1863

Today in History 12/14 (South Pole Expedition)

Four of the five members of the Roald Amundsen expedition view their conquest at the South Pole, December, 1911 (© Lordprice Collection/Alamy)(1911) Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reaches South Pole
Amundsen’s five-person team and 16 dogs beat English explorer Robert Scott to the pole by about a month. All of Amundsen’s crew and 11 dogs will return safely to basecamp in mid-January. Scott will be less fortunate. He and his team will die just 11 miles from a resupply camp.
The first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base, and later knew that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey.
Date: 1910

Members of Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition 1910-12 at the pole itself, December 1911, (from left to right): Roald Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel and Oscar Wisting
Roald Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel and Oscar Wisting (l–r) at “Polheim”, the tent erected at the South Pole on 16 December 1911. The top flag is the Flag of Norway; the bottom is marked “Fram”. Photograph by Olav Bjaaland.
wiki/Amundsen’s_South_Pole_expedition
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(1911) Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reaches South Pole.
Also on this day,

1863 | President Abraham Lincoln pardons his sister-in-law
Lincoln pardons his relative, the widow of a Confederate general. When a Union general grouses about her presence at the White House, Lincoln retorts, “My wife and I are in the habit of choosing our own guests. We do not need from our friends either advice or assistance in the matter.”
1977 | ‘Saturday Night Fever’ struts onto the world stage
The John Travolta film premieres in New York to critics’ applause. Critic Gene Siskel will call it his favorite film ever (he’ll watch it 17 times). Travolta will earn a best actor Oscar nomination for the role of a Brooklyn teen with good dancefloor moves, and the soundtrack will turn the disco craze up full blast.
2012 | Gunman kills 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary
In Newtown, Connecticut, Adam Lanza, 20, shoots and kills his mother and then drives to his former school, where he murders 20 first-graders and six staff members. Lanza commits suicide as the police close in. The Sandy Hook tragedy is among the worst mass shootings in US history and sparks new debate about gun laws.

Today in History 12/14/17

Undated photo of Emilie Todd Helm (© Helm and Todd family photographs and papers, 1850-1951, Univ. of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center, http://exploreuk.uky.edu)(1863) President Abraham Lincoln pardons his sister-in-law
Lincoln pardons his relative, the widow of a Confederate general. When a Union general grouses about her presence at the White House, Lincoln retorts, "My wife and I are in the habit of choosing our own guests. We do not need from our friends either advice or assistance in the matter."
Benjamin Hardin HelmBenjamin Hardin Helm was a Kentucky politician, attorney, Confederate brigadier general, and a brother-in-law of Abraham Lincoln. He was also the son of Kentucky Governor John L. Helm. Helm was born in Bardstown, Kentucky. He attended the Kentucky Military Institute and the West Point Military Academy and then went to study law at the University of Louisville and Harvard University. He served as a state legislator and the state's attorney in Kentucky. He also served as the assistant inspector-general for the Kentucky state guard. Helm was offered the position of Union Army paymaster by his brother-in-law, President Abraham Lincoln, a position which he declined. Helm felt it was an honor to serve in the Confederate States Army, where he was initially a colonel and later promoted to brigadier general. Helm commanded the 1st Kentucky Brigade more commonly known as The Orphan Brigade. He died on the battlefield during the Battle of Chickamauga. Helm was married to Emilie Todd, the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.
Born: Jun 02, 1831 · Bardstown, KY
Died: Sep 21, 1863 · Catoosa County, GA
Children: Katherine Helm (Daughter) · Benjamin Hardin Helm, II (Son) · Elodie Lewis
Education: United States Military Academy
Parents: John L. Helm (Father)
Highlights
  • 1831: The son of lawyer and politician John L. Helm and Lucinda Barbour Hardin, Benjamin Hardin Helm was born in Bardstown, Kentucky on June 2, 1831.

  • 1846: In the winter of 1846, at age 15, Helm enrolled at the Kentucky Military Institute, where he remained for three months.

  • 1856: In 1856, Helm married Emilie Todd, a half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.

  • 1860: In 1860, he was appointed assistant inspector-general of the Kentucky State Guard, which he was active in organizing.

  • 1861: Helm was commissioned a colonel on October 19, 1861, and served under Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

  • 1862: He was promoted to brigadier general on March 14, 1862 and, three weeks later, received a new assignment to raise the 3rd Kentucky Brigade, in the division of Major General John C. Breckinridge.


Brigadier General Benjamin Hardin Helm (1831-1863)
Brigadier General Benjamin Hardin Helm (1831-1863)

wiki/Benjamin_Hardin_Helm
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Today in History 11/19 (Geneva Summit)

(From left) President Ronald Reagan talks to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on November 19, 1985 in Geneva (© Deugherty/AP)(1985) Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet for first time
At a summit in Geneva, Switzerland, the US president and Soviet leader discuss the nuclear arms race and diplomatic relations. It had been several years since leaders from the two superpowers had met, but Reagan and Gorbachev will establish a personal rapport that will help thaw the Cold War.
The Geneva Summit of 1985 was a Cold War-era meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. It was held on November 19 and 20, 1985, between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The two leaders met for the first time to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the arms race.
US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachov at the first Summit in Geneva, Switzerland
Reagan and Gorbachev at the Geneva Summit in 1985
wiki/Geneva_Summit_(1985)
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(1985) Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet for first time.
Also on this day,

1863 | US President Abraham Lincoln delivers a stirring memorial speech with Gettysburg Address
In a two-minute speech, Lincoln captures why he thinks the Union must win the Civil War — not just to save the nation but to deliver equality to all men, a “new birth of freedom,” as he puts it. He delivers this address at the dedication of a cemetery at the site of one of war’s the bloodiest battles.
1919 | ‘Place of refuge’ as Zion National Park established
President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill establishing Zion (named Zion National Monument the previous year) as Utah’s first national park. The designation will lead to infrastructure improvements, including the Zion Mount Carmel Highway, increasing accessibility and tourism.
1959 | It’s over for the Edsel as Ford announces that it’s stopping production
It’s the end of the line for the Edsel, the Ford Motor Co. car named after Henry Ford’s son, known for his elegant style. Despite its hyped introduction, the Edsel has been ridiculed for its horse-collar grill—aka the toilet seat grill (the jokes got cruder from there). ‘Edsel’ will become a byword for failure.

Today in History 11/19/17

(From left) Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Jerusalem on November 19, 1977 (© David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)(1977) Egypt's Anwar Sadat is first Arab leader to visit Israel
The Egyptian president meets with Prime Minister Menachem Begin. On the trip, he will also speak at the Knesset on how the two countries can achieve peace. Sadat will go on to win the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize, with Begin, for their efforts to stabilize the Middle East.
The Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., United States on 26 March 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords. The Egypt–Israel treaty was signed by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, and witnessed by United States president Jimmy Carter.
Camp David, Menachem Begin, Anwar Sadat, 1978
Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter and Anwar Sadat at Camp David, 1978.

wiki/Egypt–Israel_Peace_Treaty
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