Today In History

Hey friends! I started a new job this week so I am sad to inform you that I will probably be pretty bad at posting until things get settled down next week. I feel like this is a terrible relationship because I have to keep apologizing. You forgive me, right?

Believe me, if I could make writing terribly about historical happenings a paying full-time job with benefits, I would. Keep checking back!

I’m being really bad about keeping my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday update promise, so to make up for missing yesterday I bring you a special Thursday post (while drinking a margarita—talent, my friends). 

I consider myself a bit of a francophile and love learning about French history because it all just seems so decadent and like a good, cheesy soap opera. One of my all time favorite historical figures is Marie Antoinette, who became Queen of France on this day in 1774 when Louis XV died of smallpox.

Marie was married to Louis XVI in 1770 at the tender age of fifteen, and three years after being crowned would give birth to their first child, a daughter. At first the French people were enamored by Marie because she was vivacious and beautiful, but soon they began calling her “L’Autre-chienne”, which loosely means “Austrian” and “other bitch”. She was accused of spending too much money while the French poor continued to suffer and having too much sympathy with her native Austria. Some historians believe she helped start the French Revolution because of her lack of empathy and superficial nature. Others think her character has been exaggerated (I would sort of like to be the reason for a revolution…well, maybe in more of a positive way, like “The barista didn’t give Kelsey enough room for cream! Must avenge!).

In 1789, the French Revolution was in full swing. Marie and Louis were eventually put under house arrest, and Louis’ power became very limited with the writing of the French constitution of 1791. They would both eventually be executed by guillotine. The story of their marriage and fall of their power is both sad and fascinating, so read more here and here.

Fun Fact: Marie never said the famous phrase, “Let them eat cake.”

I have always been fascinated by serial killers and architecture (the former not being very good dinner conversation), so I of course loved “Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson. The book centers around the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, simultaneously chronicling H.H. Holmes’ many murders and Daniel Burnham’s accomplishments in architecture.

H.H. Holmes was born Herman Mudgett, so it’s really no surprise that he became a serial killer. He attended the University of Michigan, which he financed through a variety of scams, and obtained a medical degree. H.H. purchased a pharmacy from the previous owner’s widow on the south side of Chicago in 1886. To the shock of absolutely no one later, the widow mysteriously disappeared. Holmes then decided to make his home across from the pharmacy and dubbed it “the castle”, which is what I also call my 450 sq ft studio in East Lakeview. Unlike my studio however, Holmes’ home had secret passageways, hidden rooms, trap doors, and the absence of a really adorable cat. 

During the World’s Fair, Holmes put some of his rooms up for rent—targeting single or widowed women. Soon, many of these women, like the aforementioned widow, began disappearing. Holmes would gas them in his soundproof rooms and sell their skeletal remains to medical schools (who apparently never asked where he acquired so many skeletons). Holmes was eventually caught and gave this very philosophical statement: “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than a poet can help the inspiration to sing.” Just charming.

He was hanged on this day in 1896. The remains of over 200 bodies would be discovered in his “castle”. You can read more about Hermie and check out is sweet ‘stache here. 

Also titled: “The day the world’s largest batsh*t crazy coward shoots himself and takes cyanide just to really make sure he dies and doesn’t have to pay for his sins against all of humanity.”

I’ll admit that I’m a huge nerd when it comes to World War II.  I will watch or read anything on the subject and have to restrain myself from showing my immense nerdom on dates (“Why yes, I watched all 900 hours of Ken Burn’s ‘The War’ and wasn’t bored once”). So imagine how lucky I felt when I realized I got to write for this event (and visually interpret a mustache).

Knowing that a soviet invasion was imminent, Hitler committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in his bunker in Berlin on this day in 1945. Not long after, Germany surrendered to allied forces. Hitler’s long time mistress and wife of just two days, Eva Braun, also swallowed cyanide and even poisoned their dogs. 

I won’t get all geeky on you and go into how Hitler rose to power, but you can learn more about the bastard here. I think we can all agree that this death was not something anyone cried over, but part of me wishes he would’ve died Bin Laden style and against his own will. Or maybe in a gas chamber—just a thought.

The Suez Canal is an artificial waterway in Egypt connecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean. Ground was broken for the canal by British and French engineers on this day in 1859. The canal was deemed necessary to provide transportation between Europe and Asia without having to go around Africa. Over the years, the canal has been lengthened and widened so it now sits at 120 miles long and 673 feet wide. Under international treaty, the canal may be used at anytime during war or peace. The canal helped to dramatically increase trade around the world and is partially responsible for the colonization of Africa; however, anytime you mess with mother nature, there are consequences. Species native to the Red Sea (which has a higher salt content than the Mediterranean) have started to invade the eastern Mediterranean and displace many of its native species. Marine biologists continually object to Egypt’s plans to possibly widen the canal. 

Fun Fact: The Suez canal can hold larger ships and more traffic than that other famous canal in Panama.

Today in 1985, Coca-Cola made one of the worst (or best depending on what you believe) marketing decisions in its long history; they changed the formula to their successful soft drink. The public did not take to the new formula kindly, and New Coke was yanked from the shelves and replaced with the old formula, now dubbed ‘Coca-Cola Classic’, within three months.

The reintroduction of Coca Cola Classic brought a significant gain in sales and some believe that was the company’s intent all along — to make public outcry against the new coke huge and then once classic is put back on the shelves, people will be clamoring to get it. 

I was three when this was happening, so I can’t tell you my personal view of the situation unless my My Little Pony somehow drank coke. I’ve always been more of a Pepsi/Dr. Pepper person anyway, and am probably the only person on the planet who likes Diet Squirt. 

Among the many accomplishments of Pierre and Marie Curie is the first isolation of radium chloride on this day in 1902. They would go on to win the Nobel Prize in 1903 for their accomplishments in the investigation of radioactivity, making Marie Curie the first women to ever win the award. 

The earth alkaline metal, radium, doesn’t occur freely in nature, unlike uranium and polonium (also discovered my Marie and Pierre), so it was necessary to isolate it from pitchblende, a mineral. After refining volumes of pitchblende, Marie was able to isolate a one-tenth gram of radium chloride. 

Why Marie Curie was a bada** chick every girl should know about:

• She is responsible for the word ‘radioactivity’. I’d venture to guess not many people can claim they coined a word.

• After Pierre was tragically killed in an accident, Marie pledged to continue their work. She eventually took over Pierre’s seat as the chair of physics at the Sorbonne in Paris, becoming the school’s first female professor. A grieving widow she was not.

• Isolated pure, metallic radium in 1910 earning her a second nobel peace prize and the honor of being the first person to have won two (take that, men!).

• Worked with radiology and saw radium as a possible cancer treatment.

• In 1918, The Radium Institute at the University of Paris began operating under Curie’s direction

• Her daughter, Irene, also won a Nobel Prize in 1935 for the discovery of artificial radioactivity.

Despite my disagreements with much of the Catholic church’s doctrine and my own feelings on religion (not today, soapbox), there is no denying the power and the beauty of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy. On this day in 1506, the first cornerstone was laid for the new church. I was lucky enough to see it while studying abroad, and from the breathtaking dome to the exquisite sculptures, paintings and light, absolutely nothing in the world compares. You could also call it one of the greatest museums in the world, since some of the greatest masters of the renaissance were responsible for its creation and architecture, including the one who liked pizza and used nunchucks (turtle power!).

Being the ultimate symbol of the Catholic faith and Christendom makes the history of St. Peter’s Basilica long and complicated, so I’ve included a handy dandy link here. 

I am on vacation until April 17th but am planning on some awesome historical posts for your viewing pleasure every Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting on the 19th. I am, however, pretty upset that I planned my vacation the same time as the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Mainly because I have an awesome tangent about the 1997 movie and Celine Dion. I guess I’ll have to save it for the 101st anniversary.

Now back to annoying my brother. 

As tempted as I was to use this guy in my design, I decided I would not only be insulting a fellow German, but also one of history’s greatest composers.

This day in 1800 saw the premiere of Beethoven’s first symphony in Vienna, Austria. Beethoven was known for his melodies, emotion, modulation (change from one key to another) and texture, and much like Justin Bieber today, his music was highly in demand. The First Symphony was described as “one of the most interesting concerts in a long time”, which doesn’t really seem like a compliment. You know, like when you go on a date and your friend asks you how it was and all you can say about the person (in a vanilla ice cream tone) is that they were “interesting”. But unlike most of my dates, Beethoven did lead an interesting (if somewhat tragic) life that you can read more about here.