Today in History ^09/18 (The New York Times)

September 18, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

Front page of the New York Times from April 4, 1865 (© Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

(1851) The news world’s ‘Gray Lady’ is born

Whig Party politician Henry Raymond and ex-banker George Jones publish the inaugural issue of ‘The New-York Daily Times.’ It’ll become better known by a shortened name, ‘The New York Times,’ go on to win more than a hundred Pulitzer Prizes, and be deemed the US newspaper of record.

The New York Times is an American newspaper based in New York City with worldwide influence and readership. Founded in 1851, the paper has won 125 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper. The New York Times is ranked 17th in the world by circulation and 2nd in the US.

Headquarter: New York, NY
Owner: The New York Times Company
Subsidiaries: T Brand Studio · Rome Bureau S.r.l. · New York Times Digital · NYT Real Estate Company LLC · Madison Paper Industries · City & Suburban Delivery Systems, Inc. · Northern SC Paper Corp

First published issue of New-York Daily Times, on September 18, 1851
wiki/The_New_York_Times

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(1851) The news world’s ‘Gray Lady’ is born.
Also on this day,

1837 | Future jewelry giant Tiffany’s opens shop in Manhattan

Charles Lewis Tiffany uses $1,000 borrowed from his father to open a “stationery and fancy goods emporium” in downtown Manhattan. While the iconic blue box is there at the beginning, a switch less than a decade later from costume jewelry to the precious stuff turns the sales tide at Tiffany’s.

1870 | Geyser gives expedition a spectacular show as Old Faithful is named

A cone geyser that shoots thousands of gallons of boiling water 125 feet into the air is named ‘Old Faithful’ by members of an expedition. The geyser’s astounding show, repeated at regular intervals, will soon make it a star attraction, with some visitors using it to wash laundry, at what will soon be the world’s first national park.

1960 | Cuba’s new leader Fidel Castro pays a visit to the US in New York

Leftist revolutionary Fidel Castro, prime minister of Cuba after his forces ousted Batista’s government the year before, arrives in New York to meet with Americans sympathetic to his cause, and will later speak at the UN. His visit, at the height of Cold War, causes consternation in some and sparks celebration in others.

Today in History ^09/18/17

Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro waves to a crowd welcoming him to New York on September 18, 1960 (© AP)

(1960) Cuba's new leader pays a visit to the US

Leftist revolutionary Fidel Castro, prime minister of Cuba after his forces ousted Batista's government the year before, arrives in New York to meet with Americans sympathetic to his cause, and will later speak at the UN. His visit, at the height of Cold War, causes consternation in some and sparks celebration in others.

Fidel Castro arrives in New York City as the head of the Cuban delegation to the United Nations. Castro’s visit stirred indignation and admiration from various sectors of American society, and was climaxed by his speech to the United Nations on September 26.

By the time Castro arrived in New York City in September 1960, relations between the United States and Cuba were rapidly deteriorating. Since taking power in January 1959, Castro had infuriated the American government with his policies of nationalizing U.S. companies and investments in Cuba. Some American officials, such as Vice President Richard Nixon, believed that Castro was leaning perilously toward communism. (Castro did not publicly proclaim his adherence to communism until late-1961, when he declared that he was a “Marxist-Leninist”.) In March 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the CIA to begin training Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro’s regime. When the United States suspended the import of Cuban sugar in 1960, Castro’s government turned to the Soviet Union for economic assistance. The Russians were happy to oblige.

In September 1960, Castro led a delegation to New York City to address the United Nations General Assembly. He and his entourage caused an immediate sensation by deciding to stay at the Theresa Hotel in Harlem. While there, Castro met with a number of African-American leaders, including Malcolm X from the Nation of Islam and the poet Langston Hughes. On September 26, Castro delivered a blistering attack on what he termed American “aggression” and “imperialism.” For over four hours, Castro lambasted U.S. policy toward Cuba and other nations in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. The United States, he declared, had “decreed the destruction” of his revolutionary government.

Castro’s visit and lengthy public denunciation marked the final breaking point in relations between the U.S. and Cuba. In January 1961, the Eisenhower administration severed all diplomatic relations with Cuba. In April 1961, just a short time after taking office, President John F. Kennedy ordered the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the Cuban exile force, armed and trained by the CIA, landed in Cuba. The attack was a fiasco. Castro’s power in Cuba was solidified by his Bay of Pigs victory over the American “imperialists.” Castro remained the undisputed leader of the communist government in Cuba for over four decades; meanwhile, relations between the United States and Cuba remained strained. In late July 2006, an unwell Fidel Castro temporarily ceded power to his younger brother Raul. Fidel Castro officially stepped down in February 2008. In 2015, relations between the U.S. and Cuba were finally normalized, with the opening of embassies and diplomatic missions in both countries and the easing of travel restrictions. Castro died on November 25, 2016, at 90.

wiki/Fidel_Castro
history/castro-arrives-in-new-york

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Today in History ^08/22 (Cadillac Auto Founded)

August 22, 2018 by GµårÐïåñ Leave a Comment

(1902) Henry Ford ditches his second company and Cadillac is born

Named for the man who founded Detroit in 1801, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe Cadillac, Michigan’s newest car company launches. The Cadillac Automobile Company rises from the ashes of the Henry Ford Company, after Ford leaves his company over a squabble with investors.

Cadillac, formally the Cadillac Motor Car Division, is a division of the U.S.-based General Motors that markets luxury vehicles worldwide. Its primary markets are the United States, Canada, and China, but Cadillac-branded vehicles are distributed in 34 additional markets worldwide. Historically, Cadillac automobiles have always held a place at the top of the luxury field within the United States. In 2017, Cadillac’s U.S. sales were 156,440 vehicles and its global sales were 356,467 vehicles.

Founded: Aug 22, 1902
President: Steve Carlisle (Since 2018)
Founders: Henry M. Leland · William Murphy · Lemuel Bowen
Phone number: +1 8003334223
Parent organization: General Motors

A 1921 Cadillac advertisement
wiki/Cadillac

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(1902) Henry Ford ditches his second company and Cadillac is born.
Also on this day,

1485 | Death of a king ends a dynasty and a three-decade war

The York white rose and the Lancaster red rose meet at the Battle of Bosworth Field, where England’s King Richard III is killed by blows to his crown-encircled head, ending the royal Plantagenet line. Henry Tudor’s triumph will usher in a new dynasty as the Wars of the Roses fade.

1851 | ‘America’ sails to victory

The ‘Auld Mug’ trophy is awarded for the first time to the winners of a sailing race around England’s Isle of Wight. The schooner ‘America’ sails into first place with an ample lead, and so the competition between the world’s best racing yachts will be known as the ‘America’s Cup.’

1986 | ‘Stand by Me’ explores childhood friendships

Rob Reiner’s ‘Stand by Me’ hits theaters. Based on Stephen King’s novella ‘The Body,’ the movie tells the story of four boys searching for a missing boy’s corpse. ‘Stand by Me’ will help make stars out of Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell, and earn more than $52 million at the box office.

Today in History ^08/22/17

Painting depicting Richard III (left) during the Battle of Bosworth on Aug 22, 1485 (© Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

(1485) Death of a king ends a dynasty and a three-decade war

The York white rose and the Lancaster red rose meet at the Battle of Bosworth Field, where England's King Richard III is killed by blows to his crown-encircled head, ending the royal Plantagenet line. Henry Tudor's triumph will usher in a new dynasty as the Wars of the Roses fade.

The Battle of Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the Houses of Lancaster and York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, by his victory became the first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty. His opponent, Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed in the battle. Historians consider Bosworth Field to mark the end of the Plantagenet dynasty, making it a defining moment of English and Welsh history.

Date: Aug 22, 1485

March through Wales, to Bosworth Field

wiki/Battle_of_Bosworth_Field

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Today in History ^05/01/17

May 1, 2017 by GµårÐïåñ

Initiation of an Illuminatus, published circa 1867 (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

(1776) Bavarian Illuminati society is founded

With Freemason membership beyond his means, Adam Weishaupt founds his own secret society to promote anti-clerical and pro-Enlightenment ideas, the Order of Illuminati. The society will inspire both deep thought and wild conspiracy theories.

The Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 May 1776. The society’s goals were to oppose superstition, obscurantism, religious influence over public life and abuses of state power. “The order of the day,” they wrote in their general statutes, “is to put an end to the machinations of the purveyors of injustice, to control them without dominating them”. The Illuminati—along with Freemasonry and other secret societies—were outlawed through edict, by the Bavarian ruler, Charles Theodore, with the encouragement of the Roman Catholic Church, in 1784, 1785, 1787 and 1790. In the several years following, the group was vilified by conservative and religious critics who claimed that they continued underground and were responsible for the French Revolution.

Founded: 1776
Ceased operation: 1785
Headquarters: Ingolstadt, Germany
Founder: Adam Weishaupt

wiki/Illuminati

Coloured lithograph showing the Crystal Palace of The Great Exhibition in London in 1851 (© SSPL/Getty Images)

(1851) The Great Exhibition displays 19th-century might and majesty

The Great Exhibition in London’s Hyde Park opens with 13,000 exhibitors of the finest achievements in industry, science, and the arts. The displays stretch over 8 miles of tables inside a massive glass and iron structure dubbed ‘The Crystal Palace.’ The show will attract 6 million visitors.

The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October 1851. It was the first in a series of World’s Fairs, exhibitions of culture and industry that became popular in the 19th century, and it was a much anticipated event. The Great Exhibition was organized by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, husband of the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria. It was attended by famous people of the time, including Charles Darwin, Samuel Colt, members of the Orléanist Royal Family and the writers Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot and Alfred Tennyson. Music for the opening was under the direction of Sir George Thomas Smart and the continuous music from the exhibited organs for the Queen’s procession was “under the superintendence of William Sterndale Bennett”.

Start date: May 01, 1851
End date: Oct 15, 1851

wiki/The_Great_Exhibition

Engraving of police officers dispersing the strike of streetcar employees in New York in 1886 (© Prisma/UIG/Getty Images)

(1886) Workers strike and rally for rights in major US cities

Sixty-hour workweeks at poverty wages inspire marchers to mass in Chicago, New York, Milwaukee, and other American cities. Among their demands are an 8-hour workday and better labor conditions. The strikes and rallies will inspire International Worker’s Day.

On May 1, 1886, 350,000 workers staged a nationwide work stoppage to demand the adoption of a standard eight-hour workday. Forty thousand workers struck in Chicago, Illinois; ten thousand struck in New York; eleven thousand struck in Detroit, Michigan. As many as thirty-two thousand workers struck in Cincinnati, Ohio, although some of these workers had been out on strike for several months before May 1.

The purpose of the May Day Strike was to bring pressure on employers and state governments to create an eight-hour workday. During this period, workers commonly spent twelve or more hours of each day at work. Unions, especially the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada — the predecessor of the American Federation of Labor, encouraged workers to strike on May 1, 1886, to demonstrate the need for an eight-hour day. The strike was to last a single day, although numerous workers remained away from their jobs for several weeks.

Not all unions condoned the May Day Strike. The Knights of Labor preferred peaceful negotiations and boycotts to secure better working conditions for employees. Terence Powderly, the leader of the Knights of Labor at this time, prohibited Knights of Labor members from participating. Despite Powderly’s proclamation, thousands of his union’s members struck on May 1. Numerous members of the Knights of Labor opposed the more peaceful tactics of Powderly.

The May Day Strike had some success. In Cincinnati, some employers, hoping to avoid the strike, granted their workers an eight-hour day. Other employers increased workers’ pay. Throughout the late 1800s, May Day Strikes became commonplace. Very quickly similar strikes occurred around the world. The May Day Strikes helped convince United States President Grover Cleveland to implement Labor Day, a holiday that celebrates the American worker. Numerous countries still celebrate May Day today.

/w/May_Day_Strike_of_1886

The Empire State Building and the Manhattan skyline viewed from the Metropolitan Life Insurance tower. (© NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images)

(1931) World’s tallest building is dedicated in New York City

At 102 stories high, the towering Art Deco-inspired Empire State Building is now the tallest manmade structure on the planet, and dominates midtown Manhattan’s skyline. It will reign as the world’s tallest building for nearly four decades, until the original World Trade Center overtakes it in 1970.

The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper located on Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets in Midtown, Manhattan, New York City. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet, and with its antenna included, it stands a total of 1,454 feet tall. Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world’s tallest building for nearly 40 years, from its completion in early 1931 until the topping out of the original World Trade Center’s North Tower in late 1970. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Empire State Building was again the tallest building in New York, until One World Trade Center reached a greater height in April 2012. The Empire State Building is currently the fifth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States and the 34th-tallest in the world. It is also the fifth-tallest freestanding structure in the Americas. When measured by pinnacle height, it is the fourth-tallest building in the United States.

Website: www.esbnyc.com
Address: 350 5th Ave, New York, NY 10118
Phone: (212) 736-3100
Opened: May 01, 1931
Floors: 102
Height: 1,250 feet (381 m) (Architectural) · 1,454 feet (443.20 m) (Tip)

wiki/Empire_State_Building

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Today in History ^12/24/16

December 24, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1851) Massive fire devastates Library of Congress

A large fire ravages the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, destroying about two-thirds of the collection, including books from Thomas Jefferson’s personal library. Congress will open its wallets to replace the lost volumes over the next several years.
The Library of Congress is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. The Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, which houses the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. Address: 101 Independence Ave, Washington, D.C. 20540 Phone: (202) 707-9779 Founded: Apr 24, 1800 · District of Columbia, United States Founder: John Adams Architects: Paul J. Pelz · John L. Smithmeyer · Edward Pearce Casey . Alfred Easton Poor — Source: wiki/Library_of_Congress
(1865) Ku Klux Klan is founded in Tennessee

In the aftermath of the Civil War, several Confederate veterans establish the secret vigilante group to threaten and murder freed blacks and their supporters and to restore white supremacy. The name reportedly is derived from the Greek word for circle, “kyklos.” Soon the KKK will spread to every state in the American South.
The Ku Klux Klan, or simply “the Klan”, is the name of three distinct movements in the United States that have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration, and, especially in later iterations, Nordicism, anti-Catholicism, and antisemitism, historically expressed through terrorism aimed at groups or individuals whom they opposed. All three movements have called for the “purification” of American society, and all are considered right wing extremist organizations. Founded: 1915 Founders: Frank O. McCord · John C. Lester · J. Calvin Jones · Richard R. Reed · James R. Crowe · John B. Kennedy — Source: wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan
(1955) NORAD’s newest mission: Tracking Santa

An ad in a Colorado newspaper gives children Santa’s phone number, but a misprint routes calls to a red phone at the NORAD air defense command center. Strait-laced Col. Harry Shoup adjusts on the fly and tells staff to give the kids Santa’s “current location.” A tradition is born.
NORAD Tracks Santa is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program, which has existed since 1955, produced under the auspices of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Every year on Christmas Eve, “NORAD Tracks Santa” purports to track Santa Claus as he leaves the North Pole and delivers presents to children around the world. First occurred: 1955 — Source: wiki/NORAD_Tracks_Santa
(1979) Soviet Union invades Afghanistan

Soviet forces enter the country under the guise of enforcing the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty. Soon the Soviets will control Kabul and other cities, though guerilla fighters, the mujahidin, will hold onto the countryside. After nine years, the Soviets will withdraw, defeated.
The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups fought against the Soviet Army and allied Afghan forces. Between 850,000–2 million civilians were killed and millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees, mostly to Pakistan and Iran. The war is considered part of the Cold War. Start date: Dec 24, 1979 End date: Feb 15, 1989 — Source: wiki/Soviet–Afghan_War
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Today in History ^11/14/16

November 14, 2016 by GµårÐïåñ

(1851) Herman Melville’s story of the white whale is published in the US

	‘Call me Ishmael’ first appears in print in the United States, the opening line of a new novel by a former sailor. An earlier version of ‘Moby-Dick,’ entitled ‘The Whale,’ had been published in England. The novel will flop on both sides of the Atlantic, but long after Melville’s death, it will be hailed as a classic..
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by Herman Melville, in which Ishmael narrates the monomaniacal quest of Ahab, captain of the whaler Pequod, for revenge on the albino sperm whale Moby Dick, which on a previous voyage destroyed Ahab’s ship and severed his leg at the knee. Although the novel was a commercial failure and out of print at the time of the author’s death in 1891, its reputation grew immensely during the twentieth century. D. H. Lawrence called it “one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world,” and “the greatest book of the sea ever written.” Moby-Dick is considered a Great American Novel and an outstanding work of the Romantic period in America and the American Renaissance. “Call me Ishmael” is one of world literature’s most famous opening sentences. The product of a year and a half of writing, the book is dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne, “in token of my admiration for his genius,” and draws on Melville’s experience at sea, on his reading in whaling literature, and on literary inspirations such as Shakespeare and the Bible. Author: Herman Melville First published: Nov 29, 2014 — Source: wiki/Moby-Dick — Additional Source: wiki/Herman_Melville
(1889) Journalist Nellie Bly sets out for around-the-world trip

A reporter ahead of her time, Nellie Bly begins what will be a successful attempt to travel around the world in less than 80 days, putting Jules Verne’s fictional story ‘Around the World in 80 days’ to a real-life test. Bly will complete the journey in 72 days, travelling alone for bulk of it. .
Around the World in Seventy-Two Days is a book by journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, writing under her pseudonym, Nellie Bly. The chronicle details her 72-day trip around the world, which was inspired by the book, Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne. She carried out the journey for Joseph Pulitzer’s tabloid newspaper, the New York World. Author: Nellie Bly First published: 1890 Genre: Non-fiction — Source: wiki/Around_the_World_in_Seventy-Two_Days
(1969) Rocket lifts off in second manned mission to moon

	Apollo 12 takes off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with three astronauts aboard: Charles Conrad, Jr.; Richard Gordon, Jr.; and Alan Bean. A few days later, Conrad and Bean will become the third and fourth persons to walk on the moon’s surface..
Apollo 12 was the sixth manned flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, four months after Apollo 11. Mission commander Charles “Pete” Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean performed just over one day and seven hours of lunar surface activity while Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon remained in lunar orbit. The landing site for the mission was located in the southeastern portion of the Ocean of Storms. Mission start: Nov 14, 1969 Mission end: Nov 24, 1969 Space program: Apollo program Astronauts: Pete Conrad · Alan Bean · Richard Gordon Destination: Moon — Source: wiki/Apollo_12
(1973) Britain’s Princess Anne marries in a televised ceremony

Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, marries a commoner, Capt. Mark Phillips, in Westminster Abbey. An estimated 500 million people tune in to the worldwide broadcast of the ceremony. The couple will go on to have two children but will eventually divorce..
Anne, Princess Royal, KG KT GCVO GCStJ QSO GCL CD (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession, behind her mother and elder brother Charles. She rose to second after her mother’s accession, but is currently 12th in line. Anne is known for her charitable work, and is patron of over 200 organizations. She is also known for equestrian talents; she won two silver medals (1975) and one gold medal (1971) at the European Eventing Championships, and is the first member of the British Royal Family to have competed in the Olympic Games. Princess Anne has held the title of Princess Royal since 1987 and is its seventh holder. Anne was married to Captain Mark Phillips in 1973; they divorced in 1992. They have two children and three grandchildren. In 1992, within months of her divorce, Anne married Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, whom she had met while he served as her mother’s equerry between 1986 and 1989. — Source: wiki/Anne,_Princess_Royal
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Today in History 09/18/17

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Today in History ^09/18/17

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