On this day in history.

[giradman]

Thurgood Marshall Confirmed First African American United States Supreme Court Justice in 1967!

This day in 1967, Thurgood Marshall was confirmed the first African American justice of the Supreme Court - see quotes below - in 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman justice appointed to the Supreme Court; she retired in 2006, but now there are 3 incumbent women sitting in that position. Dave

On this day in 1967, Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. He would remain on the Supreme Court for 24 years before retiring, leaving a legacy of upholding the rights of the individual as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Following the retirement of Justice Tom Clark in 1967, President Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court, a decision confirmed by the Senate with a 69-11 vote. Over the next 24 years, Justice Marshall came out in favor of abortion rights and against the death penalty, as he continued his tireless commitment to ensuring equitable treatment of individuals–particularly minorities–by state and federal governments. (Source)

From a young age, Marshall seemed destined for a place in the American justice system. His parents instilled in him an appreciation for the Constitution, a feeling that was reinforced by his schoolteachers, who forced him to read the document as punishment for his misbehavior. After graduating from Lincoln University in 1930, Marshall sought admission to the University of Maryland School of Law, but was turned away because of the school’s segregation policy, which effectively forbade blacks from studying with whites. Instead, Marshall attended Howard University Law School, from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1933. (Marshall later successfully sued Maryland School of Law for their unfair admissions policy.) (Source)

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[giradman]

Amy Beach, American Female Composer, Born 150 Years Ago in 1867!

American 'classical' music started in the 19th century and by the late 1800s & early 1900s, the famous Boston Six emerged as a prominent group of 'boys' except for the addition of Amy Beach (see first two quotes below); she was a remarkable 'child prodigy', a brilliant pianist and composer of many genres of music - because of the mores of the times, upper class women were meant to be matrons of society and of home, with their talents often stifled (see third quote about her domineering husband); likely might have been a much different story if Amy had been born 50 or so years later?

For myself, I own just over a half dozen CDs of Beach's compositions, six are shown below including orchestral works, chamber music, and 3 discs of solo piano works w/ Joanne Polk. Dave

Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (September 5, 1867 – December 27, 1944) was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music, when her "Gaelic" Symphony was performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1896. She was one of the first American composers to succeed without the benefit of European training, and one of the most respected and acclaimed composers of her era. As a pianist, she was acclaimed for concerts she gave featuring her own music in the United States and in Germany. Amy showed every sign of a child prodigy. She was able to sing forty songs accurately by age one, she was capable of improvising counter-melody by age two, and she taught herself to read at age three. The family struggled to keep up with her musical interests and demands. Her mother sang and played for her, but attempted to prevent young Amy from playing the family piano herself. (Source)

Beach followed this with an important milestone in music history: her Gaelic Symphony, the first symphony composed and published by an American woman. It premiered October 30, 1896, performed by the Boston Symphony. Composer George Whitefield Chadwick (1854–1931) wrote to Beach that he and his colleague Horatio Parker (1863–1919) had attended the Gaelic Symphony's premiere and much enjoyed it: "I always feel a thrill of pride myself whenever I hear a fine work by any of us, and as such you will have to be counted in, whether you [like it] or not—one of the boys." These "boys" were a group of composers unofficially known as the Second New England School, and included not only Chadwick and Parker but also John Knowles Paine (1839–1926), Arthur Foote (1853–1937), and Edward MacDowell (1860–1908). With the addition of Beach, they collectively became known as the Boston Six, of whom Beach was the youngest. In 1900, the Boston Symphony premiered Beach's Piano Concerto, with the composer as soloist. (Source)

Amy was married in 1885 to Dr. Henry Harris Aubrey Beach, a Boston surgeon twenty-four years her senior (she was eighteen at the time). Her name would subsequently be listed on concert programs and published compositions as "Mrs. H. H. A. Beach." The marriage was conditioned upon her willingness "to live according to his status as a society matron and patron of the arts. She agreed never to teach piano, an activity widely associated with women" and regarded as providing "pin money." She further agreed to limit performances to two public recitals per year, with profits donated to charity, and to devote herself more to composition than to performance. Her self-guided education in composition was also necessitated by Dr. Beach, who disapproved of his wife studying with a tutor. Restrictions like these were typical for middle- and upper-class women of the time: as it was explained to a European counterpart, Fanny Mendelssohn, "Music will perhaps become his [Fanny's brother Felix Mendelssohn's] profession, while for you it can and must be only an ornament." (Source)

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[giradman]

Lascaux Cave Paintings Discovered Today in 1940!

Boy, brings back memories for me in the fall of 1964 - I started as a freshman undergrad @ the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) - two of my courses where History of Art & Physical Anthropology when I became well acquainted w/ the Lascaux Cave paintings described below. The caves are located in southwest France near Bordeaux - I've never made a visit. As indicated below, the original caves were closed and a replication constructed nearby (check HERE and the last image below - click to enlarge and read better). Dave

Near Montignac, France, a collection of prehistoric cave paintings are discovered by four teenagers who stumbled upon the ancient artwork after following their dog down a narrow entrance into a cavern. The 15,000- to 17,000-year-old paintings, consisting mostly of animal representations, are among the finest examples of art from the Upper Paleolithic period.The Lascaux grotto was opened to the public in 1948 but was closed in 1963 because artificial lights had faded the vivid colors of the paintings and caused algae to grow over some of them. A replica of the Lascaux cave was opened nearby in 1983 and receives tens of thousands of visitors annually. (Source)

First studied by the French archaeologist Henri-Édouard-Prosper Breuil, the Lascaux grotto consists of a main cavern 66 feet wide and 16 feet high. The walls of the cavern are decorated with some 600 painted and drawn animals and symbols and nearly 1,500 engravings. The pictures depict in excellent detail numerous types of animals, including horses, red deer, stags, bovines, felines, and what appear to be mythical creatures. There is only one human figure depicted in the cave: a bird-headed man with an erect phallus. Archaeologists believe that the cave was used over a long period of time as a center for hunting and religious rites. (Source)

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[scifan57]

I believe the caves were closed to the public because in addition to bright artificial lighting, the added moisture from the exhaled breaths of visitors was causing damage to the cave paintings. They were so well preserved because they spent thousands of years in total darkness with an unchanging environment.
You can see similar degradation in the wall paintings in Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

 

[giradman]

I believe the caves were closed to the public because in addition to bright artificial lighting, the added moisture from the exhaled breaths of visitors was causing damage to the cave paintings. They were so well preserved because they spent thousands of years in total darkness with an unchanging environment.
You can see similar degradation in the wall paintings in Tut's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Yep - you know your caves! Quoted below from one of the links in my first post - Dave

...Having been hidden for 17,000 years, the Lascaux Caves were in perfect condition when they were discovered. Unfortunately, however, the caves were opened to an enthusiastic public in 1948 without any thought to preservation. The combined effects of artificial lighting and 100,000 visitors per year soon caused great damage to the site. Much valuable archaeological information was lost, the bright colors of the paintings faded, and destructive layers of algae, bacteria and opaque calcite crystals formed on the walls.

Finally, in 1963, the caves were closed to the public and restoration efforts began. The growth of crystals was stopped and the algae and bacteria growth was reversed. The caves are still carefully monitored and remain closed to the public. In 1979, the Lascaux Caves were declared a World Heritage Site along with over 20 other painted caves in the area. In 1983, a carefully executed replica known as Lascaux II opened to the public. Located on the same hill as the original, the replica cave took 10 years to complete. The paintings were reproduced with painstaking attention to detail by a local artist named Monique Peytral.

 

[scifan57]

Yep - you know your caves! Quoted below from one of the links in my first post - Dave

Another fine example of the degradation caused to wall paintings after a long sealed space was opened to the public are the buried remains of Nero's Golden House in Rome. When first rediscovered during the Renaissance, the frescoes were in near perfect condition. now, after several hundred years with little thought to preservation, the frescoes are a pale shadow of their former state.

 

[giradman]

Lincoln Issues Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation Today in 1862

President Abraham Lincoln's main goal during the early part of the American Civil War was for reunion, despite his long hatred of slavery in the country - his response to a Horace Greeley editorial just a month before the Battle of Antietam is revealing of his feelings and his political astuteness (first pic below). Antietam (the bloodiest single day in the Civil War) provided the impetus for the preliminary announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on this day - freedom was granted to slaves only in states in rebellion (see map) - passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865 prohibited slavery throughout America. The original of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, is in the National Archives in Washington, DC. Dave

On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which sets a date for the freedom of more than 3 million black slaves in the United States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, shortly after Lincoln’s inauguration as America’s 16th president, he maintained that the war was about restoring the Union and not about slavery. He avoided issuing an anti-slavery proclamation immediately, despite the urgings of abolitionists and radical Republicans, as well as his personal belief that slavery was morally repugnant. (Source)

In July 1862, Lincoln informed his cabinet that he would issue an emancipation proclamation but that it would exempt the so-called border states, which had slaveholders but remained loyal to the Union. His cabinet persuaded him not to make the announcement until after a Union victory. Lincoln’s opportunity came following the Union win at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. On September 22, the president announced that slaves in areas still in rebellion within 100 days would be free. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebel states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” The proclamation also called for the recruitment and establishment of black military units among the Union forces. An estimated 180,000 African Americans went on to serve in the army, while another 18,000 served in the navy. (Source)

After the Emancipation Proclamation, backing the Confederacy was seen as favoring slavery. It became impossible for anti-slavery nations such as Great Britain and France, who had been friendly to the Confederacy, to get involved on behalf of the South. The proclamation also unified and strengthened Lincoln’s party, the Republicans, helping them stay in power for the next two decades. The proclamation was a presidential order and not a law passed by Congress, so Lincoln then pushed for an antislavery amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure its permanence. With the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865, slavery was eliminated throughout America (although blacks would face another century of struggle before they truly began to gain equal rights). (Source)

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[giradman]

An NPR story today - 60th Anniversary of the event below - a post that I left in my Arkansas travelogue about a year ago (HERE) - take a look at the link for much more on this interesting state. Dave

Central High School - Little Rock Nine - Racial Integration - 1957

After visiting the Old State House, I returned to pick up Susan - we lunched across the street at the Marriott Hotel, then drove to the Little Rock Central HS National Historic Site, which is near the State Capitol - as discussed in the quotes below, in September of 1957, the school gained national prominence over racial integration. President Eisenhower had to send in federal troops - see the video below, if interested.

In 1998, Congress established the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, which is across the street from the historic Mobil gas station, the 'news center' for the events that occurred. The pics below show the school, some of the many photos taken during the crisis, the visitor's center/gas station, and a few w/ the local Civil Rights activist, Daisy Bates. Next post on the Arkansas History Museum in the downtown area. Dave

P.S. Central High School is still active w/ over 2400 students in 2011 (Source above quotes) - the school is not open for touring unless scheduled. Also, "the American Institute of Architects named it “America’s Most Beautiful High School.” (Source).

The 1957 Desegregation Crisis at Central High School - Little Rock Central High School is recognized for the role it played in the desegregation of public schools in the United States. The nine African-American students' persistence in attending the formerly all-white Central High School was the most prominent national example of the implementation of the May 17, 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education (LINK Above).

Little Rock Central High School is an accredited comprehensive public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Central High School was the site of forced school desegregation after the US Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. This was during the period of heightened activism in the American Civil Rights Movement. Central is located at the intersection of Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive (named for the civil rights leader and formerly known as 14th Street) and Park Street (Source).

On November 6, 1998, Congress established Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, which is administered in partnership with the National Park Service, Little Rock Public Schools, the City of Little Rock, and others. The Visitor Center located diagonally across the street from the school and has a captioned interpretive film on the Little Rock integration crisis, as well as multimedia exhibits on both that and the larger context of desegregation during the 20th century and the Civil Rights Movement. Opposite the Visitor Center the historic Mobil gas station, which has been preserved in its appearance at the time of the crisis; it served as the area for the press and radio and television reporters (Source).

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[scifan57]

The integration of the school was opposed by the Arkansas governor who wanted to call out the state militia to prevent federal troops from enforcing the integration order until the President nationalized the state militia.

 

[giradman]

The integration of the school was opposed by the Arkansas governor who wanted call out the state militia to prevent federal troops from enforcing the integration order until the President nationalized the state militia.

Well, you know the event well - the whole subject, including the now rather embarrassing behavior (in my mind) of Governor Orval Faubus - some discussion below in the quotes (Source), for those interested. Despite his defiant attitude, he served as the Governor of Arkansas for 6 straight terms (1955-1967), i.e. 10 more years after the 'Little Rock Nine' event (third quote, Wiki). Dave

Three years after the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, which officially ended public-school segregation, a federal court ordered Little Rock to comply. On September 4, 1957, Governor Orval Faubus defied the court, calling in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine African American students--"The Little Rock Nine"--from entering the building. Ten days later in a meeting with President Eisenhower, Faubus agreed to use the National Guard to protect the African American teenagers, but on returning to Little Rock, he dismissed the troops, leaving the African American students exposed to an angry white mob. Within hours, the jeering, brick-throwing mob had beaten several reporters and smashed many of the school's windows and doors. By noon, local police were forced to evacuate the nine students.

When Faubus did not restore order, President Eisenhower dispatched 101st Airborne Division paratroopers to Little Rock and put the Arkansas National Guard under federal command. By 3 a.m., soldiers surrounded the school, bayonets fixed. Under federal protection, the "Little Rock Nine" finished out the school year. The following year, Faubus closed all the high schools, forcing the African American students to take correspondence courses or go to out-of-state schools. The school board reopened the schools in the fall of 1959, and despite more violence--for example, the bombing of one student's house--four of the nine students returned, this time protected by local police.

Orval Eugene Faubus (January 7, 1910 – December 14, 1994) was an American politician who served as 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967. A Democrat, he is best remembered for his 1957 stand against desegregation of the Little Rock School District during the Little Rock Crisis, in which, by ordering the Arkansas National Guard to prevent black students from attending Little Rock Central High School, he defied a unanimous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court made in the 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education.

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[scifan57]

October 1, 1890;

On this day President Benjamin Harrison signed into law the act of Congress creating Yosemite National Park. Yosemite National Park - Wikipedia

 

[giradman]

October 1, 1890;

On this day President Benjamin Harrison signed into law the act of Congress creating Yosemite National Park. Yosemite National Park - Wikipedia
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Over several decades ago, we were on a trip to Reno, Nevada, Lake Tahoe, & Yosemite National Park - we stayed 3-4 nights in the park at their historic Ahwahnee Hotel (now called the Majestic Yosemite Hotel) - for those wanting to stay there, book FAR ahead! - first 2 pics below). Two of the main iconic sites (among many, including nearby giant redwoods) are Yosemite Falls (which were almost dry on our visit) and Half Dome (next 2 pics).

Over recent years, we've purchased 3 photographs from the Ansel Adams Gallery - two of Half Dome & one of the Jeffrey Pine (all shown below) - these are actual photo prints made from Adam's original negatives (see description below from link) - unfortunately, the web pics do not do the photographs justice, sorry. Dave

Ansel Adams launched the Yosemite Special Edition series in 1958. Today, Alan Ross makes each Special Edition Photograph by hand from Adams ' original negative on gelatin silver fiber paper. Ross, a master printer and fine art photographer in his own right, began working side-by-side with Adams as his photographic assistant in 1974; he's been the exclusive printer of this series since 1975. Each of the prints in this limited series bears an identifying stamp. Yosemite Special Edition Photographs are available only from The Ansel Adams Gallery.

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[giradman]

October 1 - Quite a Day for Events

After SciFan..'s post, I checked my usual This Day in History site and SO MUCH occurred, so simply made a selected list of eight more events (first quote below and others all from the link) - did not quote or pictured all of these happenings, so check the source, in interested.

Just some personal comments: 1) Concerning radio (which we had of course), by the time I was a youngster, my father had bought our first TV (NO resemblance to my current 42" HDTV - chuckle); 2) Jimmy Carter, a Nobel Laureate, had his 93th birthday today; 3) Around 1990 or so, I was in Nuremberg for 3 nights (w/ my colleague picking out X-ray equipment at the Siemens headquarters in Erlangen) and despite the WW II bombing some of the inner city was not destroyed and also rebuilt - a beautiful town as I recall; 4) In 1961, I was really into baseball (cards, mitts, bats, playing, etc.) and the Yankees were our favorites w/ Mantle and Maris - for me, the breaking of Babe Ruth's remarkable 1927 home run record (there is an * for that accomplishment) was much more thrilling than the later doped up super home run record hitters, but just my opinion; and 5) Johnny Carson - 30 years or so as host of the Tonight Show - I still watch a LOT of YouTube videos of his shows, especially the comedians (Robin Williams w/ Jonathan Winters likely my favorite). Dave

1908 - Ford Motor Company unveils the Model T
1920 - Scientific American reports radio to transmit home music
1924 - Jimmy Carter is born
1936 - Franco heads Spain
1946 - Nazi war criminals sentenced at Nuremberg
1949 - Mao Zedong proclaims People’s Republic of China
1961 - Roger Maris breaks home-run record
1962 - Johnny Carson makes debut as Tonight Show host

On October 1, 1908, the first production Model T Ford is completed at the company’s Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit. Between 1908 and 1927, Ford would build some 15 million Model T cars. It was the longest production run of any automobile model in history until the Volkswagen Beetle surpassed it in 1972.
Before the Model T, cars were a luxury item: At the beginning of 1908, there were fewer than 200,000 on the road. Though the Model T was fairly expensive at first (the cheapest one initially cost $825, or about $18,000 in today’s dollars), it was built for ordinary people to drive every day.

On October 1, 1946, 12 high-ranking Nazis are sentenced to death by the International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg. Among those condemned to death by hanging were Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi minister of foreign affairs; Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and chief of the German air force; and Wilhelm Frick, minister of the interior. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. Three others were acquitted.

On this day in 1962, Johnny Carson takes over from Jack Paar as host of the late-night talk program The Tonight Show. Carson went on to host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for three decades, becoming one of the biggest figures in entertainment in the 20th century. After three decades with the hugely successful Tonight Show, Carson decided to retire. He hosted his final show on May 22, 1992. Comedian Jay Leno took over hosting duties the following day. Carson, who was married four times, stayed largely out of the public spotlight after retiring. On January 23, 2005, the late-night TV legend died at the age of 79 of complications from emphysema.

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[giradman]

Battle of King's Mountain October 7, 1780 - Patriot Victory & Beginning of Cornwallis' Downfall!

Today in 1780, the Battle of King's Mountain (located in South Carolina now, despite the first quote), basically a 'civil war' conflict between American patriots & loyalists, the latter under the leadership of Major Patrick Ferguson (in the pic, he is listed as 'Colonel' which was a brevet promotion, I believe) - he was killed in the battle at 36 years of age; his death and the losing conflict were major blows to General Cornwallis.

In January 1781, the Battle of Cowpens occurred nearby, also in South Carolina (both places near the North Carolina border) (see map & description in pic); there General Daniel Morgan defeated British Lt. Colonel Banastre Tarleton - yet another blow to Cornwallis - the next blow came at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse (near me in present day Greensboro) - technically a British victory w/ the retreat of Nathanael Greene, but a costly one in men for Cornwallis, who then headed into Virginia to Yorktown, and we all know what happened there. King's Mountain & Cowpens arewest of Charlotte and just off I-85, a 2-hour drive for us. Dave

Patriot militia under Colonel William Campbell defeat Loyalist militia under Major Patrick Ferguson at the Battle of King’s Mountain in North Carolina near the border South Carolina, on this day in 1780. Major Ferguson’s force, made up mostly of frontier Loyalists from South Carolina, was the western wing of General Charles Cornwallis’ invasion force tasked with protecting Loyalist outposts from attacks by Patriots led by Isaac Shelby, Elijah Clark and Charles McDowell. Ferguson had declared that the Patriots could choose to lay down their arms or see him “lay waste to their country with fire and sword.” Believing they could prevent Ferguson from making good on his threat, 1,000 Patriot militiamen gathered in the Carolina backcountry, including Davy Crockett’s father, John. Learning of the Patriot force from a deserter, Ferguson positioned his Loyalists in defense of a rocky, treeless ridge named King’s Mountain. (Source)

The Patriots charged the hillside multiple times, demonstrating lethal marksmanship against the surrounded Loyalists. Unwilling to surrender, Ferguson led a suicidal charge down the mountain and was cut down in a hail of bullets. After his death, some of his men tried to surrender, but they were slaughtered by the Patriot frontiersmen, who wanted revenge for British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s cruelty to surrendering prisoners at Waxhaws on the Carolina border on May 29, 1780. The Loyalists suffered 157 killed, 163 wounded and 698 captured, while Campbell’s force suffered just 28 killed and 60 wounded. The Patriot success was the first against the British in the South, and convinced General Cornwallis to stop his march through the territory. Of the 2,000 men that fought for both sides at the Battle of King’s Mountain, 1,900 were born on American soil. Only Ferguson and 100 of his personally trained Redcoats were Britons. (Source)

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[scifan57]

October 12, 1492;

Christopher Columbus makes his first landfall in the new world, probably at Watling Island in the Bahamas.
Christopher Columbus - Wikipedia