Challenger explosion

January 28, 1986: At 11:38:00.010 the space shuttle Challenger hits T=0 or liftoff. Later review showed a puff of black smoke issued from the right SRB (Solid Rocket Booster) at T+0.678. The last smoke puff was seen at T+2.733. The smoke dissipated by T+3.375. At T+28 the engines throttled back to limit velocity in the dense lower atmosphere. At T+35.379 they throttled back further to 65%. At T+51.860, after passing through Mach 1 speed, the engines throttled back up. All was going as planned. The shuttle passed Max Q, the period of maximum aerodynamic pressure. Just as it passed through, it encountered the greatest wind shear experienced to date.

At T+58.788 a tracking camera spotted a plume on the right SRB. At T+60.238 flame was visible near the plume. At T+64.660 the plume’s shape changed indicating a liquid hydrogen leak. At T+68 both astronauts and ground control were preparing to “throttle up” and all were unaware of any problem. At T+72.284 the right SRB pulled away from the strut. At T+72.525 the shuttle accelerated to the right at an angle and force unprecedented and unsupported by the engineering of the craft. At T+73.124 the aft dome of the liquid hydrogen tank failed. At T+73.162 the shuttle disintegrated.

The crew consisted of Michael J. Smith (pilot), Dick Scobee (commander), Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik, and winner of the Teacher in Space, Christa McAuliffe. By the time of the launch, space shots were common. With the addition of the civilian teacher as one of the crew, many jaded Americans once again tuned in to watch the launch, televised extensively. Within an hour, 85% of Americans knew the Challenger and all her passengers were gone.

President Reagan formed a special group, the Rogers Commission, to investigate the disaster. All further launches were put on hold and it was 32 months before Americans one again flew to outer space. The Commission’s findings pointed to a faulty O-ring. The flaw was first found in 1977 but was not properly addressed. NASA also failed to heed the warnings of engineers concerning launches on cold days. Both factors led to the catastrophe.

Sometimes, when we reach for the stars, we fall short. But we must pick ourselves up again and press on despite the pain. – Ronald Reagan

I took this stuff that I got out of your seal and I put it in ice water, and I discovered that when you put some pressure on it for a while and then undo it, it does not stretch back. It stays the same dimension. In other words, for a few seconds at least and more seconds than that, there is no resilience in this particular material when it is at a temperature of 32 degrees. – Richard Feynman

The Committee feels … the fundamental problem was poor technical decision-making over a period of several years by top NASA and contractor personnel, who failed to act decisively to solve the increasingly serious anomalies in the Solid Rocket Booster joints. – U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology

I touch the future. I teach. – Christa McAuliffe

Also on this day:

Beautiful Snow – In 1887, the largest snowflake on record was found.
Serendipitous Find – In 1754, Horace Walpole coined a new word.
Lighting the Night – In 1807, the first street was lit by gas light.

Kappa Alpha Theta

January 27, 1870: Bettie Locke (Hamilton), Alice Allen (Brant), Bettie Tipton (Lindsay), and Hannah Fitch (Shaw) hold an initiation ceremony. The four women began Kappa Alpha Theta at Indiana Asbury University. The name changed to DePauw University in 1884. The school was founded in 1837 after Methodist Bishop, Francis Asbury, proposed the idea and helped to raise funds. The original class held five students with one professor. During the Civil War, many men left higher learning to engage in defending ideals. In 1867, the university began to accept women scholars.

The four founders sought to form friendships and encourage other women to join emerging coeducational colleges. They based their new organization on similar groups. Bettie Locke had experience with Beta Theta Pi, her father’s fraternity, and Phi Gamma Delta, her brother’s fraternity. Bettie’s father suggested she start her own Greek society. Bettie and Alice worked together to write a constitution, planned ceremonies, designed a badge, and sought out other like-minded women on campus. It took them three years of planning, but they finally held initiation ceremony and became the first Greek-letter society for women.

Fraternities and sororities, from the Greek words for brother and sister, are social organizations for North American undergraduate students. Although found in Europe, these are usually called “corporations” on The Continent. These groups can be social fraternities, honor societies, or service based. These groups are named with two or three Greek letters, after the initials of a Greek motto. The groups are usually gender specific with young men joining fraternities and young women in sororities. Although Kappa Alpha Theta is for young women only, they refer to themselves as a fraternity.

Kappa Alpha Theta is usually shortened to Theta. The badge designed by the founders was worn to chapel on March 14, 1870. The society’s colors are Black and Gold (the colors of the badge). Their symbols are a Kite and Twin Stars. Theta at Asbury soon grew to 22 members and by year’s end had spread to ten other campuses in Indiana and surrounding states. Today there are 128 college chapters with more than 210,000 collegiate lifetime members. The Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation was founded in 1960. They offer scholarships to members and support educational programs. They participate in Court Appointed Special Advocates, a program to help abused and neglected children.

What fraternities and sororities are about is to be there to give people that helping hand, especially the youth. – Alexandreena Dixon

Women are a sisterhood. They make common cause in behalf of the sex; and, indeed, this is natural enough, when we consider the vast power that the law gives us over them. – William Cobbett

“I think it’s very critical for the Greeks to establish an identity of what they are really like and that the social is one aspect. It is much more than that. (It’s) the brotherhood, the sisterhood, the leadership development (and) the community service. – Don Robertson

All Greek houses face the stereotypes of being the partying type. But this isn’t what we are about; we are about sisterhood and positive relationships. – Cara Snyder

Also on this day:

Globetrotters – In 1927, the Harlem Globetrotters played their first game.
Guy Fawkes’s Trial – In 1606, Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators were brought to trial.
Apollo I Fire – In 1967, during a test flight the capsule of Apollo 1 burns, killing three.

Some of the cuts of the Cullinan Diamond

January 26, 1905: The Cullinan Diamond is found. The largest rough gem quality diamond was found at the Premier Diamond Mining Company in Cullinan – today called Gauteng – South Africa. The mine was owned by Sir Thomas Cullinan and Frederick Wells, the surface manager, found the diamond while on a routine inspection. The uncut gem weighed in at 3,106.75 carats (1.3698 pounds or 621.35 grams). Sir William Crookes analyzed the uncut gem noting its clarity but also stating there was a black spot in the center, probably due to internal strain.

The diamond was sent to England. Security was an issue. The diamond was to be sent by steamer ship from Africa to London, surrounded by Detectives. This was a ruse and the diamond was actually sent in a plain box via parcel post – registered mail. There is no record of any attempt made against the diversionary fake sent by ship. The gem was purchased by the Transvaal government, an area in northern South Africa, and presented to King Edward VII for his birthday, November 8.

The stone was cut by Asscher Brothers of Amsterdam. The company was founded in 1854 and is still in operation (although nearly destroyed by Nazi atrocities) and is run under the name of Royal Asscher Diamond Company. Abraham and Joseph Asscher developed a signature method for cutting diamonds in 1902. Called the Asscher cut, the gem is shaped in a square emerald cut with cropped corners. Joseph, grandson of the founder, tried to cut the remarkable diamond in February 1908. The cleaving blade broke. He tried again one week later and was successful. Rumor says he fainted after the first cut – erroneously.

The Cullinan diamond was cut into nine major stones, 96 smaller brilliants, and 9.5 carats of unpolished pieces. The largest gem, Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, was the largest polished diamond in the world until 1985. It weighs 530.2 carats (3.74 ounces or 106.04 grams) and was surpassed by the Golden Jubilee Diamond weighing in at 545.67 carats (3.84 ounces or 109.13 grams). The Jubilee also came from the Premier Mine. Cullinan II or the Lesser Star of Africa is the fourth largest diamond weighing 317.4 carats (2.23 ounces or 63.48 grams).

A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections. – Chinese Proverb

Let us not be too particular; it is better to have old secondhand diamonds than none at all. – Mark Twain

I have always felt a gift diamond shines so much better than one you buy for yourself. – Mae West

I prefer liberty to chains of diamonds. – Mary Worley Montagu

Also on this day:

The Hills Are Alive – In 1905, Maria von Trapp was born.
Phantom – In 1988, The Phantom of the Opera opened in New York City.
Bald Eagle or Wild Turkey? – In 178,: Benjamin Franklin debates using the eagle as engraved on the national seal.

Alan Freed

January 25, 1960: The National Association of Broadcasters issues punishments for those involved in the payola scandal. The American music industry is governed by a set of laws including 47 U.S.C. § 317 which covers specifics for sponsored airtime. According to law, record companies are permitted to pay radio stations to give airtime to specific recordings but only if the sponsorship is identified. They may not pay disk jockeys themselves. If songs are played for monetary consideration and not advertised as such, a crime is committed. Payola is the term for the money secretly paid.

Alan Freed, a rock and roll supporter and DJ, along with Dick Clark, perpetual teenager, were both affected by the payola scandal, along with many others. Some propose that playing records on the radio is advertising for the LP or CD in itself. It is permissible to pay for billboard space and print ads. It is thought that payments given directly to the DJ will permit an uneven playing field where one song or record company will get an unfair advantage and greater airtime.

Payola isn’t just for rock and roll or even radio. Claims have been made stating forms of payola have existed since vaudeville in the 1920s. However, the 1950s saw a special convergence of circumstances. Radio went to Top 40 formats because television took over drama and comedy entertainment. Teens had expendable cash and the new 45 RPM records were cheap and easy to buy. Rock and roll was emerging and what a great way for teens to rebel against Big Band parents. But what was the “best” record to buy? The one with the most radio airtime, of course.

The punishment set forth for the crime of receiving payment for airtime was set at $500 and one year in prison. Some DJs admitted receiving tens of thousands of dollars. The Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission began investigating. Alan Freed, who coined the term “rock and roll,” was arrested and pleaded guilty. He lost his show and was blacklisted. He was fined, but not imprisoned. He died broke and bitter in 1965. Dick Clark was castigated but managed to survive his day in court by selling off his interests in several record companies. With so many of today’s radio stations owned by huge conglomerates, the practice of payola is no longer as plausible. Maybe.

It’s not easy. Payola is something that is not readily identified because it can take so many forms. – Brian Schmidt

I believe this payola scandal may represent the most widespread and flagrant violation of any FCC rules in the history of American broadcasting, … Mr. Spitzer’s office has collected a mountain of evidence on the potentially illegal promotion practices of not only Sony BMG, but also other major record companies, independent promoters and several of the largest radio station groups. – Jonathan Adelstein

I don’t set trends. I just find out what they are and exploit them. – Dick Clark

More than any other man, he brought us rock ‘n’ roll. – Paul Ackerman, about Alan Freed

Also on this day:

Moscow University – In 1755, Moscow University was established.
Rebellion – Shays’s Rebellion attacked an arsenal.
First Winter Olympics – In 1924, International Winter Sports Week opens in Chamonix, France.

Shōichi Yokoi

January 24, 1972: Shōichi Yokoi is found. He was born in Saori, Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 1915 and was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army in 1941 – age 26. Yokoi was a sergeant and served first in Manchuria and then in Guam. Guam is the largest and most southern island of the Mariana chain and was a strategic base during World War II. The Japanese held the island from December 1941 until retaken by US troops in June 1944. Most of the 22,000 Japanese troops were killed in the battles to retake the island. But not all.

Yokoi hid out in the jungle along the Talofofo River. Two villagers heard a noise and went to investigate. They found an old man carrying a shrimp trap. The two villagers captured and subdued the now 56-year-old sergeant and walked him out of the jungle and back to the village. Yokoi had been in the supply corps. Ten men hid in the jungles as the Americans took over the island. They lived in caves dug out of the ground. Their numbers dwindled over time. In 1952 the three surviving men found a leaflet and knew the war was over, but did not give themselves up as it would have been a disgrace. Yokoi became the sole survivor in 1964 and lived the last eight years in seclusion.

Yokoi lived off the land. Finding enough food was the most difficult and time-consuming task. He built traps for both water and land creatures and ate whatever he managed to catch. He could not afford to be a picky eater. While water was plentiful, he always boiled it as a precaution. His clothing was made from beaten pago bark. He sewed pieces of pago fabric into clothing. He had been a tailor prior to being a soldier. He started fires using a lens until it was lost and then was forced to use two sticks rubbed together. He lived in several places over the 28 years but preferred a cave he dug out for himself under a bamboo grove.

Yokoi was not the longest holdout after the war. Some soldiers hid for a time and then assimilated into the local villages. The last true holdout – a man in hiding – was discovered in 1980 on Mindoro Island, the Philippines. The most famous holdout was 2^nd Lt. Hiroo Onada found on Lubang Island, the Philippines in 1974. Onada would not surrender until he received a direct order from his old commander. Yokoi adjusted to modern Japanese life and became a minor celebrity. He received ≈ $300 in back pay and a small pension. He died of a heart attack in 1997 at the age of 82.

It is with much embarrassment that I have returned alive. – Shōichi Yokoi

Mankind’s common instinct for reality has always held the world to be essentially a theatre for heroism. In heroism, we feel, life’s supreme mystery is hidden. – William James

It is not a disgrace to fail. Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. – Charles F. Kettering

Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength. – unknown

Also on this day:

Badminton – In 1900, the Newcastle Badminton Club opened, the oldest such club in England.
Be Prepared – In 1907, the Boy Scouts were begun by Robert Baden-Powell.
“Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River” – In 1848, James W. Marshall spies gold in the American River, sparking the  California Gold Rush.

Botanical drawing of the opium poppy

January 23, 1912: The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague. This was the first international drug control treaty. Thirteen nations gathered in Shanghai, China in 1909. The International Opium Commission was formed at the conference in response to growing criticisms of the opium trade. The title refers to opium and its derivatives but Egypt with Chinese and American support wished to include hashish in the Convention.

India and some other countries objected to some of the language in the document. They pointed to legitimate usage in religious rites as well as social customs on the sub-continent. Wild growth of cannabis would make enforcement difficult. Shipments of drugs across borders needed to be controlled because of legitimate medicinal usage, as well. Later Conventions superseded this 1912 document. The 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is the latest version.

As opium usage spread, more people became addicted. The Convention was the first concerted effort by the world’s leading nations to control the movement of harmful drugs. Immature seed pods of opium poppies produce a sap containing up to 12% morphine, a narcotic. The sap can be processed to make heroin. The process is laborious and takes multiple steps. Different methods lead to the production of #3 heroin, or smoking heroin, and #4 heroin, or injectable heroin. Poppy sap can also be used to produce valuable legal drugs, such as morphine sulfate, codeine, papaverine, thebaine and noscapine.

Hashish is produced from the cannabis plant. Cannabis has been around since at least 6000 BC when seeds were used as food in China. The plant was also used as hemp and woven into cloth. The Legend of Shiva mentions it as “sacred grass” about 1500 BC. By 700 BC ancient texts written throughout the Middle East mention the narcotic effects of the plant. By 1000 AD many texts were debating the pros and cons of hashish. By the late 1800s, India was importing 155-175,000 pounds (70-80,000 kg) of hashish per year. Drugs are expensive and to increase profits, are often adulterated with cutting agents, some of these even more dangerous than the drugs themselves.

Tao. Some of us look for the Way in opium and some in God, some of us in whiskey and some in love. It is all the same Way and it leads nowhither. – W. Somerset Maugham

The book can produce an addiction as fierce as heroin or nicotine, forcing us to spend much of our lives, like junkies, in book shops and libraries, those literary counterparts to the opium den. – Phillip Adams

Drugs and terrorism are very close, they feed each other. As the production of opium increases, the terrorists entrench themselves. – Mohammed Daoud

I don’t think it’s decreasing. There are poppies everywhere — in places where there were no poppies when we were young. The opium trade is still flourishing. Those who say it is decreasing are blinded by the SPDC. – Colonel Yod Suk

Also on this day:

Shaanxi Earthquake – In 1556, the deadliest earthquake on record strikes central China.
More Than Vases – In 1368, the Ming Dynasty came to power in China.
Greenbriar Ghost – In 189, Elva Zona Heaster was murdered but did not leave this mortal coil.

1927 Arsenal FC met Sheffield United FC

January 22, 1927: The first radio commentary of an association football match is broadcast. Arsenal Football Club (FC) also called The Gunners met Sheffield United FC (the Blades, United, or Red & White Wizards) at Highbury, home field of the Arsenal. Association football (a.k.a. soccer in the US and football in the UK) has been around in one form or another for centuries. Played in China as early as the 3^rd century BC, the current rules were set down by Cambridge University in 1848. Rules were modified and an overseeing governing body was established as time went on.

Arsenal FC was founded in 1886 as Dial Square. They are a member of the Premier League and are one of the most successful clubs in English football with thirteen First Division and Premier League titles and ten FA Cups. Their home field was at Highbury, London from 1913-2006. The new Emirates Stadium open on July 22, 2006. The new venue cost £430 million to build and seats 60,355. The name came from the sponsorship of Emirates Airline who donated £100 million to the club. The Emirates name may be changed after 15 years according to the deal made.

Sheffield United FC was founded in 1889. Home for the club is Sheffield, South Yorkshire and they play at Bramall Lane. The stadium was built in 1855 to host cricket matches. It is the oldest still-in-use major stadium in the world. It has been renovated several times and expanded twice. It now seats 32,609. The team is a member of the Championship League and brought home the League championship once, in 1898. They won the FA cup four times.

The Arsenal has had a number of firsts. This first radio broadcast (tied at 1-1) was followed a decade later with the first football match televised live. On September 16, 1937 an exhibition game between the first team and the reserve team was filmed. The first edition of BBC’s Match of the Day aired on August 22, 1964 and featured highlights of the Arsenal and Liverpool match. Today, football is played professionally around the world, millions of fans attend games while billions watch on television or the Internet. A 2001 survey reported over 240 million people in more than 200 countries regularly played the sport.

To say that these men paid their shillings to watch twenty-two hirelings kick a ball is merely to say that a violin is wood and catgut, that Hamlet is so much paper and ink. – J.B. Priestley

A sport where the players actually enjoy getting hit in the head by a ball. – Soccer advertisement

If you’re attacking, you don’t get as tired as when you’re chasing. – Kyle Rote, Jr.

The goalkeeper is the jewel in the crown and getting at him should be almost impossible.  It’s the biggest sin in football to make him do any work. – George Graham

Also on this day:

Roe v. Wade – In 1973, the Supreme Court decided on the abortion issue, assuring all women a right to privacy.
Bloody Sunday – In 1905, a Russian uprising took place in St. Petersburg.
Pontifical Swiss Guards – In 1506, the first of the Swiss Guards come to protect the Pope.

Anabaptist Persecution of 1544

January 21, 1525: Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and George Blaurock hold a baptismal ceremony. The three Swiss men broke with a thousand year tradition of unity of church and state when they held the religious rite at Manz’s mother’s house in Zürich. Grebel became the “Father of the Anabaptists” as co-founder of the Swiss Brethren sect. They rejected infant baptism and preached a “true Christianity.” Today’s Swiss Mennonite Conference stems from the Swiss Brethren group.

Huldrych Zwingli was a Reformation leader in Switzerland. He questioned some rites, rituals, and customs of the Catholic Church. In 1521 Grebel went to study with Zwingli after returning from years of studies abroad. Zwingli and Grebel formed a study group and researched the Latin Bible as well as the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament. It was here that Grebel met Manz. The group argued over which parts of the Catholic Church needed reform and Zwingli and the others split. Zwingli argued before the canton and obtained their blessing.

Switzerland’s government was entwined with the Church and demanded Grebel and Manz cease and desist their practice of not baptizing infants. The men refused and were exiled from the canton. Grebel preached his gospel in surrounding cities. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1525 and escaped with the help of friends in 1526. He died just a few months later. Manz was found guilty of performing adult re-baptisms which became a crime on March 7, 1526. On January 5, 1527 he was punished for his crime – execution by drowning. He was the first martyr of the Anabaptists.

Anabaptists are Christians of the Radical Reformation. Today, they have a variety of sects: Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, Brethren in Christ, and other variants of German Baptist faiths. Their belief in believer’s baptism rather than infant baptism caused widespread persecution in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. They were not only hounded by the Catholic Church, but by other Reformation faiths as well. They hold the Bible as the sole rule of faith and practices. If it isn’t the Bible, they don’t do it.

Reason is our soul’s left hand, Faith her right. – John Donne

Faith, to my mind, is a stiffening process, a sort of mental starch. – E.M. Forster

A faith of convenience is a hollow faith. – Father Mulcahy, M*A*S*H, “A Holy Mess”

Faith enables persons to be persons because it lets God be God. – Carter Lindberg

Also on this day:

The Evil Weed – In 1908, the Sullivan Ordinance, an early smoking ban, was passed and vetoed.
I Feel … The Need … For Speed – In 1976, the Concorde SST began service.
Miss Sam – In 1960, Little Joe 1B launched successfully and returned to Earth.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

January 20, 1937: Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) takes his second oath of office as United States President. George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the US on April 30, 1789. He stood on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City as Robert Livingston administered the oath. Washington added “So help me God” to the oath and kissed the Bible after pledging his continued service to the new country. The date for future Presidential Inaugurations was set at March 4 – giving ample time for all votes to be counted.

Washington’s second inauguration was in Philadelphia. He gave the shortest speech ever – just 135 words. John Adams was the first to be sworn in by the Chief Justice of the US in 1797. The nation’s capital moved (although not yet officially opened) and Thomas Jefferson took the oath in Washington, D.C. for the first time in 1801. March 4 fell on a Sunday in 1821 so the event was changed to March 5 for James Monroe’s second term. William H. Harrison delivered the longest speech (8,445 words even though edited for length by Daniel Webster) in 1841 apparently refreshed from his train ride to the swearing in, the first to arrive by train.

John Tyler was the first Vice President to rise to office mid-term and took his oath on April 6, 1841. Franklin Pierce became President in 1853 and was a party-pooper, canceling the inaugural ball. FDR instituted the now-traditional morning worship service. He also is the only President to serve four terms. His fourth inauguration, during World War II, was a simple, quiet ceremony at the White House.

Harry S Truman’s big day was the first televised while Bill Clinton’s was the first broadcast over the Internet. The day begins with the newly elected heads of state taking oaths on a specially constructed platform. The Vice President takes his oath of office prior to the President (since 1937). The day continues with a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue as the President (and his wife since 1909 when Mrs. Taft was included) stroll from the Capitol Building to the White House. For security reasons, the President walks only part way. The Twentieth Amendment to the US Constitution changed the date from March 4 to January 20 (along with other issues of governance) and was ratified on January 23, 1933.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. – oath of office for President

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same: that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. – oath of office for Vice President

I AM again called upon by the voice of my country to execute the functions of its Chief Magistrate. When the occasion proper for it shall arrive, I shall endeavor to express the high sense I entertain of this distinguished honor, and of the confidence which has been reposed in me by the people of united America. – first half of George Washington’s second inaugural speech

Previous to the execution of any official act of the President the Constitution requires an oath of office. This oath I am now about to take, and in your presence: That if it shall be found during my administration of the Government I have in any instance violated willingly or knowingly the injunctions thereof, I may (besides incurring constitutional punishment) be subject to the upbraidings of all who are now witnesses of the present solemn ceremony. – second half of George Washington’s speech

Also on this day:

Eeeeeeeeek – In 1885, LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented his roller coaster structure.
Game of the Century – In 1968, the UCLA Bruins met the Houston Cougars for a game of basketball.
Pearl Harbor – In 1887, the US Senate approved the Navy’s leasing Pearl Harbor.

Georges Claude

January 19, 1915: Georges Claude files US Patent # 1,125,476. The patent was for a neon lamp. In 1675 Jean Picard, a French astronomer, first noticed a glow called barometric light after he shook a mercury-filled barometer. The glow came from static electricity. Heinrich Geissler, a German glassblower and physicist, developed a Geissler tube in 1855. The tube became important after electricity was applied. A variety of tubes containing various gases were tested. They were called electric discharge lamps – clear containers filled with gases that glowed after being electrified.

Claude used neon – a new gas (hence the name) discovered in 1898 by William Ramsey and M.W. Travers in London. Claude built his electric discharge lamp with the rare gas and first displayed the results in Paris in 1910. Neon is found in atmospheric air at the rate of 1 part per 65,000. It is obtained from liquefied air by separating the gas using a fractional distillation process. Today, there is a very limited supplier list for the rare gas used in many different business applications.

Claude, a native Parisian, formed a company, L’Air Liquide S.A., in order to obtain a variety of gases. The company still exists as a multinational air separation firm, but no longer produces neon. After displaying the neon lamp at the Paris Art Show in 1910, Claude created a method for bending the glass tubes in such a way as to form letters. He brought his idea to the US. Earle C. Anthony, a Packard car-dealership owner in Los Angeles, purchased two signs from Claude in 1923.

The Packard signs were the first neon signs in the US. People stopped and stared at what they called “liquid fire.” The first neon sign in the world was placed in a Paris barbershop eleven years before the signs came to America. Las Vegas, Nevada – a city famous for The Strip lighted with neon signs – got their first one in 1929 when the Oasis Café lit up. Today, there are at least five locations in Las Vegas dedicated to the old signs with displays at various Neon Museums.

Miami Beach is where neon goes to die. – Lenny Bruce

One night in the early sixties I passed something on the Long Island Expressway just before the Queens tunnel that I must have seen for years. The billboard advertising cigars, Dutch Masters. I realized it was sort of perfect. It’s weird isn’t it? You’re looking at Rembrandt – in neon! It was too much, it was irresistible. – Larry Rivers

We won’t be taken for a ride, … We don’t have neon signs on top of our heads reading “stupid.” – Saeb Erekat

Those old streetscapes didn’t present a tidy appearance – it was a real syncopation of signs and storefronts with neon and flashing lights – and I think the planners of the ’60s looked down on that kind of environment. – Tim Samuelson

Also on this day:

Electrifying – In 1883, Roselle, New Jersey became the first electrified community.
LISA – In 1983, Apple introduced a new computer.
Not Commando – In 1935, Marshall Field and Company first sold Samuel T. Cooper’s new product – the Jockey brief.