Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 121
October 8, 2018
Today in History: A Perfect Game at the World Series
On this day (October Eight) in 1956, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game ever pitched in a World Series. Larsen played for the New York Yankees.
Today in History: A Disaster on the Rails
On this day (October Eight) in 1952 the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash killed 112 people. The crash occurred in Middlesex, which is now part of London. The crash occurred during rush hour when an express train hit a local train and then the two were hit in turn by a second express train. It remains the worst peacetime crash in English history and inspired the creation of the Automatic Warning System to prevent future disasters of this kind.
October 7, 2018
Today in History: The Proclamation of 1763
On this day (October 7) in 1763, King George III closed lands west of the Appalachians to English colonists. He did this to keep faith with his allies among the native peoples who had supported England in the French and Indian Wars. Colonists, however, saw it as a breach of good faith with them and further proof that the king and ministers of the mother country did not have their best interests at heart. They saw the lands west to the Mississippi as the key to their future prosperity and the decision to try and cut them off from them as a betrayal.
October 6, 2018
Today in History: Sound Comes to the Movies
On this day (October 6) in 1927, the Jazz Singer was released. This was the first full length motion picture with sound and it even managed to get the sound synchronized with the movement of the lips of the actors. Movies would never be the same.
October 5, 2018
Today in History: Heraclius Takes the Throne
On this day (October 5) in 610 Heraclius overthrew Byzantine Emperor Phocas and became Emperor himself. He would have a storied career reorganizing the Byzantine military so he could fight and eventually defeat the Persian Empire, reclaiming significant territory for the Eastern Roman Empire. Yet for all of that he does not go down as an all time great Emperor because the Islamic armies would come out of Arabia and take most of those territories away from him before his death.
October 4, 2018
Today in History: Pope Gregory Changes Time
On this day (October 4) in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar to correct a .0075 day error in the Julian calendar introduced by Julius Caesar. As the calendar (relative to the equinoxes) had drifted 10 days since Caesar’s time, Gregory’s calendar jumped from October 4 to October 15 in 1852. From this point forward, the potential drift was corrected for with a new leap year rule. In years cleanly divisible by 100, there would be no leap year, unless the year was also cleanly divisible by 400, such as the year 2000.
October 3, 2018
Last Day to Get Blood Ties at a Discount
Today is the last day to pre-order Blood Ties for 25% off the cover price. It releases tomorrow, October 4.
It seemed like such an easy case. All attorney Liz Dunn had to do was escort Ryan Hart to meet his long lost uncle in the tiny country of Carpathia on the Transylvanian border. Ryan stood to gain a ten million dollar estate. Liz wanted the hefty check that would keep her law firm in the black. But Ryan’s dying uncle, the enigmatic Stefan Carpathios, planned to get something far more sinister in return. In an ancient land where legends come to life, Liz is about to discover that the world is much more complex than she believed and a blood tie can be an exceedingly dangerous thing.
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Today in History: Edgar Allen Poe
On this day (October 3) in 1849, Edgar Allen Poe was found incoherently wandering the streets of Baltimore. He was obviously in great distress and was taken to Washington Medical College where he would die four days later. The clothes he was wearing were not his own. He never became coherent enough to explain what happened to him, but he called out several times to a man named “Reynolds” on the night before he died. The newspaper reported he had died of “congestion of the brain” which was a euphemism for alcoholism.
October 2, 2018
Today in History: The First Peanuts Comic Strip
On this day (October 2) in 1950, Charles Shultz published the first Peanuts comic strip. It would eventually boast 17,897 strips. It went on to inspire numerous television shows, a feature length movie, and to adorn the notebooks, lunchboxes, t-shirts, etc. of multiple generations. Its characters have become cultural icons. Here’s the very first strip that introduced the series:
October 1, 2018
Today in History: Yosemite National Park
On this day (October 1) in 1890 Yosemite National Park was established by Congress—a first critical step in a growing determination to protect the beauties of the American landscape for future generations. The American History Tellers podcast has a fascinating series on the establishment of the National Parks in the U.S.
