1851

Today in History 11/14 (Around the World in 72 Days)

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Nellie Bly circa 1890 (Public domain)(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 an 1890 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
Number of pages: 331
Genre: Non-fiction
Original language: English

American journalist Nellie Bly, in a publicity photo for her around-the-world voyage. Caption on the original photo reads:
A publicity photograph taken by the New York World newspaper to promote Bly’s around-the-world voyage
wiki/Around_the_World_in_Seventy-Two_Days
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(1889) Journalist Nellie Bly sets out for around-the-world trip.
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1840 | Monet’s birthday as Impressionist painting pioneer is born
Oscar-Claude Monet is born in Paris. He will show an interest in art at a young age, enrolling in Le Havre secondary school of the arts at age 10. Monet will go on to become one of the creators of impressionism, and some of his works will sell posthumously for tens of millions of dollars.
1851 | ‘Moby Dick’ in US as 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.
1969 | Rocket lifts off in second manned mission to moon as Apollo 12 blasts off
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.

Today in History 11/14/17

Apollo 12 being launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 14, 1969 (© NASA)(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: Alan Bean · Pete Conrad · Richard Gordon
Destination: Moon

Surveyor 3 - Apollo 12
Charles Conrad Jr., Apollo 12 Commander, examines the unmanned Surveyor III spacecraft during the second extravehicular activity (EVA-2). The Lunar Module (LM) "Intrepid" is in the right background. This picture was taken by astronaut Alan L. Bean, Lunar Module pilot. The "Intrepid" landed on the Moon's Ocean of Storms only 600 feet from Surveyor III. The television camera and several other components were taken from Surveyor III and brought back to earth for scientific analysis. Surveyor III soft-landed on the Moon on April 19, 1967.

wiki/Apollo_12
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Today in History 10/18 (BBC Founded)

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An early BBC broadcasting station at Savoy Hill in London in 1924 (© Central Press/Getty Images)(1922) The ‘Beeb’ begins its broadcasting reign
After two years of government and military control over a new innovation, radio broadcasting, the British public wants entertainment over their airwaves, and following hundreds of license requests and thousands of petition signatures, the British Broadcasting Company, or BBC, is founded.
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London and it is the world’s oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total, 16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting. The total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed-contract staff are included.
Website: www.bbc.co.uk
Customer service: +44 370 410 1060
Founded: Oct 18, 1922 · London, England
Revenue: £4.95 billion GBP
Headquarters: London, England
Founder: John Reith, 1st Baron Reith
Subsidiaries: BBC Worldwide · BBC Symphony Orchestra · BBC Philharmonic · BBC Sport · BBC One · BBC National Orchestra of Wales · BBC Two · BBC News · BBC World News · BBC Three · BBC Concert Orchestra · BBC Four · BBC Films · CBeebies · BBC HD

King George V making his annual Christmas Broadcast to the nation 1934.
King George V giving the 1934 Royal Christmas Message on BBC Radio. The annual message typically chronicles the year’s major events.
wiki/BBC
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(1922) The ‘Beeb’ begins its broadcasting reign.
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1851 | Tale of a white whale surfaces in England as ‘Moby-Dick’ published
A London publisher releases a 927-page epic sea yarn, ‘The Whale,’ by American author Herman Melville. The US edition will be published a month later, almost 300 pages shorter, and re-titled ‘Moby-Dick.’ What will later be hailed as one of the greatest novels ever written will initially sell poorly.
1945 | Argentina’s future president marries Evita as Juan and Eva marry
Actress Maria Eva Duarte stands with Colonel Juan Perón as they exchange wedding vows. Less than a year later Perón will be Argentina’s president and his wife First Lady, where she will rise to prominence on the world stage known better by her affectionate nickname, Evita.
1968 | Olympic athletes ousted as ‘Black Power’ salutes lead to Olympic suspensions
Two days after sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood atop the Olympic medal stand and raised their fists in a ‘Black Power’ salute, they are suspended from the US team and banned from Mexico City’s Olympic village. Their civil rights protest draws both criticism and praise.

Today in History 10/18/17

US athletes Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos extend gloved hands skyward in racial protest during the medal ceremony at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City (© AP)(1968) 'Black Power' salutes lead to Olympic suspensions
Two days after sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood atop the Olympic medal stand and raised their fists in a 'Black Power' salute, they are suspended from the US team and banned from Mexico City's Olympic village. Their civil rights protest draws both criticism and praise.
The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute was a political demonstration conducted by African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City. After having won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200-meter running event, they turned on the podium to face their flags, and to hear the American national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". Each athlete raised a black-gloved fist, and kept them raised until the anthem had finished. In addition, Smith, Carlos, and Australian silver medalist Peter Norman all wore human rights badges on their jackets. In his autobiography, Silent Gesture, Smith stated that the gesture was not a "Black Power" salute, but a "human rights salute". The event is regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympic Games.
Date: Oct 16, 1968
John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Peter Norman 1968
Gold medalist Tommie Smith (center) and bronze medalist John Carlos (right) showing the raised fist on the podium after the 200 m race at the 1968 Summer Olympics; both wear Olympic Project for Human Rights badges. Peter Norman (silver medalist, left) from Australia also wears an OPHR badge in solidarity with Smith and Carlos.

wiki/1968_Olympics_Black_Power_salute
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Today in History 09/18 (The New York Times)

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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

The first ever New York Times front page
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.
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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)

1902 Cadillac (© AP)(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

Cadillac adv 1921
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
Henry Tudor and Rhys ap Thomas' march through Wales
March through Wales, to Bosworth Field

wiki/Battle_of_Bosworth_Field
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Today in History 05/01/17

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
Minerval Insignia

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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