On This Day: October 11
Today's History Show Notes - Episode 8
It’s National Bring your Teddy Bear to Work Day, and I did not make that up. In case you don’t have a teddy bear, it’s also National Sausage Pizza Day and this one from Bread Booze Bacon looks amazing.
You know where you probably won’t be eating sausage pizza? In communist countries – you get bread at the end of the bread line. Anyway, there is quite a bit of relatively recent communist history that happened on this day.
In 1945, a Chinese civil war began between the Kuomintang government and Mao Zedong's Communist Party. 30 years later in 1976, Mao’s widow Jiang Qing and the "Gang of Four" were charged with plotting a coup. Commies gonna commie.
In 1986, President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Iceland for a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, and four years later in 1990, oil hit a record price of $40.42 per barrel. In case you’re wondering, it’s almost $90 now. Commie consequences.
Today In History
1634: 15,000 killed Flood in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany
North Friesland doesn’t sound like a real place, but in 1634, the Buchari flood killed 15,000 people. Centuries earlier in 1138, an earthquake claimed 230 people in Aleppo Syria.
Speaking of Syria, 83 additional people were killed by the Syrian Army in 2012 during ongoing violence. It’s still pretty violent, tbh. A year later in 2013, 27 died when a migrant boat sank in the Channel of Sicily.
And of course there was a plane crash (but only one). In 1998, 40 died when a Congo Airlines 727 was shot down by rebels in Kindu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
1864: Slavery abolished in Maryland
With 2023 eyes, it’s easy to view slavery as a North vs. South issue. But it’s not that simple. Maryland, for example, was a union state that required a constitutional rewrite to abolish slavery.
From the Maryland State Archives:
“During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 freed slaves in Confederate states, but not in the Union state of Maryland. Indeed, Maryland's Constitution of 1851 had forbidden passage of ‘any law abolishing the relation of master or slave, as it now exists in this State’ (Art. 3, sec. 43). To end slavery, Maryland had to write a new constitution.
Maryland was a union state, remember, and according to the Washington Post in 2013, they dragged their feet. You could also say they made sure to affect the change legally though, compared to other, larger states, they moved more slowly.
On the same day in 1865, President Andrew Johnson paroles five leading Confederate politicians, including the former Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens. Stephens was later pardoned. From the History Channel:
“After his release from prison, Stephens returned to Georgia and soon rejoined the political arena. In 1866 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, but the move proved controversial in the North and he never took office. Stephens then devoted himself to writing his memoirs of the war, and later composed a history of the United States. He regained a seat in Congress in 1873, when he was chosen to represent Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served in this capacity until 1882, when he was elected as the governor of Georgia. He died in office in 1883 at the age of 71.and two cabinet members.”
He had to wait a bit, but being the Vice President of the Confederacy didn’t kill his political ambitions. That is fascinating.
1881: David Houston Patents Roll Film for Cameras
It’s incredible to think how far photography has come, with digital cameras integrated into our computers, phones, and city infrastructure. But it wasn’t that long ago that we had to develop film for our cameras. On this day in 1881, David Houston was awarded a patent for roll film.
I loved those wind up cameras from the 1990s. Those were awesome. Are we better off in the post-film era of photography?
There were many other inventions on October 11, including:
1811: The Juliana, First Steam-Powered Ferry Boat
1887: Alexander Miles Patented the Elevator
1977: Gordon Gould Patented the Optically Pumped Laser Amplifier
1983: Last Hand-Cranked Telephones Went Out of Service
1939: FDR and Sachs Discuss Einstein's Nuclear Warning Letter
There are so many moments looking back in history where you have to wonder where the adults in the room were. In 1939, Einstein reportedly tried to be a voice of reason about the risks of industrializing the nuclear program, and according to the official story, it fell on deaf ears.
From the US Department of Energy:
“Roosevelt wrote Einstein back on October 19, 1939, informing the physicist that he had set up a committee consisting of civilian and military representatives to study uranium. Events proved that the President was a man of considerable action once he had chosen a direction. In fact, Roosevelt's approval of uranium research in October 1939, based on his belief that the United States could not take the risk of allowing Hitler to achieve unilateral possession of "extremely powerful bombs," was merely the first decision among many that ultimately led to the establishment of the Manhattan Project.”
Given the number if nuclear tests we’ve highlighted in just eight episodes of this show, the adults were unsuccessful in their pleas to reason, and it’s been a perpetual Cold War ever since.
1944: "Laura" Released in NewYork
Laura is a film noir directed by Otto Preminger and starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. It’s a high class murder mystery, and according to the National Film Registry:
“In 1999, Laura was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.’ The American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best mystery films of all time, and it also appears on Roger Ebert's ‘Great Movies’ series.”
Also on this day, in 1963 William Shatner in "The Twilight Zone,” and in 1975, "Saturday Night Live" was created by Lorne Michaels with George Carlin as the first host.
Today in Music
1967: "Yoko Plus Me" art exhibition by Yoko Ono opens in London
1974: "Streetlife Serenade,” Billy Joel's Third Studio Album
1978: "52nd Street," Billy Joel's Sixth Studio Album
1981: Prince Opens for The Rolling Stones at the LA Coliseum
1982: Willie Nelson & Ricky Skaggs Win 16th Country Music Association Award
1983: "Can't Slow Down" Lionel Richie Second Studio Album
1992: First Presidential Three Way
Debate, that is. George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot squared off in the first three-candidate Presidential debate in US history and, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s no question Perot was the right choice.
The first female Vice President debated on this same day six years earlier when Geraldine Ferraro faced off against George H. W. Bush in Philadelphia – and history has some things to say about that as well. Remember, he was the Director of the CIA.
2000: The 100th Space Shuttle Mission (STS-92) is flown
STS-92 flew the 100th US Shuttle mission on this day 23 years ago, and it was a short 12-day trip to make some repairs on the International Space Station. And Apollo 7 made 163 orbits in 260 hours, which is about 63 minutes per orbit, back in 1968.
Other Notables
1890: Daughters of American Revolution founded
1987: 200,000 march for gay and lesbian civil rights in Washington, D.C.
1991: Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart seen soliciting a prostitute
1991: Law Professor Anita Hill testifies Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her
1992: Deion Sanders, plays for Atlanta Falcons (NFL) & Braves (Baseball)
1995: O.J. Simpson cancels a TV appearance on Dateline
2002: Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to former US President Jimmy Carter
Birthdays
1844: Henry John Heinz (Founder of Heinz)
1884: Eleanor Roosevelt (First Lady)
1905: Fred Trump (President Trump’s Father)
1918: Jerome Robbins (Choreographer)
1962: Joan Cusack, (Actress)
1966: Luke Perry (Actor)
1992: Cardi B (Rapper)
Death Days
1779: Casimir Pulaski (Polish Military Leader)
1809: Meriwether Lewis (Explorer)
1953: James Earle Fraser, (Sculptor)
1961: Leonard "Chico" Marx (Comedian)
1999: James Franklin Hyde (American Inventor)
2006 Benito Martínez (Oldest Living Person)
2007 Werner von Trapp, Austrian singer (Trapp Family Singers), dies at 91
2013 Erich Priebke (Nazi Commander)
2022: Angela Lansbury (Actress)
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I missed that debate between VP contenders Bush & Ferraro. However I voted for her. Even now I wonder if my vote was ever counted?