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Today in History 12/14 (South Pole Expedition)

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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.
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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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