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Storytime Tapestry is proud to present:  History at a Glance by Dean Perchik

deanperchik@earthlink.net

October – Part 2

© 2007 Dean Perchik

On the 18^th in 1851, publisher Richard Bentley[i] published a new book by Herman Melville.  Titled The Whale it was a three volume expurgated edition of Melville’s massive work.  The following November 14, it would be published in New York by Harper and Brothers in one volume entitled Moby-Dick, or The Whale.

John Jay was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the 19^th in 1789.  His name has come down to us as the name of one of the brightest of the bright lights of the Founding Fathers.  Columbia University has a very selective undergraduate merit scholarship, the winners of which are referred to as John Jay Scholars.  Yes, time has been very kind to John Jay.  Not long after he was sworn in as Chief Justice, a graffito appeared near his home, which read "Damn John Jay. Damn everyone that won't damn John Jay. Damn everyone that won't put up the lights in the windows and sit up all nights damning John Jay."

When the American forces were forced to leave the Philippines during World War II, Douglas MacArthur[ii] had promised the people of that nation that he would return.  On the 20^th in 1944, MacArthur fulfilled that promise by returning to Leyte Island.  I don’t mean to disparage MacArthur’s memory but I wonder whether his promise to return was based on any reason other than his duty as a Five Star General.  In July of 1941, President Truman had recalled MacArthur to active duty.  Truman made MacArthur Allied Commander in the Philippines.  Do you think that MacArthur spent his days just been sitting around waiting for Truman to call.  No!  He had another job already.  The Philippines’ President Manuel L. Quezon[iii] had made him Field Marshal of the Philippine Army.  Nevertheless, MacArthur took Truman’s job.  When MacArthur had to pull out of the Philippines, he was in a bit of a rush.  I mean, think about it.  The entire Japanese army, navy and air force were heading for the Philippines and he had to get out of there fast.  Perhaps there were one or two things that MacArthur had forgotten to take with him.  You know: his stapler, some yellow legal pads, a couple of boxes of pens, rubber bands, paper clips, a couple of highlighters, stuff like that.  MacArthur would soon be out of a job again and he was going to need some office supplies.

On the 21^st in 1854, Florence Nightingale[iv] left England with 38 of her nurses and traveled to Turkey to perform life-saving service in the Crimean War.  In addition to being a nurse who exhibited extraordinary dedication to the field of nursing, she was also a brilliant statistician.  One of her reports, which would have far-reaching influence, was one that proved that in patients in London hospitals died at a rate of 90% while those patients that did not go to a hospital died at a rate of 60%.  She also started the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, which is still in operation today.

William Miller was an American Baptist preacher active in the middle of the 19^th century.  Miller considered himself a bit of a scholar, and through intensive study was convinced that he had figured out the exact date that Jesus would make His Second Coming.  That date, determined by meticulous research, was October 22, 1844.  It was a sure thing; no doubt about it; Miller and his many followers referred to that date as The Great Anticipation and made every preparation possible for Christ’s return and the end of the world.  Well, Miller got it partly right because the sun, not the Son, did rise on the 22^nd and on the 23^rd as well.  Miller’s followers would henceforth know October 23rd as The Great Disappointment.

On the 24^th in 1947, Walt Disney testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee.   In the course of his testimony, Disney named animators Herbert Sorrell, David Hilberman and William Pomerance, as employees that he believed to be communists.  Walt also singled out the Screen Actors Guild[v] as being a front for communist agitators.  Documents released under the Freedom of Information act also reveal that from 1941 until his death in 1966 Disney worked as a spy for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On the 25^th in 1938, Francis J. L. Beckman[vi], Archbishop of Dubuque, denounced Swing music as “a degenerated musical system turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people.”  In addition, the good Archbishop stated with authority that Swing “leads down a primrose path to hell.”  Fortunately, for the rest of the listening public, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald chose to throw caution to the wind and ignore such dire warnings.

Gilles de Rais, nobleman, comrade-in-arms to Joan of Arc, and all around fun guy, kidnapped a clergyman in May of 1440.  The disappearance of this cleric would prompt an investigation into de Rais’ behavior, which had long been suspect in his neck of the woods.  Ultimately, de Rais would be excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church, a group with a well-deserved reputation for being intolerant of people who kidnap and sexually abuse young boys before killing them. de Rais would face trial for the torture and murder of over 600 boys over the course of many years.  On the 25^th in 1440, an ecclesiastical court handed down a sentence of excommunication against de Rais and his accomplices.  Rather than undergo torture, de Rais readily confessed to the crimes.  After tearfully expressing what must surely have been sincere remorse for his crimes, the Church's punishment was rescinded and he was allowed confession.  The secular penalty, obtained coincidentally with the Church’s punishment, remained in place however and de Rais was hanged on the 26^th in 1440.  de Rais would hold the crown for vicious sexual crimes until the beginning of the seventeenth century when the mild mannered bloody Countess Erzs?bet B?thory would surpass the scale of de Rais’ horrid crimes.

On the 27^th in1946, the television show Geographically Speaking debuted.  Not terribly earthshaking news and I doubt if you will find it running on cable or broadcast television at any time in the near future.  Why, then, am I sharing this meaningless bit of trivia? However, I suppose that my use of the adjective meaningless is redundant concerning trivia.  What sets Geographically Speaking apart from a zillion other television shows is that it has the distinction of being the first commercially sponsored television program.  Its sponsor was Bristol-Meyers.  Carveth Wells, intrepid rich guy and explorer traveled the globe extensively with his wife, Zetta.  Mrs. Wells was in the habit of lugging a 16mm motion-picture camera on these jaunts across the surface of the planet and used quite often.  Actually, she seemed to use it every day.  At some point in their travels, Carveth and Zetta become travel weary and their globetrotting jaunts ended.  Mrs. Wells put her home movies to good use however and they supplied the material for the show, which had a running time of 15 minutes.  When Mrs. Wells ran out of new material for the show, the show was simply cancelled.  Re-runs would not be invented for a good ten years.

On the 28^th in 1886, 1936 and 1986 celebrations were held in New York Harbor marking, respectively, the dedication, 50^th anniversary and 100^th anniversary of the statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, popularly known as the Statue of Liberty.  President Grover Cleveland mc’d in 1886.  President Franklin Roosevelt did the honors in 1936.   By 1986, the statue must have been downgraded to the B list because President Reagan was a no-show.  Although in Reagan’s defense, there was a sign posted on the podium stating “No shoes, no shirt, no service,” and it was a Tuesday and The Gap probably wasn’t open yet.

On the 29^th in 1964, while in New York City, Jack “Murph the Surf” Murphy[vii] visited the American Museum of Natural History[viii].  While walking around the museum he visited one of the restrooms and unlocked a window.  Later that evening, Murph the Surf, accompanied by Alan Kuhn and Roger Clark returned to the museum after it had closed for the day.  The 565-carat Star of India[ix] sapphire was the only gem protected by an alarm. Murph the Surf was pleasantly surprised to discover that the battery that powered the Star of India’s alarm was dead.  He took the gem and some others, most notably the Eagle Diamond and the de Long Ruby[x].  The trio was arrested two days later.  The Star of India was recovered from a locker in a Miami, Florida bus station.  The Eagle Diamond[xi] has never recovered.

John Joseph Caldwell Abbott died on October 30, 1893.  He was a Canadian lawyer and politician who had an interesting career.  As most people recognize, France has long been a haven for terrorists and malcontents with a generally anti-American bent.  Canada, on the other hand, has been a haven for American political dissidents with a somewhat less violent bent.  There are exceptions however.  In the 1880s, John Joseph Caldwell Abbott was Canada’s Prime Minister.  Like so many other politicians, Abbott began his career as a lawyer.  He was a signatory of the Montreal Annexation Manifesto, which sought to have Canada become one of the United States.  One of Abbott’s most high-profile cases involved the representation of the participants the robbery of three banks in St. Albans, Vermont, United States.   In 1864, Americans, from the recently formed Confederate States of America, began to congregate in St. Johns, Canada, just across the border from St. Albans.  On October 10, 1864, this band came across the border and checked in to a hotel in St. Albans.  On the 19^th, they simultaneously staged armed robberies at three of St. Albans’ banks, netting a total of $208,000.  I mean, really now, waging a civil war is not cheap and the arms suppliers really appreciated it when the armaments they sold were paid for.  While the banks were being robbed, some of them ushered the towns' folk to the village green so that those robbing the banks could, when they had a spare moment, round up and steal all of the residents' horses.  The group then re-crossed the border and returned to Canada where they were promptly arrested.  The United States soon sought to have them extradited.  Abbott, a sort of 19^th century version of William Kunstler, was counsel for the raiders at their trial.  He successfully argued that the men were belligerents operating under military orders and Canada, a neutral nation, blocked their extradition.  The raiders were freed and $88,000, all that remained of the $208,000 stolen, was returned to St. Albans.  The balance, it may be assumed went for lawyers’ fees. 20^th century American lawyer, Maurice Nadjari noted, “You can’t make a living defending an innocent client” a fact that Abbott must have also observed.   Their lawyer had to get his fee, didn’t he? Having to return the money probably really ticked the raiders off.

On the 31^st in 1968, President Lyndon Johnson addressed the nation to inform the populace that due to the progress achieved at the Paris Peace Talks he was ordering the complete cessation of “all air, naval and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam.”  The war would continue until April 30, 1975.  Johnson’s address was the 60s version of President Bush’s appearance on a naval vessel standing beneath a banner proclaiming “Mission Accomplished”.