Historical Perspectives

Mardi Gras begins

2009-02-27T09:34:00.003-05:00

Feb. 27, 1827
New Orleanians take to the streets for Mardi Gras

On this day in 1827, a group of masked and costumed students dance through the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, marking the beginning of the city's famous Mardi Gras celebrations.

The celebration of Carnival--or the weeks between Twelfth Night on January 6 and Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Christian period of Lent--spread from Rome across Europe and later to the Americas. Nowhere in the United States is Carnival celebrated as grandly as in New Orleans, famous for its over-the-top parades and parties for Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday), the last day of the Carnival season.

Though early French settlers brought the tradition of Mardi Gras to Louisiana at the end of the 17th century, Spanish governors of the province later banned the celebrations. After Louisiana became part of the United States in 1803, New Orleanians managed to convince the city council to lift the ban on wearing masks and partying in the streets. The city's new Mardi Gras tradition began in 1827 when the group of students, inspired by their experiences studying in Paris, donned masks and jester costumes and staged their own Fat Tuesday festivities.

The parties grew more and more popular, and in 1833 a rich plantation owner named Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville raised money to fund an official Mardi Gras celebration. After rowdy revelers began to get violent during the 1850s, a secret society called the Mistick Krewe of Comus staged the first large-scale, well-organized Mardi Gras parade in 1857.

Over time, hundreds of krewes formed, building elaborate and colorful floats for parades held over the two weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. Riders on the floats are usually local citizens who toss "throws" at passersby, including metal coins, stuffed toys or those now-infamous strands of beads. Though many tourists mistakenly believe Bourbon Street and the historic French Quarter are the heart of Mardi Gras festivities, none of the major parades have been allowed to enter the area since 1979 because of its narrow streets.

In February 2006, New Orleans held its Mardi Gras celebrations despite the fact that Hurricane Katrina had devastated much of the city with massive flooding the previous August. Attendance was at only 60-70 percent of the 300,000-400,000 visitors who usually attend Mardi Gras, but the celebration marked an important step in the recovery of the city, which counts on hospitality and tourism as its single largest industry.

Today We Make History

2009-01-20T14:53:00.004-05:00

The first African-American becomes president of the Unites States Of America. Today, January 20, 2008. Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th president of the United States. It is a moment of profound significance, and called on Americans to confront together an economic crisis that he said was caused by “our collective failure to make hard choices."
Mr. Obama spoke to a crowd of cheering people, appearing to number well over a million, who packed on the National Mall from the Capitol to the Washington Monument and beyond. He acknowledged the change his presidency represented, describing himself in his inaugural address as a “man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant.”
Despite its implications, Mr. Obama did not dwell on race. He, instead, stated that he promised to take “bold and swift” action to restore the economy by creating jobs through public works projects, improving education, promoting alternative energy and relying on new technology.“ Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."
He spoke for about 20 minutes, after taking the oath of office on the same Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his first inaugural in 1861, emphasizing his determination to unite Americans in confronting both the economic challenges facing him and the continuing fight against terrorism.
He takes office less than a month before the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, another Illinoisan who took the office at a time of national turmoil and a man whom Mr. Obama clearly looks to as an inspiration for his own presidency.

Peanuts, comic strip, debuted

2008-10-02T09:54:00.004-04:00

1950

The "Peanuts" comic strip, by Charles M. Schultz, first appeared in newspapers.

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe Schulz), 1922–2000, American cartoonist, b. Minneapolis, Minn. Creator of the extremely popular syndicated comic strip Peanuts (1950–2000), one of the world's most popular examples of the genre, Schulz expressed a droll yet tender philosophy through his strip's children and animals. Among its principal characters are Charlie Brown, a gentle, puzzled boy, usually failing, yet always persevering; Lucy, his bossy, know-it-all friend; Linus, a philosophical tyke with a security blanket; and Snoopy, a romantic, self-deluded beagle. One of the many collections of Peanuts comic strips published in book form is Peanuts Classics (1970). A number of cartoon television specials based on the strip have been made.

Miguel de Cervantes is born

2008-09-29T14:08:00.003-04:00

September 29, 1547

Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, is born this day near Madrid.

Cervantes led an adventurous life and achieved much popular success, but he nevertheless struggled financially throughout his life. Little is know about his childhood, except that he was a favorite student of Madrid humanist Juan Lopez, and that his father was an apothecary.

In 1569, Cervantes was living in Rome and working for a future cardinal. Shortly thereafter, he enlisted in the Spanish fleet to fight against the Turks. At the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, he took three bullets and suffered permanent damage to his left hand. Later, he was stationed at Palermo and Naples. On the way home to Madrid in 1575, he and his brother Roderigo were captured by Barbary pirates and held captive in Algiers. Cervantes was ransomed after five years of captivity and returned to Madrid, where he began writing. Although his records indicate he wrote 20 to 30 plays, only two survive. In 1585, he published a romance. During this time, he married a woman 18 years younger than he was and had an illegitimate daughter, whom he raised in his household. He worked as a tax collector and as a requisitioner of supplies for the navy, but was jailed for irregularities in his accounting. Some historians believe he formulated the idea for Don Quixote while in jail.

In 1604, he received the license to publish Don Quixote. Although the book began as a satire of chivalric epics, it was far more complex than a simple satire. The book blended traditional genres to create a sad portrait of a penniless man striving to live by the ideals of the past. The book was a huge success and brought Cervantes literary respect and position, but did not generate much money. He wrote dramas and short stories until a phony sequel, penned by another writer, prompted him to write Don Quixote, Part II in 1615. He died the following year.

Happy Friday the 13th!

2008-06-13T09:38:00.004-04:00

Friday the 13th occurs from time to time and reminds us that superstition is alive and well in the 21st century. Friday the 13th is considered bad luck around the world. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia. According to Wikipedia it is a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή) (meaning Friday), and dekatreís (δεκατρείς) (meaning thirteen), attached to phobía (φοβία) (meaning fear).

The Christian Tradition The fear of Friday the 13th stems from two separate fears -- the fear of the number 13 and the fear of Fridays. Both fears have deep roots in Western culture, most notably in Christian theology.

Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles). Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive.
Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays because Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Additionally, some theologians hold that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit on a Friday, and that the Great Flood began on a Friday. In the past, many Christians would never begin any new project or trip on a Friday, fearing they would be doomed from the start.

Sailors were particularly superstitious in this regard, often refusing to ship out on a Friday. According to unverified legend (very likely untrue), the British Navy commissioned a ship in the 1800s called H.M.S. Friday, in order to quell the superstition. The navy selected the crew on a Friday, launched the ship on a Friday and even selected a man named James Friday as the ship's captain. Then, one Friday morning, the ship set off on its maiden voyage... and disappeared forever. A similar, entirely factual story is the harrowing flight of Apollo 13.

Some historians suggest the Christian distrust of Fridays is actually linked to the early Catholic Church's overall suppression of pagan religions and women. In the Roman calendar, Friday was devoted to Venus, the goddess of love. When Norsemen adapted the calendar, they named the day after Frigg, or Freya, Norse goddesses connected to love and sex. Both of these strong female figures once posed a threat to male-dominated Christianity, the theory goes, so the Christian church vilified the day named after them.

This characterization may also have played a part in the fear of the number 13. It was said that Frigg would often join a coven of witches, normally a group of 12, bringing the total to 13. This idea may have originated with the Christian Church itself; it's impossible to verify the exact origins of most folklore. A similar Christian legend holds that 13 is unholy because it signifies the gathering of 12 witches and the devil.

The number 13 could also have been considered pagan because there are 13 months in the pagan lunar calendar. The lunar calendar also corresponds to the human menstrual cycle, connecting the number to femininity
Ultimately, the complex folklore of Friday the 13th doesn't have much to do with people's fears today. The fear has much more to do with personal experience. People learn at a young age that Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, for whatever reason, and then they look for evidence that the legend is true. The evidence isn't hard to come by, of course. If you get in a car wreck on one Friday the 13th, lose your wallet, or even spill your coffee, that day will probably stay with you. But if you think about it, bad things, big and small, happen all the time. If you're looking for bad luck on Friday the 13th, you'll probably find it.

Lewis and Clark depart

2008-05-14T08:19:00.005-04:00

May 14, 1804 One year after the United States doubled its territory with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

Even before the U.S. government concluded purchase negotiations with France, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his private secretary Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an army captain, to lead an expedition into what is now the U.S. Northwest. On May 14, the "Corps of Discovery"--featuring approximately 45 men (although only an approximate 33 men would make the full journey)--left St. Louis for the American interior.

The expedition traveled up the Missouri River in a 55-foot long keelboat and two smaller boats. In November, Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader accompanied by his young Native American wife Sacagawea, joined the expedition as an interpreter. The group wintered in present-day North Dakota before crossing into present-day Montana, where they first saw the Rocky Mountains. On the other side of the Continental Divide, they were met by Sacagawea's tribe, the Shoshone Indians, who sold them horses for their journey down through the Bitterroot Mountains. After passing through the dangerous rapids of the Clearwater and Snake rivers in canoes, the explorers reached the calm of the Columbia River, which led them to the sea. On November 8, 1805, the expedition arrived at the Pacific Ocean, the first European explorers to do so by an overland route from the east. After pausing there for the winter, the explorers began their long journey back to St. Louis.

On September 23, 1806, after almost two and a half years, the expedition returned to the city, bringing back a wealth of information about the largely unexplored region, as well as valuable U.S. claims to Oregon Territory.

April Fools Day

2008-04-01T14:34:00.004-04:00

Here is the most common theory passed around in reference to the origins of April Fools Day. There is no documented proof, yet it seems plausible.

In sixteenth-century France, the start of the new year was observed on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way as it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night. Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people, however, who hadn't heard or didn't believe the change in the date, so they continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them "April fools." They sent them on a "fool's errand" or tried to make them believe that something false was true. In France today, April first is called "Poisson d'Avril." French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs. When the "young fool" discovers this trick, the prankster yells "Poisson d’Avril!" (April Fish!)

Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One common trick on April Fool's Day, or All Fool's Day, is pointing down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your shoelace is untied." Teachers in the nineteenth century used to say to pupils, "Look! A flock of geese!" and point up. School children might tell a classmate that school has been canceled. Whatever the trick, if the innocent victim falls for the joke the prankster yells, "April Fool! "

Today Google did their part for April Fools Day.
They've mapped out Mars and are ready to colonize.

Phantoscope

2008-03-26T09:48:00.003-04:00

March 26 in 1895, the Phantoscope, an early motion picture projector that enlarged film images for viewing by large groups, was patented by Charles Francis Jenkins (No. 536,569). The Phantascope was designed jointly by C. Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat, and shown at the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta, Ga. in October 1895. Armat sold his rights to Thomas Edison, who marketed the invention. The Phantascope, modified by Armat, became the basis of Edison's Vitascope projector. These developments owed much to George Eastman's invention of roll film, followed by transparency film, that enabled the same camera to make multiple photographs in a series.

Bureau of Indian Affairs

2008-03-11T14:21:00.003-04:00

March 11, 1824, the U.S. War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1869, Seneca Indian Ely Parker becomes the first Indian to lead the Bureau.
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E Lee, General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army, surrendered his forces to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House; effectively ending the War Between the States. As the embattled southern warrior clasped hands with his northern contemporaries, he was immediately drawn to a dark skinned man with distinguished features. The casual conversation and reminiscences of days gone by fell silent as Lee walked over to address this individual. The man that had drawn the general’s attention was Lt. Colonel Ely S. Parker, a Seneca Chief and Military Secretary to General Grant. Parker was also the highest ranked Native American in the Union Army. It is said that Lee extended his hand and said to Parker, “ I’m glad to see that there is at least one real American here.” Parker shook the old soldier’s hand and responded, “We are all Americans sir.” Not only did Parker serve with distinction during the war, but, as Grant’s adjutant, he was responsible for transcribing the terms of surrender that Lee would sign. His remarkable career after the war would greatly benefit Native Americans and further secure their place within the nation that for so long had stifled their independence.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is currently involved in a class-action lawsuit brought by Native American representatives against the United States government; see Cobell v. Kempthorne. The plaintiffs claim that the U.S. government has incorrectly accounted for Indian trust assets, which belong to individual Native Americans (as beneficial owners) but are managed by the Department of the Interior as the fiduciary trustee.

Leap Day!

2008-02-29T09:45:00.003-05:00

"Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
All the rest have thirty-one
Excepting February alone:
Which hath but twenty-eight, in fine,
Till leap year gives it twenty-nine." "Thirty Days Hath September" rhyme

Romans originally had a 355-day calendar. To keep up with the seasons, an extra 22 or 23-day month was inserted every second year. For reasons unknown, this extra month was only observed now and then. By Julius Caesar’s time, the seasons no longer occurred at the same calendar periods as history had shown. To correct this, Caesar eliminated the extra month and added one or two extra days to the end of various months (his month included, which was Quintilis, later renamed Julius we know it as July). This extended the calendar to 365 days. Also intended was an extra calendar day every fourth year (following the 28th day of Februarius). However, after Caesar’s death in 44 B.C., the calendars were written with an extra day every 3 years instead of every 4 until corrected in 8 A.D. So again, the calendar drifted away from the seasons. By 1582, Pope Gregory XIII recognized that Easter would eventually become closer and closer to Christmas. The calendar was reformed so that a leap day would occur in any year that is divisible by 4 but not divisible by 100 except when the year is divisible by 400. Thus 1600 and 2000, although century marks, have a Leap Day.
The calendar we use today, known as the Gregorian calendar, makes our year 365.2425 days only off from our solar year by .00031, which amounts to only one day’s error after 4,000 years.
So, happy leap day, especially to those who celebrate a birthday, anniversary or some other significant benchmark.
Today, in Evansville Indiana, at the Ellis Park race track they are attempting to break the world's leap frog record!
It is to bring attention to the fact that the world's frog population is declining.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T15:28:00.007-05:00

The following article is from Brad Steiger who wrote it for Fate Magazine in 2006. According to the most commonly accepted story, Emperor Claudius of Rome issued a decree forbidding marriage in the year 271. Roman generals had found that married men did not make very good soldiers, because they wanted to return as quickly as possible to their wives and children-and they didn't want to leave them to fight the emperor's battles in the first place. So Claudius issued his edict that there should be no more marriages, and all single men should report for duty.
A priest named Valentine deemed such a decree an abomination, and he secretly continued to marry young lovers. When Claudius learned of this extreme act of disobedience to his imperial command, he ordered the priest dragged off to prison and had him executed on February 14.
Father Valentine, the friend of sweethearts, became a martyr to love and the sanctity of marriage, and when the Church gained power in the Roman Empire, the Holy See was quick to make him a saint.

The early Church fathers were well aware of the popularity of a vast number of heathen gods and goddesses, as well as the dates of observation of pagan festivals, so they set about replacing as many of the entities and the holidays as possible with ecclesiastical saints and feast days. Mid-February had an ancient history of being devoted to acts of love of a far more passionate and lusty nature than the Church wished to bless, and the bishops moved as speedily as possible to claim the days of February 14 through 17 as belonging to Saint Valentine, the courageous martyr to the ties that bound couples in Christian love.

February Is for Mating

Actually, there is no proof that the good priest Valentine even existed.

Some scholars trace the period of mid-February as a time for mating back to ancient Egypt. On those same days of the year that contemporary lovers devote to St. Valentine, men and women of the Egyptian lower classes determined their marital partners by the drawing of lots.

But the time of coupling that comes with the cold nights in February before the spring thaw likely had its true origin very near where Valentine supposedly met his demise.

Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Wolf Charmer was called the Lupicinus. Perhaps hearkening back to prehistoric times, the Lupicinus may well have been an individual tribesman who had a particular affinity for communicating with wolves. As the tribes developed agriculture and small villages, it was necessary to have a person skilled in singing with the wolves and convincing them not to attack their domesticated animals. The Lupicinus had the ability to howl with the wolves and lead them away from the livestock pens. In some views, because he also wore the pelt of a wolf, the Lupicinus also had the power to transform himself into a wolf if he so desired.

Rites of the Lupercalia

The annual Lupercali festival of the Romans on February 15 was a perpetuation of the ancient blooding rites of the hunter in which the novice is smeared with the blood of his first kill. The sacrificial slaying of a goat-representing the flocks that nourished early humans in their efforts to establish permanent dwelling places-was followed by the sacrifice of a dog, the watchful protector of a flock that would be the first to be killed by attacking wolves.

The blood of the she-goat and the dog were mixed, and a bloodstained knife was dipped into the fluid and drawn slowly across the foreheads of two noble-born children. Once the children had been "blooded," the gore was wiped off their foreheads with wool that had been dipped in goat milk. As the children were being cleansed, they were expected to laugh, thereby demonstrating their lack of fear of blood and their acknowledgment that they had received the magic of protection against wolves and wolfmen.

The god Lupercus, represented by a wolf, would next inspire and command men to behave as wolves, to act as werewolves during the festival.

Lupus (wolf) itself is not an authentic or original Latin word, but was borrowed from the Sabine dialect. Luperca, the she-wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus, may have given rise to secret fraternities known as the Luperci, who sacrificed she-goats at the entrances to their "wolves' dens." For centuries, the Luperci observed an annual ritual of chasing women through the streets of Roman cities and beating them with leather thongs.

Scholars generally agree that such a violent expression of eroticism celebrated the ancient behavior of primitive hunting tribes corraling captive women. Once a wolfman had ensnared a woman with his whip or thong, he would lead her away to be his wife or lover for as long as the "romance" lasted. Perhaps, as some scholars theorize, this yearly rite of lashing at women and lassoing them with leather thongs became a more acceptable substitute for the bloodlust of the Luperci's latent werewolfism that in days past had seen them tearing the flesh of innocent victims with their teeth.

As the Romans grew ever more sophisticated, the Lupercali would be celebrated by a man binding the lady of his choice wrist to wrist, and later by passing a billet to his object of desire, suggesting a romantic rendezvous in some secluded place.

Christian Marriage

One can easily see why the early Church fathers much preferred the union of man and woman to be smiled upon by St. Valentine, rather than the leering wolf god Lupercus. And, of course, they encouraged a knot tied securely by the sacred rite of marriage and blessed by the priest, rather than a fleeting midnight liaison.

By the Middle Ages, the peasantry in England, Scotland, and parts of France honored St. Valentine, but their customs seemed very much to hearken back to ancient Egypt and Rome. On the evening before Valentine's Day, the young people would gather in a village meeting place and draw names by chance. Each young woman would write her name or make her mark on a bit of cloth and place it into a large urn. Then each of the young men would draw a slip. The girl whose name or mark was on the piece of cloth became his sweetheart for the year.

This method of celebrating St. Valentine's Day quite often led to circumstances and situations that encouraged long-term and lasting relationships, blessed by the recital of marriage vows in the local church. If the young couple did not take the necessary steps to become bound in a church-sanctioned union, the parents of the respective "bride" and "groom" would actively arrange for the marriage sacrament to be observed.

It wasn't long before the peasant method of utilizing St. Valentine's Day to guarantee the next generation of field hands, construction workers, and merchants reached the ears of the upper classes, and the custom became popular among the young men and women of the aristocracy and the landed gentry. Since the prospect of arranged marriages between successful families meant far more to the upper classes in Europe than to the peasantry, parental supervision most often limited the interaction between their children to be "sweethearts" during Valentine's Day parties.

By the late 1400s, the upper classes of Europe and England would come together in homes to celebrate Valentine's Day and allow their young men to draw a "valentine" with the name of a member of the opposite sex, beside whom he would be seated at a lavish dinner party. Hostesses took advantage of the holiday theme to express the tradition in colorful decorative schemes.

Gradually, Valentine's Day came to be synonymous with the exchange of pretty sentiments, written in flourishes on scented paper and decorated with hearts, arrows, doves, and cupids-those little pagan deities maintaining their hold on the ancient holiday. By the early 1800s, young men were taking care to create symbols of their passion on elaborate cards that they could offer to "My Valentine."

By the 1850s, Valentine's Day cards were being manufactured and sold commercially in England, and the custom of observing the holiday with cards to one's sweetheart became popular in the United States in the 1860s, around the time of the Civil War.
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The commercialization of holidays hasn't forgotten Valentine's Day. The pressure for men to remember their sweethearts with a Valentine gift is greater than ever before. Of course, money is to be made by the retailers. It seems that partners are insulted if their love spends no money. I, for one, would truly appreciate a walk under the stars holding my partner's hand. I realize, however, I am in the minority.

1812: 8.2 earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri

2008-02-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

The New Madrid Earthquake, the largest earthquake ever recorded in the contiguous United States, occurred on February 7, 1812.There were a series of quakes from December 1811 through February 1812. It got its name from its primary location in the New Madrid, near New Madrid, Louisiana Territory (now Missouri). Several towns, including New Madrid, were destroyed by the quakes.

They are among the Great earthquakes of known history, affecting the topography more than any other earthquake on the North American continent. Judging from their effects, they were of a magnitude of 8.0 or higher on the Richter Scale. They were felt over the entire United States outside of the Pacific coast. Large areas sank into the earth, new lakes were formed, the course of the Mississippi River was changed, and forests were destroyed over an area of 150,000 acres. Many houses at New Madrid were thrown down. "Houses, gardens, and fields were swallowed up" one source notes. But fatalities and damage were low, because the area was sparsely settled then.

The magnitudes of the quakes were estimated from the descriptions of their effects. Some of these effects were:

The perception of the shock, even the ringing of church bells, at great distances from the quake. The December 16th quake rang church bells in Pennsylvania and in South Carolina. The February 7th quake was said to have been felt strong enough to rattle windows in Montreal, Quebec, over a thousand miles away.
The modification of the channel of the Mississippi River.
The rising of some sections of land, the falling of other sections. Six foot falls were created in the Mississippi River. At some points there were reports that the Mississippi ran backwards.
The creation of new ten new lakes, the largest of which was Reelfoot Lake in northwestern Tennessee. In other places the land rose and lakes disappeared.
Some islands in the rivers disappeared.
Trees broke loudly from the violent shaking.
The rising of dead trees from river and lake bottoms.
The creation of crevasses in the earth as much as ten feet wide. Sometimes the crevasses opened and then closed spurting water and sand into the air.
The creation of water spouts rising as high as fifteen feet into the air.
The liquification of ground and the subsequent sinking of structures.
The toppling of brickwork, particularly chimneys.
People being thrown out of their beds.

A break in the North American plate was developing along the route of what became the Mississippi Valley. A rift valley was developing but the fissure ended in the region of New Madrid.
The zone remains active today. In recent decades minor earthquakes have continued. New forecasts estimate a 7 to 10 percent chance, in the next 50 years, of a repeat of a major earthquake like those that occurred in 1811-1812, which likely had magnitudes of between 7.5 and 8.0. There is a 25 to 40 percent chance, in a 50-year time span, of a magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquake.

Alvin Clark discovers dwarf companion of Sirius

2008-01-31T15:28:00.000-05:00

January 31, 1862 Telescope maker Alvin Clark discovers dwarf companion of Sirius.
The first white dwarf to be discovered was found because it is a companion star to Sirius, a bright star in the constellation Canis Major. In 1844, astronomer Friedrich Bessel noticed that Sirius had a slight back and forth motion, as if it was orbiting an unseen object. In 1863, the optician and telescope maker Alvan Clark spotted this mysterious object. This star was later determined to be a white dwarf. This pair are now referred to as Sirius A and B, B, being the white dwarf. The orbital period of this system is about 50 years.

Since white dwarfs are very small and thus very hard to detect, binary systems are a helpful way to locate them. As with the Sirius system, if a star seems to have some sort of unexplained motion, we may find that the single star is really a multiple system. Upon close inspection we may find that it has a white dwarf companion.

1-25-1915 The first long distance call by Bell

2008-01-25T11:02:00.000-05:00

1915 Alexander Graham Bell began transcontinental phone service with a call to Dr. Watson in San Francisco.
This connected the world in a whole new way. No longer would people have to wait long intervals for news to reach across the world. The telegraph had previously connected cities through its intricate network of telegraph lines. Until 1877, all rapid long-distance communication depended upon the telegraph. That year, the rival technology developed that would again change the face of communication -- the telephone. By 1879, patent litigation between Western Union and the infant telephone system was ended in an agreement that largely separated the two services.
For five years AT&T had wanted to link the phone lines from one side of the country to the other. They finally found the device that could help them do it: Lee De Forest's "audions," the first vacuum tubes. They placed them along the 3,400 miles of wires connecting one coast to the other. As a voice signal traveled along the wires it naturally weakened. Every time it hit an audion, the signal was boosted.

The first trial took place in July of 1914, when the president of the company, Theodore Vail, spoke from one coast to the other -- his voice boosted in Pittsburgh, Omaha, and Salt Lake City along the way.

But the big celebration didn't occur until January 25, 1915, at a meeting in San Francisco. Sitting in New York, Alexander Graham Bell said into the phone what he had once said decades before: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you." But this time Watson, sitting in San Francisco, replied, "It will take me five days to get there now!"

With the world connected through phones, Internet, television and much more, we take our technology for granted. People today feel lost without the modern conveniences they have become accustomed to depend on. Imagine a world where fire light was the only way we could see in the dark. In this world, when you read about a newsworthy event it is already "old news". Communities welcomed travelers since they were the best way to get news from other places. Newspapers were not always reliable. Of course, the gossip network was only reliable as the person who contributed to it. Now we have blogs (like this one) where a whole new ' network of information is spread. Like the primitive "word of mouth" network of days gone by, blogs are only as reliable as the person who contributes to it. Of course, today, the reader is able to follow up with their own research and verification. Then again, if one person spreads something as truth and two people repeat it, then two more, and so on, people will start to believe it. It doesn't matter if it was by gossip or Internet. Sometimes they are the same thing.

Galileo died on this day

2008-01-08T13:33:00.000-05:00

Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
Galileo was one of the greatest astronomers in the world. He changed the way we think about the universe. Galileo was the first person to use a telescope to look at the universe. He studied the sun, the planets, and the moon.

Galileo was born in Pisa, Italy, on February 15, 1564. Did you know Galileo was born in the same year as William Shakespeare? It is also the same year in which Michelangelo died.

When Galileo was born, Italy was not called Italy. Instead, Italy was made up of independent city-states. The city-states were in regions controlled by powerful families. Pisa was located in the Tuscany region and controlled by the Medici family.

Galileo died on January 8, 1642, in Arcetri, near Florence, Italy. He was 77 years old. He is buried in the Santa Croce cemetery in Florence.

Galileo's observations of the planet Jupiter were very important. To honor his contributions, the four moons of Jupiter which Galileo discovered are called the Galilean Moons. These are Jupiter's largest moons.

There is also a spacecraft named after Galileo. It was launched on October 18, 1989, to orbit Jupiter. It went into orbit around Jupiter in 1995.

Galileo proved the earth revolved around the sun.

He was a great astronomer and scientist. Galileo spent the last years of his life under house arrest on orders of the Inquisition. Today he is considered a pioneer in the science of astronomy.

Isaac Asimov was born on this day in 1920

2008-01-02T15:12:00.000-05:00

Isaac Asimov (January 2, 1920– April 6, 1992
Asimov is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre.
Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, as the son of Judah Asimov and Anna Rachel Berman Asimov. Asimov could read before he entered the first grade. He also had "a near-photographic memory." At school Asimov finished books in a few days. His father got him a library card, but did not supervise the books his son read. A classic "bookworm", Asimov devoured early works on Greek mythology, the Iliad, William Shakespeare plays, history books, all kinds of miscellaneous reading. One library was not enough - he used to go to every one within reach. After leaving Boys High School in Brooklyn, an elite school in those days, Asimov studied chemistry at Columbia University, New York, where he graduated in 1939 and received his M.A. in 1941.
Asimov had published works from 1941 to 1995 (posthumously).
Also on this date, the construction of the Brooklyn bridge commenced in 1870.

1898 Scientists Pierre & Marie Curie discover radium

2007-12-21T13:52:00.000-05:00

December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 10 days remaining until the end of the year. In 1898 Marie and Pierre Curie discover radium which will eventually revolutionize medical science via the x-ray machine, radiation treatments and much more. Marie pioneered radium research and helped countless people through these less invasive diagnostic treatments.
Mme. Curie throughout her life actively promoted the use of radium to alleviate suffering and during World War I, assisted by her daughter, Irene, she personally devoted herself to this remedial work. She retained her enthusiasm for science throughout her life and did much to establish a radioactivity laboratory in her native city - in 1929 President Hoover of the United States presented her with a gift of $ 50,000, donated by American friends of science, to purchase radium for use in the laboratory in Warsaw. Sadly, on July 4, 1934, Marie Curie died in Paris, of radiation poisoning and may have been the first person to do so. Her hard work resulted in two Nobel Prizes - the first woman to win even one.
Great knowledge, however, is often a double-edged sword. Without the work she did we might not have many modern cancer treatments, or atomic clocks, or even the computer you're viewing this on. Regrettably, the atomic bomb was the result of such scientific work as well. She had noble ideals and wished only to help the suffering through her tireless work, which she did admirably.

Today we pay tribute

2007-12-16T23:05:00.000-05:00

Dan Fogelberg, the singer and songwriter whose hits "Leader of the Band" and "Same Old Lang Syne" helped define the soft-rock era, died Sunday at his home in Maine after battling prostate cancer. He was 56.
From 1972 to 2003, his albums provided a melodic songs and hauntingly beautiful instrumentals. There are so many songs which touch the soul in a way few songwriters have been able to do. Listen to his music again in tribute to the man who composed from the heart. Dan Fogelberg will be greatly missed by his fans and those in the music industry. Today as in all days, history is being written. Here's to you Mr. Fogelberg. Check out his site and listen to his music.

Charles Dicken's does it again.

2007-12-13T15:28:00.000-05:00

1843 "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens published, 6,000 copies sold
Read it here.

Charles Dickens, the timeless spinner of tales, publishes his Christmas themed book on this day. A Christmas Carol has been read by countless readers ever since. It has been made into movies many time over. The moral behind the story stands the test of time. It really does matter how you treat others. Do not wait until you are in your death bed to realize it. The book is the best way to discover this wonderful, heartfelt novel. Once read, go and watch the movie. Scrooge epitomizes the stereotypical grumpy old man. Everyone, it seems, has known one at some time in their life. Rarely do we see this character repent. This is one of the reasons why this story has been so close to our hearts. Here's to Charles Dickens, shall we always remember his name.

1933 the 18th amendment is repealed.

2007-12-05T08:18:00.000-05:00

Just because its part of the Constitution doesn't mean it can't be changed. What's harder to do, add an amendment to the Constitution or remove one? If history teaches us anything it teaches us that removing something is infinitely more difficult than it is to add something. The Europeans had no problem inhabiting North America. They sure had a problem removing the inhabitants that were already there. Wars have been fought over removing things. Adding things have been done behind closed doors without anyone being the wiser.
On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the U.S Constitution is ratified, repealing Prohibition. The 1919 ratification of the 18th Amendment, which created a nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale and transportation of “intoxicating liquors,” capped years of effort by temperance reformers, who deemed alcohol a national curse responsible for a wide range of social ills. But by the time the Roaring ’20s gave way to the Great Depression, Prohibition came to represent the very ills and excesses it sought to address. The rise of organized crime syndicates, spurred by a flourishing bootlegging industry, gave momentum to calls in the early 1930s for a 21st Amendment repealing the “noble experiment.” Mindful that local legislators would be reluctant to alienate powerful temperance groups, advocates of repeal endorsed state conventions to which delegates were elected to support or reject repeal. The strategy worked, and when—on this date—Utah became the 36th state to approve the 21st Amendment, Prohibition came to an end.
Celebrate Repeal Day this December 5 by drinking — well, whatever you like, if for no other reason, just because you can.

Writing just became easier

2007-12-04T09:44:00.000-05:00

In 1894, (12/04) George Parker was issued a U.S. patent for a fountain pen design that became the Parker Pen Company's first major success. The Lucky Curve was designed to solve the problem that previous pens had. They retained ink in the feed tube. Warmed by body temperature, the ink expanded forcing ink from the pen point into the cap and onto the barrel, causing soiled fingers on next use. The Lucky Curve design used capillary attraction to completely drain ink from the feed tube. Parker held several earlier fountain pen patents since his first on 10 Dec 1889. In Feb 1892, with partner W.E Palmer, he incorporated the Parker Pen Company to market his pens, and he continued to focus on making design improvements.
The history of writing devices since
1888-1916
The principle of the ball point pen actually dates from the late 19th Century when patents were taken out by John Loud in 1888 for a product to mark leather and in 1916 by Van Vechten Riesberg. However neither of these Patents were exploited commercially.
1940s
The modern version of ball point pen was invented by Josef (Lazlo) and Georg Biro.

The Summer of 1943 the first commercial models were made. The rights to Lazlo's patent were bought by the British Government. The ball point pen is more rugged than the fountain pen which may be why sales rocketed during World War II when the Military needed robust writing implements to survive the battlefield environment.

October 1945
The ball point pen was introduced to the U.S. market. The pen was sold as "The first pen to write underwater" this must have been an unsatisfied demand as some 10,000 were sold at the launch at Gimbel's department store in New York on October 29th 1945.
1953
First inexpensive ball point pens were available when the French Baron, Bich, developed the industrial process for manufacturing ball point pens that lowered the unit cost dramatically (BIC, Co.)

Today we have a plethora of pens to choose from. There are gel pens, rubber pens, no-grip ring pens, etc.
With the advent of the computer, writing with pens has declined. For a quick note, signatures or tests, pens will always be needed. However, when future historians study today's civilization they will rarely find the treasured diary or love letter which gives people a glimpse into their ancestor's lives. A rare hard drive could uncover some information but not the personal, day to day historic life we love to read about. The digital age makes things easier but we lose a part of our past and present as a result.

The Free Speech Movement

2007-12-03T08:34:00.000-05:00

1964 (Dec. 03) Police arrests 800 sit-in students at University of California at Berkeley
The Free Speech Movement was a student protest which took place at the University of California, Berkeley under the unofficial leadership of students Mario Savio, Brian Turner, Steve Weissman, Art Goldberg, Bettina Aptheker, Jackie Goldberg, and others. The students insisted, in ground breaking protests, that the university administration lift a ban on on-campus political activities and acknowledge the students' right to free speech and academic freedom.
You see, student activists had set up information tables on campus and were soliciting donations for civil rights causes. According to existing rules at the time, fundraising for political parties was limited exclusively for the Democratic and Republican school clubs. There was also a mandatory "loyalty oath" required of faculty, which had led to dismissals of highly qualified faculty members. The loyalty oath came during the McCarthy years where finger pointing was at an all time high. Real or imagined communists or traitors to the flag were singled out and ostracized. Freedom of speech, which America has touted since the days of the American Revolution, was now being suppressed siting patriotism as its foundation. First Amendment rights, including "freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble" was crumbling under this type of suppression.

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…" -Declaration of Independence

On September 14, 1964, Dean Katherine Towle announced that existing University regulations prohibiting advocacy of political causes or candidates, outside political speakers, recruitment of members, and fundraising by student organizations at the intersection of Bancroft and Telegraph Avenues would be "strictly enforced." This strip was until then thought to be city property, not campus property. She, like other leaders during her time, had bypassed the first amendment rights in favor of mandated loyalty.
On October 1, former graduate student Jack Weinberg, who was at a table there, refused to show his identification to the campus police and was arrested. There was a spontaneous movement of students to surround the police car in which he was to be transported. Weinberg did not leave the police car, nor did the car move for 32 hours. At one point, there may have been 3,000 students around the car.

During this period, the car was used as a speaker's podium and a continuous public discussion was held which continued until the charges against Weinberg were dropped. Protesters took over in a massive sit-in. The sit-in ended on December 3, when police arrested close to 800 students. About a month later, the university brought charges against the students who organized the sit-in, resulting in an even larger student protest that all but shut down the university.
After much disturbance, the University officials slowly backed down. By January 3, 1965, the new acting chancellor, Martin Meyerson, established provisional rules for political activity on the Berkeley campus, designating the Sproul Hall steps an open discussion area during certain hours of the day and permitting tables.

History has a way of repeating itself. The "witch hunts" by Senator McCarthy during the 50s paralleled the socialistic countries which suppressed political opposition and free speech. The same communistic constraints in which McCarthy was supposedly fighting against.
Now, in the wake of the 2001 Terrorist attacks, President Bush has strongly supported phone monitoring of any American, regardless of suspicion. He also admonished those who leaked out the information about this practice. Although the act allows for overseas calls and emails, it also has a provision for any communication using a court warrant. With Bush making the call, it would be rather easy include any communication deemed suspect. The Constitution states:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

-"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

November 30th

2007-11-30T14:54:00.000-05:00

November 30 is the 334th day of the year (335th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 31 days remaining until the end of the year.
On this day, 1940 - Lucille Ball marries Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.
The picture (right) of their 10th anniversary is both poignant and nostalgic. Lucy would say, years later, that Desi was the love of her life. They both stated that they never stopped loving each other. Desi's attitude towards marriage came from a strong Cuban background where the men led an "active" life outside the bonds of matrimony. Lucy being a traditional American woman, could not accept such a lax attitude towards monogamy. Love, however, could not be easily extinguished. Apart, they could finally find peace. Sharing their two children, Lucy and Desi, kept them emotionally close for the rest of their lives. They will be remembered for the joy they brought into countless lives through music and comedy. The world will never forget them.

November 29th

2007-11-29T14:29:00.000-05:00

2001 - Following a battle with cancer that began in 1998, Beatles' lead guitarist George Harrison dies from his ailment at the age of 58. He was surrounded by his family. His contribution to the music world will long be remembered.
With the Beatles and as a solo artist, George wrote many classic songs like "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun", "All Things Must Pass", "My Sweet Lord", "All Those Years Ago", "This is Love" and "Any Road".
Frank Sinatra once said of George's song "Something", "it's the greatest love song of the past fifty years". "Something" also became the second most covered Beatles song ever, after "Yesterday".
Six years later we still remember this remarkable musician. Martin Scorsese has committed to direct an untitled documentary about the life of George Harrison. Scorsese will produce with Harrison's widow Olivia and Nigel Sinclair in a co-production between Scorsese's Sikelia Prods., Harrison's Grove Street Prods., and Sinclair's Spitfire Pictures. The film is being constructed as a theatrical release, and the Harrison family will supply materials from its extensive archive. Interviews and early production will begin later this year, and the film will take several years to complete.
Olivia, George's widow stated, "It would have given George great joy to know that Martin Scorsese has agreed to tell his story."

Friction Match

2007-11-27T09:22:00.000-05:00

November 27: On this Day in Science History.
In 1826, John Walker (1781-1859), an English pharmacist from Stockton-on-Tees, invented the first practical, strike-anywhere, friction match, but refused to patent his creation. He used three-inch splints of wood, tipped with potassium chlorate, antimony sulphide, and gum arabic. The match head was ignited by drawing it through a fold of fine glasspaper. By 1829, similar matches called "Lucifers" were sold throughout London. Their difference was added sulphur to aid combustion, and white phosphorus. Matchmaking workers quickly developed a bone disease called "phossy jaw" from the phosphorus. Phosphorus sesquisulphide replaced the deadly white phosphorus in the strike-anywhere match during the early twentieth century.

On this day: November 19 in 1863

2007-11-19T14:37:00.000-05:00

At the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, more than 51,000 Confederate and Union soldiers were wounded, missing, or dead. Many of those who died were laid in makeshift graves along the battlefield. Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin commissioned David Wills, an attorney, to purchase land for a proper burial site for the deceased Union soldiers. Wills acquired 17 acres for the cemetery, which was planned and designed by landscape architect William Saunders.
The cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863 . The main speaker for the event was Edward Everett, one of the nations foremost orators. President Lincoln was also invited to speak as Chief Executive of the nation, formally to set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks. At the ceremony, Everett spoke for more than 2 hours; Lincoln spoke for 2 minutes. President Lincoln had thought his speech to be too short and less than notable. We now call Lincoln's speech The Gettysburg Address as if it were the only speech delivered that day. The official program listed Everett as the Oration speaker and Lincoln as the giver of Dedicatory Remarks.
Everett's speech, which took two hours, was expected to run long, although it caused the crowd to grow restless. A New York Times reporter noticed that during its delivery, "there were as many people wandering about the fields, made memorable by the fierce struggles of July, as stood around the stand listening to his eloquent speech."
Despite popular stories, historians agree that Lincoln did not whip up his "remarks" on the back of an envelope enroute from Washington. His effort was the product of a lifetime from a man known for study and deep reflection. He wrote at least half or more of it on White House stationery before his trip, and apparently applied finishing touches in his room at the Wills house in which he stayed. Lincoln, ever a painstaking writer, also knew that words from his presidential pen would be highly scrutinized.

Word for today: Anachronisms

2007-11-14T10:54:00.000-05:00

Something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
An artifact that belongs to another time
A person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age

The First Thanksgiving: What really happened.

2007-11-14T10:34:00.000-05:00

THE WAY AMERICA envisions that first Thanksgiving, goes something like this: Civilized European pilgrims set out across the Atlantic Ocean, and were rewarded with an entire continent of untold wealth. Oh sure there were a few unclothed savages already there, but they were not a problem that couldn't be dealt with. Journals and letters written by those first settlers contain accounts of plundering native stores of food, tools and furs. If the Pilgrims found it, they took it. After working, praying and surviving a bitter winter, the Pilgrim Fathers brought in a bountiful harvest produced by careful tending of seeds that they had brought from home. Inviting their heathen neighbors to join them, the Pilgrims gave thanks for their New World and its riches at a meal consisting of turkey, squash, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Afterwards, the men sat around smoking and telling stories while the women cleaned up. Now for the Native American side of the story:

What really happened was more like this: After two months and two deaths on the Mayflower crossing in 1620, the Pilgrims landed on the coast of Massachusetts, where an Algonquin-speaking group, the Wampanoags, lived. Clad in leather garments (adding furs during the winter) these native peoples skillfully cultivated corn, beans, squashes and pumpkins; hunted the woods for deer, elk and bear; and fished for salmon and herring. Like other members of what anthropologists now call the Woodland Culture, the Wampanoags looked upon deer, fish and turtle as totemic siblings, and had deep respect for every natural creature. When they hunted, they left offerings for other forest inhabitants, and they would never think of planting or harvesting without giving thanks for the fertility of Mother Earth. From where the natives sat--especially one named Squanto, who'd learned English after having been sold into slavery a few years earlier, these Pilgrims were in deep buffalo chips. The wheat brought from Europe was completely unsuited to the New England soil and failed to germinate. Half the settlers died during the first winter. Squanto and his friends took pity on this sorry situation and brought venison and furs to these unfortunate white men. He taught them how to plant corn using fish as fertilizer, how to dig clams, how to tap maple trees for syrup. The Algonquin tribes already had the custom of celebrating six different thanksgiving festivals during the year, and one of those happened to coincide with a dinner party thrown by Miles Standish and company. Standish invited Squanto and a few of his friends and their families to come on down and share a meal. More than 90 Indians showed up. The Pilgrim menu wasn't going to cover that many guests. So a few of the Algonquin men went out and came back with five deer, enough for three solid days of cross-cultural feasting. Here's what was actually on that menu: venison, wild duck, wild geese, eels, clams, squash, corn bread, berries and nuts. That meal was one of the last untroubled moments the whites and natives spent together. Within 50 years, most of the Woodland peoples had been killed, claimed by European diseases or--if lucky--disappeared into the woods. Today, there are still 500 Wampanoags living in New England. They do not celebrate the American Thanksgiving.

Historical Perspectives

2007-11-13T14:42:00.000-05:00

What is history? It is anything that has already happened. It is one hundred years ago or one second ago. Now is but a fleeting concept. We are all living history. I am here to explore the past as well as history in the making. Today is history. The Iraq war is now and yesterday. We can learn from history. We can savor its memories and relive the good times. We can learn from its mistakes and repeat its victories. Who knows what tomorrow brings? We certainly know what yesterday brought us and can use it to our advantage. Here's to actively making history, yesterday, today and tomorrow!