The men of the USS Indianapolis.
On July 16, 1945, hours after the Trinity atomic bomb test, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left San Francisco on a top secret mission carrying uranium and other components of "Little Boy," the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The destination was a base on the island of Tinian. Mission completed, it set sail for the Philippines. Just after midnight on July 30, the ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sunk in 12 minutes.
Of 1,195 crewmen aboard, about 300 went down with the ship. The remaining 890 men were stranded in open water for four days before the ship was even missed by the Navy. The men endured exposure to the sun, starvation, dehydration, and exhaustion. Then, the sharks came, dozens of sharks picking men off one by one. Some men intentionally let go of debris and life jackets to drown.
It was the greatest US naval disaster in history; only 316 survived
Despite the fact that naval headquarters had no knowledge of the sinking and assumed the ship had reached its port, delaying rescue, Captain Charles McVay III was court-martialed for failing to zig-zag, even though his orders were to zig-zag at his discretion, he was never alerted to enemy sub activity in the area, and the captain of the Japanese sub himself, in a totally unprecedented and never-repeated move, testified that zig-zagging would have made no difference. He was found guilty, but the Secretary of the Navy and Admiral of the Fleet overturned his conviction. Still, he was the only captain who lost his ship in WWII to be court-martialed for it, and he never recovered. For the rest of his life, he received hateful and vitriolic phonecalls and letters from family members of sailors who blamed him. On November 6, 1968, he took his own life with his service revolver, holding in his hand a toy sailor.
He was officially exonerated in 2000, largely as the result of a 12-year old boy's research for a National History Day project.
Read In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton.
Place.
On July 16, 1945, hours after the Trinity atomic bomb test, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left San Francisco on a top secret mission carrying uranium and other components of "Little Boy," the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The destination was a base on the island of Tinian. Mission completed, it set sail for the Philippines. Just after midnight on July 30, the ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sunk in 12 minutes.
In July 1944, Tinian, an island in the northern Marianas, was held by an 8,000-man Japanese garrison and home to thousands of Japanese soldiers. US Marines landed and took a couple of weeks to secure the island and kill or capture the Japanese soldiers. One holdout continued to escape capture until 1953.
Tinian then became an extremely important US airbase. Many missions were launched from its airstrips, including the flights of the Enola Gay and Bock's Car that delivered the atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively.
Read In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton for the story of what happened to the USS Indianapolis after its departure from Tinian.
On July 16, 1945, hours after the Trinity atomic bomb test, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left San Francisco on a top secret mission carrying uranium and other components of "Little Boy," the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The destination was a base on the island of Tinian. Mission completed, it set sail for the Philippines. Just after midnight on July 30, the ship was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sunk in 12 minutes.
In July 1944, Tinian, an island in the northern Marianas, was held by an 8,000-man Japanese garrison and home to thousands of Japanese soldiers. US Marines landed and took a couple of weeks to secure the island and kill or capture the Japanese soldiers. One holdout continued to escape capture until 1953.
Tinian then became an extremely important US airbase. Many missions were launched from its airstrips, including the flights of the Enola Gay and Bock's Car that delivered the atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively.
Read In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton for the story of what happened to the USS Indianapolis after its departure from Tinian.
Thing.
In 1996, 11-year old Hunter Scott was watching the movie Jaws with his father in Pensacola Florida, and he was intrigued by Captain Quint's story of the USS Indianapolis. He also needed a topic for his National History Day project. Voila!
He started researching, and he discovered that many of the survivors were still alive. Eventually, he was able to contact and interview some 150 survivors. He not only got their first hand accounts of the tragedy, but he also came to the conclusion that Captain McVay had been wrongly scapegoated for the loss of life.
Unfortunately, his project was disqualified in competition because of a technical violation, but the Associated Press and a couple of network news shows found out about his work and featured it. That caught the attention of the Florida Congressman in his district, and a bill was introduced, passed, and signed by President Clinton in 2000 exonerating McVay, sadly 32 years after he committed suicide.
That's one example of the power of a National History Day project!
In 1996, 11-year old Hunter Scott was watching the movie Jaws with his father in Pensacola Florida, and he was intrigued by Captain Quint's story of the USS Indianapolis. He also needed a topic for his National History Day project. Voila!
He started researching, and he discovered that many of the survivors were still alive. Eventually, he was able to contact and interview some 150 survivors. He not only got their first hand accounts of the tragedy, but he also came to the conclusion that Captain McVay had been wrongly scapegoated for the loss of life.
Unfortunately, his project was disqualified in competition because of a technical violation, but the Associated Press and a couple of network news shows found out about his work and featured it. That caught the attention of the Florida Congressman in his district, and a bill was introduced, passed, and signed by President Clinton in 2000 exonerating McVay, sadly 32 years after he committed suicide.
That's one example of the power of a National History Day project!
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Person.
On the night of July 16-17, 1918, the Bolshevik captors of the imperial family shot and bayoneted to death Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei, along with their physician, lady-in-waiting, footman, and cook. Their bodies were stripped buried, and mutilated with grenades in a forest. In 1978, the grave containing the remains of all but two children were discovered. In 2007, the remains of Alexei and one of his sisters were discovered in a separate grave. All remains identifications were confirmed with DNA.
For the rest of the 20th century, stories about surviving children, especially Alexei and Anastasia, were common myths, and several impostors stepped forward. The most famous was Anna Anderson, 1896-1984. She emerged from an asylum in 1920 after a failed suicide attempt in Berlin. After trying a few identities, she claimed to be Anastasia, beginning in 1922. Most surviving relatives and Romanov servants immediately labeled her an impostor and found it strange that she only spoke Polish, but a few were confused and convinced. She spent the rest of her life in Germany and the US, cared for by various supporters. In 1968, she married an eccentric history professor in Charlottesville Virginia, where she died in 1984.
Later DNA tests confirmed that she was Franziska Schanzkowska, a Polish factory worker with lifelong mental problems.
Read Candice Fleming's The Family Romanov for an account of their last months.
On the night of July 16-17, 1918, the Bolshevik captors of the imperial family shot and bayoneted to death Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, their children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei, along with their physician, lady-in-waiting, footman, and cook. Their bodies were stripped buried, and mutilated with grenades in a forest. In 1978, the grave containing the remains of all but two children were discovered. In 2007, the remains of Alexei and one of his sisters were discovered in a separate grave. All remains identifications were confirmed with DNA.
For the rest of the 20th century, stories about surviving children, especially Alexei and Anastasia, were common myths, and several impostors stepped forward. The most famous was Anna Anderson, 1896-1984. She emerged from an asylum in 1920 after a failed suicide attempt in Berlin. After trying a few identities, she claimed to be Anastasia, beginning in 1922. Most surviving relatives and Romanov servants immediately labeled her an impostor and found it strange that she only spoke Polish, but a few were confused and convinced. She spent the rest of her life in Germany and the US, cared for by various supporters. In 1968, she married an eccentric history professor in Charlottesville Virginia, where she died in 1984.
Later DNA tests confirmed that she was Franziska Schanzkowska, a Polish factory worker with lifelong mental problems.
Read Candice Fleming's The Family Romanov for an account of their last months.
Place.
The Romanov family, executed in July 16-17, 1918, and their closest servants are buried today at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, along with almost all other Russian Tsars and Tsarinas.
The cathedral is the oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733. It was closed as a church in 1919 and turned into a museum in 1924. It still functions as a museum, but religious services resumed in 2000.
The remains of Nicholas, Alexandra, three of their daughters, and their servants were interred in the cathedral in 1998, despite objections by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of the Church (equivalent to the Catholic Pope) felt ignored in the process and boycotted the ceremony, claiming not to be positive of the identity of the remains. At the insistence of the Church, the remains of Nicholas and Alexandra were exhumed for new DNA testing, which conclusively identified them.
Partial remains of Maria and Alexei were discovered in 2007 in a separate grave. It is thought they were originally buried separately to confuse anyone who found one of the other graves. However, as far as I have been able to find out, the remains have not been re-interred with their family. Instead, they are held in the state archive. Again, the Russian Orthodox Church is opposing the burial, for reasons that aren't clear. Some Russian royalists have expressed hope that President Putin may intervene, but that is unlikely as he has no respect for Nicholas II, regarding him as weak.
The Romanov family, executed in July 16-17, 1918, and their closest servants are buried today at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, along with almost all other Russian Tsars and Tsarinas.
The cathedral is the oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733. It was closed as a church in 1919 and turned into a museum in 1924. It still functions as a museum, but religious services resumed in 2000.
The remains of Nicholas, Alexandra, three of their daughters, and their servants were interred in the cathedral in 1998, despite objections by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of the Church (equivalent to the Catholic Pope) felt ignored in the process and boycotted the ceremony, claiming not to be positive of the identity of the remains. At the insistence of the Church, the remains of Nicholas and Alexandra were exhumed for new DNA testing, which conclusively identified them.
Partial remains of Maria and Alexei were discovered in 2007 in a separate grave. It is thought they were originally buried separately to confuse anyone who found one of the other graves. However, as far as I have been able to find out, the remains have not been re-interred with their family. Instead, they are held in the state archive. Again, the Russian Orthodox Church is opposing the burial, for reasons that aren't clear. Some Russian royalists have expressed hope that President Putin may intervene, but that is unlikely as he has no respect for Nicholas II, regarding him as weak.
Thing.
Did you know that much of the Romanovs' personal library is actually housed in the US Library of Congress?
The LOC acquired 2,600 items from a New York bookseller, Israel Perlstein, in the 1930s. Perlstein had gone to the USSR in 1925 and purchased the imperial library, which was sitting in the Winter Palace basement. There is some speculation that he was acting as an intermediary since the two governments had no official relations at the time.
It includes 18th-19th century books in Russian, English, French and German, a huge musical score collection, and various state documents.
Did you know that much of the Romanovs' personal library is actually housed in the US Library of Congress?
The LOC acquired 2,600 items from a New York bookseller, Israel Perlstein, in the 1930s. Perlstein had gone to the USSR in 1925 and purchased the imperial library, which was sitting in the Winter Palace basement. There is some speculation that he was acting as an intermediary since the two governments had no official relations at the time.
It includes 18th-19th century books in Russian, English, French and German, a huge musical score collection, and various state documents.
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Person.
Yesterday, we got a special sneak peek look at a small portion of the collections that, within a year hopefully, will be on display in Tampa Bay's newest, and maybe best, museums. The director's enthusiasm as he led the tour was exciting.
It made me think of Things New and Strange written by Dr. G. Wayne Clough, his reflections on his extraordinary life. He was born in 1941 in Douglas, Georgia, a small south Georgia town about an hour from my hometown, and he eventually became the President of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) from 1994 to 2008 and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 2008 to 2014. As Secretary, he focused a lot of energy on digital technology, offering more intensive K-12 educational programming, and improving facilities.
Clough was the first Smithsonian Secretary from the South, and he wrote Things New and Strange as a research quest upon his retirement. He wanted to comb through the vast collections to find connections to South Georgia. He was amazed to find so many more documents and artifacts than he had imagined, and he shares his findings with the reader, along with his own memories and experiences.
This book is a must read for southerners and museum lovers. One of my favorites.
Yesterday, we got a special sneak peek look at a small portion of the collections that, within a year hopefully, will be on display in Tampa Bay's newest, and maybe best, museums. The director's enthusiasm as he led the tour was exciting.
It made me think of Things New and Strange written by Dr. G. Wayne Clough, his reflections on his extraordinary life. He was born in 1941 in Douglas, Georgia, a small south Georgia town about an hour from my hometown, and he eventually became the President of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) from 1994 to 2008 and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 2008 to 2014. As Secretary, he focused a lot of energy on digital technology, offering more intensive K-12 educational programming, and improving facilities.
Clough was the first Smithsonian Secretary from the South, and he wrote Things New and Strange as a research quest upon his retirement. He wanted to comb through the vast collections to find connections to South Georgia. He was amazed to find so many more documents and artifacts than he had imagined, and he shares his findings with the reader, along with his own memories and experiences.
This book is a must read for southerners and museum lovers. One of my favorites.
Place.
Yesterday, we got a special sneak peek look at a small portion of the collections that, within a year hopefully, will be on display in Tampa Bay's newest, and maybe best, museums. The director's enthusiasm as he led the tour was exciting.
It made me think of Things New and Strange written by Dr. G. Wayne Clough, his reflections on his extraordinary life. He was born in 1941 in Douglas, Georgia, a small south Georgia town about an hour from my hometown, and he eventually became the President of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) from 1994 to 2008 and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 2008 to 2014. As Secretary, he focused a lot of energy on digital technology, offering more intensive K-12 educational programming, and improving facilities.
The Smithsonian Institution Building, aka the Castle, is the home of administrative offices and the beginning point of the Smithsonian, completed in 1855. How did the Smithsonian get its start? It originated as the bequest of an English chemist and mineralogist, James Smithson. Even though he never visited the US, he bequeathed his fortune first to his nephew, then, if his nephew died without heirs (as he did in 1835), he stipulated that his fortune would go to the US to found the Smithsonian Institution to promote "the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men "
In 1904, Smithson's remains were exhumed in Italy, and they were interred in a crypt in the Smithsonian Castle. So, Smithson finally arrived in the US.
Yesterday, we got a special sneak peek look at a small portion of the collections that, within a year hopefully, will be on display in Tampa Bay's newest, and maybe best, museums. The director's enthusiasm as he led the tour was exciting.
It made me think of Things New and Strange written by Dr. G. Wayne Clough, his reflections on his extraordinary life. He was born in 1941 in Douglas, Georgia, a small south Georgia town about an hour from my hometown, and he eventually became the President of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) from 1994 to 2008 and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 2008 to 2014. As Secretary, he focused a lot of energy on digital technology, offering more intensive K-12 educational programming, and improving facilities.
The Smithsonian Institution Building, aka the Castle, is the home of administrative offices and the beginning point of the Smithsonian, completed in 1855. How did the Smithsonian get its start? It originated as the bequest of an English chemist and mineralogist, James Smithson. Even though he never visited the US, he bequeathed his fortune first to his nephew, then, if his nephew died without heirs (as he did in 1835), he stipulated that his fortune would go to the US to found the Smithsonian Institution to promote "the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men "
In 1904, Smithson's remains were exhumed in Italy, and they were interred in a crypt in the Smithsonian Castle. So, Smithson finally arrived in the US.
Thing.
Yesterday, we got a special sneak peek look at a small portion of the collections that, within a year hopefully, will be on display in Tampa Bay's newest, and maybe best, museums. The director's enthusiasm as he led the tour was exciting.
It made me think of Things New and Strange written by Dr. G. Wayne Clough, his reflections on his extraordinary life. He was born in 1941 in Douglas, Georgia, a small south Georgia town about an hour from my hometown, and he eventually became the President of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) from 1994 to 2008 and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 2008 to 2014. As Secretary, he focused a lot of energy on digital technology, offering more intensive K-12 educational programming, and improving facilities.
In his chapter on bird specimens in the Smithsonian collection, Clough ruminates on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker which one lived in a large portion of the southeast US. It was one of the largest woodpeckers, with a wingspan of up to 2.5 feet, weighing up to 1.25 pounds. It is classified as either extinct or critically endangered, depending on the organization classifying it. The last universally accepted sighting of an American version took place in Louisiana in 1944, while the last Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker (slightly smaller) was seen in 1987. There have been sporadic reports of sightings ever since. Videos and photographs have been introduced several times in the 21st century, but none of them have been universally accepted. The main threat has been loss of habitat due to logging and human encroachment.
The specimen Clough included in his book was collected in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp in 1860 and is considered the most complete specimen in the collection.
Yesterday, we got a special sneak peek look at a small portion of the collections that, within a year hopefully, will be on display in Tampa Bay's newest, and maybe best, museums. The director's enthusiasm as he led the tour was exciting.
It made me think of Things New and Strange written by Dr. G. Wayne Clough, his reflections on his extraordinary life. He was born in 1941 in Douglas, Georgia, a small south Georgia town about an hour from my hometown, and he eventually became the President of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) from 1994 to 2008 and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 2008 to 2014. As Secretary, he focused a lot of energy on digital technology, offering more intensive K-12 educational programming, and improving facilities.
In his chapter on bird specimens in the Smithsonian collection, Clough ruminates on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker which one lived in a large portion of the southeast US. It was one of the largest woodpeckers, with a wingspan of up to 2.5 feet, weighing up to 1.25 pounds. It is classified as either extinct or critically endangered, depending on the organization classifying it. The last universally accepted sighting of an American version took place in Louisiana in 1944, while the last Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker (slightly smaller) was seen in 1987. There have been sporadic reports of sightings ever since. Videos and photographs have been introduced several times in the 21st century, but none of them have been universally accepted. The main threat has been loss of habitat due to logging and human encroachment.
The specimen Clough included in his book was collected in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp in 1860 and is considered the most complete specimen in the collection.
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Person.
Continuing the theme of Smithsonian curators, today's book is A Fool's Errand, written by the current Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch. Bunch is the first historian and the first black to serve as Secretary.
Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1952 to public school teacher parents, Bunch grew up in the only black family in their neighborhood. His grandfather, a former sharecropper, had moved to the area and become a dentist. In school, he struggled to find stories about black people. He obtained his B.A. and M.A. in American and African history from the American University. He began working at the Smithsonian while working on his masters'. He worked as curator of several museums before being named director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2005. He became Secretary in 2019.
A Fool's Errand tells the story of Bunch's personal and public struggles to bring one of the most visited and most vital of the Smithsonian museums to life, to add more to the STORY of American hiSTORY.
Continuing the theme of Smithsonian curators, today's book is A Fool's Errand, written by the current Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch. Bunch is the first historian and the first black to serve as Secretary.
Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1952 to public school teacher parents, Bunch grew up in the only black family in their neighborhood. His grandfather, a former sharecropper, had moved to the area and become a dentist. In school, he struggled to find stories about black people. He obtained his B.A. and M.A. in American and African history from the American University. He began working at the Smithsonian while working on his masters'. He worked as curator of several museums before being named director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2005. He became Secretary in 2019.
A Fool's Errand tells the story of Bunch's personal and public struggles to bring one of the most visited and most vital of the Smithsonian museums to life, to add more to the STORY of American hiSTORY.
Place.
Continuing the theme of Smithsonian curators, today's book is A Fool's Errand, written by the current Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch. Bunch is the first historian and the first black to serve as Secretary.
Congress passed an act calling for the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2003, after decades of lobbying efforts. It officially opened on the National Mall in September 2016. The museum holds more than 40,000 objects, but only about 3,500 are in display at any time. The 350,000 square-foot building has 10 stories, five above ground and five below. It's a must see for anyone interested in American history.
Continuing the theme of Smithsonian curators, today's book is A Fool's Errand, written by the current Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch. Bunch is the first historian and the first black to serve as Secretary.
Congress passed an act calling for the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2003, after decades of lobbying efforts. It officially opened on the National Mall in September 2016. The museum holds more than 40,000 objects, but only about 3,500 are in display at any time. The 350,000 square-foot building has 10 stories, five above ground and five below. It's a must see for anyone interested in American history.
Thing.
Continuing the theme of Smithsonian curators, today's book is A Fool's Errand, written by the current Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch. Bunch is the first historian and the first black to serve as Secretary.
While many of the objects in the collection of the Museum of African American History and Culture are extremely serious and somber, even heartbreaking, the Musical Crossroads exhibit is fun and joyful. One of the items in the exhibit is a 1990s replica of the Mothership used on stage by George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic during concerts from 1976 to 1981.
(Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Love to the planet.)
Continuing the theme of Smithsonian curators, today's book is A Fool's Errand, written by the current Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch. Bunch is the first historian and the first black to serve as Secretary.
While many of the objects in the collection of the Museum of African American History and Culture are extremely serious and somber, even heartbreaking, the Musical Crossroads exhibit is fun and joyful. One of the items in the exhibit is a 1990s replica of the Mothership used on stage by George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic during concerts from 1976 to 1981.
(Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Love to the planet.)
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Person
Following the victory at Little Bighorn, Lakota leader Sitting Bull led his people across the border into Canada. Due to the small size of the Canadian buffalo herds, it was difficult to feed his people. On July 20, 1881, he led 186 of his family and followers returned across the border and surrendered.
After 20 months held as prisoners of war at Fort Randall South Dakota, they were returned to the Standing Rock Agency. In 1885, Sitting Bull joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, earning $50 a week ($1500 today) for basically riding once around the arena. He also made extra money selling autographs and pictures. He and Buffalo Bill Cody became close friends and mutual admirers.
In 1890, Plains Indians were swept up in what the whites called the "Ghost Dance," a cultish movement that followers believed would eliminate whites and restore the land and people to what it was. White agents panicked and tried to squash the movement. The Standing Rock Agent ordered Sitting Bull arrested and brought in, fearing that he would become a leader of the movement. 43 Indian policemen went to arrest him. A struggle ensued, and Sitting Bull was shot dead.
Deanne Stillman's Blood Brothers tells the story of Sitting Bull and Cody's unlikely friendship.
Following the victory at Little Bighorn, Lakota leader Sitting Bull led his people across the border into Canada. Due to the small size of the Canadian buffalo herds, it was difficult to feed his people. On July 20, 1881, he led 186 of his family and followers returned across the border and surrendered.
After 20 months held as prisoners of war at Fort Randall South Dakota, they were returned to the Standing Rock Agency. In 1885, Sitting Bull joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, earning $50 a week ($1500 today) for basically riding once around the arena. He also made extra money selling autographs and pictures. He and Buffalo Bill Cody became close friends and mutual admirers.
In 1890, Plains Indians were swept up in what the whites called the "Ghost Dance," a cultish movement that followers believed would eliminate whites and restore the land and people to what it was. White agents panicked and tried to squash the movement. The Standing Rock Agent ordered Sitting Bull arrested and brought in, fearing that he would become a leader of the movement. 43 Indian policemen went to arrest him. A struggle ensued, and Sitting Bull was shot dead.
Deanne Stillman's Blood Brothers tells the story of Sitting Bull and Cody's unlikely friendship.
Place.
Following the victory at Little Bighorn, Lakota leader Sitting Bull led his people across the border into Canada. Due to the small size of the Canadian buffalo herds, it was difficult to feed his people. On July 20, 1881, he led 186 of his family and followers returned across the border and surrendered.
Supposedly, Sitting Bull grew to admire Buffalo Bill Cody as he performed with Cody's Wild West Show because he paid and treated everyone equally, including Indians,
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody Wyoming has been called the Smithsonian of the West, as it is actually five museums and a research library in one: Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, and the Cody Firearms Museum. It is one of the most interesting museum complexes in the world, and, when you visit, you can stay in the hotel built by Buffalo Bill and named after his daughter, the Hotel Irma
Following the victory at Little Bighorn, Lakota leader Sitting Bull led his people across the border into Canada. Due to the small size of the Canadian buffalo herds, it was difficult to feed his people. On July 20, 1881, he led 186 of his family and followers returned across the border and surrendered.
Supposedly, Sitting Bull grew to admire Buffalo Bill Cody as he performed with Cody's Wild West Show because he paid and treated everyone equally, including Indians,
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody Wyoming has been called the Smithsonian of the West, as it is actually five museums and a research library in one: Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, and the Cody Firearms Museum. It is one of the most interesting museum complexes in the world, and, when you visit, you can stay in the hotel built by Buffalo Bill and named after his daughter, the Hotel Irma
Thing.
Following the victory at Little Bighorn, Lakota leader Sitting Bull led his people across the border into Canada. Due to the small size of the Canadian buffalo herds, it was difficult to feed his people. On July 20, 1881, he led 186 of his family and followers returned across the border and surrendered.
In 1889, a Paiute named Wovoka, called Jack Wilson by whites, fell into a coma. When he awoke, he revealed that the creator had shared a prophecy with him. If enough Indians gave up white ways, especially alcohol and materialism, danced a particular dance, and sang particular songs, all the white people would disappear, and all the dead Indians and bison would reappear and repopulate the land.
The lives of the Plains Indians on their reservations were so harsh and their futures seemingly so bleak, the dance, called "Ghost Dance" by the whites, spread like wildfire. Participants even made "ghost shirts" which they believed made them invulnerable to bullets. All of this fervor about white people disappearing made the reservation agents nervous, and they tried to outlaw the dance. The Standing Rock Agency administrator, afraid that Sitting Bull would endorse and lend his great reputation to the movement, so he ordered his arrest, leading to his death. A few months later, the movement culminated in the massacre at Wounded Knee when hundreds of unarmed Lakota were shot down and killed because they left their reservation to attend a ghost dance on another.
Following the victory at Little Bighorn, Lakota leader Sitting Bull led his people across the border into Canada. Due to the small size of the Canadian buffalo herds, it was difficult to feed his people. On July 20, 1881, he led 186 of his family and followers returned across the border and surrendered.
In 1889, a Paiute named Wovoka, called Jack Wilson by whites, fell into a coma. When he awoke, he revealed that the creator had shared a prophecy with him. If enough Indians gave up white ways, especially alcohol and materialism, danced a particular dance, and sang particular songs, all the white people would disappear, and all the dead Indians and bison would reappear and repopulate the land.
The lives of the Plains Indians on their reservations were so harsh and their futures seemingly so bleak, the dance, called "Ghost Dance" by the whites, spread like wildfire. Participants even made "ghost shirts" which they believed made them invulnerable to bullets. All of this fervor about white people disappearing made the reservation agents nervous, and they tried to outlaw the dance. The Standing Rock Agency administrator, afraid that Sitting Bull would endorse and lend his great reputation to the movement, so he ordered his arrest, leading to his death. A few months later, the movement culminated in the massacre at Wounded Knee when hundreds of unarmed Lakota were shot down and killed because they left their reservation to attend a ghost dance on another.
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Person.
The great Don Knotts was born in July 21, 1924 in Morgantown West Virginia. He got his big television break in Steve Allen's variety show in 1956, playing "nervous man." He then performed on Broadway in No Time for Sergeants, making the movie version in 1958 alongside Andy Griffith and magic was made. I'm sure when he first met Griffith, neither would have dreamed that, decades later, Griffith's hometown Mt. Airy North Carolina would hold a huge annual festival called Mayberry Days, and that Barney Fife impersonators could be found there year-round.
Mayberry Days serves as the jumping off point for Rodger Kyle Brown who wrote Ghost Dancing on the Cracker Circuit. He traveled across the South taking in community festivals, always popular in the South. Of course, being a journalist, who lived in the South for a whole decade, he imparts a particular perspective on the events, making them out to be manifestations of a wistfully nostalgic South longing for the good ole (i.e. racist) days.
The great Don Knotts was born in July 21, 1924 in Morgantown West Virginia. He got his big television break in Steve Allen's variety show in 1956, playing "nervous man." He then performed on Broadway in No Time for Sergeants, making the movie version in 1958 alongside Andy Griffith and magic was made. I'm sure when he first met Griffith, neither would have dreamed that, decades later, Griffith's hometown Mt. Airy North Carolina would hold a huge annual festival called Mayberry Days, and that Barney Fife impersonators could be found there year-round.
Mayberry Days serves as the jumping off point for Rodger Kyle Brown who wrote Ghost Dancing on the Cracker Circuit. He traveled across the South taking in community festivals, always popular in the South. Of course, being a journalist, who lived in the South for a whole decade, he imparts a particular perspective on the events, making them out to be manifestations of a wistfully nostalgic South longing for the good ole (i.e. racist) days.
Place.
The great Don Knotts was born in July 21, 1924 in Morgantown West Virginia. He got his big television break in Steve Allen's variety show in 1956, playing "nervous man." He then performed on Broadway in No Time for Sergeants, making the movie version in 1958 alongside Andy Griffith and magic was made. I'm sure when he first met Griffith, neither would have dreamed that, decades later, Griffith's hometown Mt. Airy North Carolina would hold a huge annual festival called Mayberry Days, and that Barney Fife impersonators could be found there year-round.
Mt. Airy North Carolina is a small town of about 10,000, but it's also Andy Griffith's hometown, and the fictional town of Mayberry was hugely inspired by Mount Airy. Besides the Mayberry Days annual festival, visitors can tour the Andy Griffith Museum and Home place
But did you know that, before Andy, Mt. Airy's biggest celebrities were Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese twins. Their farm was nearby, and some of their descendants still live in the area, plus there's a museum exhibit in town dedicated to their story.
The great Don Knotts was born in July 21, 1924 in Morgantown West Virginia. He got his big television break in Steve Allen's variety show in 1956, playing "nervous man." He then performed on Broadway in No Time for Sergeants, making the movie version in 1958 alongside Andy Griffith and magic was made. I'm sure when he first met Griffith, neither would have dreamed that, decades later, Griffith's hometown Mt. Airy North Carolina would hold a huge annual festival called Mayberry Days, and that Barney Fife impersonators could be found there year-round.
Mt. Airy North Carolina is a small town of about 10,000, but it's also Andy Griffith's hometown, and the fictional town of Mayberry was hugely inspired by Mount Airy. Besides the Mayberry Days annual festival, visitors can tour the Andy Griffith Museum and Home place
But did you know that, before Andy, Mt. Airy's biggest celebrities were Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese twins. Their farm was nearby, and some of their descendants still live in the area, plus there's a museum exhibit in town dedicated to their story.
Thing.
The great Don Knotts was born in July 21, 1924 in Morgantown West Virginia. He got his big television break in Steve Allen's variety show in 1956, playing "nervous man." He then performed on Broadway in No Time for Sergeants, making the movie version in 1958 alongside Andy Griffith and magic was made. I'm sure when he first met Griffith, neither would have dreamed that, decades later, Griffith's hometown Mt. Airy North Carolina would hold a huge annual festival called Mayberry Days, and that Barney Fife impersonators could be found there year-round.
Ralph Furley on "Three's Company" was not the first swinger character played by Knotts. In 1969, he starred as "The Love God?", and in 1973 he appeared as Lucy's blind date in an episode of "Here's Lucy,"
The great Don Knotts was born in July 21, 1924 in Morgantown West Virginia. He got his big television break in Steve Allen's variety show in 1956, playing "nervous man." He then performed on Broadway in No Time for Sergeants, making the movie version in 1958 alongside Andy Griffith and magic was made. I'm sure when he first met Griffith, neither would have dreamed that, decades later, Griffith's hometown Mt. Airy North Carolina would hold a huge annual festival called Mayberry Days, and that Barney Fife impersonators could be found there year-round.
Ralph Furley on "Three's Company" was not the first swinger character played by Knotts. In 1969, he starred as "The Love God?", and in 1973 he appeared as Lucy's blind date in an episode of "Here's Lucy,"
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Persons
On July 22, 1587, the second English colony at Roanoke, later to be known as the Lost Colony, was planted, laying anchor at Croatoan Island.
The first attempt, and failure, had begun just two years before in 1585. One of Queen Elizabeth's court favorites proposed a military mission to explore and evaluate what had been named "Virginia." Delighted at the prospect, Elizabeth proclaimed Raleigh "Knight Lord and Governor of Virginia." In 1586, the survivors abandoned the colony and were taken back to England by Sir Francis Drake. Drake had gone to the colony with a ship load of supplies and enslaved Africans. However, there is no mention in history of the Africans' arriving in England. This is one of the earliest mysteries of Roanoke. Did he leave them there, possibly making them the first Africans in English America? Did he sell them in the Caribbean? Even a more horrible possibility, did he dump them as excess cargo? No one can say for sure.
Raleigh was talked into making another go in 1587, and he appointed John White as Governor. Accompanied by about 115 men and women, including his pregnant daughter, Eleanor Dare, and her husband Ananias. On August 18, 1587, Eleanor gave birth to the first English child in the New World, named Virginia. .
White returned to England for supplies, unable to get back until 1590 due to war. On his arrival, he found none of the colonists. After a week's search, he returned to England.
The Secret Token is a great history of the expedition and the myths and folklore that have arisen over the centuries since.
On July 22, 1587, the second English colony at Roanoke, later to be known as the Lost Colony, was planted, laying anchor at Croatoan Island.
The first attempt, and failure, had begun just two years before in 1585. One of Queen Elizabeth's court favorites proposed a military mission to explore and evaluate what had been named "Virginia." Delighted at the prospect, Elizabeth proclaimed Raleigh "Knight Lord and Governor of Virginia." In 1586, the survivors abandoned the colony and were taken back to England by Sir Francis Drake. Drake had gone to the colony with a ship load of supplies and enslaved Africans. However, there is no mention in history of the Africans' arriving in England. This is one of the earliest mysteries of Roanoke. Did he leave them there, possibly making them the first Africans in English America? Did he sell them in the Caribbean? Even a more horrible possibility, did he dump them as excess cargo? No one can say for sure.
Raleigh was talked into making another go in 1587, and he appointed John White as Governor. Accompanied by about 115 men and women, including his pregnant daughter, Eleanor Dare, and her husband Ananias. On August 18, 1587, Eleanor gave birth to the first English child in the New World, named Virginia. .
White returned to England for supplies, unable to get back until 1590 due to war. On his arrival, he found none of the colonists. After a week's search, he returned to England.
The Secret Token is a great history of the expedition and the myths and folklore that have arisen over the centuries since.
Place.
On July 22, 1587, the second English colony at Roanoke, later to be known as the Lost Colony, was planted, laying anchor at Croatoan Island.
In 2012, the British Museum announced a new discovery regarding the "Virginea Pars" map, drawn with great accuracy by Roanoke's governor John White. Upon examination, the archivists noticed a couple of symbols that had been patched over. The symbols included a symbol for a fort some fifty miles inland, a possible pre-arranged rendezvous point.
While White only searched for a week in 1590, and Raleigh didn't really search at all, some see the discovery as proof that the colonists, whether they faced starvation or attack by Indians or Spanish, they may have been at that location awaiting rescue. Raleigh dragged his feet on rescue efforts because uncertainty was in his interest. As long as the colonists' fate was unknown and they weren't legally proven dead, his claim to the land was secure. He did fund a 1602 mission to the Outer Banks, but only to gather sassafras, the price of which had soared in England. In 1603, he was implicated in a treasonous plot against King James I. (Executed in 1618)
On July 22, 1587, the second English colony at Roanoke, later to be known as the Lost Colony, was planted, laying anchor at Croatoan Island.
In 2012, the British Museum announced a new discovery regarding the "Virginea Pars" map, drawn with great accuracy by Roanoke's governor John White. Upon examination, the archivists noticed a couple of symbols that had been patched over. The symbols included a symbol for a fort some fifty miles inland, a possible pre-arranged rendezvous point.
While White only searched for a week in 1590, and Raleigh didn't really search at all, some see the discovery as proof that the colonists, whether they faced starvation or attack by Indians or Spanish, they may have been at that location awaiting rescue. Raleigh dragged his feet on rescue efforts because uncertainty was in his interest. As long as the colonists' fate was unknown and they weren't legally proven dead, his claim to the land was secure. He did fund a 1602 mission to the Outer Banks, but only to gather sassafras, the price of which had soared in England. In 1603, he was implicated in a treasonous plot against King James I. (Executed in 1618)
Thing
On July 22, 1587, the second English colony at Roanoke, later to be known as the Lost Colony, was planted, laying anchor at Croatoan Island.
In 2012, the British Museum announced a new discovery regarding the "Virginea Pars" map, drawn with great accuracy by Roanoke's governor John White. Upon examination, the archivists noticed a couple of symbols that had been patched over. The symbols included a symbol for a fort some fifty miles inland, a possible pre-arranged rendezvous point.
In 2019, European pottery shards were unearthed by archaeologists digging at the site of the fort symbol on the map, indicating to some that the colony may have indeed gone there for a time. However, all experts do not agree.
While White only searched for a week in 1590, and Raleigh didn't really search at all, some see the discovery as proof that the colonists, whether it was to flee Spanish or Indian attacks, probably moved in with friendly Croatoans.
On July 22, 1587, the second English colony at Roanoke, later to be known as the Lost Colony, was planted, laying anchor at Croatoan Island.
In 2012, the British Museum announced a new discovery regarding the "Virginea Pars" map, drawn with great accuracy by Roanoke's governor John White. Upon examination, the archivists noticed a couple of symbols that had been patched over. The symbols included a symbol for a fort some fifty miles inland, a possible pre-arranged rendezvous point.
In 2019, European pottery shards were unearthed by archaeologists digging at the site of the fort symbol on the map, indicating to some that the colony may have indeed gone there for a time. However, all experts do not agree.
While White only searched for a week in 1590, and Raleigh didn't really search at all, some see the discovery as proof that the colonists, whether it was to flee Spanish or Indian attacks, probably moved in with friendly Croatoans.
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Person.
On July 23, 1945, Marshal Philippe Petain, France's greatest WWI hero and the deposed President of Vichy France, was put on trial for treason. Found guilty, his death sentence was commuted due to his age, and he died on July 23, 1951 at age 95.
Petain was called "the Lion of Verdun" after leading the French Army to (questionable) victory at the nine month long battle at Verdun, one of history's greatest examples of the futility of a war of attrition. He attained the rank Marshal of France and led the peacetime army between the wars.
With the fall of France to the German blitzkrieg imminent in June 1940, the French Prime Minister (Premier) resigned. The President appointed Petain, then age 84. Desperate to avoid the utter destruction of Paris, as other cities had experienced, Petain and the government immediately agreed to an armistice.
The government then moved to the spa town of Vichy, and Petain made a deal with the German occupiers. German troops would occupy and police Paris and northern France, and Petain would rule southern France from Vichy and "collaborate" (take orders from) the Germans, but the Germans would not have to waste an occupation force.
The Vichy government did its job well. The remnants of the Vichy military fought battles against the British. The Vichy police rounded up and deported thousands of mostly foreign Jews to death camps. French Jews were also sent to camps, in smaller numbers, but they were rounded up and interned. Vichy France rounded up French men an women as forced labor in German factories. The Vichy police took action against the French Resistance.
On July 23, 1945, Marshal Philippe Petain, France's greatest WWI hero and the deposed President of Vichy France, was put on trial for treason. Found guilty, his death sentence was commuted due to his age, and he died on July 23, 1951 at age 95.
Petain was called "the Lion of Verdun" after leading the French Army to (questionable) victory at the nine month long battle at Verdun, one of history's greatest examples of the futility of a war of attrition. He attained the rank Marshal of France and led the peacetime army between the wars.
With the fall of France to the German blitzkrieg imminent in June 1940, the French Prime Minister (Premier) resigned. The President appointed Petain, then age 84. Desperate to avoid the utter destruction of Paris, as other cities had experienced, Petain and the government immediately agreed to an armistice.
The government then moved to the spa town of Vichy, and Petain made a deal with the German occupiers. German troops would occupy and police Paris and northern France, and Petain would rule southern France from Vichy and "collaborate" (take orders from) the Germans, but the Germans would not have to waste an occupation force.
The Vichy government did its job well. The remnants of the Vichy military fought battles against the British. The Vichy police rounded up and deported thousands of mostly foreign Jews to death camps. French Jews were also sent to camps, in smaller numbers, but they were rounded up and interned. Vichy France rounded up French men an women as forced labor in German factories. The Vichy police took action against the French Resistance.
Place.
On July 23, 1945, Marshal Philippe Petain, France's greatest WWI hero and the deposed President of Vichy France, was put on trial for treason. Found guilty, his death sentence was commuted due to his age, and he died on July 23, 1951 at age 95.
The government of Vichy France officially claimed jurisdiction over central and southern France and the French colonies around the world, while German troops occupied the northern swath, until 1942 when German troops occupied the entire country but left Vichy in nominal charge.
The Vichy government maintained relations with the UK until PM Winston Churchill ordered the destruction of the French fleet at Oran Algeria because he feared that it would be used against British forces. The US maintained diplomatic relations with Vichy France until 1942, largely because Franklin Roosevelt had an intense dislike and mistrust of Free French leader Charles De Gaulle, calling him a "dictator in training "
First published in 1972, Robert O. Paxton's book Vichy France is the classic text on the subject. I read it for my graduate class on 20th century French history many years ago.
On July 23, 1945, Marshal Philippe Petain, France's greatest WWI hero and the deposed President of Vichy France, was put on trial for treason. Found guilty, his death sentence was commuted due to his age, and he died on July 23, 1951 at age 95.
The government of Vichy France officially claimed jurisdiction over central and southern France and the French colonies around the world, while German troops occupied the northern swath, until 1942 when German troops occupied the entire country but left Vichy in nominal charge.
The Vichy government maintained relations with the UK until PM Winston Churchill ordered the destruction of the French fleet at Oran Algeria because he feared that it would be used against British forces. The US maintained diplomatic relations with Vichy France until 1942, largely because Franklin Roosevelt had an intense dislike and mistrust of Free French leader Charles De Gaulle, calling him a "dictator in training "
First published in 1972, Robert O. Paxton's book Vichy France is the classic text on the subject. I read it for my graduate class on 20th century French history many years ago.
Thing.
On July 23, 1945, Marshal Philippe Petain, France's greatest WWI hero and the deposed President of Vichy France, was put on trial for treason. Found guilty, his death sentence was commuted due to his age, and he died on July 23, 1951 at age 95.
The Vichy government did its part to collaborate with the German occupiers, including putting out propaganda, like these posters. Two common themes were uniting with the Germans to oppose the spread of communism and attacking the UK and Winston Churchill as the aggressor, especially after the British sinking of the French fleet and other clashes between British and Vichy forces.
First published in 1972, Robert O. Paxton's book Vichy France is the classic text on the subject. I read it for my graduate class on 20th century French history many years ago.
On July 23, 1945, Marshal Philippe Petain, France's greatest WWI hero and the deposed President of Vichy France, was put on trial for treason. Found guilty, his death sentence was commuted due to his age, and he died on July 23, 1951 at age 95.
The Vichy government did its part to collaborate with the German occupiers, including putting out propaganda, like these posters. Two common themes were uniting with the Germans to oppose the spread of communism and attacking the UK and Winston Churchill as the aggressor, especially after the British sinking of the French fleet and other clashes between British and Vichy forces.
First published in 1972, Robert O. Paxton's book Vichy France is the classic text on the subject. I read it for my graduate class on 20th century French history many years ago.
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