Today's History Lesson
History
is a never ending roller coaster ride. With its ups and downs, twists
and turns, adrenaline is constantly pumping connecting the past to the
present on into the future. What is here today may be gone tomorrow in
the physical sense but the impact may be felt for generations to come.
History helps us understand change, inspires us to learn more about our
nation, as well as the world, and provides a sense of identity relative
to our heritage.
.
Some of the happenin's on This Day in History: May 9
.
Who provided Queen Victoria and her subjects their first look at real cowboys and Indians? When did this occur?
Who was Hitler's designated successor and what happened to him on this day in 1945?
Who was the unlikely challenger who knocked the Beatles off the U.S. pop charts in 1964?
In what year were demonstrations held in Washington, D.C. demanding the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Vietnam?
On which President of the United States and what year did impeachment proceedings begin by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee?
.
[Test your prior knowledge before clicking the link above to This Day in History for the answers.]
.
1754
Benjamin Franklin
created the first political cartoon. On May 9, 1754, the image initially appeared in Franklin's newspaper, Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia, PA.
Franklin's cartoon was an illustration of a snake with a severed head
and body accompanied by the printed words "Join, or Die." The cartoon was intended to
goad the different colonies into joining what was to later become the United
States.
The severed body symbolized the feelings that Franklin had toward the colonies: dangerously fragmented. It was his hopes that the cartoon would impress upon the colonists the importance of becoming and remaining united. That by doing so, they would have a greater power against threats of British and French expansion in North America.
1825
The Chatham Theatre, a playhouse, opened on the east side of Chatham Street in New York City. It was the first gas-lit theatre in America. It was located between Roosevelt and James streets, a few blocks south of the Bowery.
At its opening in 1839, the Chatham was a neighborhood establishment,
which featured big-name actors and drama. By the mid-1840s, it had
become primarily a venue for blackface minstrel shows. Frank S. Chanfrau restored some of its grandeur in 1848.
1914
.
 |
| Woodrow Wilson with His Wife and Three Daughters, c1912. Prints & Photographs Online Catalog |
Credit for the idea for a "Mother's Day" is divided between Julia Ward Howe (1872) and Anna Jarvis (1907). Each suggested celebration of a day of peace.
By 1911, Mother's Day was being celebrated. Carnations have come to
represent the day as they were distributed at one of the first
commemorations honoring the mother of the founder of Mother’s Day.
1926
.
Americans Richard Byrd (explorer) and Floyd Bennett (pilot) became the first men to fly an airplane over the North Pole. The flight took 15 hrs 44 mins according to the pilot's records. A controversy ensued. It was questioned whether the flight actually took place as reported since it was expected to take about 18 hours, given the ground speed of the aircraft.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment