February 1
1893: Black Maria is finished. Officially called the Kinetographic Theater and also known as the Doghouse by its builder, it is often credited as the world’s first movie studio. Built in West Orange, New Jersey by Thomas Edison on his laboratory grounds, it was a dark and cramped space used to film his first movies. Construction began in December 1892 and was completed on this day, costing $637.67 or close to $17,000 in today’s dollars. In early May, Edison brought his Kinetograph to the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and showed an amazed audience a film. They could view this via a Kinetoscope viewer. The 28-second movie, Blacksmith Scene, showed three actors pretending to be blacksmiths. The movie can be seen at You Tube by clicking here.
More fascinating films were created and were sent to the Library of Congress to be copyrighted. One of the first of a series of films made starring Fred Ott was officially called The Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze and more often called Fred Ott’s Sneeze. Ott was one of Edison’s assistants. The film was made for publicity purposes and was made along with several still shots to accompany an article written about the new technology in Harper’s Weekly. This film was the earliest motion picture to be registered for copyright and was literally the filming of Mr. Ott sneezing after taking a pinch of snuff. If you are interested in this title, it is also at You Tube and can be found here. Ott’s acting career continued when later that year, he also filmed Fred Ott Holding a Bird and in 1900 he filmed The Kiss.
The films were made in the tar-paper covered room with a retractable roof, needed for lighting issues. Early films were scenes from daily life as well as portions of magic shows, plays, and Vaudeville performances. There were strongmen, boxing matches, and cockfights filmed along with some movies of scantily clad women. Another sort of film can be imagined by its title, Prof. Welton’s Boxing Cats. Other titles leave one wondering, such as Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene. The studio was called Black Maria because that is what crowded, uncomfortable, and stuffy paddywagons or police vans were called and the atmosphere in the studio was akin to that of the vans. The studio was also tar-papered black.
On Saturday, April 14, 1894, Edison began commercially operating his Kinetoscope at the Kinetoscope Parlor, opened by the Holland Brothers at 1155 Broadway in New York City. The first movie theater was a bit different from today and patrons purchased twenty-five cent tickets (about a dollar today), and were then permitted to watch movies showing in five kinetoscope machines lined up in two rows. About 500 people were the first to experience this new entertainment. It was successful enough for kinetoscope parlors to open in other cities (San Francisco, Atlantic City, and Chicago). With success growing, Edison built a new and better theater in New York City and Black Maria was destroyed in 1903.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.
There’s a way to do it better – find it.
Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless. – all from Thomas A. Edison
Time to Go
Skirmish at Bender
February 1, 1713: The Skirmish at Bender takes place. Bender was, at the time, part of the Ottoman Empire (today it is part of Moldova). In Swedish, it is called Kalabaliken i Bender and in Finnish it is Benderin kalabaliikki. King Charles XII of Sweden took refuge in the region after his defeat at the battle of Poltava on June 27, 1709. Most of the Swedish army surrendered and the King, a few hundred Swedish soldiers and a large number of Cossacks fled to the Ottoman Empire where they stayed for five years.
Having overstayed their welcome, the Skirmish officially began on January 31, 1713 when the Turkish artillery fired on the Swedish encampment. On this day, the attack on the camp began in earnest when the Serasker of Bender led the troops. Serasker was a title in the Ottoman Empire for a vizier who commanded the army and eventually came to be the Ottoman Minister of Defense. The sides were completely unmatched with the Swedish forces totaling 43 men and the forces under Ismail Pasha and Devlet II Giray numbering between 10,000 and 13,000 men. The Turks also had 24 cannons and fire arrow launchers.
The story of the attack and defense of the Swedes is more likely apocryphal in detail. The brave deeds of the Swedish Army seem overstated and at best, somewhat dubious. It is known that the skirmish was fought on this day and the Swedes were fighting from a defensive fortress position, giving them some advantage. The King’s Life Guard, Axel Erik Roos, behaved in superhuman fashion if the legends from this day are to be believed. He was said to have saved the King’s life on three separate occasions. At one point in the more than seven hours long battle, Roos and the King were approached by three Turks and while the King dispatched one in arm to arm combat, Roos killed the other two.
Charles was also credited with sniping with a carbine from a window of his sleeping quarters in the building where the Swedes had taken refuge. Cannon fire did not bring down the building and eventually fire arrows were also launched. The Swedes did not surrender until the building’s roof caught fire and they were forced to abandon it. The Swedes were forced to flee and were captured as they exited the burning building. The Swedes lost four men in the battle and 39 (including the King) were captured along with about 500 civilians. The Turks lost between 50 and 100 men and perhaps another 100 were wounded. King Charles XII was a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire until the Swedes were able to win a battle at Gadebusch (December 20, 1712) and news of the victory finally reached the Ottomans. The king was released and made ready to leave for Sweden.
When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment around a common purpose, anything is possible. – Howard Schultz
We’re surrounded. That simplifies the problem! – Chesty Puller, USMC
Surrounded by the enemy…low on ammunition…but will hold position. Situation good. – military proverb
They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can’t get away from us now! – 1st Marine Division
Also on this day: Big Bangs – In 1814, the Mayon Volcano erupted.
Police – In 1920, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began working.
Grand Central Terminal – In 1913, Grand Central Terminal opened in New York City.
The Hajj – In 2004, a stampede took place at the holy pilgrimage.
Well, It’s a Start – In 1884, the first fascicle of the OED was published.
Well, It’s a Start
First fascicle of the OED
February 1, 1884: The first fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is published. The full title was New English Dictionary on Historical Principles; Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by The Philological Society, so we are lucky they shortened that a bit. The first fascicle was 325 pages and had the words A to Ant included. It sold for 12s.6d or what would have been equivalent to $3.25 at the time or £276 today. Only 4,000 copies sold which was disappointing.
The dictionary bearing its name was not originally associated with Oxford University. It was the brainchild of a group of intellectuals in London. The Philological Society thought it would be wonderful to create a proper dictionary since they were not pleased with the current state of English dictionaries. In June 1857 they created the “Unregistered Word Committee” to look for unlisted and/or poorly defined words in the current books. Instead of actually forming a list, by November Richard Trench had a report prepared called On Some Deficiencies in our English Dictionaries. Not only were there seven egregious deficiencies, but the list of words that were not represented was longer than the list of words actually defined in current works.
On January 7, 1858 the society formally adopted the idea of creating their own comprehensive dictionary listing all the words as well as addressing other features current dictionaries lacked. Trench’s other duties did not leave him with enough time to direct the dictionary project and that job was turned over to Herbert Coleridge. He began sorting words into a 54-pigeon hole grid built for the task and some sample pages were published in April 1861. Coleridge died of tuberculosis that same month. He was 30 years old. Frederick Furnivall took over the leadership of the project but didn’t do well, losing papers and not staying focused. Finally, James Murray was given the task of editing the massive book.
By 1894 only 11 fascicles were published and they were only up to the letter E (but missing the letter D). Each book was about 300-350 pages long. Future fascicles would be only 64 pages long and accordingly sold for a cheaper rate. Books up to 192 pages saw print until World War I got in the way. Each book contained portions of letters and they were not published in order. So the 125th fascicle was not the Z words, but the last half of the W words – listing from Wise to the end. This saw print on April 19, 1928. Supplements have been added since with the last being published in 1997. The 22,000 page book might be a bit large to carry around and so there are electronic versions as well.
I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything. – Steven Wright
Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. – Nathaniel Hawthorne
If you have a big enough dictionary, just about everything is a word. – Dave Barry
People are under the impression that dictionaries legislate language. What a dictionary does is keep track of usages over time. – Steven Pinker
Also on this day: Big Bangs – In 1814, the Mayon Volcano erupted.
Police – In 1920, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began working.
Grand Central Terminal – In 1913, Grand Central Terminal opened in New York City.
The Hajj – In 2004, a stampede took place at the holy pilgrimage.
Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
February 1, 1920: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) begins operations. As early as 1873, Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister, based a national police force on the principles put forth by the Royal Irish constabulary and mounted rifle units of the US Army. The purpose of the new mounted forces was to bring law and order to the North-West Territories (Alberta and Saskatchewan). The troops were known as the NWMP or North-West Mounted Police.
A group of 22 officers and 287 men were the first police force. They were supplied with 310 horses, 67 wagons, 114 ox-carts, 18 yoke of oxen, 50 cows, and 40 calves. They headed west from Dufferin, Manitoba on July 8, 1874 and reached Alberta by October. Their mission included general law enforcement as well as providing a visible police presence. Their patrol system covered the entire region. They established friendly interaction with the First Nations, enforced prohibition and contained whisky trade, and supervised treaties. They assisted settlers by fighting prairie fires and the spread of disease.
By 1895 their jurisdiction had spread to the Yukon and by 1903 to the Arctic coast. King Edward III bestowed the “Royal” to their title in 1904. RNWMP now patrolled the western half of the country. The Dominion Police combined with RNWMP to become the RCMP and it finally became a true national Police Force.
Today they have about 26,000 employees supported by over 75,000 volunteers. The Canadian Information Centre shares electronically stored data with more than 80,000 law enforcement officers nationwide. Since 1873 more than 200 Mounties have fallen in the line of duty. Cst. John Nash, the first man to die in action, was killed near Fort MacLeod on March 11, 1876. Sgt. Mark Gallagher was killed in Haiti on January 12, 2010. He was training police officers in Port-au-Prince when the 7.0 earthquake struck. Also found amidst the rubble was Chief Superintendent Douglas Coates. The two men were returned to Canada for burial. Women joined the ranks in 1974. Today, William J.S. Elliott is Commissioner of the RCMP, taking over from Interim Commissioner Beverly Busson in 2007.
“Every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions such as courts of justice and police.” – Albert Einstein
“Any community’s arm of force – military, police, security – needs people in it who can do necessary evil, and yet not be made evil by it. To do only the necessary and no more. To constantly question the assumptions, to stop the slide into atrocity.” – Lois McMaster Bujold
“Justice is incidental to law and order.” – John Edgar Hoover
“In keeping people straight, principle is not as powerful as a policeman.” – Abel Hermant
This article first appeared at Examiner.com in 2010. Editor’s update: John A. Macdonald was born in 1815 in Glasgow, Scotland. His father failed at entrepreneurship and after falling into debt, he moved the family to Kingston, in what is today Ontario. They moved in with relatives already in Canada. He continued to fail at business and moved around the country. John’s parent encouraged him to study law, which he did. Macdonald served during the Rebellion of 1837 and came to public notice at that time. He ran for office (alderman) for the first time in 1843. He rose through the political world and when Canada gained independence from Britain he was the first to hold the title of Prime Minister, although his government ran into problems almost immediately. He was out of office from 1873 until 1878 and then remained Prime Minister until his death in 1891 at the age of 76.
Also on this day: Big Bangs – In 1814, the Mayon Volcano erupted.
Grand Central Terminal – In 1913, Grand Central Terminal opened in New York City.
The Hajj – In 2004, a stampede took place at the holy pilgrimage.
The Hajj
Aftermath of the stampede
February 1, 2004: A peaceful procession turns into a stampede during a Hajj pilgrimage. The Hajj is a journey to Mecca (Makkah) and is the Fifth Pillar of Islam. It is based, according to Islamic tradition, on Abraham’s following God’s directive (Ibrahim following Allah’s order) to leave Hagar and Ismael (wife and son) in the desert. While mother and son were alone, she needed water for the baby and the Well of Zamzam was miraculously revealed. In 632 Muhammed led his followers from Medina to Mecca. It is the only Hajj made by the prophet. He cleansed the Kaaba and sanctified the site.
Participating in the Hajj is the fifth duty of Muslims. The other four are a profession of faith, praying, giving alms, and fasting during Ramadan. The pilgrimage to Mecca is a spiritual journey. Most travel toward the holy city in groups. At a specific distance out, their clothing must be changed. The donning of the ihram (special unhemmed white sheets draped in a specific manner) shows equality before Allah. After putting on the ihram, certain behaviors must be avoided. The wearer may not shave, clip nails, use deodorant or perfume, swear or quarrel, kill any living thing, or engage in sexual activity.
The Hajj is not just a matter of showing up at Mecca. The journey can be performed at other times of the year, but is of lesser worth. A true Hajj is required and occurs from the 8th to the 12th days of Dhu al-Hijjah – the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. Since it is a lunar based calendar the dates shift through the Gregorian months. The dates for 2009 will be November 25 through 29. The ritualized journey has several components with participants moving from one holy area to the next with a variety of prayerful activities required.
About 500,000 Meccans are joined by another 2.5 million faithful for the Hajj. It has become critical to maintain order and crowd control has become an issue. In 2004, ≈ 2.25 million people were present. Part of the journey is the stoning ritual in Mina. The ritual illustrates the stoning of the Devil. During this rite, 251 pilgrims were killed and another 244 were injured during a stampede. There have been several incidents causing hundreds of deaths. In 1990, 1,426 were killed in one stampede. The Saudi government is trying to maintain order.
Be peaceful, orderly and kind. No crushing. – from the Ministry of the Hajj
But there is also an enthusiasm factor. Stoning the pillars is the last rite of Hajj, and throwing the stones can be a physical release. People really want to get into it. – Michael Wolfe
The (number) of forces taking part in security in the Hajj this year is around 60,000. – Abdul Aziz
I feel very sorry for those people who died, but at the same time, it does not deter me from going on Hajj. – Ahmed Kamal
Also on this day:
Big Bangs – In 1814, the Mayon Volcano erupted.
Police – In 1920, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began working.
Grand Central Terminal – In 1913, Grand Central Terminal opened in New York City.
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal Exterior 42nd St at Park Ave New York City
February 1, 1913: Grand Central Terminal [also known as Grand Central Station] opens in New York City. It was the world’s largest station at the time of its grand opening. It is located at 42nd St and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It was built by the New York Central Railroad. It is still the largest train station based on number of platforms. There are currently 44 platforms with 67 tracks on two levels, both below ground. The upper level has 41 tracks and the remaining 26 are on the lower level. There is a new Long Island Rail Road station being built with four more platforms and will bring the number of tracks to 75.
Tracks are numbered according to their geographic location in the terminal and have no bearing on the trains’ destinations. There are 31 tracks in revenue service at this time and they are numbered 11 through 42 going from east to west. The lower level has 26 tracks numbered from 100 through 126, again going from east to west. However, only tracks 102-112 and 114-116 are currently used for passenger service. There are five separate lines: Hudson Line, Harlem Line, New Haven Line, New Canaan Branch, and Danbury Branch.
Grand Central Depot brought trains from three different railroads into one central location. This opened in October 1871 with each of the railroads to move into the location over the course of a couple weeks to minimize confusion. This station included two US innovations. The platforms were raised to the level of the cars and the roof covered all the tracks. Between 1899 and 1900, the main portion of the station was essentially demolished and then expanded from three to six stories and with a new, impressive façade.
Between 1903 and 1913, the entire building was torn down and new station was built. Grand Central Terminal was designed by two architect teams, Reed and Stem and Warren and Wetmore. Reed and Stem was responsible for the overall design while Warren and Wetmore was in charge of the interior architectural detail. They moved the trains underground to help ease congestion in the ever increasing traffic of New York City. The vast Station was so great and so full of wonders, it encouraged a revitalization of the area throughout the 1920s and created a mini-city inside the giant metropolis.
“One of the things the government can’t do is run anything. The only things our government runs are the post office and the railroads, and both of them are bankrupt.” – Lee Iacocca
“Railroads are the primary economic beneficiaries. It’s a difficult project for the public sector.” – John Gates
“The rage for railroads is so great that many will be laid in parts where they will not pay.” – George Stephenson
“Nothing was more up-to-date when it was built, or is more obsolete today, than the railroad station.” – Ada Louise Huxtable
Also on this day:
Big Bangs – In 1814, the Mayon Volcano erupted.
RCMP – In 1920, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began service.
Big Bangs
Mayon Volcano erupting
February 1, 1814: The Mayon Volcano on Luzon, Philippines erupts and kills more than 1,300 people. Lava flows and mudslides buried the town of Cagsawa, leaving only the bell tower of the town church above the devastation. Since 1616, when records start, the volcano has erupted 49 times and this date’s eruption has proved to be the most lethal so far. The last time the volcano erupted was on July 14, 2008. It was intensified by Typhoon Durian’s massive rains, causing an increase in the lahar, or mudflow/landslides following an eruption.
Scientists have researched volcanic activity covering the past 10,000 years and determined that there are 1,511 active volcanoes worldwide. Eruptions vary in many factors and are difficult to predict. There are approximately 35-40 volcanic eruptions per year. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed by lava and ash flows, mudslides, resultant tsunamis, and damaging fallout which causes disease and starvation.
Volcanoes appear as a result of plate tectonics. Pressure builds under ground and an eruption through a vent on the surface allows magma and molten rock, to flow out from the interior. Volcanoes can be classified as active, having erupted in historic times (500 years). Carbon dating is sometimes used as is oral histories in areas with a written record. Or they can be Potentially Active, having erupted more than 10,000 years ago. Extinct volcanoes are those not expected to erupt again. Dormant volcanoes haven’t erupted in known times, but just might have a chance to once again become active.
Earth is not the only planet with volcanoes. The Moon, Venus, Mars, and several of the gas giants’ moons also erupt. The Moon has no currently active volcanoes, but it is thought the core is still partially molten. Venus appears to have once been highly active, but is probably far less so today. Mars has several extinct volcanoes and they are far larger than those on Earth. Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active object in our solar system. Not only are there fairly constant eruptions due to gravitational pull from the planet, but the lavas are the hottest known anywhere, with temperatures exceeding 1,800 Kelvin or 2700° F.
“He who sees the calamity of other people finds his own calamity light.” – Arabian Proverb
“Living things have been doing just that for a long, long time. Through every kind of disaster and setback and catastrophe. We are survivors.” – Robert Fulghum
“Volcano: A mountain with hiccups.” – unknown
“If your heart is a volcano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom?” – Kahlil Gibran
Also on this day, in 1920 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began service.
Little Bits of History 
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