JULY 26 — 1797 Happy Anniversary John Quincy and Louisa Adams; 1799 HB Isaac Babbit (improved engine bearings); 1775 Congress establishes Post Office; 1858 Happy Birthday Col. House; 2011 KneeHi of Grainesville, FL gets award for world’s smallest donkey
JULY 26
1797 – happy anniversary John Quincy and Louisa Adams.
Like all former first ladies of the White House, Louisa had the respect of her husband, but in her case, not until the last years of their lives. Up until Melania Trump, Louisa is the first first lady not born in the US, she was born Louisa Catherine Johnson on February 12 1775 in bloody London England no less. Her family left their home in Maryland and moved near Paris, France during the American Revolution. Out of all of Papa John Adams’ children: John Quincy, Charles, Abigail, Thomas, and Susana, John Quincy would emerge as the hesitant heir to the family political dynasty, short lived as it was. Papa Adams had sent John Quincy to Europe as a diplomat, which is how he met Louisa at her father’s house near Tower Hill. Where JQA had a tendency to be cold and stiff, Louisa had a charming personality, though had been known to have frequent fainting spells.
After dating for two years, on this day in 1797, John Quincy and Louisa tied the knot in England. They lived in Europe until 1800 when Dad lost the presidential election to Thomas Jefferson. John Quincy would be needed back at home to help the Federalist Party, and now Louisa finally got to meet her in-laws for the first time. Mama Abigail had issues with the fact that Louisa seemed too weak to eventually become suitable for her son, let alone first lady of the US. She virtually counted out her daughter in law, saying she was too frail and wouldn’t live long. John Quincy and Louisa had four children, George Washington Adams, John Adams II, Charles Frances and Louisa Catherine. Louisa often felt harassed by Mama Abigail’s criticizing their way of raising the kids.
Additionally, John Quincy’s support of the Louisiana Purchase embarrassed his parents, since the Federalist Party was opposed to it. John Quincy would become disenfranchised with the Federalists and would join the Democratic-Republicans.
The couple would return to Europe in 1807 as John Publicola Quincy would be needed as a delegate in Prussia. The ten years they spent there was miserable. Russia was cold and rainy nonstop, John Quincy barely ever spoke to Louis and when he did it was to bark orders at her or criticize her for something. She would get sick frequently. Even Mama Abigail realized it was a bad move and wrote to President James Madison to allow them to return to the states. Figuring Adams to be a big boy, Madison let him decide, to which John Quincy declined.
In Russia, sunshine would finally at long last fall upon Louisa as she gave birth to her fourth and final child, daughter Louisa, but the sunshine turned stormy when the young child died almost right away. Towards the end of the War of 1812, John Quincy was dispatched to Paris to lead the Ghent Peace Treaty. He instructed Louisa to pack up their belongings and meet him in Paris. It took six long weeks for her and her two sons to move all their stuff on a horse and carriage through Russia, Poland and Germany to France during the icy winter and Napoleonic wars. The fact that she spoke French saved her life from hostile guards mistaking her for a Russian. When she reunited with her husband, he couldn’t have cared less.
In 1817, President James Monroe would call JQA back home again to become the new Secretary Of State. Then in 1824, continuing to follow along his father’s footsteps, JQA ran against Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay and Williams Crawford for president in an election where no candidate won the majority, and the Electoral College chose Adams. It was the couple worst years ever and they rarely spoke.
As president, John Quincy was an utter failure. He was as unpopular as his policies were, and he would actually rely on Louisa to lift him up, as depressed as she was. Their children were a complete mess. George was addicted to opium, John II got kicked out of Harvard, and Charles was caught with prostitutes. Louisa poured her feelings into writing poetry, playwright, and standing up for women’s rights. Mercifully, JQA would only serve one term, and retire back to Boston as a disgrace.
But the folks in Boston were still seeing him as a Federalist, former President, and son of a prominent founding father. Things finally started coming around for the couple. Now John Quincy began having respect for his wife. The two probably became a real couple for the first time since being newlyweds as they began writing anti-slavery bills in Congress, and as he began losing his eyesight due to cataracts, Louisa was there to champion her husband and he respected her. On January 21 1848 John Quincy suffered a stroke and died two days later.
Louisa was there for him until his last breath. A year later, she died from a stroke as well and died, age 77. This frail lady from England would far outlive her mother-in-law’s expectations. But if she did learn anything from Abigail Adams, it was how to be an elegant first lady.
Happy Anniversary, John Quincy and Louisa!
1931 – Invasion of the grasshopper.
According to blogpestcontrol.com, Grasshoppers are famous for swarming and devouring miles of crop along the way. This usually happens as part of the mating drive, when certain conditions cause their wings and jaws to grow making them into hungry eating machines. They fly farther, and eat more as a result. The 1931 Swarm landed in the heartland of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa in July.
There are so many grasshoppers that they blocked out the sun and ate crops right down to the ground. People had to use shovels to scoop dead grasshoppers off the ground. This swarm was particularly bad because it occurred in the midst of the Great Depression and the Dustbowl, placing even more hardship on a strained nation.
1799 – Happy Birthday Isaac Babbitt
…from Somerville, Massachusetts. He was a goldsmith who invented a low-friction tin-based metal alloy in 1939 that we use in in enging bearings to this day.
1775 – Congress establishes the US Post Office.
…I’d like to talk about this but the line’s too long and they’re about to close. No, seriously. Before the Revolution, mail traveled between the American colonies and England. It could take months and din’t happen very often. The post office was organized by Ben Franklin and William Goddard. Franklin was instrumental in coming up with more efficient routes from Florida up to Maine, actually the origins or Route 1. Also made mail going back and forth between New York and Philadelphia much quicker.
1858 – Happy birthday Edward Mandell House.
He was advisor, diplomat, and executive agent if you will, to The Professor Woodrow Wilson himself. He’s one of those backseat politicians you never hear about but was instrumental in developing peace plans with France, England, and even Germany during World War I. Yes, a big fan of Europe was Col. House, especially their economic policies, which I’ll get into in a moment. In fact Col. House, originally from Houston TX, came from a long line of well-to-doers from London. His father was one of the richest men in Texas, and Edward lived comfortably from the start, attending school in England as well as Cornell U. After inheriting his father’s cotton field, he was basically set for life.
He became quite good at local Texas politics and earned the nickname Colonel, though he had no military experience. The name just kinda stuck, I guess. He anonymously wrote a book called Philip Dru, Administrator: A Story of Tomorrow. Ins which he shouted a new America that would have its government control the telephone, telegraph, and railroads, implement social security, income tax, excess profits tax, and other things
The main character in the book, Philip Dru, says “America is the most undemocratic of democratic countries…Our Constitution and our laws served us well for the first hundred years of our existence, but under the condition of today they are not only obsolete, but even grotesque. Nowhere in the world is wealth more defiant, and monopoly more insistent than in this might republic, and it is here that the next treat battle of or human emancipation will be fought and won.”
Like I said, Col House was a big fan of European economics, namely socialism, and was ecstatic when Russia began to fall the lead of Karl Marx and his Communist Manifesto. In 1911, he threw his support for Governor Woodrow Wilson for the White House. After Wilson won, House approached him, meeting him for the first time, actually, and handing the President a $35 large. That was huge money back in the day. Beyond that, he never actually ran for office. He just threw his support and endorsed his favorite politicians, and Wilson would be by far House’s most favorite.
House would write Wilsons 14 Points speech, which caused the Germans to stop firing their weapons. He would continue to support the Democratic Party until his death March 28, 1938, age 79.
Happy birthday Colonel, you old commie you!
1947 – Truman signs the National Security Act.
…So, this did three things to reorganize America’s military protection: first, it united the Navy Department and War Department under a new Department of Defense. This would manage the nation’s military. Second, it established the National Security Council, which was used to gather intelligence for the president’s briefings. Third, it established the CIA, or central intelligence agency, which would not only gather intelligence but also run covert missions in foreign countries.
1984 – Ed Gein dies of hart failure in the geriatric ward in prison. This guy was so sick even Norman Bates, Letherface and Hannibal Lecture were saying damn! That’s guy’s sick! Seriously, the movies Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs were based in part by this guy who was so obsessed with his dead mother he would skin ladies that looked like her. Ed Gein, was very hospitable in jail;, never argued, actually a prison guard’s dream come true. So nice on the3 outside but so incredibly deranged on the inside.
1959, Happy birthday Kevin Spacey. Wonder if he’d make a great president someday. 1964 – HB Sandra Bullock.
2012 –Two people charged with attempting to extort $500,000 from Stevie Wonder
…over a video that portrays the Grammy-winning musician in a negative light, pleaded not guilty. Next September they would change their plea to no contest and were sentenced to time served.
2011 — KneeHi gets the honor of world’s smallest donkey.
I got that award every year in grade school and it wasn’t fun.
Not as much fun as KneeHi’s having at the Best Friends Farm in Gainesville Florida. If you want tio see his pictures, there are some great ones on amazing.com that are way better than my grade school pics. This adorable Mediterranean donkey was born to 27.5” dame Itsy Bitsy Annie and 29” tall sire Golden Point Billy Bob on October 2, 2007.
His owners are James Frankie and Ryan Lee, so congratulations there!