MAY 7 — 1937 Hindenburg Pt. 2: News reaches Newspaper Headlines; 1691 William Rittenhouse, father of American recycling, moves to PA; 2016 Bart Colon finally hits a homerun in the MLB; 1991 Wilson Picket gets arrested
MAY 7
1937 – here are the headlines: Chicago Daily News: Hindenburg Explodes Burns. Fear 90 Killed.
Baltimore News-Post: Hindenburg Explodes 30 Die In Crash of Airship.
New York Times: Hindenburg Burns in Lakehurst Crash: 21 Known Dead12 Missing: 84 Escape.
Yesterday I brought this up this luxury airship, a beacon of pride for Nazi Germany.
The Titanic of the Sky; a title that may have cursed the beloved airship as it caught on fire upon its descent in New Jersey and exploded. Now that the news had reached the world, questions began to arise how it happened, and naturally sabotage was on the list. In fact it was the Captain, as well as others, who suspected foul play, and on Wikipedia there’s talk on this subject that goes on for days, including a suicide theory, sulfur that may have been found on a valve cap, engineering mistakes, political sabotage, even a helium vs hydrogen theory, since there was a conspiracy about how the plane caught on fire and the fact that the whole thing went up in about 35 seconds.
Ultimately, the German and American intelligence sources found the buildup of static electricity from the storm it passed had built up. Since 1937, Wiki Talks apparently couldn’t find a very legit cause other than the one we already know.
1763-Pontiac’s Rebellion.
…The English had won the French and Indian War in 1863 and the Treaty of Paris was signed. Now that this land belonged to the British, Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa natives believed that more white man would cross into the Ohio territory and encroach on their land. Pontiac got native rebels in just about every tribe he could including the Shawnees, the Munsees, the Wyandot, the Senecas and the Delaware natives to rise up. They attacked British settlements in the Ohio country and western Pennsylvania, and by late fall had killed or captured more than 600 people.
But a year later, the British military got even. Colonel John Bradstreet and Colonel Henry Bouquet launched invasions and subdued the native and forced them to return their prisoners. Although Pontiac himself never actually surrendered, the Rebellion was over.
The Rebellion showed a few things, one, that the natives were going to miss their French allies who helped to protect them, and two, the British learned that another native American uprising could start at anytime. So the English came up with the Proclamation of 1763, which drew a line where the colonists would live east of the Appalachians and the Native Americans would live in the west. This proclamation was ignored after a while, and peace didn’t last long.
I don’t mean to make fun of the French military, but….
1954 – Dien Bien Phu falls to the Viet Minh.
…I mean really. Try this, Google French military Victories and hit the I’m Feeling Lucky button. It’s just hilarious.
The French had been fighting a brutal battle in Vietnam since 1946. Actually the Viet Minh flattened the French army in a stunningly short period of time. 40,000 Viet Minh troops surrounded 15,000 French troops and fierce fighting and heavy casualties led to the fall of Dien Bien Phu.
Meanwhile here in the states President Eisenhower considered his options, including nuclear strikes against the Viet Minh, or massive conventional air strikes, paratrooper drops and the mining of Haiphong Harbor, but Eisenhower decided not to take any action to help the French.
The humiliating defeat led to even more public support for an independent Vietnam at the 1954 Geneva Conference.
1691 Rittenhouse, paper maker and recycler, comes to Germantown, PA.
Wilhelm Rittenhouse, b learned how to make paper as a youngster in Mulheim Germany then moved to Holland and opened a mill. He took that knowledge, experience and game to what we now call Philly, changed his name to William, and built America’s first paper mill.
Before this, the American colonies were receiving their paper from Europe and getting taxed on that. 50 years later this would be a real problem for North America’s a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, and diplomat Ben Franklin when he used his brother’s to print he New England Courant in 1721, then would use these and other mills to print things like the Poor Man’s Almanac and the Bill of Rights.
Even when getting taxed on it locally, but that’s a whole different story. This story is about the fact that now paper could be made right there in PA! Germantown, whatever. Rittenhouse is often called the American father of recycling because of these mills. Ya know what he used? Old, dirty rags that would otherwise go in the trash.
His motto, according to paperage.com ““So that the flax which first springs from the land, First Flax, then yarn…To weave the same which they took pains to spin. Also when on our backs it is well worn, Some of the same remains ragged and torn; Then of the Rags the Paper is made, Which in process of time doth waste and fade;o what comes from the darth, appeareth plain,0The same in Time, returneth to earth again.”
Wilhelm, or Bill if you prefer, died in 1708, just two years later, and son Claus would take over the business. He did well, keeping it in the family and being the only Kinko’s in town before it was Kinko’s. The concept of recycling didn’t really become a big issue in America until WWII. Rubber, tin, metal, gumball machines, pennies, records, you name it.
In the 1960s, American towns started recycling metals and paper, and by the 70s, it was Ban the Can in Hawaii, followed by the Garbage Barge in 1987, and in 1995 recycling in America doubled from the ten years previous.
Organic waste programs after the 21st century began, and here we are to this day.
But if you want to see where it all began in America, check out the Rittenhouse Mill in Philly.
1933-Happy birthday to the Golden Arm.
…Johnny Unitas played for the Baltimore Colts in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a record-0setting quarterback and the NFL’s MVP in 1959, 1964, and 1967. For 52 years he held the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass, until Drew Brees broke his record in 2012. Then by the time he was traded to the San Diego Chargers in 1972 he was way past his prime, but what a hell of a city to retire.
The funniest part about that story was the fact that when Brees did break Johnny’s record, Brees was playing for the New Orleans Saints against the Chargers.
2016 Colon finally hits a homerun.
Bartolo Colon, he Big Sexy has played for the Cleveland Indians, Montreal Orioles, White Sox, Anaheim, Boston, Yankees, Oakland As, Mets, Braves, Twins and Rangers. Colon has played in four All-Star games for Cleveland, Anaheim, Oakland, and New York Mets, and he has received the Cy Young Award with the Angels.
Then on this night in 2016, while playing for the Mets, the 42 year old Big Sexy pitcher was up at bat against James Shields of the Padres at Petco Park, where he could suh-wing battah! Out to left field and took it home as the Mets gained a 4-0 lead in San Diego. He returned to an empty dugout in a massive celebration, as he became the oldest player to score his first homer ever in the Major Leagues.
1991-Wilson Pickett gets arrested.
…Besides being one of the most influential R&B, soul and rock singer and songwriter, he also was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 1991. One May 7 of that same year he was arrested driving over his neighbor’s lawn in New Jersey. The police also found a knife and a baseball bat, and attempted murder was slapped on the charges. He got off with a small fine and a mandatory charity concert, but kids, let this be a lesson.
Don’t run over your neighbor’s lawn, especially when said neighbor is the town mayor.