On this day in history.

[giradman]

November 18, 1863;

Abraham Lincoln travels to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to deliver a short address at the dedication of a cemetery for the dead from the battle of Gettysburg. This short speech became one of the most famous speeches in American history.

As you likely know, the main speaker for that event was the famous antebellum orator, Edward Everett - his 2-hour speech preceding the 2-minute address given by Lincoln - a little information below for those interested (see text in bold in last paragraph - Source) and a pic. Dave

Edward Everett (1794 – 1865) was an American politician, pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State. He also taught at Harvard University and served as its president.

Everett was one of the great American orators of the antebellum and Civil War eras. He is often remembered today as the featured orator at the dedication ceremony of the Gettysburg National Cemetery in 1863, where he spoke for over two hours—immediately before President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous, two-minute Gettysburg Address.

In November 1863, when the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was dedicated, Everett was invited to be the featured speaker.[92] In his two-hour formal oration he compared the Battle of Gettysburg to battles of antiquity such as Marathon, and spoke about how opposing sides in previous civil wars (such as the War of the Roses and the Thirty Years' War) were able to reconcile their differences afterward. Everett's oration was followed by the now far more famous Gettysburg Address of President Lincoln. For his part, Everett was deeply impressed by the concise speech and wrote to Lincoln noting "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."[93] In the 1864 election, Everett supported Lincoln, serving as a presidential elector from Massachusetts for the Republicans.[94]

.

 

[scifan57]

As you likely know, the main speaker for that event was the famous antebellum orator, Edward Everett - his 2-hour speech preceding the 2-minute address given by Lincoln - a little information below for those interested (see text in bold in last paragraph - Source) and a pic. Dave


.
View attachment 68777

Yes I was, but today almost nobody knows that Lincoln was not the main speaker at the dedication ceremony.

 

[J. A.]

Yes I was, but today almost nobody knows that Lincoln was not the main speaker at the dedication ceremony.

Except for those who read Dave's travel stories. He mentioned it there.

 

[giradman]

Except for those who read Dave's travel stories. He mentioned it there.

Hi Johanna - thanks for reading my travelogues - Dave

 

[J. A.]

Hi Johanna - thanks for reading my travelogues - Dave

They're very interesting.

 

[J. A.]

November 19, 1875:
Hiram Bingham, American academic, explorer and politician is born. He discovered the Inca city Machu Picchu.

Hiram Bingham III - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[giradman]

My wife's maternal grandmother went to Machu Picchu decades ago (might have rode a burro up there then looking @ the pic below) - we saw her slides and many years ago almost scheduled a trip to Peru (we've traveled to the Yucatan several times for the Mayan ruins and have seen the ruins around Mexico City). - for myself, my only trip to South America has been to Colombia and the drive across the Andes from Bogota to Manizales was pretty spectacular. Dave
.

 

[giradman]

Franz Schubert Died This Day at 31 Years of Age!

Well, I was just on the Good-Music-Guide forum and someone mentioned that Franz Schubert died on this day in 1828 - brief beginning paragraph below from his Wiki article - I own numerous CDs of his music - he was just phenomenally prolific. Dave

Franz Peter Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer. Schubert died at 31 but was extremely prolific during his lifetime. His output consists of over six hundred secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of chamber and piano music. Appreciation of his music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased significantly in the decades following his death. Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and other 19th-century composers discovered and championed his works. Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers of the late Classical era and early Romantic era and is one of the most frequently performed composers of the early nineteenth century.

.

 

[scifan57]

Franz Schubert Died This Day at 31 Years of Age!

Well, I was just on the Good-Music-Guide forum and someone mentioned that Franz Schubert died on this day in 1828 - brief beginning paragraph below from his Wiki article - I own numerous CDs of his music - he was just phenomenally prolific. Dave


.
View attachment 68805

Most composers couldn't match that output in a full lifetime career.

 

[giradman]

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection published on this day in 1859!

First read this book as a teenager and took a number of courses related to the topic as an undergrad @ the University of Michigan - still read new books on the subject when released and have a bunch of Teaching Company video courses on the origins of the natural world, including man. Dave

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, a groundbreaking scientific work by British naturalist Charles Darwin, is published in England. Darwin’s theory argued that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called “natural selection.” In natural selection, organisms with genetic variations that suit their environment tend to propagate more descendants than organisms of the same species that lack the variation, thus influencing the overall genetic makeup of the species.

Published on November 24, 1859, Origin of Species sold out immediately. Most scientists quickly embraced the theory that solved so many puzzles of biological science, but orthodox Christians condemned the work as heresy. Controversy over Darwin’s ideas deepened with the publication of The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (1871), in which he presented evidence of man’s evolution from apes.

By the time of Darwin’s death in 1882, his theory of evolution was generally accepted. In honor of his scientific work, he was buried in Westminster Abbey beside kings, queens, and other illustrious figures from British history. Subsequent developments in genetics and molecular biology led to modifications in accepted evolutionary theory, but Darwin’s ideas remain central to the field (Source)

.

 

[scifan57]

November 25, 1952;
"The Mousetrap" by Agatha Christie opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. Performed continuously since then, it holds the world record as the longest running stage play. The Mousetrap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When the play opened, Elizabeth II had just inherited the throne and Winston Churchill was Prime Minister.

 

[giradman]

British Evacuate New York City on this day in 1783 - Washington enters!

Boy, a lot happening this time of the year - just over two years after the Siege of Yorktown and the surrender of Cornwallis, the British finally leave NYC on this day - I've eaten lunch a few times @ Fraunces Tavern - felt like 'historic dining' - Dave

Evacuation Day on November 25 marks the day in 1783 when British troops departed from New York Town on Manhattan Island, after the end of the American Revolutionary War. After this British Army evacuation, General George Washington triumphantly led the Continental Army from his former headquarters, north of the city, across the Harlem River south down Manhattan through the town to The Battery at the foot of Broadway.[1]

The last shot of the war was reportedly fired on this day, as a British gunner fired a cannon at jeering crowds gathered on the shore of Staten Island, as his ship passed through the Narrows at the mouth of New York Harbor. The shot fell well short of the shore.

Even after Evacuation Day, some British troops still remained in frontier forts in territory that the Treaty of Paris assigned to the United States. Britain would continue to occupy some of these Old Northwest forts in the Great Lakes area until 1794 and the signing of Jay's Treaty, and in some cases until 1815, at the end of the War of 1812.

A week later, on December 4, at Fraunces Tavern, at Pearl and Broad Streets, after a "turtle feast" banquet, General Washington formally said farewell to his officers with a short statement, taking each one of his officers and official family by the hand (Source).

.

 

[giradman]

Just a follow-up to my previous post - I've read many accounts of this 'departure' meal of Washington and his officers, i.e. grown men bawling their eyes out is the general impression - must have been heart rendering IMHO - below just one account for those interested. Dave

On December 4, 1783, nine days after the last British soldiers left American soil, George Washington invited the officers of the Continental Army to join him in the Long Room of Fraunces Tavern so he could say farewell. The best known account of this emotional leave-taking comes from the Memoirs of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, written in 1830 and now in the collection of Fraunces Tavern Museum. As Tallmadge recalled,

“The time now drew near when General Washington intended to leave this part of the country for his beloved retreat at Mt. Vernon. On Tuesday the 4th of December it was made known to the officers then in New York that General Washington intended to commence his journey on that day.

At 12 o’clock the officers repaired to Fraunces Tavern in Pearl Street where General Washington had appointed to meet them and to take his final leave of them. We had been assembled but a few moments when his excellency entered the room. His emotions were too strong to be concealed which seemed to be reciprocated by every officer present. After partaking of a slight refreshment in almost breathless silence the General filled his glass with wine and turning to the officers said, ‘With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable.’

After the officers had taken a glass of wine General Washington said ‘I cannot come to each of you but shall feel obliged if each of you will come and take me by the hand.’ General Knox being nearest to him turned to the Commander-in-chief who, suffused in tears, was incapable of utterance but grasped his hand when they embraced each other in silence. In the same affectionate manner every officer in the room marched up and parted with his general in chief. Such a scene of sorrow and weeping I had never before witnessed and fondly hope I may never be called to witness again.”

The officers escorted Washington from the Tavern to the Whitehall wharf, where he boarded a barge that took him to Paulus Hook, (now Jersey City) New Jersey. Washington continued to Annapolis, where the Continental Congress was meeting, and resigned his commission (Source).

 

[scifan57]

November 26, 1941;

FDR signs a bill into law, officially declaring the 4th Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving Day.

 

[giradman]

The origin of Thanksgiving Day in the United States has always been controversial, especially regarding the role of the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts - quoted below a couple of paragraphs from a lengthy article on the topic that may be on interest (Source).

A few nights ago we watched a new Ric Burns 2-hour film on the Pilgrims which ran on our local PBS channel (see second quote below - Source) - worth searching out for a through discussion of the colony's history, its long-term Governor, William Bradford, and commentary on the Thanksgiving issue - a little slow at times but still recommended. Dave

P.S. In 1863, Lincoln proclaimed the 'last' Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day; but "on December 26, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress changing the national Thanksgiving Day from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday. Two years earlier, Roosevelt had used a presidential proclamation to try to achieve this change, reasoning that earlier celebration of the holiday would give the country an economic boost. (Source)"

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

For some scholars, the jury is still out on whether the feast at Plymouth really constituted the first Thanksgiving in the United States. Indeed, historians have recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America that predate the Pilgrims’ celebration. In 1565, for instance, the Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilé invited members of the local Timucua tribe to a dinner in St. Augustine, Florida, after holding a mass to thank God for his crew’s safe arrival. On December 4, 1619, when 38 British settlers reached a site known as Berkeley Hundred on the banks of Virginia’s James River, they read a proclamation designating the date as “a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God.”

On PBS Tuesday, November 24th and Thanksgiving Day at 8pm EST (check your local listings)

The story of the Pilgrims – who they were, what drove them on – their searing first years in America and pivotal interactions with Native Americans – how they succeeded and how they failed – and how and why we have come to remember them as we do – is a tale far more harrowing and strange – and far more revealing – than the Thanksgiving myth we think we know.

Featuring a gripping performance by the late actor Roger Rees as William Bradford, and spectacular recreations of the Mayflower’s arduous voyage across the Atlantic – The Pilgrimsbrings to life the epic tale behind the quintessential American myth of origin.

From acclaimed filmmaker Ric Burns, The Pilgrims uncovers the riveting story of the men and women of the Mayflower - exploring the historic forces and personalities that motivated their crossing – and the harrowing events that unfolded in their crucial first decade in Massachusetts.