little Bighorn in 1876. Whatever the motives, the massacre ended the Ghost Dance movement and was the last major confrontation in America’s deadly war against the Plains Indians. (Source)

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[scifan57]

January 1, 45 B.C.;

New Years Day is celebrated on January 1st for the first time in history.
Shortly after becoming Dictator for life, Julius Caesar decided that something had to be done with the Roman calendar which had fallen badly out of step with the seasons. In association with the Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes, the year was calculated to be 365 1/4 days long. Every 4 years an extra day was added to February to keep the calendar aligned with the seasons.
Their calculation of the length of the year was actually slightly less than 365 1/4 days, being 365.242199 days long. This led to a growing error in the calendar that had reached 10 days by the 1570's when Pope Gregory XIII commissioned Jesuit astronomer Christopher Clavius to devise a new calendar.
The new Gregorian calendar was implemented in 1582 when 10 days were omitted from the year and only one in 4 centennial years was to be a leap year.
Julian calendar - Wikipedia
From Julian to Gregorian Calendar

 

[giradman]

Rick Hall of Muscle Shoals & FAME Recording Studio Died Yesterday at 85 years of age!

Nearly 4 years ago, Susan & I took a trip to northern Alabama (Florence on the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals on the other side) and Nashville (my travelogue HERE - we visited the famous FAME Studios founded by Rick Hall (short bio first quote below - check link for more) - the tour of the studio was excellent (the other members in the group were a father and 2 sons from Germany). A few pics below; also, check and expand the second quote copied from my travelogue. Finally, if interested in this American period of music the documentary on Muscle Shoals is worth watching and highly recommended (own the blu-ray disc). Dave
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Roe Erister "Rick" Hall (January 31, 1932 – January 2, 2018) was an American record producer, songwriter, music publisher, and musician best known as the owner and proprietor of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. As the "Father of Muscle Shoals Music", he was influential in recording and promoting both country and soul music, and in helping develop the careers of such musicians as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Duane Allman and Etta James. Hall was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1985 and also received the John Herbert Orr Pioneer Award. In 2014, he won the Grammy Trustees Award in recognition of his lengthy career. Hall remained active in the music industry with FAME Studios, FAME Records, and FAME Publishing. (Source)

Muscle Shoals & FAME Recording Studio - FAME (pic below - modest outside + inside studio) has been recording numerous music stars for over 50 years - brief quote below from Wiki HERE; we toured the studio (there were 3 other members in our group, a father and 2 sons from Germany - just an example of fans the world over who visit the studio!). Co-founded by Rick Hall (in the late '50s and seen in the second image) who is now in his 80s - the studio is still active although the most famous musicians/singers were from the early decades of its existence.

Their website HERE has numerous tabs of interest, e.g. click on 'Recording Studios' just to see the number of individuals who have recorded in this northern Alabama musical oasis. For those interested, there is a recent excellent documentary (shown below) nearly 2 hrs long that is a must watch (Susan & I streamed the video late last year & yet again a week or so before our trip) - highly recommended if you already know about Muscle Shoals and/or the listing of performers in the links given are some of your favorites; also, there are a number of musical compilations that might be of interest, such as the one below (far right; 3-disc set). Dave

FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios are located at 603 East Avalon in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an area of northern Alabama known as The Shoals. They have been an integral part of American popular music from the late 1950s to the present. Artists who recorded there included Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Joe Tex, Duane Allman, The Hour Glass, Clarence Carter, Candi Staton, Mac Davis, Paul Anka, Tom Jones, Etta James,Andy Williams, The Osmonds, Shenandoah, and many others.

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[giradman]

Today in 1838, Samuel Morse First Demonstrated His Telegraph!

On this day in 1838, Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872) demonstrated his telegraph for the first time in Morristown, NJ. Morse was a painter first and then an inventor of a device that revolutionized long-distance communications - much more below and from the link.

Pics below include some on his paintings (his self-portrait, several early USA Presidents and his famous Gallery of the Lourve, which I saw recently at a Reynold House exhibit - in one of my travelogues); also several photos of him in later years by Mathew Brady; and other images of some of his honors and recognition. Dave

On this day in 1838, Samuel Morse’s telegraph system is demonstrated for the first time in Morristown, New Jersey. The telegraph, a device which used electric impulses to transmit encoded messages over a wire, would eventually revolutionize long-distance communication, reaching the height of its popularity in the 1920s and 1930s. Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He attended Yale University, where he was interested in art, as well as electricity, still in its infancy. After college, Morse became a painter. In 1832, while sailing home from Europe, he heard about the newly discovered electromagnet and came up with an idea for an electric telegraph (Source)

Morse spent the next several years developing a prototype and took on two partners, Leonard Gale and Alfred Vail. In 1838, he demonstrated his invention using Morse code, in which dots and dashes represented letters and numbers. In 1843, Morse finally convinced a skeptical Congress to fund the construction of the first telegraph line in the United States, from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. In May 1844, Morse sent the first official telegram over the line, with the message: “What hath God wrought!” Over the next few years, private companies, using Morse’s patent, set up telegraph lines around the Northeast. In 1851, the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company was founded; it would later change its name to Western Union. In 1861, Western Union finished the first transcontinental line across the United States. Five years later, the first successful permanent line across the Atlantic Ocean was constructed and by the end of the century telegraph systems were in place in Africa, Asia and Australia. (Source)

Because telegraph companies typically charged by the word, telegrams became known for their succinct prose–whether they contained happy or sad news. The word “stop,” which was free, was used in place of a period, for which there was a charge. In 1933, Western Union introduced singing telegrams. During World War II, Americans came to dread the sight of Western Union couriers because the military used telegrams to inform families about soldiers’ deaths. Over the course of the 20th century, telegraph messages were largely replaced by long-distance phone service, faxes and email. Western Union delivered its final telegram in January 2006. Samuel Morse died wealthy and famous in New York City on April 2, 1872, at age 80. (Source)

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[scifan57]

January 15, 1967;

The NFL champion Green Bay Packers defeat the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the first world championship game of American football. The championship game wasn't called the Super Bowl until the 1969 championship game.
Super Bowl I - Wikipedia

 

[giradman]

January 15, 1967;

The NFL champion Green Bay Packers defeat the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the first world championship game of American football. The championship game wasn't called the Super Bowl until the 1969 championship game.
Super Bowl I - Wikipedia

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Brothers & I use to watch those early Super Bowls - we loved the 'Green Bay Packers' w/ Bart Starr and the gang; also, saw the 'Jets vs. Colts' game when Joe Namath became an overnight star! Dave

 

[scifan57]

Brothers & I use to watch those early Super Bowls - we loved the 'Green Bay Packers' w/ Bart Starr and the gang; also, saw the 'Jets vs. Colts' game when Joe Namath became an overnight star! Dave

The YouTube video I linked to was assembled by NBC from well over a hundred clips from various sources to get as close a version to the compete game as possible. The original broadcast tapes were erased years ago.