This Day in History

[Amnorix]

Today...

[whoman69]

not-so-distant-in-the-past, couldn't think of a better way to say it than that? Sorry you set off my grammar bug. Right then, on with the sketch.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by whoman69

not-so-distant-in-the-past, couldn't think of a better way to say it than that? Sorry you set off my grammar bug. Right then, on with the sketch.

Well, first I was going to apologize and say that it was literally the last thing I did before turning into bed at nearly midnight last night.

Then I decided I'd rather just tell you to piss off. You don't like it -- don't bother reading my posts.

I deleted the offending language. It was obviously crap, but give me a break.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

1917. The US Ambassador to Great Britian is given the Zimmerman Telegram. This famous telegram was published in full in the United States, and caused a public furor and contributed to the declaration of war by the United States against Germany and its allies on April 6th of that same year. Teh Zimmerman telegram was named after the Foreign Minister of the Imperial German governmnet, who sent the telegram to Mexico offering an alliance with Mexico in the event of the US declaring war against Germany. In return, Germany offered financial support and support for teh return of territories lost in the Mexican-American War.

If the Germans had actually pulled this off, I'd be mowing lawns for a living today and the Mexicans would be telling me to go back across the border to Kansas. I guess I owe some thanks to General Pershing.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

If the Germans had actually pulled this off, I'd be mowing lawns for a living today and the Mexicans would be telling me to go back across the border to Kansas. I guess I owe some thanks to General Pershing.

Heh. For relatively obvious reasons, the Mexicans rejected the German offer. German credit was no good except to buy weapons to fight the Americans, and the only significant producer of weapons in the western hemisphere was.....America.

Meanwhile, German goods couldn't be imported because the British and Americans controlled the seas.

Mexico saw it as the empty offer that it really was and rejected it.

[Amnorix]

February 25.

1836. Samuel Colt receives a patent for his revolver.

1870. Hiram Rhodes Revels, Republican from Mississippi, becomes the first African-American member of Congress (Senate). As of 2009, he is one of only six African-Americans to have ever served in the Senate.

1901. JP Morgan incorporates United States Steel corporation. It was initially capitalized at $1.4 billion, making it the first billion dollar corporation in the world. In its first full year of operations, it produced 67% of all US manufactured steel. Today, it produces only slightly more steel than it produced in that first year, and accounts for only 10% of American steel production. Production peaked in 1953 at 35 million tons, and employment peaked in 1943 (WWII) at 340,000 employees.

1932. That "Bohemian corporal", Adolf Hitler, obtains German citizenship via nationalization, allowing him to run for Reichprasident in that same year.

1933. The USS Ranger is launched, the first US Navy ship to be a fully dedicated aircraft carrier.

[Amnorix]

February 26.

1815. Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba Island.

1919. By act of the US Congress, the Grand Canyon is established as a National Park.

1951. The 22nd amendment to the US COnstitution is adopted, limiting Presidents to two terms.

1993. A bomb in a truck parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand.

1995. England's oldest investment bank, Barings, collapses as a result of improper trades by a securities broker in Singapore, Nick Leeson, causes it $1.4 billion in losses.

[Amnorix]

A bit behind----again.

February 27.

1864. The first Union prisoners arrive at Confederate Prison Camp Andersonville. It will quickly obtain a horrendous reputation. The Camp Commandant, Wirz, would become the only person tried and convicted of war crimes in the aftermath of the Civil War, and he would be hanged as a result.

1933. The Reichstag fire occurs in Berlin. The Nazi blame it on Communists, and it quickly leads to the beginning of the elimination of civil liberties and the accretion of martial power in the hands of Hitler and his cronies.

1974. People Magazine is published for the first time.

[Amnorix]

February 28.

870. The Fourth Council of Constantinople ends. The Council, called by Emperor Basil I and Pope Adrian II, issued 27 canons. It also resulted in deposing Photius, the Patriarch of Constantinople. Later, by order of the Emperor, Photius was reinstated and the Fourth Council annulled. These events resulted ina serious break between the EAstern and Western churches, heightened tensions, and helped led to the Great Schism of 1054.

1827. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is incorporated, the first railroad to offer transportation to both people and freight.

1844. A gun on the USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing eight Cabinet members and several others. (wow, 8 cabinet members in one shot. Never heard of this story before).

1885. AT&T is incorporated.

1922. The United Kingdom accepts Egypt's independence.

1935. DuPont scientist Wallace Carother's invents Nylon. Rumors of his female foot/leg fetish are unproven.

1953. Watson and Crick report to friends that they have determined the chemical formula of DNA. The formal announcement does not occur until April.

1983. The final episode of MASH appears on TV, becoming the most watched television show in history.

1991. The First Gulf War ends.

1993. The ATF raid the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. Four agents and five Branch Dividians die, leading to a 51 day standoff.

[Amnorix]

March 1.

286. Roman Emperor Diocletian raises Maximian to Caesar

293. Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian raise Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesares, beginning the Tetrarchy.

1692. Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem Witch Trials.

1805. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted of his impeachment trial.

1845. President Tyler signs a bill authorizin the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.

1872. Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park.

1873. Remington and Sons begin production of the world's first practical typewriter.

1893. Nikola Tesla makes the first public demonstration of the radio in St. Louis.

1932. The son of Charles Lindbergh is kidnapped.

1936. The Hoover Dam is completed.

1953. Josef Stalin collapses from a stroke, and dies four days later.

1954. The United States detonates Castle Bravo, a 15 megaton nuclear device, at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. Far more powerful than expected, it was 1,200 times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and remains to this day the most powerful nuclear bomb detonated by the United States. The unexpected strength of teh bomb leads to the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States, poisoning some native islanders and the crew of a Japanese fishing boat. It also leads to international concern over the dangers of nuclear testing.

1961. The Peace Corps is established.

1974. Seven men are indicted for beraking into the Watergate hotel and obstruction of justice, leading to the Watergate scandal that eventually brings down President Nixon.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

1844. A gun on the USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing eight Cabinet members and several others. (wow, 8 cabinet members in one shot. Never heard of this story before).

That's amazing.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by patteeu

That's amazing.

Yeah, no kidding. I was stunned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Princeton_(1843)

A more detailed review, however, suggests that it wasn't eight cabinet members, but rather eight people including two cabinet members, and some other senior members of government.

Peacemaker accident

Contemporary lithograph depicting the explosion


On 28 February, she departed Alexandria, Virginia on a pleasure and trial trip down the Potomac with President John Tyler, his Cabinet and approximately two hundred guests on board. Upon the final firing of Stockton's Peacemaker, the defective gun at last burst, instantly killing Secretary Upshur; Secretary Gilmer; Captain Beverly Kennon, Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment and Repairs; Virgil Maxcy of Maryland, Chargé d'Affaires to Belgium, 1837–42; David Gardiner of New York, the father of Julia Gardiner who later married President Tyler; and the President's valet, a black slave named Armistead. It also injured about 20 people, including Captain Stockton. When Julia Gardiner, who was aboard, found out her father had died in the explosion she fainted into President Tyler's arms. Some believed this is how they had met, but they had actually been introduced prior to the incident.

More detail on what went wrong with the gun:

The “Oregon”, originally named "The Orator", was a 12-inch (300 mm) smooth bore muzzle loader (ML) made out of wrought iron and was capable of firing a 225-pound (100 kg) shot 5 miles (8 km) using a 50-pound charge. It was designed by Ericsson and manufactured in England at the Mersey Iron Works and shipped to the U.S. in 1841. The design was revolutionary in that it used the "built-up construction" of placing red-hot iron hoops around the breech-end of the weapon, which pre-tensioned the gun and greatly increased the charge the breech could withstand.
The "Peacemaker" was another 12-inch muzzle loader made by Hogg and Delamater, New York, New York, under the designs and direction of Capt. Stockton. Attempting to copy the Oregon, but not understanding the importance of Ericsson's hoop construction, Stockton instead heavily reinforced it at the breech by simply making the metal of the gun thicker, ending up with a weight of more than 27,000 pounds (12,000 kg). This produced a gun that had the typical weakness of a wrought iron gun, the breech being unable to withstand the transverse forces of the charge. This meant it was almost certain to burst at some point. Stockton only allowed for a few test charges before putting it aboard the Princeton.
Princeton was sent to Washington, D.C. in late January 1844, arriving 13 February. Washingtonians displayed great interest in the ship and her guns. She made trial trips with passengers on board down the Potomac River on 16, 18, and 20 February, during which the Peacemaker was fired several times.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

1870. Hiram Rhodes Revels, Republican from Mississippi, becomes the first African-American member of Congress (Senate). As of 2009, he is one of only six African-Americans to have ever served in the Senate.

How does stuff like this happen? I'm used to reading about minorities and women being oppressed, but then you'll occasionally read about stuff like this or a woman governor in Wyoming or something, and it kind of muddies up the nice neat picture of the olden days being white men with whips beating on everyone else.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

How does stuff like this happen? I'm used to reading about minorities and women being oppressed, but then you'll occasionally read about stuff like this or a woman governor in Wyoming or something, and it kind of muddies up the nice neat picture of the olden days being white men with whips beating on everyone else.

After they seceded, the Southern states lost their seats in the US Congress.

In 1870, Mississippi was still in Reconstruction, but had regained their seats. Accordingly, their legislature was required to elect the 2 senators that would fill the remaining terms of their senators. Back then, the legislatures of the various states elected their senators. Direct election of Senators did not come until much later with the passage of the [mumble] amendment to the Constitution.

The legislatures of the Southern States were dominated during Reconstruction by carpetbaggers from the North, almost inevitably Republicans, and African American Southerners. Accordingly, the choices they made were not exactly in accordance with the wishes of the majority of their citizens.

Once Reconstruction came to a complete end, the "Solid South" became apparent. I looked it up, and Mississippi had exclusively Democratic Senators from 1881-1978...

EDIT: The other Senator the Mississippi legislature appionted was a former Union general. I doubt he would've won a direct election...

[Amnorix]

March 2.

1071. On an uncertain date in March, 1071, Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes personally led an army of 40,000-70,000 troops of mixed nationality out of the gates of Constantinople across the straits and into Anatolia. His object was to suppress the ongoing raids of nomadic tribes of Turkmen who were being directed into the Byzantine lands by the Seljuk Turks in Baghdad and consistently raiding the Christian occupants of the land. In five months, this army would be engaged in the Battle of Manzikert, one of the most significant battles in human history.

1807. By act of Congress, the importation of slaves into the United States is prohibited.

1861. Tsar Alexander II of Russia prohibits slavery, abolishing serfdom in Russia, and leaving the United States as the the last developed nation to engage in the practice.

1933. The film King Kong premiers at Radio City Music Hall.

1949. Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress after completing the first non-stop round-the-world flight in 94 hours and one minute.

1962. Wilt Chamberlain scores 100. The game, between the Warriors and Knicks, was never officially finished after fans storm the court after Wilt scored his 100th point.

[Amnorix]

March 3.

1820. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.

1875. The first organized indoor hockey game is played in Montreal, Canada.

1878. Bulgaria regains its independence from the Ottoman Empire.

1918. Russia, Germany and Austro-Hungary sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending Russia's involvement in World War I, and granting independence to Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

1924. The 1400 Caliphate is abolished when the current Caliph is deposed. Turkey reorganizes into a Republic under Kemal Ataturk.

1931. The United States officially adopts the Star Spangled Banner as its national anthem.

1938. Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.

1991. An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers, leading to racial rioting.