The History Shack

 OTD December 1st is the 335th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 30 days remain until the end of the year.    Events 800 – A council is convened in the Vatican, at which Charlemagne is to judge the accusations against Pope Leo III. 1662 – Diarist John Evelyn records skating on the frozen lake in St James's Park, London, watched by Charles II and Queen Catherine. 1824 – United States presidential election: Since no candidate received a majority of the electoral college votes, the United States House of Representatives is tasked with deciding the winner under the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 1862 – In his State of the Union Address, President Abraham Lincoln reaffirms the necessity of ending slavery as ordered ten weeks earlier in the Emancipation Proclamation. 1878 – President Rutherford B. Hayes gets the first telephone installed in the White House. 1913 – Crete, having obtained self-rule from Turkey after the First Balka...

November 30th is a remarkable date in history, having birthed some of the most influential figures in literature, politics, television, and sports. Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, Dick Clark, Bill Walsh, and David Mamet, though different in their pursuits, each revolutionized their respective fields. This article delves into their individual legacies, highlighting their unique contributions and the common threads that intertwine their success stories. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) - The Satirical Conscience Jonathan Swift, born in 1667, emerged as a master satirist, using his sharp wit to critique his time's political and social absurdities. His most famous work, "Gulliver's Travels," goes beyond mere storytelling to serve as a scathing satire on human nature and the pitfalls of contemporary society. Swift's legacy lies in his ability to use humor and irony to provoke thought and challenge societal norms. Mark Twain (1835-1910) - The Humorist Who Unvei...

 OTD November 30th is the 334th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 31 days remain until the end of the year.    Events 978 – Franco-German war of 978–980: Holy Roman Emperor Otto II lifts the siege of Paris and withdraws. 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Treaty of Paris: In Paris, representatives from the United States and Great Britain signed preliminary peace articles (later formalized as the 1783 Treaty of Paris). 1803 – The Balmis Expedition started in Spain to vaccinate millions against smallpox in Spanish America and the Philippines. 1872 – The first-ever international football match occurred between Scotland and England in Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow. 1936 – In London, the Crystal Palace is destroyed by fire. 1954 – In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap; this is the only documented case in the Western Hemisphere of a human being hit by a rock from space. ...

    Richard E. Byrd, synonymous with bravery and exploration, was born in Winchester, Virginia, on October 25, 1888. His life, marked by extraordinary feats and pioneering spirit, is a beacon of inspiration in the annals of American history.  Byrd's naval career, which set the stage for his legendary explorations, began with his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1912. During World War I, he earned distinction as a naval aviator, a role later proving crucial in his exploration endeavors. Byrd's navigation expertise and fascination with flight propelled him to the forefront of polar exploration.  Byrd's most significant achievement was his audacious journey to the North Pole. In 1926, he and pilot Floyd Bennett claimed to have flown over the North Pole, a feat for which he received the Medal of Honor. Although this claim was later contested, it did not diminish Byrd's stature as an intrepid explorer.  However, Byrd's most monumental undertaking was his exp...

 OTD November 29th is the 333rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 32 days remain until the end of the year.    Events 1612 – The Battle of Swally takes place, which loosens the Portuguese Empire's hold on India. 1777 – San Jose, California, is founded as Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe by José Joaquín Moraga. It is the first civilian settlement, or pueblo, in Alta California. 1783 – A 5.3 magnitude earthquake strikes New Jersey. 1890 – The Meiji Constitution was enacted in Japan, and the first Diet convened. 1899 – Catalan, Spanish, and Englishmen founded FC Barcelona. It later became one of Spanish football's most iconic and potent teams. 1929 – U.S. Admiral Richard E. Byrd led the first expedition to fly over the South Pole. 1952 – U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfilled a campaign promise by traveling to Korea to find out what could be done to end the conflict. 1961 – Enos, a chimpanzee, is launched into space. The spacecraft ...

  In the heart of London, amidst the bustling streets and the echoes of history, lies an institution that has been a crucible for some of the most groundbreaking scientific discoveries of the past four centuries. This is the Royal Society, officially known as The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, a name that echoes its ambitious mission. Since its inception in November 1660, the Royal Society has stood as a testament to human curiosity and the relentless pursuit of understanding the natural world's mysteries. Imagine a time when science was not a series of textbooks and established facts but a vast, uncharted wilderness. This was the world of the 17th century, a world ripe for discovery. The Royal Society emerged from this world from a visionary group of thinkers and scientists, including luminaries like Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, Sir Christopher Wren, and Sir Robert Moray. These were men who dared to dream, to question, and to experiment.  The original...

  OTD November 28th is the 332nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 33 days remain until the end of the year.     Events 1520 – After 38 days, an expedition under the command of Ferdinand Magellan completed the first passage through the Strait of Magellan and entered the Pacific Ocean. 1582 – In Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway pay a £40 (equivalent to £12,261 in 2021) bond instead of posting wedding bans, which enables them to marry immediately. 1660 – At Gresham College, twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir Robert Moray, decide to find what is later known as the Royal Society. 1785 – The first Treaty of Hopewell was signed, by which the United States acknowledged Cherokee lands in what is now East Tennessee. 1811 – Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, premieres at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. 1895 – The first American automobile race occurred over 54 miles from ...

    The Berners Street hoax, a famous practical joke, was carried out in London on November 27, 1810. The mastermind behind this elaborate prank was Theodore Hook, a British composer and author known for his love of mischief and practical jokes.  The basic setup of the hoax was ingeniously simple yet remarkably effective. Hook bet his friend, Samuel Beazley, that he could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a week. He chose a house at 54 Berners Street, which belonged to Mrs. Tottenham, a widow unknown to Hook. Over a week, Hook sent out thousands of letters in Mrs. Tottenham's name, requesting deliveries, visitors, and assistance of various kinds.  On the day of the hoax, a wide array of people and services descended upon the house. This included tradesmen delivering goods, lawyers, clergymen, doctors, and even dignitaries like the Lord Mayor of London and the Duke of Gloucester. The street was congested with carriages and delivery ca...

  OTD November 27th is the 331st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 34 days remain until the end of the year.     Events 1727 – The foundation stone of the Jerusalem Church in Berlin is laid. 1815 – Adoption of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland. 1839 – In Boston, Massachusetts, the American Statistical Association was founded. 1895 – At the Swedish–Norwegian Club in Paris, Alfred Nobel signed his last will, setting aside his estate to establish the Nobel Prize after he died. 1901 – The U.S. Army War College is established. 1945 – CARE (then the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) was founded to send CARE food relief packages to Europe after World War II. 1968 – Penny Ann Early becomes the first woman to play Major professional basketball for the Kentucky Colonels in an ABA game against the Los Angeles Stars. 2001 – The Hubble Space Telescope discovered A hydrogen atmosphere on the extrasolar planet Osiris, the first atmosp...

 My Dearest Willis, As the warm Florida sunsets and the gentle breeze from the Atlantic whisper through the palm trees, my thoughts often turn to you. You, Willis Haviland Carrier, a name that resonates with a sweet melody in my heart, the architect of modern comfort, the savior of our sweltering summers. Before your genius touched our lives, Florida was a beautiful but sometimes unbearable Eden. The relentless heat and swarming humidity were constant companions in our daily lives, making even the simplest tasks a trial. But then, like a cool zephyr from a better world, came your invention, the air conditioning, transforming our existence in ways we never imagined. You, born on a November day in 1876, ventured forth from Angola, New York, to the hallowed halls of Cornell, emerging as an engineer and a visionary. It was at the Buffalo Forge Company where your journey towards redefining human comfort began. Tasked with a challenge at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing ...

 OTD November 26 is the 330th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 35 days remain until the end of the year.  Events 1161 – Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dynasty ships on the Yangtze River during the Jin–Song Wars. 1476 – Vlad the Impaler defeats Basarab Laiota with the help of Stephen the Great and Stephen V Báthory and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time. 1778 – Captain James Cook became the first European to visit Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. 1789 – A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as proclaimed by President George Washington at the request of Congress. 1917 – The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams. 1922 – Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3000 years. 1922 – The Toll of the Se...

 The Great Appalachian Storm of 1950, an extraordinary extratropical cyclone, wreaked havoc across the Eastern United States, particularly along the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains. It brought blizzard conditions, intense winds, and heavy rainfall to a vast region. This catastrophic storm impacted 22 states, claiming 383 lives, injuring over 160 people, and causing approximately $66.7 million in damages, which equates to about $811 million in today's dollars.   The storm's formation was influenced by La Niña conditions, the cold phase of ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation), which typically favors a storm track from the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys into the Appalachians. It initially formed in Southeast North Carolina near a cold front on November 24 and underwent rapid development, leading to its peak intensity.  The storm blanketed areas from western Pennsylvania to West Virginia with over 30 inches of snow. Coburn Creek, West Virginia, reported an astonishing ...

 OTD November 25th is the 329th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 36 days remain until the end of the year.  Events 1343 – A tsunami caused by an earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea devastates Naples and the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, among other places. 1491 – The siege of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, ends with the Treaty of Granada. 1678 – Trunajaya Rebellion: After a long and logistically challenging march, the allied Mataram and Dutch troops successfully assaulted the rebel stronghold of Kediri. 1783 – American Revolutionary War: The last British troops leave New York City three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. 1915 – Albert Einstein presented the field equations of general relativity to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. 1936 – In Berlin, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, agreeing to consult on measures "to safeguard their common interests" in the case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union aga...

    Scott Joplin often hailed as the "King of Ragtime," made an indelible mark on American music with his pioneering compositions. Born on November 24, 1868, in Northeast Texas, he grew up in a musical family, which was vital in nurturing his early musical talents. His father, a former slave, and his mother, a freeborn woman, both appreciated music, providing a rich environment for Joplin's musical development.  Joplin's musical talent was discovered in his childhood. He showed a natural aptitude for music and learned to play the piano, largely self-taught with some instruction from local teachers. His family's move to Texarkana, where he had access to a piano, honed his skills. Joplin's early exposure to various musical styles, including folk and church music, significantly influenced his later compositions.  Joplin traveled as a musician as he grew older, playing in various places and absorbing different musical styles. His work initially received little att...

  OTD November 24th is the 328th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 37 days remain until the end of the year.   Events 1221 – Genghis Khan defeats the renegade Khwarazmian prince Jalal al-Din at the Battle of the Indus, completing the Mongol conquest of Central Asia. 1429 – Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc unsuccessfully besieges La Charité. 1835 – The Texas Provincial Government authorizes the creation of a horse-mounted police force called the Texas Rangers (now the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety). 1877 – Anna Sewell's animal welfare novel Black Beauty is published. 1917 – In Milwaukee, nine members of the Milwaukee Police Department were killed by a bomb, the most deaths in a single event in U.S. police history until the September 11 attacks in 2001. 1932 – In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (the FBI Crime Lab) officially opens. 1963 – Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F...

 A Letter from Daisey to Emily 123 Maple Street, November 28, 1924 Dear Emily, You won't believe what I saw yesterday! The most amazing, wonderful, absolutely magical thing ever – the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! I just had to write and tell you all about it. Imagine this: the streets of New York turned into a fairy tale right before my eyes! There were people dressed in the brightest costumes I've ever seen. They were dancing and playing music that made everyone want to join in. And the floats, Emily! They were like something out of a big and beautiful storybook! And guess what? There were real animals right there on the street! Elephants, bears, and camels all marched down the city like they belonged there. It was like watching a parade in the jungle! I could hardly believe my eyes. The parade was so long – it went on for miles and miles! I walked along with it for a little while but couldn't keep up with the whole thing. It felt like an adventure just follow...

  In the heart of New York City, a spectacle unfolded on the bustling streets on a crisp November morning in 1924. It was the first-ever Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, an event that would become a symbolic tradition, enchanting millions for generations to come. The genesis of this grand parade was rooted in the dreams and aspirations of Macy's employees, many of whom were immigrants. They longed to celebrate their new American heritage with a festival reminiscent of the ones in their homelands. This desire, combined with the business acumen of Macy's executives, who sought to promote the holiday season's sales and celebrate the expansion of their flagship store at Herald Square, culminated in the creation of this extraordinary event. On November 27, 1924, the streets of New York were transformed into a corridor of wonder. Starting at 145th Street and Convent Avenue, a vibrant procession made its way to 34th Street and Broadway, covering an impressive six-mile j...

  On November 22, 1963, the city of Dallas, Texas, was bathed in the warm glow of a late autumn sun. The weather was unseasonably pleasant, with clear skies and temperatures in the low 70s, a far cry from the chill of November that usually hung in the air. It was a day that promised hope and optimism for the future, but it would soon turn into one of the darkest days in American history.  President John F. Kennedy, a charismatic and beloved leader, had come to Dallas as part of a political tour through Texas. Accompanied by his elegant and poised wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, he had been greeted with warmth and enthusiasm as his motorcade made its way through the city streets.  The streets were lined with people, an estimated 200,000 individuals, all eager to catch a glimpse of the President. They waved American flags, held signs of support, and children perched on their parents' shoulders to get a better view. The excitement in the air was palpable as the anticipation built ...

 OTD November 22nd is the 326th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 39 days remain until the end of the year.    Events 1718 – Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard attacks and boards the vessels of the British pirate Edward Teach (best known as "Blackbeard") off the coast of North Carolina. The casualties on both sides include Maynard's first officer, Mister Hyde, and Teach himself. 1869 – In Dumbarton, Scotland, the clipper Cutty Sark is launched. 1942 – World War II: Battle of Stalingrad: General Friedrich Paulus sends Adolf Hitler a telegram saying that the German 6th Army is surrounded. 1967 – UN Security Council Resolution 242 is adopted, establishing a set of principles aimed at guiding negotiations for an Arab Israeli peace settlement. 1971 – In Britain's worst mountaineering tragedy, the Cairngorm Plateau Disaster, five children and one of their leaders are found dead from exposure in the Scottish mountains. 1990 – British Prime Minist...

O.T.D. November 21st is the 325th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 40 days remain until the end of the year.    Events 164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, rededicates the Temple in Jerusalem, an event commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah. (25 Kislev 3597 in the Hebrew calendar.) 1620 – Plymouth Colony settlers sign the Mayflower Compact (November 11, O.S.) 1676 – The Danish astronomer Ole Rømer presents the first quantitative measurements of the speed of light. 1783 – In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes make the first untethered hot air balloon flight. 1877 – Thomas Edison announced the invention of his phonograph, a machine that could record and play sound. 1900 – Claude Monet's paintings are shown at Gallery Durand-Ruel in Paris. 1905 – Albert Einstein's paper that led to the mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc², is published in Annalen der Physik. 191...

    Edwin Hubble, born on November 20, 1889, was a pivotal figure in astronomy whose work revolutionized our understanding of the universe.   Hubble began his academic journey studying mathematics and astronomy at the University of Chicago. He then earned a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where he studied law, a decision influenced by his father's desire. However, Hubble returned to astronomy after his father's death and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1917.   Hubble's early work at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California led to two significant discoveries. First, in 1923, he observed the Andromeda Nebula. Through his observations, Hubble determined that Andromeda was far beyond our own galaxy, thus proving that the Milky Way was not the only galaxy in the universe. This was a monumental shift in astronomical thought.  His most significant achievement came with formulating Hubble's Law in 1929. He discovered that galaxies are moving awa...

 OTD November 20th is the 324th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 41 days remain until the end of the year.    Events 1695 – Zumbi, the last of the leaders of Quilombo dos Palmares in early Brazil, is executed by the forces of Portuguese Bandeirante Domingos Jorge Velho. 1789 – New Jersey became the first U.S. state to ratify the Bill of Rights. 1805 – Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio, premieres in Vienna. 1820 – An 80-ton sperm whale attacks and sinks the Essex (a whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts) 3,200 kilometers (2,000 mi) from the western coast of South America. (this incident partly inspired Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick.) 1873 – Garnier Expedition: French forces under Lieutenant Francis Garnier captured Hanoi from the Vietnamese. 1940 – World War II: Hungary becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers. 1945 – Nuremberg trials: Trials against 24 Nazi war criminals start at the Palace of...