1955

Today in History 12/24 (Library of Congress Fire)

Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson building in Washington DC circa 1915 (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [LC-DIG-ds-07072])(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 National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia. The Library’s functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol. The Library of Congress has claims to be the largest library in the world. Its “collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages.”
Address: 101 Independence Ave, Washington, D.C. 20540
Customer service: (202) 707-5000
Founded: 1800 · Washington, D.C., United States
Founder: John Adams
Architects: Paul J. Pelz · John L. Smithmeyer · Edward Pearce Casey · Alfred Easton Poor
Awards: Peabody Award (2012)

Thomas Jefferson Building Aerial by Carol M. Highsmith
Thomas Jefferson Building and part of the John Adams Building (upper-right)
wiki/Library_of_Congress
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(1851) Massive fire devastates Library of Congress.
Also on this day,

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.
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.
1966 | Yule log debuts as a burning log starts a TV holiday tradition
New York’s WPIX, Channel 11, replaces its regularly scheduled programming with Christmas music and a shot of a log burning in a fireplace, shot in Gracie Mansion. Viewers cozy up to their TVs, and a tradition is born that will extend to other TV markets and beyond.

Today in History 12/24/17

Group of men wearing hats with 'KKK' in large letters circa 1870 (Public domain)(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, commonly called the KKK or simply the Klan, is three distinct movements in the United States that have advocated extremist reactionary positions such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration and—especially in later iterations—Nordicism, anti-Catholicism and antisemitism. Historically, the KKK used terrorism—both physical assault and murder—against 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: John C. Lester · J. Calvin Jones · Richard R. Reed · John B. Kennedy · Frank O. McCord · James R. Crowe

KKK night rally in Chicago
KKK night rally in Chicago, c. 1920 - Altar with K eagle in black robe at a meeting of nearly 30,000 Ku Klux Klan members from Chicago and northern Illinois.

wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan
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Today in History 12/01 (Rosa Parks)

Mugshot of Rosa Parks in 1955 (© Universal History Archive/Getty images)(1955) Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man
Cops arrest the African-American seamstress for violating Montgomery, Alabama’s racial segregation laws that require black patrons to sit in the back of a bus and give up their seats to whites. The incident leads to a bus boycott, spearheaded by a young minister, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The United States Congress has called her “the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement”.
Lived: Feb 04, 1913 – Oct 24, 2005 (age 92)
Height: 5′ 3″
Spouse: Raymond Parks (m. 1932 – 1977)
Education: Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes · Highlander Folk School
Parents: Leona McCauley (Mother) · James McCauley (Father)
Siblings: Sylvester McCauley (Brother)
Highlights
  • 1932: In 1932, Rosa married Raymond Parks, a barber from Montgomery.

  • 1943: Initially, she did not notice that the bus driver was the same man, James F. Blake, who had left her in the rain in 1943.

  • 1955: On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake’s order to give up her seat in the “colored section” to a white passenger, after the whites-only section was filled.

  • 1992: In 1992, Parks published Rosa Parks: My Story, an autobiography aimed at younger readers, which recounts her life leading to her decision to keep her seat on the bus.

  • 2005: The lawsuit was settled on April 15, 2005 (six months and nine days before Parks’ death); OutKast, their producer and record labels paid Parks an undisclosed cash settlement.

  • 2005: Parks died of natural causes on October 24, 2005, at the age of 92, in her apartment on the east side of Detroit.

Photograph of Rosa Parks with Dr. Martin Luther King jr. (ca. 1955)
Photograph of Rosa Parks with Dr. Martin Luther King jr. (ca. 1955) Mrs. Rosa Parks altered the negro progress in Montgomery, Alabama, 1955, by the bus boycott she began. National Archives record ID: 306-PSD-65-1882 (Box 93). Source: Ebony Magazine
wiki/Rosa_Parks
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(1955) Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man.
Also on this day,

1934 | ‘Great Purge’ begins with assassination of Party leader as Sergei Kirov murdered
Sergei Kirov is gunned down at Communist Party headquarters in Leningrad. Many suspect Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is behind the assassination, though a connection will not be proved. Kirov’s death, however, marks the beginning of Stalin’s ‘Great Purge,’ in which a million or more people will be executed.
1959 | Antarctica treaty turns Antarctica into a scientific preserve
Twelve countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign a treaty that prohibits any military activity on Antarctica. The agreement stipulates that the continent will be used only for scientific research. It will be considered the first arms control agreement of the Cold War.
1990 | Chunnel breaks through as Workers drill breakthrough hole in Chunnel project
England is now connected to the European mainland via a tunnel that runs deep under the English Channel. When it opens in 1994, the Chunnel project will have taken 13,000 workers about six years to complete the 31-mile long tunnel that stretches from the English town of Folkestone to Coquelles in France.

Today in History 12/01/17

Flags of the original 12 signatory nations of the Antarctic Treaty fly at McMurdo Station, Antarctica (© Rob Jones/National Science Foundation via Getty images)(1959) Treaty turns Antarctica into a scientific preserve
Twelve countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign a treaty that prohibits any military activity on Antarctica. The agreement stipulates that the continent will be used only for scientific research. It will be considered the first arms control agreement of the Cold War.
The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System, regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. For the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude. The treaty, entering into force in 1961 and having 53 parties as of 2016, sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve, establishes freedom of scientific investigation and bans military activity on that continent. The treaty was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War. The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat headquarters is located in Buenos Aires Argentina, since September 2004.
Antarctic Treaty parties
[ORANGE] Parties with consulting status making a claim to Antarctic territory [YELLOW] Parties with consulting status reserving the right to make a territorial claim [BLUE] Other parties with consulting status [GREEN] Parties without consulting status [RED] Non-party UN member states and observers

wiki/Antarctic_Treaty_System
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