1968

Today in History 10/26 (Gunfight at the O.K. Corral)

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Site of the 1881 'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral' in Tombstone, Arizona (© Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)(1881) Shots ring out near a corral in Tombstone
It’s three hours past high noon on the streets of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, when lawmen ‘Doc’ Holliday and the Earp Brothers meet the Clanton-McLaury gang and their feud erupts. Thirty seconds later three are dead, three are wounded, and the Gunfight at the OK Corral enters Wild West lore.
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a 30-second shootout between lawmen and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. It is generally regarded as the most famous shootout in the history of the American Wild West. The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud, with Cowboys Billy Claiborne, Ike and Billy Clanton, and Tom and Frank McLaury on one side and town Marshal Virgil Earp, Special Policeman Morgan Earp, Special Policeman Wyatt Earp, and temporary policeman Doc Holliday on the other side. All three Earp brothers had been the target of repeated death threats made by the Cowboys, who objected to the Earps’ interference in their illegal activities. The four law men faced five Cowboys. Billy Clanton and both McLaury brothers were killed. Ike Clanton claimed that he was unarmed and ran from the fight, along with Billy Claiborne and Wes Fuller. Virgil, Morgan, and Doc Holliday were wounded, but Wyatt Earp was unharmed. The shootout has come to represent a period of the American Old West when the frontier was virtually an open range for outlaws, largely unopposed by law enforcement officers who were spread thin over vast territories.
Date: Oct 26, 1881

Tombstone, Arizona in 1881 photographed by C. S. Fly
Tombstone, Arizona in 1881 photographed by C. S. Fly. An ore wagon at the center of the image is pulled by 15 or 16 mules leaving town for one of the mines or on the way to a mill. The town had a population of about 4,000 that year with 600 dwellings and two church buildings. There were 650 men working in the nearby mines. The Tough Nut hoisting works are in the right foreground. The firehouse is behind the ore wagons, with the Russ House hotel just to the left of it. The dark, tall building above the Russ House is the Grand Hotel, and the top of Schieffelin Hall (1881) is visible to the right.
wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral
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(1881) Shots ring out near a corral in Tombstone.
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1825 | New York opens a manmade waterway to the west as Erie Canal opens
First proposed in 1804 as a navigable link between Manhattan’s harbor traffic and the Great Lakes, a grand engineering feat stretching 425 miles is ready for business. An opening day flotilla sails down the length of the Erie Canal, with celebratory cannon shots marking its progress.
1955 | A new ‘Voice’ as first issue of ‘Village Voice’ published
A new arts and culture newspaper is published from an apartment in New York’s Greenwich Village, pioneering the concept of an alternative weekly. It will win three Pulitzer Prizes and help launch the careers of many notable writers before publishing its final print edition on September 21, 2017.
1968 | Olympian George Foreman takes gold in Mexico City
Rising from a difficult childhood in Texas, George Foreman shows his mettle at the Mexico City Olympics, knocking out Soviet Ionas Chepulis to win the Heavyweight Boxing gold medal. The champ will go on to win professional titles and later find big success with a little grill.

Today in History 10/26/17

'The Village Voice' newspaper (© Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)(1955) First issue of 'Village Voice' published
A new arts and culture newspaper is published from an apartment in New York's Greenwich Village, pioneering the concept of an alternative weekly. It will win three Pulitzer Prizes and help launch the careers of many notable writers before publishing its final print edition on September 21, 2017.
The Village Voice is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher and Norman Mailer, the Voice began as a platform for the creative community of New York City. Since its founding, The Village Voice has received three Pulitzer Prizes, the National Press Foundation Award and the George Polk Award. The Village Voice has hosted a variety of writers and artists, including writer Ezra Pound, cartoonist Lynda Barry, and art critics Robert Christgau, Andrew Sarris, and J. Hoberman. In addition to daily coverage through its website and a weekly print edition that circulates in New York City, the Voice issues a weekly digital edition of its magazine.
Website: www.villagevoice.com
Founded: Oct 26, 1955
Headquarter: Manhattan, NY
Owner: Village Voice Media
1955 October cover The Village Voice
1955 October cover The Village Voice

wiki/The_Village_Voice
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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 10/02 (North Cascades National Park)

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A ceremony at The White House on Oct. 2, 1968 (© Charles Tasnadi/AP)(1968) North Cascades National Park established
After years of debate over whether the region should be controlled by the Forest Service or National Park Service, the North Cascades National Park Act is signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. The park will include the North Cascades Range mountains as well as more than 300 glaciers.
North Cascades National Park is a United States national park in the state of Washington. At more than 500,000 acres, North Cascades National Park is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Park consists of a northern and southern section, bisected by the Skagit River that flows through Ross Lake National Recreation Area. Lake Chelan National Recreation Area lies on the southern border of the south unit of the park. In addition to the two national recreation areas, other protected lands including several national forests and wilderness areas, as well as Canadian provincial parks in British Columbia nearly surround the park. North Cascades National Park features the rugged mountain peaks of the North Cascades Range, the most expansive glacial system in the contiguous United States, the headwaters of numerous waterways, and vast forests with the highest degree of flora biodiversity of any US national park.
Website: www.nps.gov/noca/
Address: 810 State Route 20, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284
Phone: (360) 854-7200
Annual visitors: 30,326 (2017)
Travel tip: The least visited national park in Washington, it has a great deal to offer including a spectacular rain forest. @tripadvisor
Nearest city: Mount Vernon

Stephen Tyng Mather (first director of the United States National Park Service)
Stephen Mather, (seated at center) the first Director of the National Park Service, is the namesake for the vast wilderness area that now encompasses almost all of the park.
wiki/North_Cascades_National_Park
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(1968) North Cascades National Park established.
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1919 | President Wilson is felled by a stroke
Less than a year after the close of the First World War, and just weeks after collapsing during a hectic speaking tour in support of the Treaty of Versailles, the 28th US president suffers a catastrophic stroke. Woodrow Wilson is partially paralyzed and will never completely recover.
1959 | TV’s next stop is a show of shadow and substance as ‘Twilight Zone’ premieres
‘The place is here, the time is now, and the journey into the shadows that we’re about to watch could be our journey.’ So intones Rod Serling as his new anthology series, ‘The Twilight Zone,’ premieres on CBS. The science-fiction-fantasy show will develop a cult following with this and its 155 additional episodes.
1995 | Alanis Morissette’s ‘Jagged Little Pill’ reaches No. 1 on Billboard
Three months after releasing her third album, Alanis Morissette becomes the first Canadian woman to sit atop the Billboard 200 album chart. Billboard will later name ‘Jagged Little Pill’ the No. 1 album of the 90s.

Today in History 10/02/17

Illustration of the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution (© Kean Collection/Getty Images)(1835) A Texas revolt pits provincials against Mexico's army
The town of Gonzales, Mexico sees its mostly Texian citizens erupt in an armed revolt when the Mexican military tries to seize their weapons. The Battle of Gonzales will be the first salvo in the Texas Revolution, a struggle that sees Santa Ana's troops fight Sam Houston's soldiers.
The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army soldiers.
Date: Oct 02, 1835
Texas Flag Come and Take It
Texas Flag—Come and Take It. This flag was raised by Texas settlers at the Battle of Gonzales in October 1835 after Mexico attempted to retrieve a cannon which had been granted to the town of Gonzales for protection against raids by native tribes.

wiki/Battle_of_Gonzales
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Today in History 08/28 (St. Augustine)

Drawing of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1565) Spanish explorer finds site for an American settlement
Rushing to beat Huguenot French settlers, Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés speeds his fleet towards what will become ‘La Florida,’ where he today sights land, and will soon settle St. Augustine. It will become one of the oldest continuously settled European-founded cities in the continental US.
St. Augustine is a city in the Southeastern United States, on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement within the borders of the continental United States.
Population: 14,280 (2016)
Area: 12.76 sq miles
Travel tip: Saint Augustine is a luxurious, romantic vacation spot—you’ll find classic hotels and intimate restaurants. Those can be a dime a dozen, though. What sets Saint Augustine apart is its history—it’s the oldest European settlement in the U.S. And nowhere else in the world can you taste the waters of the Fountain of Youth … @tripadvisor
Colleges and universities: Flagler College · University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences · Saint Joseph College of Florida · First Coast Technical College

St. Augustine, Florida
Top, left to right: Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine Light, Flagler College, Lightner Museum, statue near the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, Old St. Johns County Jail
wiki/St._Augustine,_Florida
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(1565) Spanish explorer finds site for an American settlement.
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1898 | Indigestion gets an intervention with a brand-new brew Pepsi-Cola
Pharmacist Caleb Bradham has developed a digestion aid at his North Carolina drug store concocted with sugar, water, caramel, lemon, nutmeg, and what he terms ‘rare oils.’ Today he names it ‘Pepsi-Cola,’ a play on the word ‘dyspepsia,’ the ailment that the drink purports to soothe.
1963 | Dr. King delivers a speech of dreams in Washington, DC
Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, his voice ringing out to some 250,000 listeners, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers a stirring speech that will galvanize the civil rights movement and be heralded as one of the greatest orations in American history.
1968 | Protesters clash with police at Chicago convention
Tens of thousands of anti-war activists and an even larger number of police officers and federal troops meet in a fray of batons, fists, and tear gas in Chicago, and TV cameras capture the melee as it arrives on the doorstep of the Democratic National Convention at the Hilton Hotel.

Today in History 08/28/17

Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses the crowd during the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, where he gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech (© Central Press/Getty Images)(1963) Dr. King delivers a speech of dreams in Washington, DC
Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, his voice ringing out to some 250,000 listeners, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers a stirring speech that will galvanize the civil rights movement and be heralded as one of the greatest orations in American history.
"I Have a Dream" is a public speech delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he calls for an end to racism in the United States and called for civil and economic rights. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech was a defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement.
wiki/I_Have_a_Dream
An officer from the Chicago police department struggles with a protestor outside the Democratic National Convention headquarters on Aug 28, 1968 (© APA/Getty Images)(1968) Protesters clash with police at Chicago convention
Tens of thousands of anti-war activists and an even larger number of police officers and federal troops meet in a fray of batons, fists, and tear gas in Chicago, and TV cameras capture the melee as it arrives on the doorstep of the Democratic National Convention at the Hilton Hotel.
Protest activity took place prior to and during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. In 1967, counterculture and anti-Vietnam War protest groups had been promising to come to Chicago and disrupt the convention, and the city promised to maintain law and order. For eight days, the protesters and the Chicago Police Department met in the streets and parks of Chicago while the U.S. Democratic Party met at the convention in the International Amphitheater.
Date: 1968
File:1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago. Sept 68 C15 8 1313, Photo by Bea A Corson, Chicago. Purchased at estate sale in 2011 by Victor Grigas Released Public Domain
1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago. Sept 68 C15 8 1313 , Photo by Bea A Corson, Chicago. Purchased at estate sale in 2011 by Victor Grigas Released Public Domain

wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protest_activity
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Today in History 08/21 (Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion)

Illustration depicting American slave leader Nat Turner and his companions in a wooded area, 1831 (© Stock Montage/Getty Images)(1831) Nat Turner leads a violent revolt against slavery
Acting on visions from God, Virginia plantation slave Nat Turner and seven supporters begin an armed insurrection that will last two days, rally at least 70 more recruits to the cause, result in the reported deaths of 60 whites, and end in Turner’s capture and hanging.
Nat Turner’s Rebellion was a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831, led by Nat Turner. Rebel slaves killed from 55 to 65 people, at least 51 being white. The rebellion was put down within a few days, but Turner survived in hiding for more than two months afterwards. The rebellion was effectively suppressed at Belmont Plantation on the morning of August 23, 1831.
Start date: Aug 21, 1831
End date: Aug 23, 1831

Nat Turner woodcut
19th Century woodcut depiction of the Southampton Insurrection. Note part of the upper part of this woodcut was later reused in 1835/1836 during the Seminole War
wiki/Nat_Turner’s_slave_rebellion
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(1831) Nat Turner leads a violent revolt against slavery.
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1883 | Out of tragedy rises Mayo Clinic center of healing
A humid summer day turns tragic as an F5 tornado bears down on Rochester, Minnesota. After caring for casualties in an area with no hospital, Dr. William Mayo and his sons will be inspired to team with local nuns and open a medical facility that evolves into the world-renowned Mayo Clinic.
1911 | Lady with the mysterious smile ‘Mona Lisa’ taken from the Louvre
Vincenzo Peruggia, an employee at Paris’ Louvre museum, hides in the broom closet until the museum closes, then leaves the premises with Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ tucked under his large coat. He’ll keep the priceless masterpiece in a trunk in his apartment for two years before being captured.
1968 | The USSR puts a chokehold on Czechoslovakia Prague Spring
Hopes for a freer society are brutally quashed as Warsaw Pact tanks and hundreds of thousands of troops thunder through the street of Prague, Czechoslovakia. Democratic reforms that began seven months earlier as the ‘Prague Spring’ are now crushed in the iron grip of Soviet domination.

Today in History 08/21/17

Czech protesters holding a Czechoslovak flag on Aug 21, 1968, as Soviet-led armies crush the so called Prague Spring reform (© LIBOR HAJSKY/AFP/Getty Images)(1968) The USSR puts a chokehold on Czechoslovakia
Hopes for a freer society are brutally quashed as Warsaw Pact tanks and hundreds of thousands of troops thunder through the street of Prague, Czechoslovakia. Democratic reforms that began seven months earlier as the 'Prague Spring' are now crushed in the iron grip of Soviet domination.
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and continued until 21 August 1968 when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to halt the reforms.
Start date: Jan 05, 1968
End date: Aug 21, 1968

wiki/Prague_Spring
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