Pullman

George Pullman

May 11, 1894: A wildcat strike was called when 4,000 workers reacted to a 28% decrease in wages from the Pullman Palace Car Company. George Pullman, owner of the company, was a “welfare capitalist.” He believed that labor unrest was caused by low wages and substandard living conditions in company towns. He built Pullman,Illinois as a company town without the usual rickety tenements. Instead he built housing with all the amenities – indoor plumbing, gas, and sewer systems. He retained ownership and rented to his workers.

The town was beautifully landscaped. Free education was provided through the eighth grade. There was a public library stocked with 5,000 books from his private library. It was assumed by the companies who owned the town that the workers would live within their means. Deductions were automatically taken and a worker could end up owing more than he earned. After working for a week, he would take home zero pay.

There was a recession in the 1890s that affected Pullman’s company. He cut wages, but inexplicably, did not cut rents to match. His outraged workers joined the American Railway Union led by Eugene V. Debs. A strike was called and work stopped at the factories. Sympathy strikes were called across the nation and disrupted rail traffic west of Chicago.

On July 5 there were fires set at the Chicago World’s Fair which may or may not have been associated with the strike. It did bring national attention to the cause. With rail traffic disrupted (rail workers wouldn’t work with trains with Pullman or Wagner Place cars), the United States Mail was also disrupted. The strike was broken by US Marshals and 2,000 US Army troops. Workers were back on the job if they signed a no-union codicil on August 2, 1894.

During the strike 13 strikers were killed, 57 were wounded, and $340,000 of property damage was sustained. Debs was brought to trial, found guilty, and served six months in prison for disruption of the mail.

“Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most – that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least.”

“The most heroic word in all languages is revolution.”

“The people can have anything they want, the only problem is they do not want anything.”

“I don’t want you to follow me or anyone else. I would not lead you into the promised land if I could, because if I could lead you in, somebody else would lead you out.” – all from Eugene Debs

Also on this day:
Man Against Machine – In 1997 IBM’s Deep Blue became a chess champion.
Beagle – In 1820, the HMS Beagle was launched.

Longest Bridge in the World

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

May 10, 1969: The longest bridge in the world opens. The bridge had opened with two lanes, now used as the southbound lanes, in August of 1956. This day saw the opening of the northbound lanes making the bridge crossing Lake Pontchartrain more accessible to traffic. The bridge is 23.887 miles long and is located between Metairie and Manderville, Louisiana. It is maintained by the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission. There is a $3 toll collected on the North Shore for southbound traffic only.

The original causeway is 23.86 miles long and cost $30.7 million to build. The newer causeway was built at a cost of $26 million and is 0.021 miles longer. To ease congestion, in 1999, it was decided to double the toll at the southbound end and stop collecting a toll at the northbound end. This means a toll is collected while heading toward New Orleans, but getting out of the city is quicker. Hurricane Katrina caused some damage to the bridge, but mostly at an unused turnaround on the southbound or older bridge.

Lake Pontchartrain is an estuary and is the second largest inland saltwater body of water in the US. The Great Salt Lake is larger. Pontchartrain has a surface area of 630 square miles to Salt Lake’s 1,700 square miles. Pontchartrain is not a true lake, but is connected to the Gulf of Mexico via the Rigolets Straits and Chef Menteur Pass into Lake Borgne (another lagoon). Pontchartrain experiences some tidal activity. Pontchartrain was created about 2,600 to 4,000 years ago as the Mississippi River Delta deposited material on the southern and eastern shorelines.

The bridge is no longer the longest bridge in the world, of course. That title goes to the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge located in China. That bridge is a high speed railway bridge and is 102.401 miles long. The next two longest bridges are also in China and also high speed rail bridges while the fourth longest bridge is in Thailand. The Bang Na Expressway is 33.554 miles and is for cars. The next two longest bridges again are in China, one is the longest bridge over water – the Qingdoa Haiwan Bridge and is 26.408 miles long and used for cars. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is next and is the longest bridge in the Western World, and is also over water. All of the six longest bridges were all built in the 21^st century.

“A politician is a man who will double cross that bridge when he comes to it.” – Oscar Levant

“But which is the stone that supports the bridge?” – Kublai Khan

“Doing the show was like painting the George Washington Bridge. As soon as you finished one end, you started right in on the other.” – Jack Paar

“George is a radio announcer, and when he walks under a bridge… you can’t hear him talk.” – Steven Wright

Also on this day:

I Think I Can – In 1869 the First US Transcontinental Railroad is completed.

Before Hillary – In 1872, Victoria Woodhull was nominated to run for the US Presidency.

Crown Jewels Stolen

Thomas Blood

May 9, 1671: Colonel Thomas Blood tries to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. Blood was born in County Clare, Ireland in 1618 and was educated in England. He served with Oliver Cromwell in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He returned to Ireland at Cromwell’s request and was given land grants.

In 1660 the monarchy was restored and Blood lost his land grants. He then plotted to kidnap James Butler whose title was 1^st Duke of Ormonde, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He was unsuccessful. He fled to the Netherlands and tried to abduct Butler again in 1670.

In 1671, over several weeks time, he disguised himself as a clergyman and made overtures of friendship with the Jewel Keeper, Talbot Edwards. After gaining Edwards’ trust, he persuaded the keeper to show the Crown Jewels to himself and two friends. Where upon the two friends attacked Edwards, striking him in the head with a mallet. He was bound, gagged, and stabbed in the stomach.

Blood then took the mallet and tried to flatten St. Edward’s Crown to fit under his cloak. One of the friends took the Sceptre of the Cross and filed it into two pieces to hide it, while the other friend took the Sovereign’s Orb and hid it. All these precious items were crafted in 1661. Unfortunately for the thieves, Edward’s son, Wythe, unexpectedly came to visit and caught them red handed. He set up an alarm and all were captured immediately. At the trial, Blood remained silent. Afterward, King Charles II pardoned him. Today it is thought that the king may have planned the whole caper with the hope of selling the jewels on the continent and returning the proceeds to help with the king’s need for a better cash flow.

King Charles II: “What if I should give you your life?”
Blood: “I would endeavour to deserve it, Sire!” – after the trial

“A clever theft was praiseworthy among the Spartans; and it is equally so among Christians, provided it be on a sufficiently large scale.” – Herbert Spencer

“Old thieves never die, they just steal away.” – unknown

“In this age, when it is said of a man, ‘He knows how to live,’ it may be implied he is not very honest.” – Marquess of Halifax

Also on this day:
Xenu Was Here? – In 1950 L. Ron Hubbard published his book on Dianetics.
Gay Rights – In 1726, five gay men were hung after a molly house raid.

Shoot Out

René Jalbert

May 8, 1984: Shooting at the Quebec National Assembly ends with three dead. Corporal Denis Lortie, a supply technician in the Canadian Forces, didn’t like all the new policies of the Quebec and federal government. The day before, he left the CFS Carp military base in Ontario asking for time off to arrange a divorce. Instead he rented a car and arrived at Quebec City in time to take a guided tour of the Quebec Parliament Building. He took a hotel for the night and at 9:30 the next morning dropped off a sealed envelope at CJRP radio. It contained an audio tape and there were instructions not to open it until 10:30.

Lortie then entered the Parliament Building at 9:45 using a side door. He was dressed in combat fatigues and carried two submachine guns. He shot a receptionist as he entered and killed a messenger in the hallway. He entered a smoking room and shot some people there, went to the cafeteria and then finally found the Assembly Chamber. His intended target was Premier René Lévesque as well as other members of Parti Québécois. Instead of using a watch, Lortie was timing his events by the radio and the morning host ended his segment 20 minutes early. Therefore, Lortie’s timing was off. The Assembly Chamber was mostly empty. He managed to kill three government employees, but no politicians. He also wounded 13 more.

The National Assembly’s Sergeant-at-Arms, René Jalbert, stepped off an elevator and was fired upon. Seeing Lortie in fatigues, Jalbert mentioned he was also ex-military and used military slang as his bonafides. He talked calmly with Lortie and convinced him to come to Jalbert’s office so they could discuss the problem. First, Jalbert had gotten Lortie to release all the civilians in the Assembly Chamber. The two men talked for four hours in Jalbert’s office. Finally, after much persuasion, Lortie gave himself up to military police, having refused to surrender to civilian police.

Jalbert had served in both World War II and the Korean War. He left the service with a rank of major in the Royal 22^nd Régiment. He was given the Cross of Valour, Canada’s highest award for citizen bravery. He was 63 years old at the time of these events. His award was given on November 9, 1984 and presented by Governor General Jeanne Sauvé in a ceremony at Rideau Hall, Ottawa.

“In a rare display of coolheadedness and courage, René Jalbert, Sergeant-at-Arms at the Quebec National Assembly, subdued a man who had killed three people and wounded thirteen more on the morning of 8 May 1984.”

“The man had entered a side door of the National Assembly building and immediately opened fire with a submachine-gun; moments later he climbed the main staircase toward the assembly chamber, known as the Blue Room, shooting repeatedly, and then burst into the chamber.”

“As bullets peppered the wall, Mr. Jalbert entered the Blue Room and with icy calm convinced the man to allow several employees to leave the premises. Then he invited the heavily armed man into his downstairs office, in effect setting himself up as hostage while removing the man from the scene. At extreme personal risk, but with unflinching authority, Mr. Jalbert spent four hours persuading the man to surrender to police.”

“The audacity of this retired Major of the Royal 22nd Regiment, a Second World War and Korean War veteran, almost certainly prevented a higher death toll.” – citation on Jalbert’s award

Also on this day:
Saint-Pierre, Martinique – In 1902 a volcano erupts and destroys Saint-Pierre, Martinique.
Good Dog – In 1877 the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was first held.

Out of the Ashes

Transistor radio

May 7, 1946: The Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation is formed with about 20 employees. The company today is a multi-national conglomerate with a global presence. There revenues from 2006 were 7,510,600 million yen or about 68.39 billion dollars. Today the company employs 158,500 people.

In 1945 Masaru Ibuka opened a radio repair shop in a bombed out building in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. By the next year he was joined by Akio Morita and they formed Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. or translated in English, the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corp. They built their first tape recorder called Type-G.

In the early 1950s, Ibuka went to the United States and found a way to license Bell Labs’ new invention, the transistor. In the US most research was based on military applications. In Japan, the focus was on communications. Both Regency and Texas Instruments produced transistor radios earlier than this company, but the Japanese version was much more successful.

In August 1955, they were producing the first coat-pocket sized transistor radio, the TR-55. By 1956 they had shipped 40,000 of the radios to North America, theNetherlands, andGermany. By the next year, the TR-63 measuring 4.4 x 2.8 x 1.25 inches had opened the American market to the new imports. In 1955 100,000 units were sold overseas and by 1958 5,000,000 had been sold. This was not only due to the size, but also because the teeny boppers were wanting to listen to the new sound – Rock and Roll – wherever they went.

The worldwide conglomerate has many divisions: audio, video, TV, information/ communications, semiconductors, and electronics. Early on they knew they needed a better name. They thought about initials but TTK was too close to TKK, a local railway concern. Totsuko was a great name in Japan, but the Americans couldn’t pronounce it. Tokyo Teletech was next offered up, but the US already had a Teletech. So they made up a name using the Latin root for sonic or sound and rather like the word “sunny” which was slang in Japan for a “whiz kid.” However, sunny was too close to soh-nee, Japanese for business goes bad. They made up a brand new word, shunning traditional use of Kanji and using only Roman letters. Sony.

“Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience.” – Masaru Ibuka

“The only English words I saw inJapanwere Sony and Mitsubishi.” – Bill Gullickson

“In a company where jobs were for life, it created competition that made Sony the great company it is.” – Howard Stringer

“How the mighty fall. It really is the final straw for this guy. Just when you think things can’t get any worse, he holds his baby out of a window. It’s actually quite unbelievable. I suppose he’ll blame Sony for that, as well.” – unknown, speaking about Michael Jackson

Also on this day:
US Patent # 203,517 – In 1878 a US patent is granted for a fire escape ladder.
Lusitania – In 1915, a German u-boat sank the RMS Lusitania.

Francis Xavier

Francis Xavier

May 6, 1542: Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa. Born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta in 1506 in the Kingdom of Navaree [now Spain], he became a Roman Catholic missionary. He was co-founder of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. Francis was a student of Ignatius of Loyola and was one of the first seven Jesuits to commit themselves to God at Montmartre in 1534. Francis led missions into Asia, mostly territories held by the Portuguese Empire. Old Goa was, in fact, the capital of Portuguese India when Francis landed there. He went on to Japan, Borneo, and Moluccas before dying in 1552.

Vehla means Old in Portuguese and the name of the city at the time was Vehla Goa. It is the North Goa district of the Indian state of Goa and was part of the Bijapur Sultanate built in the 1400s. The area was abandoned in the 1700s because of the plague. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city came under Portuguese rule in 1510. In 1453, the population was about 200,000. After many bouts of malaria and cholera, the population had dwindled to about 1,500 in 1775 when the capital was moved. Today there are many churches in Old Goa which is the seat of the Archbishop of Goa. There is a Church of St. Francis of Assisi and the Basilica of Born Jesus which contains relics of St. Francis Xavier.

The Jesuits, a Catholic religious order, was founded on August 15, 1534. The members are sometimes called “God’s Marines” and it is sometimes called “The Company” both because of the military background of one of the founders – Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius had been wounded in a battle and while recovering underwent a religious conversion. The original meeting of seven young men found them all professing their faith and vowing a life of poverty and chastity, later to include obedience to the Pope.

Today, the Jesuits are known for their steadfast belief in education and intellectual research. Their evangelical ministry is spread around the globe with 112 nations on six continents involved. They are not only noted for educational pursuits and building schools, colleges, universities, seminaries, and maintaining theological faculties, but they also are known for missionary work, retreats, hospital and parish ministry, promoting social justice, and ecumenical dialog. Today’s Superior General is Adolfo Nicolas whose headquarters are located in the Church of the Gesu in Rome, Italy. There are more than 19,000 Jesuits in the world today with the largest portion [20.9%] in the South Asia Assistancy. The United States has the second largest number with 15.4%  of the members here.

“Give me the children until they are seven and anyone may have them afterwards.” – St. Francis Xavier

“The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.” –  Pope St. Gregory the Great

“At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity.” – St. John of the Cross

“Charity may be a very short word, but with its tremendous meaning of pure love, it sums up man’s entire relation to God and to his neighbor.” – St Aelred of Rievaulx

Also on this day:
“Oh, the humanity!” – In 1937 the Hindenburg burns while docking.
Chunnel – In 1994, the Channel Tunnel opened.

Turning Straw Into Gold

Mary Dixon Kies

May 5, 1809: Mary Dixon Kies is the first woman to receive a US patent. Mary’s father was an Irish immigrant and he and his third wife welcomed Mary into the world on March 21, 1752 in Killingly, Connecticut. Mary’s first husband died and she then married John Kies who died at the age of 63. Mary then went to live with her son in Brooklyn, New York and died at the age of 85 in 1837. Mary’s patent was for a method of weaving straw with silk and thread.

Straw weaving was a vital industry in America of the 1800s. Women wore straw hats while out in the fields as protection from a brutal sun. The Patent Act of 1790 opened the office to anyone, male or female. However, in many states, women could not own property and therefore did not file any patents. Mary Kies broke the patent barrier and opened the doors to inventive women. She was not the first woman to improve the method for making the hats.

Betsy Metcalf, another New Englander, invented a method of braiding straw and it became quite popular. Betsy employed many women in the hat making business but did not patent her product. When asked why, she said she didn’t want her name being sent to Congress. Mary didn’t mind. Instead she sought out a patent and her timing was brilliant. The US government had stopping importing goods from Europe secondary to the Napoleonic Wars. President James Madison was looking for American industries to replace the goods no longer being imported from European sources.

Mary’s product was cost effective and work bonnets made with her method were being sold throughout New England. The market had been faltering, but with Mary’s method now available, hats were being mass produced. In 1810 in Massachusetts alone, about $500,000 worth of hats were manufactured. That is over $4.7 million in today’s money. Dolley Madison honored Mary for her work. The original patent was destroyed in the United States Patent Office fire in 1836. While Mary was able to patent the process and while lots of money was made with it, she was not able to secure profits from her invention and she died penniless in 1837.

“A gentleman is any man who wouldn’t hit a woman with his hat on.” – Fred Allen

“A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat.” – P. J. O’Rourke

“A woman’s place in public is to sit beside her husband, be silent, and be sure her hat is on straight.” – Bess Truman

“And all your future lies beneath your hat.” – John Oldham

Also on this day:
Monkey Trial – In 1925 John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution.
Cinco de Mayo – In 1862, the Battle of Puebla was fought.

First and Only

Margaret Thatcher

May 4, 1979: Margaret Roberts Thatcher is elected as the first [and so far, only] woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She served from 1979-1990, the longest term since Lord Salisbury at the end of the 19^th century. Margaret Roberts majored in chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford and was President of the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1946. She worked as a research chemist after graduation.

She first ran for public office in 1950 without success. She met Denis Thatcher, a divorced businessman and married him in 1953. He financed her way through law school and after graduation, she practice tax law. She won three Prime Minister elections and then her own party turned against her. She was either loved or hated by the constituency, as well. Her own party claimed that she was mishandling the economy.

The PM resides at 10 Downing Street, one of the most famous addresses in London. Over the years 52 men and 1 woman have resided there beginning with Sir Robert Walpole from 1721-1742. Tony Blair took up residence on May 2, 1997. Unlike the United States Presidential office, when a PM vacates the post by death, there can be an interval with no sitting PM. This has happened a few times, with the longest gap being 56 days after the Earl of Wilmington died.

William Pitt was elected to the post at the age of 24. George Canning only served 119 days before his death. Walpole served nearly 21 years, the longest sitting PM. They can also be a quirky lot. The Duke of Wellington once came upon a boy worried about leaving his pet toad while he went to boarding school, so the PM adopted the toad. Winston Churchill was born in the loo when his mother went into early labor at a dance. John Major’s father worked as a trapeze artist. The oddest injury suffered by a PM was when Earl Grey was struck in the head by his wife’s picture when it fell off the wall.

“If you want something said, ask a man…if you want something done, ask a woman.”

“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”

“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.”

“Of course it’s the same old story. Truth usually is the same old story.”

“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” – all from Margaret Thatcher

Also on this day:
The Little General – In 1814 Napoleon I is exiled to Elba.
Nicaragua – In 1855, William Walker left to conquer Nicaragua.

Take Me Out to the Ballpark

Labatt Memorial Park (photo by Alethe)

May 3, 1877: Labatt Memorial Park opens. Formerly called Tecumseh Park [1877-1936], it is the “Oldest continually operating baseball grounds in the world.” The ball field is located near the forks of the Thames River in central London, Ontario, Canada. The park is 8.7 acres and today has seating for 5,200. The field is natural grass and the distance from home plate to center field is 402 feet while from home plate to left and right field down the lines is 330 feet. The name changed in 1936 when the City of London took over ownership.

Fuller Field in Clinton, Massachusetts made it into the records book as the “world’s oldest continuously used baseball diamond/field” even though it is a year younger because at Fuller Field, the location of home plate has never changed. Guinness Book of World Records has given the title back and forth between the two parks as they both argue for supremacy. Regardless of what the book says, the City of London has granted Labatt Memorial Park via the Ontario Heritage Act the title of historic site. They enacted a law and there is a plate on the front gates attesting to this.

There have been many different tenants using this field. The London Tecumsehs, International Association played there 1877-78 and 1888-90. The London Alerts played in 1879 and 1899. The London Cockneys, International League played there in 1899 and 1908 while as a Canadian League they were there in 1911. The London Tecumsehs, Canadian League played there from 1912-15 and in 1930, and as the Michigan-Ontario League they were there from 1919-1924. London Indians were there in 1925 and the London Majors, Intercounty Baseball League dates from 1925 to the present. London Pirates took the field 1940-41. The London Tigers played from 1989-93, the London Werewolves had 1999-2001, and the London Monarchs played in 2003.

The field has been renovated several times – 1883, 1937, 1950s when side grandstands were added, 1989, and lastly in 2001. The first renovation came when the river flooded and destroyed the original grandstands. This is when they moved home plate. The river flooded again in 1937 and the local Labatt Brewing Company donated $10,000 [about $152,000 today] for rebuilding the park. They also deeded the park to the City at that time.

“It ain’t nothin’ till I call it.” – Bill Klem, umpire

“Running a ball club is like raising kids who fall out of trees.” – Tom Trebelhorn

“I think I throw the ball as hard as anyone. The ball just doesn’t get there as fast.” – Eddie Bane

“Well, it took me 17 years to get 3,000 hits in baseball, and I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.” – Hank Aaron

Also on this day:
“I Feel Good” – In 1933 James Brown was born.
Secret Annex – In 1960, the Anne Frank House was opened.

Approved

Good Housekeeping, May 2, 1885

May 2, 1885: Good Housekeeping, goes on sale. The magazine was one of many new women’s magazine that came into print in the 1880s and 1890s. Good Housekeeping was founded by Clark W. Bryan from Holyoke, Massachusetts.

In 1900, the Good Housekeeping Institute was established as an “Experiment Station” and each product that was advertised in the magazine had to pass tests to prove that it was an acceptable service or piece of merchandise. In 1905, the Institute led a campaign calling for pure foods and showed the dangers of contaminated products. The push from the magazine helped to pass the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act.

By 1911 and with a circulation of around 300,000, the magazine was sold to the Hearst Corporation. The next year, Harvey W. Wiley took over the running of the Institute and established the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval with a written guarantee for products endorsed by the labs. Today, the Institute still runs research and has specialized departments covering eight product types, from beauty products to textiles. The magazine continues to enforce the policy of only using approved products in their advertising. In 1952 the magazine no longer accepted cigarette advertising, a full 12 years before the Surgeon General had warning labels placed on the packages.

The magazine was founded to help women with issues concerning the running of their households as well as giving the ladies increased literary variety. It encouraged readers to be come writers and accepted submissions from the readership. Edna St. Vincent Millay, Somerset Maugham, and Evelyn Waugh were all published by the magazine. Calvin Coolidge’s widow eulogized the President in the magazine. By 1966 the circulation increased to 5.5 million. In the 1970s the Good Housekeeping list of the 10 Most Admired Women began with many notable women being named on the list – Golda Mier, Pearl S. Buck, Coretta Scott King, and several wives of United States Presidents were all on the list.

“It’s like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for technology. The majority of companies that we compete against are also at this level, so today it’s sort of the ticket to the dance.” – Jonathan James

“There’s very little advice in men’s magazines, because men don’t think there’s a lot they don’t know. Women do. Women want to learn. Men think, ‘I know what I’m doing, just show me somebody naked.'” – Jerry Seinfeld

“To the public, the press is not David among Goliaths; it has become one of the Goliaths, Big Media, a combination of powerful television networks, large magazine groups and newspaper chains that are near-monopolies.” – Thomas Griffith

“How often we recall, with regret, that Napoleon once shot at a magazine editor and missed him and killed a publisher. But we remember with charity that his intentions were good.” – Mark Twain

Also on this day:
“I’m Thinking” – In 1932 Jack Benny’s radio program premieres.
High Infidelity – In 1230, William de Braose was put to death after an affair with the royal wife.