Gen. John H. Morgan’s revenge…
July 9, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The following item from “The Crisis” newspaper from Columbus, Ohio, March 2, 1864, notes a curious revenge by General Morgan for having his whiskers shaved when in the Ohio penitentiary…
Reporting a non-event…
July 2, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
It must have been a very slow news day as the “Boston American” of April 11, 1912 has a bold headline (see below) proclaiming a non-event (see). Ironically, this was also the day after the Titanic set sail for its maiden voyage. Four days later the headline would be extremely significant.
What to do with Adolf…
June 25, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
With an historical perspective of the hunting of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden it is interesting to read this piece in the “Stars And Stripes” military newspaper of April 6, 1945, less than one month before the death of Adolf Hitler. They wonder what to do with him once captured…
The Traveler… permission to buzz the dome… if things could be redone…
June 20, 2011 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today’s travels found the front page of The Christian Science Monitor dated June 20, 1911 with a nice variety of articles. Harry Atwood was resuming his across the country flight in his Burgess-Wright biplane, carrying different passengers on each leg of the journey. While in Concord, New Hampshire,
“Atwood glided down toward the dome of the New Hampshire state capitol and circled three times about the capitol building.” I wonder if he had permission to buzz the dome? There are additional articles pertaining to the raising of the U.S.S. Maine which had been sunk in Cuba and also of the celebration of President Taft’s silver wedding anniversary.
I found within the issue an article “See Philippines Passing As Naval Base for U.S.” The article identifies which state-side naval bases would remain open and which would be considered for closing. They also referenced Pearl Harbor calling it the “Gibraltar of the Pacific”. It further mentions it would be the base of operations for the Pacific… “no foreign power would be able to land a large force of men in the Philippines.” Interesting to see how this statement played itself out over time.
~The Traveler
Warnings of climatic changes…
June 18, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
With much attention today given to climatic change and how mankind is affecting weather patterns around the globe, it was interesting to find this article in the “Daily State Journal” newspaper from Austin Texas, May 10, 1871. The article paints a rosier picture in terms of mankind’s affect on climate than most environmentalists do today…
He could cure almost anything…
June 11, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Advertisements for physicians have certainly changed much over the last 270 years. This ad for “Richard Rock, Practitioner in Physick and Surgery” has a curious list of ailments he treats. This ad appears in the March 30, 1734 issue (and others) of “The Country Journal or the Craftsman” from London. Note that he keeps officers hours of 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m…
The Traveler… “The Little Belt Affair”… Bonaparte putting up a “smoke front”…
June 6, 2011 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today’s travels landed on a nice surprise! The Middlesex Gazette dated June 6, 1811 carries a lengthy letter by Commodore John Rodgers to the Secretary of the Navy dated May 23, 1811. This
was referencing a confrontation between his frigate and a Britannic which at first would not identify itself, and then was revealed to be Little Belt. This incident furthered the tension between Britain and the United States which led to the War of 1812.
Also in this issue is the reporting that Bonaparte had established a public Manufactory of Tobacco and Snuff. This would be carried on by “a particular committee for the benefit of the public chest, or in other words for his own benefit, and that no private individual shall in future be concerned in the manufacture of these articles…” He would control what type and where all the tobacco would be purchased, etc. Does it sound a little self-serving??
~The Traveler
Wish I had one of these…
June 4, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
This “Improved Velocipede” made its debut in the May 2, 1891 issue of “Scientific American“. It had to be as unusual a site in 1891 as it would be today. It looks like it would have been fun to ride…
“…one of the vilest scoundrels that ever lived…”
May 21, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Samuel Medary was the publisher of the controversial newspaper “The Crisis” from Columbus, Ohio, a Civil War era newspaper from the North which was supportive of the Southern cause. Obviously it met with much opposition during its brief life, at one point raided by a hateful mob. When Medary died in1864 it was not surprising that his death would not be treated nicely by other Northern newspapers, but this report went to the extreme. Keep in mind that this appeared in the Jan. 25, 1865 issue of “The Crisis“, so the introductory paragraph would be expected:
The Traveler… Standard Oil dissolved… now that makes sense…
May 16, 2011 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled into The Christian Science Monitor dated May 16, 1911 and found that after being in court cases for over four and a half years, the Standard Oil case had been ruled on by the U. S. Supreme Court with the decision being for the dissolving of the company due to anti-trust practices. This issue includes a photo of the Supreme Court justices and a text block with the charges against the company.
Another article in the issue dealt with need for new street lamps in Florence, New Jersey. The election for the gas commissioners and appropriation for the lamps were to be held in May, however, there was no board to conduct the election. How’s that for politics?
~ The Traveler




