Today in History 12/06/16

Today in History
(1865) Slavery is abolished in the United States
1865 Eight months after the end of the Civil War, the 13th amendment is ratified by the required number of states, abolishing slavery in the US. Its passage was secured after intense lobbying by President Abraham Lincoln, whose Emancipation Proclamation had declared slaves free, but their status after the war was still uncertain. .

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. In Congress, it was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The amendment was ratified by the required number of states on December 6, 1865. On December 18, 1865, Secretary of State William H. Seward proclaimed its adoption. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War.

— Source: wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
(1884) US capital welcomes a towering marble obelisk
Workers have put the aluminum apex atop the 555-foot-high marble obelisk built in honor of George Washington. Construction began in 1848 but stalled during the Civil War. At the time of its completion, it’s the tallest structure in the world and will remain the tallest in the capital, thanks to city law.. 1884

The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and the first American president. Located almost due east of the Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial, the monument, made of marble, granite, and bluestone gneiss, is both the world’s tallest stone structure and the world’s tallest obelisk, standing 554 feet 7 ¹¹⁄₃₂ inches tall according to the National Geodetic Survey or 555 feet 5 ¹⁄₈ inches tall according to the National Park Service. In 1975, a ramp covered a step at the entrance to the monument, so the ground next to the ramp was raised to match its height, reducing the remaining height to the monument’s apex. The obelisk was originally intended by its designer to stand 600 feet tall, but questions regarding the design of the foundations caused the height to be set lower by the time the building was eventually completed. It is the tallest monumental column in the world if all are measured above their pedestrian entrances, but two are taller when measured above ground, though they are neither all stone nor true obelisks.

Address: 2 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20007
Phone: (202) 426-6841
Website: www.nps.gov/wamo/index.htm
Established: Jan 31, 1848
Floors: 3
Annual visitors: 671,031 (2008)

— Source: wiki/Washington_Monument
(1907) West Virginia coalmine explosion kills 362 people
1907 A massive explosion inside two mines in Monongah, WV, kills at least 362 men and boys working below. Officials won’t be able to determine the exact cause of the worst mining disaster in the United States, but with victims including children as young as 8, the disaster will lead to calls for increased mine safety regulations..

The Monongah mining disaster of Monongah, West Virginia, occurred on December 6, 1907, and has been described as “the worst mining disaster in American History”. The explosion occurred in Fairmont Coal Company’s No. 6 and No. 8 mines.

Fatalities: 362
Date: Dec 06, 1907

— Source: wiki/Monongah_mining_disaster
(1917) Explosion in Canadian harbor levels neighborhood
Two ships full of ammunition for World War I collide in the Halifax Harbor, triggering a colossal explosion that kills about 1,600 people and flattens buildings, including a railway station, a sugar plant, and schools, in a 2.5-mile radius. Of the 500 students in the area, fewer than 10 will survive.. 1917

The Halifax Explosion was a maritime disaster in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of 6 December 1917. SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with high explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin. A fire on board the French ship ignited her cargo, causing a large explosion that devastated the Richmond district of Halifax. Approximately 2,000 people were killed by blast, debris, fires and collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured.

Date: Dec 06, 1917

— Source: wiki/Halifax_Explosion
DIH v2.9.o16

FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail