Today in History 05/21/17

Clara Barton, founder of the American branch of the Red Cross, circa 1881 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Image)(1881) Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross
Called “The Angel of the Battlefield” for her courageous service as a Civil War nurse, Clara Barton establishes an American branch of the Red Cross relief organization after working with an international unit in Europe during the Franco-Prussian War.
Clarissa “Clara” Harlowe Barton was a pioneering nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and patent clerk. Nursing education was not very formalized at that time and Clara did not attend nursing school. So she provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work at a time when relatively few women worked outside the home. She had a relationship with John J. Elwell and received three proposals throughout her lifetime, but never married.
Born: Dec 25, 1821 · Oxford, MA
Died: Apr 12, 1912 · Glen Echo, MD
Founded: American Red Cross · National First Aid Society · American Association (20th century)
Parents: Stephen Barton (Father) · Sarah Barton (Mother)
Highlights
  • 1821: Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in North Oxford, Massachusetts.

  • 1868: She closed the Missing Soldiers Office in 1868 and traveled to Europe.

  • 1869: In 1869, Clara Barton closed the Missing Soldiers Office and headed to Europe.

  • 1897: In 1897, responding to the humanitarian crisis in the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of the Hamidian Massacres, Barton sailed to Constantinople and after long negotiations with Abdul Hamid II, opened the first American International Red Cross headquarters in the heart of Turkey.

  • 1900: Barton’s last field operation as President of the American Red Cross was helping victims of the Galveston hurricane in 1900.

  • 1912: On April 12, 1912 at the age of 90, she died in her home.

wiki/Clara_Barton
Charles Lindbergh poses in front of his monoplane Spirit of St-Louis at Paris-Le Bourget airport, May 21, 1927, after having achieved the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight, New York to Paris (© OFF/AFP/Getty Images)(1927) Lucky Lindy flies alone across the Atlantic
Thirty-three hours and 30 minutes after he took off from New York’s Roosevelt Field, aviator Charles Lindbergh lands 3,600 miles away at Paris’ Le Bourget Field. The Detroit native is the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, and becomes an international sensation.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh, nicknamed Slim, Lucky Lindy, and The Lone Eagle, was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, explorer, and environmental activist. At age 25 in 1927, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by making his Orteig Prize–winning nonstop flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris. He covered the 33 ¹⁄₂-hour, 3,600 statute miles alone in a single-engine purpose-built Ryan monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis. This was the first solo transatlantic flight, and the first non-stop flight between North America and mainland Europe. Lindbergh was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve, and he received the United States’ highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for the feat.
Lived: Feb 04, 1902 – Aug 26, 1974 (age 72)
Height: 6′ 3″ (1.91 m)
Spouse: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (m. 1929 – 1974)
Children: Anne Lindbergh (Daughter) · Jon Lindbergh (Son) · Reeve Lindbergh (Daughter) · Land Morrow Lindbergh (Son) · Scott Lindbergh (Son) · Dyrk Hesshaimer (Son) · David Hesshaimer (Son) · Astrid Hesshaimer Bouteuil (Daughter) · Vago Hesshaimer (Son) · Charles Lindbergh Jr. (Son) · Christoph Hesshaimer (Son)
Parents: Charles August Lindbergh (Father) · Evangeline Lodge Lindbergh (Mother)
Awards: Orteig Prize (1927) · Medal of Honor (1927) · Distinguished Flying Cross (1927) · Congressional Gold Medal (1928) · Hubbard Medal (1927) · Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography (1954) · Silver Buffalo Award · Air Force Cross (1927) · Daniel Guggenheim Medal (1953) · Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy (1949)
Highlights
  • 1937: At age 25 in 1927, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by making his Orteig Prize–winning nonstop flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris.

  • 1927: Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001) was the daughter of Dwight Morrow who, as partner at J.P. Morgan & Co., had acted as financial adviser to Lindbergh; he was also U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in 1927.

  • 1927: In mid-February 1927 he left for San Diego, California, to oversee design and construction of the Spirit of St. Louis.

  • 1929: Charles Lindbergh married Anne Morrow Lindbergh on May 27, 1929.

  • 1957: In the motion picture The Spirit of St. Louis, directed by Billy Wilder and released in 1957, Lindbergh was played by James Stewart, an admirer of Lindbergh and himself an aviator who had flown bombing missions in World War II.

  • 1974: Lindbergh spent his last years on the Hawaiian island of Maui, where he died of lymphoma on August 26, 1974, at age 72.

wiki/Charles_Lindbergh
Rock and roll musician Chuck Berry, circa 1958 (© Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) (1955) Chuck Berry pioneers rock & roll guitar
A part-time construction worker visits the studios of Chess Records and cuts his first record, a souped-up version of a traditional fiddle tune given new lyrics, a new title, and an unforgettable guitar riff. A smash crossover hit, ‘Maybellene’ will make Chuck Berry an overnight sensation and lead Rolling Stone magazine to later write, “Rock & roll guitar starts here.”
“Maybellene” is one of the first rock-and-roll songs. It was written and recorded in 1955 by Chuck Berry, and inspired/adapted from the Western Swing fiddle tune “Ida Red,” which was recorded in 1938 by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Berry’s song tells the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance. It was released in July 1955 as a single by Chess Records, of Chicago, Illinois. It was Berry’s first single and his first hit. “Maybellene” is considered one of the pioneering rock-and-roll songs: Rolling Stone magazine wrote, “Rock & roll guitar starts here.” The record is an early instance of the complete rock-and-roll package: youthful subject matter; a small, guitar-driven combo; clear diction; and an atmosphere of unrelenting excitement. The lyrics describe a man driving a V8 Ford chasing his unfaithful girlfriend in her Cadillac Coupe DeVille.
Album: The Great Twenty-Eight
Artist: Chuck Berry
Release year: 1955
Duration: 2:20
Genre: Rock, Early Rock & Roll / Oldies

wiki/Maybellene
The cast of 'The Real World' (© Ron Galella Ltd./WireImage/Getty Images)(1992) ‘The Real World’ debuts on MTV
MTV introduces ‘the true story…of seven strangers…picked to live in a loft…and have their lives taped…’ The show will quickly become a hit and help usher in the reality TV era. It will run for more than 30 seasons.

Real World (formerly known as The Real World from 1992 to 2013) is a reality television series on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the longest-running reality series in history, credited with launching the modern reality TV genre. Seven to eight young adults are picked to temporarily live in a new city together in one residence while being filmed non-stop.

The series was hailed in its early years for depicting issues of contemporary young-adulthood relevant to its core audience, such as sex, prejudice, religion, abortion, illness, sexuality, AIDS, death, politics, and substance abuse, but later garnered a reputation as a showcase for immaturity and irresponsible behavior indicative of the declining morals of contemporary youth.

Following Bunim’s death from breast cancer in 2004, Bunim/Murray Productions continues to produce the program. The current 32nd season, set in Seattle, Washington, premiered on October 12, 2016.

The series has generated two notable related series, both broadcast by MTV: Road Rules, a sister show, which lasted for 14 seasons (1995–2007), and the ongoing spin-off reality game show The Challenge, which has run for 29 seasons since 1998.


First episode: May 21, 1992
Episode duration: 30 minutes
Creators: Jonathan Murray · Mary-Ellis Bunim
Network: MTV
Producers: Jonathan Murray · Matt Kunitz
Awards: GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program · GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary Series

wiki/The_Real_World
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