Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 137
May 14, 2018
Today in History: The Last Salem Witch Trial
On this day (May 14) in 1878 the last of the Salem Witch Trials was held nearly two hundred years after the first such trials. In this civil case, Lucretia Brown accused Daniel Spofford of attempting to harm her through the use of his “mesmeric” powers. Both were early Christian Scientists who believed illness was an illusion that could be cured by prayer alone. Founder of Christian Science, Mary Eddy, taught that through the use of “Malicious Animal Magnetism” (MAM) (possibly a form of hypnosis) mental harm could be brought on another person. Lucretia Brown, an invalid since childhood, believed that she had been cured through the power of prayer by Christian Science and that her relapses were caused by Spofford using MAM on her after he was expelled from the religion. The case was dismissed on May 17.
May 13, 2018
Today in History: Robert Smalls
On this day (May 13) in 1862 an African-American slave named Robert Smalls succeeded in taking over the steam ship CSS Planter and steering it through Confederate controlled waters to the U.S. Blockade where he surrendered the vessel to the union. As a reward, he was made captain of the ship (now called USS Planter) when the vessel was put into U.S. service. He went on to become a Representative to Congress for South Carolina after the war despite massive efforts by whites in South Carolina to defeat him. Twice his “defeats” were contested to Congress. There was massive evidence of voter intimidation both times. The first time, Congress overturned his defeat and he became the official Representative. The second time, Congress declined to do so, even though the voter intimidation efforts were greater than the first.
May 12, 2018
Today in History: The Donner Party
On this day (May 12) in 1846, the Donner Party left Independence, Missouri with no idea that they were about to become one of the most horrifying of American legends. Before the year was out, they would take an ill-advised short cut, be trapped by snow in the mountains, and resort to eating their dead to survive.
May 11, 2018
Today in History: Monty Python
On this day (May 11) in 1969, Monty Python formed. They'd go on to bring us a great comedy show and movies such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Life of Brion, and Monty Python and the Meaning of Life. I have such great memories watching these with my friends growing up and always get a thrill when I see one of the cast moving on to other projects such as Eric Idle in Nuns on the Run, Terry Jones with his wonderfully absurd Starship Titanic and popular histories such as Medieval Lives and Barbarian Lives, and of course John Cleese in Fawlty Towers, Time Bandits, and A Fish Called Wanda.
May 10, 2018
Today in History: The Tea Act
On this day (May 10) in 1773 Great Britain passed the Tea Act. The primary motivation for the act was to save the East India Company (EIC) from bankruptcy. They did this by lowering the tax on tea and granting the EIC a monopoly on selling tea to the American colonies. The EIC had a substantial stockpile of tea built up in London warehouses that it had not been able to sell because of the American boycott of English Tea over taxes. The reduced tax level, however, would permit the EIC tea to undercut the price of smuggled tea making the British government believe they could kill two birds with one stone—save the EIC from bankruptcy and end the boycott by making legal tea cheaper than smuggled tea. The unintended consequence of this Act was the Boston Tea Party, which took the American colonies one step closer to rebellion.
May 9, 2018
Today in History: U-110
On this day (May 9) in 1941, Britain captured the Nazi submarine U-110 and gained possession of her Short Signal Book and one of Germany’s Enigma Machines. This coup would eventually permit Britain to crack many German codes, greatly enhancing their ability to fight World War II.
May 8, 2018
Today in History: Coca Cola
On this day (May Eight) in 1886 John Pemberton sold a patent medicine called Coca Cola for the first time.
May 7, 2018
Today in History: Sony
On this day (May 7) in 1946 Sony was founded as Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering. The company would go on to carve out important global roles in music, television, movies, and video games.
May 6, 2018
Today in History: The Palace of Versailles
On this day (May 6) in 1682, Louis XIV moved his court to his new palace at Versailles. This palace, the court of the “Sun King”, became a symbol of royal wealth and power throughout Europe. It also pulled the court out of Paris and gave the king some distance from the Parisian mobs. At great expense, the palace has been restored to its seventeenth century glory and is open to the public as a museum.
May 5, 2018
Today in History: Cinco de Mayo
On this day (May 5) in 1862 the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla against great odds. The French had invaded Mexico as part of the Tripartite Alliance to force Mexico to begin repaying its foreign debts. But after it became apparent that France’s objectives were larger than debt repayment, Britain and Spain withdrew leaving France to continue the invasion by itself. In maneuvering against the Mexicans, the French general acted on inaccurate information that the town of Puebla was pro-French and would overrun its Mexican garrison if the French made a show of force. Instead he got bogged down in fighting and ran out of artillery ammunition. When three assaults failed to take the town, he was forced to withdraw. Then the Mexicans hit him with a cavalry charge to hurry the French on their way. Despite outnumbering the Mexicans 8000 to 4000, the French were defeated, suffering 462 dead to 83 Mexicans.
The Battle of Puebla was crucial in lifting Mexican morale and convincing them they could win against the French—much as George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware did for Americans during the U.S. Revolutionary War. In the short term, the French quickly turned the military situation around taking Mexico City a year later and establishing the Second Mexican Empire under Maximillian. The Second Mexican Empire fell four years later to republican forces. Happy Cinco de Mayo.
