FILIBUSTER POISON – In 1908, Sen. Robert LaFollette wanted to keep a bill from being passed so he began a filibuster to try to talk the bill to death. LaFollette was the first outstanding Progressive leader and he had made a lot of enemies among Robber Barons and conservative politicians over the years. He spoke for hour after hour and used a concoction of milk and raw eggs to keep his strength up. In the tenth hour, he noticed something wrong with the drink and immediately stopped drinking and had the mixture taken off to be analyzed. He went back to talking, but soon suffered from indigestion and diarrhea. He refused to give up and continued for a record sixteen hours and forty-three minutes. The bill passed anyway. The analysis showed that the mixture had indeed been tampered with as ptomaine was found in it and there was enough to kill him. We’ll never know which of his enemies tried to kill him, though. Shenkman p. 198
FROZEN FISH – Clarence Birdseye was naturalist on a fur-trading expedition in Canada in 1912. He went ice fishing and the weather was so cold that when he caught fish and tossed them on the ground, they immediately froze. When he returned to camp, he tossed one into a bucket of water and a few hours later was amazed to see the fish swimming around, very much alive. After years of pondering this incident, Clarence decided that the fish survived because it had been frozen immediately. He reasoned that the same could be done with vegetables to preserve freshness and started a company to take advantage of his discovery. Shenkmen p. 203-4
THE SINKING OF THE TITAN – Everyone thought the Titanic was unsinkable, but fourteen years before it met its end, a novelist predicted it. In 1898, Morgan Robertson published a novel entitled Futility which was about the sinking of an ocean liner. His ship had a triple screw and could reach 25 knots, like the Titanic. It was 882 feet long, the Titanic was 800. It was about 70,000 tons, the Titanic was 66,000. Both carried about 3,000 passengers. Many of them were the cream of high society. Both ships were the largest passenger ships in the world. Both did not have enough lifeboats. Robertson’s ship was called the Titan and it too was considered to be unsinkable – until it ran into an ice berg. Shenkman p. 204
TEDDY ASSASSINATION – One day after the assassination of William McKinley, John Schrank claimed that McKinley appeared to him in a dream and told him that Teddy Roosevelt was his murderer. Eleven years later, Shrank was visited by McKinley again and he told Schrank to prevent Roosevelt from being elected President. This actually happened after Roosevelt had already been President for seven years and was running again in 1912. Schrank bought a revolver and tracked down Roosevelt in Milwaukee at a campaign stop. As Roosevelt was about to enter a car to go to a speech, Schrank shot him in the chest. Fortunately, the bullet struck Teddy’s written speech in his shirt pocket and this slowed the bullet down so it did not penetrate deeply. Roosevelt went ahead and gave the speech with a bullet in his body and blood on his shirt, then he went to the hospital. Whitcomb p. 52-3
CARRIE NATION – A typical Carrie Nation incident occurred in Wichita. Nation was a flamboyant prohibitionist who became famous for vandalizing saloons. This particular saloon was Wichita’s finest. It was called the Annex of the Hotel Carey because saloons were illegal in Kansas. Nation arrived wearing her bonnet and carrying a club. She also had rocks she called “smashers” concealed in her dress. She used the rocks and the club to break bottles and glasses, but also to damage a $1500 mirror, a crystal chandelier, and a nude painting of Cleopatra above the bar. She yelled “Peace on Earth, good will to men.” When a police officer prepared to arrest her, she responded “Arrest me?! Why don’t you arrest the man who runs this hellhole?” On her way to jail, she sang the song “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” Whitcomb p. 268
222-0 – In October, 1916, the powerhouse Georgia Tech football team played Cumberland State. Georgia Tech was coached by the legendary John Heisman. Heisman is credited with dividing games into four quarters, the center snap directly to the quarterback, the T and I formations, and athletic dormitories. In 1935, the annual award to the best college football played was named after him. It is not a sportsmanship award. Cumberland had only 16 players and lost three of the best ones when they missed the train on a stop at Nashville. The team had stopped there to try to recruit some Vanderbilt players. The outmanned and outskilled team was down 126-0 (19 touchdowns) at halftime. Incredibly, Heisman gave a halftime speech that included: “Men, we might be in front, but you never know what those Cumberland players have up their sleeves.” He did not call off the dogs in the second half and the score ended up 222-0. Georgia Tech rushed for 528 yards and did not throw a single pass (they were rare back then). Supposedly, by the end of the game, Cumberland players were hiding under the bench rather than go back in the game. Heisman’s unsporting behavior did not go unnoticed. Sportswriters gave him the nickname “Ole Shut the Gates of Mercy”, but time and a trophy have scrubbed his reputation. Ayres p. 184-
AIR-CONDITIONING – In 1902, Willis Haviland Carrier was working for a company that made heating and ventilation equipment. A publishing company was having problems with printing due to humidity. Carrier knew that when liquids evaporate, they remove heat and cool the air. Carrier invented a machine that used a mixture of ammonia and artesian water to cool a room. When the liquid would evaporate it became a gas and cooled the air. The gas was piped out of the room and returned to liquid form. It was then piped back into the room to renew the procedure. By 1906, it was being called “air-conditioning” and was being used in businesses like textiles, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals. In 1914, his company phased out Carrier’s department so he created Carrier Engineering Corporation and it continued to improve the process. A better refrigerant, compressor, and refrigerating machine found a market. It was first used for personal comfort in a department store, but the big breakthrough came when movie theaters began to put in air conditioners to increase ticket sales. Theater advertised the fact you could cool down in them. The expansion of air conditioners into homes was credited with reversing the decline in birth rates in the South. Plunges Again pp. 98-100
TYPHOID MARY – Mary Mallon migrated to America at age 15 from Ireland. She got a job as a cook for the Warren family in 1906. Charles Warren, a wealthy banker, had leased a summer home on Long Island to avoid the typhoid fever epidemic ravaging New York City. 600 people had died. On August 27, one of Warren’s daughters caught the disease. She was followed by his wife, three servants, and another daughter. 6 of 11 in the household were ill. Mary was not one of them. Warren hired an investigator who traced the outbreak to the cook, who was no longer working for Warren. She was tracked down in March, 1907, working as a cook. She ran away from the investigator, but when he returned the next day with the police, they found her hiding in a closet. She was dragged away kicking and screaming. Tests proved she carried the typhoid bacillus, but since she was healthy she refused to accept that she was a danger to the community. . The newspapers had a field day with the story and christened her “the most dangerous woman in America.” The authorities were forced to put her in quarantine in a cottage on an island. After three years, it was decided to let her go free, if she promised not to return to life as a cook and kept them informed of her whereabouts. She quickly broke her promise, changing her name and going back to cooking. Typhoid is spread by infected fecal matter and she would not wash her hands when she went to the bathroom and returned to cooking. In the next five years, twenty-five cases, which resulted in two deaths, were attributed to her. This time when she was caught, she was quarantined for life on the island. She died 23 years later. Plunges Again pp. 405-408
MAYONNAISE – The condiment we now know as mayonnaise originated on the island of Minorca. Duke Richelieu visited the city of Mahon and brought some back to France where it became known as Mahonnaise. In America, it was renamed “mayonnaise”, but was used mainly by the upper class. In 1912, Richard Hellman, a German immigrant, put it in jars and sold it to his deli customers. It caught on with the common people in this cheap format. Uncle 1 p. 22
POPSICLES – One wintery night in 1905, eleven-year old Frank Epperson, left a jar of powdered soda mix and water with a stirring stick in it on his back porch. The next morning he found the liquid frozen. He pulled the frozen concoction out of the jar using the stick, licked it, and knew he had something here. He called his invention the “Epperson icicle” which was shortened to “Epsicle”. In 1923, it was patented as “Popsicle” because he was using soda pop. Uncle 1 p. 56
ICE CREAM CONE – At the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, an ice cream vendor ran out of cups for his ice cream. He went to a waffle vendor and made a deal with him. He wrapped the waffles around ice cream and it was a hit. Uncle 1 p. 56
D.W. GRIFFITH – D.W. Griffith has been called the “Father of Modern Cinema”. He produced and directed over 500 films. His “The Birth of a Nation” in 1915 was the first modern movie. His techniques like close-ups and fade-outs were revolutionary. His struggles with alcoholism led to his making “The Struggle” in 1931. Unfortunately, the movie was a bomb and it aggravated his alcohol abuse. This ended his career and when he died he left an estate of only $30,000. Uncle 4 pp. 134-135
WOMEN’S POLITICAL FIRSTS –
– In 1913, Montana granted women the right to vote. In 1916, the head of the suffrage movement in Montana, Jeanette Rankin, was elected to the House of Representatives. She ran for Senate in 1918, but she was defeated because she was a pacifist who voted against declaring war on Germany in 1917. She was later elected to the House again and was serving when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. She voted no again.
– In 1932, 87 year-old Rebecca Felton became the first woman Senator when she was appointed to replace a deceased male. The appointment was a publicity stunt by the governor and Felton only served seven days and had no duties. She did convince the incoming Senator to give her one day in Washington.
– In 1931 Hattie Conway replaced her deceased husband as Senator from Arkansas. She promised the governor not to run, but she broke her promise and won in 1932.
– In 1933, FDR appointed Frances Perkins as the first woman Cabinet member. She became Secretary of Labor and was most responsible for the Social Security Act. When someone asked her if being a woman was a disadvantage, she responded: “Only in climbing trees.” Uncle Lost pp. 507-508
SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE – At 5:13 A.M. on Tuesday April 18, 1906, San Francisco was hit by an earthquake that has been estimated to be an 8.5 on the Richter scale. It was felt 730 miles away. It destroyed electric lines, trolley tracks, water pipes, bridges, and buildings. Communications, transportation, and medical services were damaged or eliminated. There had been smaller earthquakes in 1957, 1865, 1868, and 1890. For that reason, people tended to build with wood instead of brick because wooden buildings handle shaking better. The problem is wood burns. Plus, with the alarm system knocked out, firefighters were unable to pinpoint the many fires that broke out. And when they did try to fight back, the water mains were broken. The Army and National Guard were brought in and Mayor Schmidt ordered soldiers to shoot on sight any looters. Unfortunately, some of those shot were homeowners searching their own homes. Meanwhile the fires were uniting and spreading rapidly. Some fires moved faster than a man could run. Schmidt ordered dynamite be used to create firebreaks. This only partially slowed the fires down. In one case, a large fire had been stopped when some soldiers entered Delmonico Restaurant to cook breakfast. Their fire got out of control and became the famous “Ham and Eggs Fire”. After four days, the fires were finally controlled. 700 people died, 497 city blocks were wiped out, 28,000 buildings were destroyed, including 30 schools. Uncle Inspiring pp. 45-47, 251-253
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS – Neither finished high school. They went into the bicycle business and began experimenting with flight, starting with gliders. Kitty Hawk was chosen for its consistent winds. Their big breakthrough occurred when they developed a control system that kept the plane off the ground. They built a wind tunnel to work out their problems. On Dec. 14, 1903 Wilbur won the coin toss to fly first, but the plane merely hopped sixty feet so it didn’t count. The plane was damaged and was not ready for another try until Dec. 17. Orville was up next and made the first powered flight in history. The picture snapped as he lifted off became the most famous picture in aviation history. He was in the air for twelve seconds and 120 feet. Wilbur went 175’ and then Orville flew 180’. The fourth and last flight was by Wilbur. He stayed up for 59 seconds and crash-landed 852’ away. Due to damage from the crash, it never flew again. The “Wright Flyer” ended up in the London Science Museum because the Smithsonian Institute chose to recognize the Wright’s competitor Samuel Langley for the invention of the plane. It was not until 1948 that it found its current place in the National Aeronautics and Space Museum. maroon p. 60
Library of Congress
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION RULES
– peanut butter – no more than 30 insect fragments per 100 grams
no more than 2 rat hairs per 100 grams
– chocolate – no more than 60 insect fragments per 100 grams
no more than 2 rat hairs per 100 grams
– wheat flour – no more than 75 insect fragments per 50 grams
no more than 2 rat hairs per 50 grams
THE GREAT RACE – In 1908, people still questioned the future of the automobile. Would it really replace horses? The New York Times conceived of a race from New York to Paris to prove the car was the transport of the future. The prize money was $1,000. Three French, one German, and one Italian car entered. All were custom made. An American Thomas Flyer, off an assembly line, was thrown in so America would have a representative. Each car had a driver, a relief driver/mechanic, and an assistant (usually a reporter). 250,000 New Yorkers watched the start of the race from Times Square, straight into a snowstorm. 44 miles in, one of the French cars dropped out. Weather was a problem through the Midwest with the cars often moving at only a snail’s pace. Mud was terrible on the Great Plains so the cars used train tracks even though it meant a bumpy ride. They also used the ruts from wagon trains. The Thomas Flyer reached San Francisco in 41 days and took ship for Alaska. The racers were supposed to cross Alaska and then the Bering Strait. However, the weather in Alaska was the worst yet and the Americans had to return to San Francisco as the race organizers changed the route to Vladivostok, Russia by way of Japan. The Americans were given a 15 day bonus because of their aborted trip to Alaska. Only three cars made it to Vladivostok – the German, the Italian, and the Thomas Flyer. Deep mud was such a problem that at one point, the Americans had to help pull the Germans out. The cars used the tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railway to reach Europe. The Germans were the first to reach Paris, but they had a 15 day penalty for using a train in America and the Thomas Flyer had its 15 day bonus. The Americans arrived four days later, but a policeman refused to let them into the city because the law required two headlights and they had lost one to a bird. A Parisian offered his bike headlamp and when they could not pry it off, they simply placed the bike on the hood and drove in to great acclaim. The Americans returned to a ticker-tape parade in New York and a meeting with President Teddy Roosevelt. Engrossing 44-46, 269-271
LIFE IN 1900
– GNP = $116 billion (#1 in the world) 2- Great Britain (62) 3- France (43) 4- Germany (42) 5- Russia (35)
– marriages between whites and blacks were illegal in 25 states
– women could vote in only Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming
– 8,000 cars and 144 miles of paved roads / car sales = 2,500
– population = 76 million
– life expectancy = men – 46 / women – 48
– most common causes of infant deaths – diarrhea and enteritis (inflammation of the small intestine)
– illiteracy rate = 10.7%
– population = 76 million (10.6 million were foreign-born)
– median age for first marriage = men 26 / women 22
– average household size = 4.8
– homes with a telephone = 8%
– average farm = 12 acres
– average salary = $495/year
– labor force = 4.5 men for every woman
– strikes = 1,839
– lynchings = 115
FIRSTS
– 1900 – Triscuits / the American Legion / paper clip / Firestone tires / Nobel Peace Prize (the Red Cross) / offshore oil well / Associated Press
– 1901 – driver’s license / Cadillac / SAT test / instant coffee / Quaker Oats
– 1902 – Crayola crayons / Barnum’s Animal Crackers / brassiere (France) / Ivan Pavlov’s law of conditioned response
– 1903 – car license plate (Massachusetts) / motorcycle (Harley Davidson) / bottle-making machine
– 1904 – Campbell’s pork and beans / iced tea / stainless steel / diesel engine (Rudolph Diesel)
– 1905 – Novocaine / Vick’s Vaporub / National Audubon Society
– 1906 – SOS distress call / Rolls-Royce / Planter’s Nuts / A-1 Sauce
– 1907 – color photography / self-threading sewing machine / Canada Dry ginger ale
– 1908 – Model T Ford / human at the North Pole (Robert Perry and Matthew Henson) / central home heating
– 1909 – Walgreen / Kewpie doll
– 1910 – Father’s Day / Boy Scouts of America / Hallmark / electric washing machine
– 1911 – Chevrolet / white line in the middle of the road
– 1912 – Oreo biscuits / Cracker Jack prize / Girl Scouts / successful parachute jump
– 1913 – Geiger counter
– 1914 – anti-aircraft gun (Great Britain) / word “birth control” (coined by Margaret Sanger)
– 1915 – Einstein’s theory of relativity / taxicab / gas mask / transatlantic phone call
– 1916 – birth control clinic (Margaret Sanger) / Mercury dime / Piggly-Wiggly / ROTC / Mr. Peanut
– 1917 –
– 1918 – pop-up toaster / Raggedy Ann doll / three color traffic light
– 1919 – Communist Party of America
KILLING A FILIBUSTER – In 1908, Sen. Robert LaFollette decided he did not like the Aldrich-Vreeland bill. It’s unclear why. The bill would have allowed the currency to expand to meet hard times. That seems like a progressive idea that the first great progressive leader would have supported. Nonetheless, he attempted to filibuster the bill. To sustain himself through the hours of speaking, he was consuming a mixture of milk and raw eggs. After a few hours, the latest drink caused an immediate reaction that caused the senator to stop drinking and send the drink to be analyzed. Soon he developed diarrhea symptoms, but he pressed on for six more hours. He finally stopped speaking after a record 16 hours and 43 minutes. The analysis proved that the drink contained ptomaine poison. No one was accused of the crime. Shenkman 198
CARRY A. NATION
- She was born Carrie Amelia Moore on Nov. 25, 1846. Her father was a slave-holding plantation owner in Kentucky. Her mother had mental problems, which may explain some of Carrie’s future actions.
- She got married at age 21 to an alcoholic doctor who had served in the Union Army. They soon separated because of his behavior. She was pregnant at the time and gave birth to a daughter. He died soon after her birth. Her first husband’s alcohol abuse greatly influenced her.
- She became a teacher and remarried to David Nation, but her first marriage continued to eat at her. She claimed to have had visions and became very religious. She formed a local chapter of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. She was attracted to its goal of ending spousal abuse due to alcoholism. The WCTU was dedicated to prohibiting alcohol, but her state of Kansas had plenty of saloons, in spite of being dry. God urged her to take direct action. She became his yapping bulldog, as she described herself.
- On June 7, 1900 she went from singing hymns outside saloons and taunting bartenders as they arrived to rock throwing. At six-foot tall, she was an intimidating figure. She began her “hatchetation” period by throwing rocks in saloons in her town of Kiowa, Kansas. A subsequent tornado was taken as a sign of God’s approval.
- She became a celebrity when she attacked the bar at the Carey Hotel in Wichita. She used a hatchet this time and did thousands of dollars of damage. The resulting press coverage convinced her that she had found her way of fighting for prohibition. She traveled to other cities and attacked other saloons and gave speeches. She was arrested over thirty times and used her speaking fees and sales of souvenir hatchets to pay her legal bills and fines. Around this time, she changed her name to Carry Nation so she could use the slogan “Carry A. Nation for Prohibition”.
- She spent some time on the vaudeville stage and even went to Great Britain where she appeared in music halls. Her “act” consisted of preaching and did not go over well. Some of the things she railed against were fraternal orders, tobacco, foreign foods, shorter skirts, nude paintings in saloons, and corsets, which she argued were harmful to internal organs.
- Some Prohibitionists felt she did more harm than good for the cause. When Pres. McKinley was assassinated, she applauded because she believed he was secretly a drinker.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/carry-nation-smashes-bar
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carry-Nation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Nation
THE HISTORY OF THE TEDDY BEAR
One of the most famous toys in history was named after an American president. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt went to Mississippi for a hunting trip. Roosevelt was an avid hunter and this was not his first bear hunt. There was lot of pressure on the guide to make sure the President went home happy. But Holt Collier was used to pressure. He was a former slave who had served under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, the famous cavalry leader who had been a slave trader and would later found the Ku Klux Klan. After the Civil War, Collier became a hunter and hunting guide. He killed over 3,000 bears in his life. He had to make sure Teddy killed one. At first, things did not go well as the first few days no bears were found. Collier got desperate so he had his hunting dogs track down a bear. It was an old, fat black bear that was surrounded at a watering hole. It put up a good fight, killing a dog and wounding several, until Collier knocked him out by clubbing him with his rifle. The bear was tied to a tree and Collier led Roosevelt to the spot for the kill. Teddy took one look at the bruised and battered old bear and refused to shoot it. Sportsmen did not shoot defenseless bears. Teddy returned to the White House bearless and that should have been the end of it. But Teddy was a celebrity and an article ran in newspapers about his refusal to shoot the bear. A political cartoonist named Clifford Berryman drew a cartoon of the incident. He had Teddy in his Rough Riders uniform and he made the bear small and cute. The caption was “Drawing the Line in Mississippi” which may have been a reference to his stand against lynchings in the South. The cartoon was seen by many Americans and Teddy became associated with bears. A couple in New York saw the cartoon. Morris and Rose Michtom were Jewish immigrants who owned a candy store. Rose sewed a stuffed bear and they put it in the window of the store with a placard saying “Teddy’s Bear”. Everyone wanted one. They mailed the bear to the White House and asked Roosevelt if he would mind if they named it after him. Teddy, who hated the nickname “Teddy” (his friends and family called him “Teedie”), gave his permission and made the Michtom’s millionaires. They created the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. In 1963, one of the original bears took a deserved place in the Smithsonian Institute. In 1999, the Teddy Bear was one of the original inductees in the Toy Hall of Fame.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear
http://socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/cultures/teddy_bear_history.htm
THE HISTORY OF MOTHER’S DAY
The Greeks and Romans had festivals to honor their mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele. The early Christians developed the concept of “Mothering Sunday”. On the fourth Sunday of Lent, mothers and their families were encouraged to return to their “mother church” for a special service. It became more secular as a tradition of giving flowers and small gifts to your mother evolved. Much later, in America, Anna Reeves Jarvis had 13 children, only 4 lived to adulthood. In the years before the Civil War, she created “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” to teach child care to other poor mothers so they could keep their children alive. Jarvis was a peace activist. After the Civil War, she hoped to reconcile the North and the South by encouraging gatherings of mothers and Civil War veterans from the opposing sides. The first of these Mother’s Friendship Days was held in 1868. In 1870, Julia Ward Howe (“The Battle Hymn of the Republic”) issued a “Mother’s Day Proclamation” calling for world peace. She wanted people to celebrate a Mother’s Peace Day annually. These ideas did not really catch on. When Ann Reeves Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter Anna took up the cause. Ironically, Ann never married or had children. In 1907, she organized a service at a church in Grafton, West Virginia. She envisioned the holiday as a simple one where mothers would wear a white carnation and go to church with their children. The next year, she got financial backing from a department store owner named John Wanamaker. This would come back to haunt her. Jarvis began a lobbying campaign for a national holiday. All those holidays honoring men, how ‘bout one for women? By 1911, all states had Mother’s Day holidays. On May 9, 1914, Pres. Wilson proclaimed the first national Mother’s Day and set it on the second Sunday of May. Soon, florists, confectioners, and other businesses latched on to the marketing potential of the holiday. Jarvis became very offended with the commercialization of the holiday and worked to get her holiday removed from the calendar! She died penniless after spending most of her money on lawsuits against the use of the term “Mother’s Day” by businesses.
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day
https://www.rd.com/list/history-of-mothers-day/
THE RACE TO THE NORTH POLE
As early as the 18th Century, there were attempts to reach the North Pole. Originally, it was a desire to find the supposed open sea across the Pole which would result in a more efficient route to the East. Several attempts by ship proved unsuccessful because there is not open sea. In 1879, the first attempt to simply reach the pole by sledge occurred. The Americans never got to the sledge part. In 1895, two Norwegians used skis to reach the 86 degree mark. This began the “race to the Pole”. One of the attempts was by hot air balloon (resulting in the deaths of the balloonists). Finally, on April 21, 1908, American doctor Frederick Cook claimed to have reached the Pole. Cook had become a Pole enthusiast after the death of his wife in childbirth. He had participated in the 1891 Greenland expedition led by Robert Peary. When Peary had an accident, Cook set his broken leg. In 1901, when Peary was declared missing on another expedition, Cook led a rescue mission that found his friend and he nursed him back to health. In 1908, Peary left from New York City on the ship Roosevelt, not knowing that Cook had already reached the Pole. Peary claimed to have reached the Pole with his African-American assistant Matthew Henson and four Inuits. When he returned to civilization, he was stunned to find that Cook had already claimed the glory of the discovery. He was determined to win the honor. When he learned that some of Cook’s evidence was on board the Roosevelt, he had it put ashore (never to be found again). When Peary reached NYC, his prove was submitted to the National Geographic Society. The NGS, which had helped sponsor his expedition, did a cursory examination and gave its stamp of approval. Contrasted with the University of Copenhagen’s determination that Cook’s claim was “unproven”, Peary had won in the court of public opinion and history textbooks. In 1988, a reopening of Peary’s evidence by the NGS questioned whether Peary had actually reached the Pole. Cook’s claim has gained some support as his description of the Pole has been verified by confirmed visits since then. (The first undisputed claim was in 1968 by snowmobile.) It is probable neither man made it. We may never know.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic/The-race-for-the-pole
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Peary
THE GALVESTON GIANT
Today is the birthday of the first great African-American boxer. Live large today in his honor.
- Jack Johnson was born on March 31, 1878 in Galveston, Texas. His parents were former slaves. He was frail as a child, he would not stay that way. After only five years of schooling, he took a variety of jobs. One of them was as a janitor in a boxing gym where he was first exposed to the sport.
- After beating up a local tough guy, he took up street-fighting, which was illegal in Texas. He won a purse of $1.50 in his first fight in 1898. He got the nickname “Galveston Giant”. In 1901, he lost to Joe Choynski and both were arrested for illegally fighting. In their jail cell, they were allowed to spar with crowds watching. The more experienced Choynski taught Johnson his defensive style and they became friends. Johnson became known for his defense, which would wear other fighters down. He became World Colored Heavyweight Champion.
- In 1908, he defeated Tommy Burns after following him for two years, taunting him over his refusal to fight a black man. This made him the first black heavyweight champion. Enraged whites responded by demanding a “Great White Hope” be found to take the championship back from this arrogant black man.
- Pressure was put on ex-champ James Jeffries to come out of retirement to get the crown back. Jeffries eventually succumbed to the pressure and proclaimed that he was fighting “to prove a white man is better than a negro.” The “Fight of the Century” was held in 1910 before a crowd of 20,000. No guns, alcohol, or apples were allowed. Johnson easily won (Jeffries later admitted he would not have been able to beat Johnson, even in his prime). He was paid $65,000 ($2 million today). White anger resulted in race riots throughout the country with at least 20 dead.
- Johnson was the most publicized African-American in America in the early 20th Century. He lived large and flaunted his wealth and fame. He frequented and even owned night clubs, often with white women. He had endorsement deals. He wore tailored suits. He raced cars (including against famous race car driver Barney Oldfield). He once was stopped for speeding and the fine was $50. He handed the cop a $100 bill and when the cop said he could not give change, Johnson told him to keep it because he would return at the same speed.
- He lost the crown to Jess Willard in Cuba in 1915. He was knocked out in the 26th round of a 45-round fight. Although Johnson later said he took a dive, that has been not been backed by the facts.
- His first wife was black, but the rest of his life he preferred white women. His next three wives were all white. He was a tough man to be married to because of his numerous infidelities. This weakness was his Achille’s heel as whites determined that if he could not be beaten in the ring, he could be beaten in court. He was accused of violating the Mann Act, which forbid “transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes”. The offense he was accused of had occurred before the law was passed and the woman became his wife, but he was still convicted. Johnson fled justice and lived in Europe for years. He performed exhibitions and even bull-fought. In 1920, he returned to America and served almost a year in prison. When he got out, his best days were behind him, but he continued to fight into his 60’s.
- He died in 1946. He was refused service at a segregated diner in North Carolina. He sped away in anger and lost control of his sports car, hitting a telegraph pole. He was 68.
- When George W. Bush was president, the House of Representatives passed a resolution asking for a presidential pardon, but the Senate defeated it. Obama also decided against it. It was Trump in 2018 who rectified the injustice of Johnson’s conviction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_(boxer)
https://www.essence.com/celebrity/five-things-know-about-legendary-boxer-jack-johnson/
THE HISTORY OF FATHER’S DAY
The first national Mother’s Day was celebrated in 1914. Dads had to wait 58 years. In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd, the daughter of a widower who raised six kids, began to push for a day to honor fathers after she heard a sermon about Anna Jarvis’ proposed Mother’s Day. This paid off as Spokane, Washington celebrated fathers on June 19, 1910. Six years later, Pres. Wilson used a telegraph signal to unfurl a flag in Spokane. In 1924, Pres. Coolidge pushed the states to inaugurate their own father’s days. However, most fathers found the idea of getting flowers and gifts to be emasculating. Plus, there was the sneaking suspicion that it would be one more holiday that took money out of their wallets. In the 1920’s and 1930’s, there was a movement to combine mothers and fathers into a Parent’s Day. That never caught on, but the Great Depression gave a boost to Father’s Day as retailers were looking for a way to make money. The public was encouraged to honor dear old dad with ties, hats, socks, pipes, golf clubs, etc. In WWII, it was pushed as a way to honor the troops and support the war effort. By the 1960’s, most states celebrated the holiday. In 1966, Pres. Johnson issued a proclamation honoring fathers and designated the third Sunday in June as the time to do it in the future. Finally, in 1972 Pres. Nixon made it a federal holiday.
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/fathers-day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day_(United_States)
ANNIE EDSON TAYLOR
Annie Edson Taylor decided to celebrate her 63rd birthday in a unique way. Mrs. Taylor was a schoolteacher and she needed money. Imagine that. She figured a publicity stunt would bring fame and fortune. No one had ever survived going over Niagara Falls. She was determined to be the first. She had a special barrel made of oak and iron. It had an interior padded by a mattress. Two days before, she tested the barrel with a cat. Kitty survived and it was time for a human passenger. On October 24, 1901 Mrs. Taylor got out of a rowboat and into the barrel, with her lucky heart-shaped pillow. After a 160-foot drop, she was pulled out at the base of the falls unharmed. Although the feat has been achieved by men, she is still the only woman to survive going over the fall alone. Unfortunately, she did not reap the financial rewards she had hoped for and regretted the stunt.
If it was with my dying breath, I would caution anyone against attempting the feat … I would sooner walk up to the mouth of a cannon, knowing it was going to blow me to pieces than make another trip over the Fall.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Edson_Taylor
http://www.infoniagara.com/niagaradaredevils/annietaylor.aspx
THERE WERE FOUR FLIGHTS
The Wright Brothers were based in Dayton, Ohio, but they experimented with gliders and powered flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina because they needed the windiness. On Dec. 14, 1903 (the 121st anniversary of the first hot air balloon flight), Wilbur won the coin toss to be first to attempt flight. However, he only stayed in the air for 3 seconds before he stalled and the machine needed repairs. On Dec. 17, it was Orville’s turn. He flew 120 feet and for 12 seconds. John T. Daniels took the most famous picture in aviation history as he took off. Wilbur flew 175 feet, Orville for 200 feet, and Wilbur finished off the day with a flight of 852 feet, lasting 59 seconds. The Wright Flyer went 34 miles per hour. When they tried to set the plane up for another flight, a gust of wind flipped it several times, damaging it beyond repair. (It never flew again and in 1948 was restored and hung in the Smithsonian Institute.) The Wright Brothers sent a telegram to the father announcing their achievement and asking him to inform the press. The Dayton Journal refused to print a story because it felt the flights were too short. It took a while for Americans to find out that the world had changed on Dec. 17, 1903.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers
https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/learn/historyculture/thefirstflight.htm
MADAME C.J. WALKER
Sarah Breedlove was born on Dec. 23, 1867 on a La. cotton plantation to sharecroppers. She was the first of their children to be born free. She went on to become the first black female self-made millionaire in American History. Sarah was orphaned at age 7 and went to live with her older sister. As a child, she worked as a domestic servant. She had only three months of formal education. She married at age 14 to escape her abusive brother-in-law. Her husband died five years later, leaving her with a daughter. She left her second husband after nine years and later married Charles Joseph Walker. She ended up taking his name as Madame C.J. Walker. He was to help her with her business, but they eventually divorced. She moved to St. Louis where she worked as a laundress for about a dollar a day. She developed severe dandruff and scalp problems that included loss of hair. These types of problems were typical for poor black women, partly due to harsh chemicals used to clean their hair. With the encouragement from her barber brothers, she began to experiment with her own product. She went to work for Annie Malone, the leading hair care products employer. She moved to Denver with $1.05 in her pocket. She continued to sell for Malone, but perfected her own pomade which turned out to be her ticket to fame. She started her own hair care business. She trained thousands of “hair culturalists” in the “Walker system”. They would go door-to-door dressed in the standard white blouse and black skirt. They didn’t just sell the product, they showed women how to improve their scalps and hair using lotions and iron combs. She located her Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company in Indianapolis. She opened Lelia College of Beauty Culture in Pittsburgh to train her ladies in the use of scalp preparations, pomades, shampoos, and lotions for restoring hair. It included a research laboratory. As the wealthiest black woman in America, she had an estate built in Irvington, NY. It was known as Villa Lewaro and cost an astounding $250,000. The mansion was 20,000 square feet. It became a cultural center and meeting place for the black intelligentsia. It became a salon where she hosted figures from the Harlem Renaissance. She was friends with Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, and W.E.B. Dubois. She was a great philanthropist and gave thousands of dollars to charities. She donated to the NAACP, the black YMCA, and provided scholarships to Tuskegee Institute. She wasn’t just a rich hostess. She supported civil rights through the NAACP. She provided scholarships for women to attend Tuskegee Institute. She taught her agents finances so they could move on to their own businesses. When she died in 1919, at age 51, she was one of the most respected black women in America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madam_C._J._Walker
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/madame-c-j-walker
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/583774/madam-cj-walker-facts
FACTS ABOUT MADAM C.J. WALKER
Sarah Breedlove was born on Dec. 23, 1867 on a Louisiana cotton plantation. She started as the child of poor sharecroppers and ended up as one of the richest women in America. She was the first of her parent’s kids to be born in freedom, but other than that her childhood was rough. She was orphaned at age six, married at age 14, and widowed at age 20. At this point, she moved from Mississippi to St. Louis where her older brothers worked as barbers. She became a laundress making $1.50 day, on a good day. She went to night school when she could. Like many black women, she suffered from hair problems. She was losing hair from her scalp. Her brothers encouraged her to do something about it. She developed a formula she called “Madame Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower”. By this time she was remarried to Charles Walker and she took the name Madam CJ Walker. She started her business from scratch, but ended up employing thousands of black women as “hair culturists” who went door-to-door selling her products. She opened Lelia College of Beauty Culture in Pittsburgh to train her ladies in the use of scalp preparations, pomades, shampoos, and lotions for restoring hair. She was a big success and has been credited with being the first self-made black female millionaire in America. She built a 20,000 square foot mansion in New York called Villa Lewaro.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/583774/madam-cj-walker-facts
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/madame-c-j-walker