Today in History: 1833 President Jackson becomes the fastest President (at the time)
In Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland, President Andrew Jackson boards a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad train for a pleasure trip to Baltimore. Jackson, who had never been on a train before, was the first president to take a ride on the “Iron Horse,” as locomotives were known then.
The steam locomotive was first pioneered in England at the beginning of the 19th century by Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad began operation in 1828 with horse-drawn cars, but after the successful run of the Tom Thumb, a steam train that nearly outraced a horse in a public demonstration in 1830, steam power was added. By 1831, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad had completed a line from Baltimore to Frederick, Maryland. Two years later, Andrew Jackson gave railroad travel its presidential christening.
The acceptance of railroads came quickly in the 1830s, and by 1840 the nation had almost 3,000 miles of railway, greater than the combined European total of only 1,800 miles. The railroad network expanded quickly in the years before the Civil War, and by 1860 the American railroad system had become a national network of some 30,000 miles. Nine years later, transcontinental railroad service became possible for the first time.
Also on this day:
1816 – 10” of snowfall in New England, part of a “year without summer” which followed the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia
1822 – Alexis St. Marten shot in the stomach and treated by physician William Beaumont on Mackinac Island. Leads Beaumont to conduct digestion experiments through hole in St. Martin’s stomach.
1912 – The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century
1914 – 1st air flight out of sight of land (Scotland to Norway)
1925 – Walter Chrysler founds automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation
1944 – Operation Overlord: As part of the D-Day landings, the 82nd Airborne Division arrives at the French town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise
1968 – Senator Robert F. Kennedy dies from his wounds after he was shot the previous night
1983 – Betty White becomes 1st woman to win Outstanding Game Show Host at Daytime Emmy Awards for NBC’s “Just Men”
1984 – Video game Tetris is first released in the Soviet Union by Alexey Pajitnov
Births –
1755 – Nathan Hale, American Revolutionary War patriot
1868 – Robert Falcon Scott, British explorer and leader of ill-fated south pole expedition
1956 – Bjorn Borg, Swedish tennis player
??? - How can we forget the memorable @Sean-Spiceworks
Deaths –
1799 – Patrick Henry, American Revolutionary and Founding Father (Give me liberty or give me death)
1961 – Carl Jung, Swiss Psychiatrist
1976 – J. Paul Getty, American oil magnate and billionaire
2011 – Shrek the sheep, New Zealand sheep that held world record for biggest shorn fleece
The Funnies:
Fact of the day
The first person processed at Ellis Island was a 15-year-old girl from Ireland.
Quote of the Day:
“The magic you’re looking for is in the work you’re avoiding” - Dipen Parmar
Video of the Day:
@DailyLlama mentioned Ghost Riders in the Sky yesterday and I had to go listen to Johnny Cash so I got to this today.
Comic of the Day:
Mouseover: “Thank you to linguist Gretchen McCulloch for teaching me about phonetic assimilation, and for teaching me that if you stand around in public reading texts from a linguist and murmuring example phrases to yourself, people will eventually ask if you’re okay.”
Credit: XKCD
Inspirobot Always Controversial, Occasionally Inspirational Quote of the Day:
Read @DailyLlama’s Spark! from yesterday here. Don’t forget to leave some spice right here ↓
