On this day in 1881, the Gunfight at the OK Corral occurs. In Tombstone, AZ, town marshall Virgil Earp, along with his brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and noted dentist/gunfighter "Doc" Holliday, face off against cowboys Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury, and Billy Claiborne, in a vacant lot behind the corral. The two sides have clashed several times in recent weeks without bloodshed. This time, the cowboys are violating a town ordinance against carrying firearms in the town, and the Earps intend to disarm them. Historians debate who fired the first shot, but about 30 seconds and about 30 shots later, Billy Clanton and both McLaury's are dead, and Virgil, Morgan and Doc are wounded. Cochise County Sheriff John Behan charges the Earps and Holliday with murder, but they are found innocent at trial. The shootout has been portrayed in numerous films. Based on what I've read, the Wyatt Earp version is most accurate with regards to the actual fight (except it portrays the Earps firing first; I dont think they did, but of course I can't really know), while Tombstone's version is more realistic in its dialogue and the general scene of the action. On this day in 1825, the Erie Canal opens. The projects connects the Hudson River with the Great Lakes via a 425-mile combination of natural and man-made waterways, with 83 locks built to overcome the 500 feet change in elevation. The completion of the canal sparks a westward migration into Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. On this day in 1986, Bill Buckner cements his place in baseball infamy by letting a routine ground ball dribble between his legs in the 10th inning of Game 6 of the World Series. The New York Mets score the game winning run on the error, sending their series with Boston into a 7th game, also won by the Mets. The Red Sox World Series drought - they hadn't won a series since 1918, will continue for another 18 years.
On this day in 1962, Soviet Premier Kruschev offers to remove the Cuban missiles if the US will remove nukes recently located in Turkey. He is unaware that President Kennedy was already considering the removal of the missiles in Turkey, but rather than jump at the offer, Kennedy's reply to Kruschev is essentially, "You first." The ball is now in the USSR's court. On this day in 1904, the Interborough Rapid Transit System officially opens in New York. Connecting the Grand Central rail station with lower Manhattan via 9 miles of underground train tracks, it is the 2nd subway system in the US (Boston, 1897). But with expansions to the Bronx the following year, Brooklyn in 1908 and Queens in 1915, it very quickly becomes world's largest. Today the system consists of 245 miles of rail on 28 lines, connected by nearly 500 stations. (photo shows the approach to City Hall station on the original line shortly before its opening) On this day in 1970, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber release their double LP concept album, Jesus Christ Superstar. Studio recordings of Broadway musical soundtracks are common at the time, but Rice and Webber put the cart before the horse. Having difficulty getting financial backing for the show due to its controversial nature (Judas Iscariot is portrayed as a conflicted confidant of Jesus rather than a betrayor), Rice and Webber record and release the album more than a year before the show makes its stage premiere. The album features Ian Gillan (lead singer of Deep Purple) as Jesus, Murray Head, who hit the charts in the mid-80's with "One Night in Bangkok," as Judas, and Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene. JCS would be the number one album of the year according to Billboard magazine, and Elliman's solo "I Don't Know How To Love Him" would spend time at number one on the single charts.
On this day in 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev orders the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis is over, and the setback for Soviet expansion in the west greases the ways on Krushchev's removal from power in 1964. On this day in 1888, the Statue of Liberty is dedicated. Conceived in 1870 as a gift from the nation of France, the statue is declared a national monument in 1924 (1900 photo shows the statue's original copper color) Its a big date for monuments.....on this day in 1965, work is completed on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The 630-foot stainless steel arch cost less than $15 million to build., and is visited by about 4 million people a year (photo shows interior observation room)
Going back to the OK Corral post from Saturday, this is interesting. In the portrayal of the gunfight in the movie Tombstone, they show Wyatt's love interest, Josephine, posing for a picture in The Fly studio adjoining the gunfight site at 1:09 in the video. In 1976, Glenn Boyer published I Married Wyatt Earp, a presumed biography of Josephine. Much of the book's material was later found to be fiction. It was originally published with this photo on the cover. It was later determined that this picture (model unknown) was taken in NYC around 1915, but its appearance on the book cover led to the tall tale that Josephine posed for the picture at The Fly on the day of the gunfight. Based on what she's barely wearing in the scene, presumably they are portraying that photo pose in the movie.
Same here. This is a Capt. Obvious statement, but it's a lot bigger in person then what you think it is seeing it on TV or in a pic. If I'm honest, to me, it was a little unnerving riding in those tiny pods up to the top. I don't like cramped spaces as it is, plus you have to rely on someone from the outside to open the door to let you out. At least, that's how it was when I was there 20 years ago. I didn't like that at all and took the stairs on the way back down.
This day in 1929 is Black Tuesday on Wall Street. Trading volume sets a record for the second day in a row, as investors panicked over stock prices that had been steadily dropping for more than a month. Prices actually recovered for a couple of weeks after the record fall of the 29th, but overall, prices continued to plunge. By early 1932 stock values in general were 20% of what they had been in late 1929. At the same time, banks are beginning to fail at a staggering rate, mostly due to large loans they cannot liquidate. America is falling into the Great Depression. On this day in 1956, Israel, angered by Egyptian President Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal, invade Egypt. They were soon joined by the British, who had been granted control of the canal in a 1936 treaty, and the French, who believed Nasser was supporting rebels in the French colony of Algeria. Tensions increased further when the Soviets began making threats to back the Egyptians, but cooler heads in the UN, backed by President Eisenhower, prevailed, and the invading troops withdrew in early 1957, leaving Egypt in control of the canal.
