Al Capone mug shot, May 16 1929, Chicago, Illinois Source: FBI
On 14 February 1929, the world was shocked by a massacre that took place in Chicago’s North Side. Gang warfare had become part of life in Chicago during the 1920’s as gangs jockeyed for control of the lucrative illegal trades in alcohol, gambling, and prostitution. The massacre that took place would make political leaders realize that Chicago was in serious trouble. And of one the most notorious of them was Al Capone.
Al Capone had risen to power over the years by taking over his rival’s crime rackets by force. In 1924 16 gang related murders were recorded and continued to grow each year. Since the problem was deemed a local and state issue, the U.S. federal government had little jurisdiction to investigate. While the bootlegging was a violation of federal law, none of the other crime operations were. Capone had pretty much bought control of Chicago through bribing police officers, judges, and politicians. Even if someone got elected on the promise to go after him, it was difficult with so many already on his side.
One of Capone’s major rivals was the Irish gangster George “Bugs” Moran who ran the bootlegging operation of a garage at 2122 North Clark Street. Gunmen dressed as police officers entered the garage and pretended to arrest them. The fake cops lined up the seven men facing the wall and opened fire killing them all (one did survive but died afterwards). At least 70 rounds of ammunition were used in the massacre. Moran was not there but he and others quickly blamed Al Capone, but he was conveniently in Florida at the time. No one was ever brought to trial for the murders and to this day remains one of the biggest unsolved crimes in history.
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre ended any major opposition to Capone in Chicago. The North Side gang never recovered its power or place though Moran kept some control of it before leaving the city and his gang behind in the 1930’s. Capone was now the undisputed boss of the Chicago syndicate and was dubbed as Public Enemy No. 1 by the press. The massacre got the attention of federal authorities who began a grand jury to look into it. Capone did not appear to testify as ordered in March 1929 but did later resulting in his arrest for contempt of court. He was out on bond when down in Philadelphia he was arrested in May for having concealed weapons. He was sentenced to prison but ran his operation from there until he was released on good behavior nine months later. He would later be convicted of contempt of court in February 1931 and sent to Cook County Jail for six months.
The next phase of the action against Capone was to hit him in his operations and to investigate his sources of money for tax purposes. The famous Eliott Ness and his team tried to strike directly by raiding and shutting down his operations. The other operation was the investigation of the sources of his income. Special Agent Frank Wilson and others in the Internal Revenue Service did what is called forensic accounting to find out exactly how much Capone was earning from his illicit operations. It meant a lot of tracking down information and getting witnesses to provide key information, but it paid off. Wilson was able to show that Capone was failing to report his income as required by law and thus get him indicted and later convicted of tax evasion. To anyone watching, it must have been surreal. While everyone applauds Ness and his Untouchables, it was ultimately Capone’s failure to pay his taxes that got him sent to jail. He never recovered his place with the Chicago outfit and ultimately, because of syphilis, became an invalid. He was released from jail in 1939 and died a recluse in his Florida home in 1947. Public Enemy No I was no more.
Shrine of St. Valentine in Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland Photo: Blackfish (Wikimedia Commons)
Valentine’s Day is used by many to show their affection or love for someone they care about. It has spawned an industry for greeting card makers, candies, and of course flowers. However, there is a real religious component as many Christian denominations celebrate it as feast day, commemoration, or optional for the local diocese (such as the Catholic Church). Valentine was the name of many Christian martyrs in the early Church resulting in them all being remembered for their acts of sacrifice for the faith. Some denominations, such as Eastern Orthodox Church, celebrate a particular St. Valentine on two different days.
The association with romantic love could be linked to an ancient Roman festival has been made but there is no evidence of any link. Most seem to believe the link began with Chaucer’s Parlemont of Foules where he indicates birds choose their mates on St. Valentine’s Day although 14 Feb might not be the day Chaucer was referring to. Other poems made the association of love and St. Valentine’s Day in the medieval period and English Renaissance. For those who needed love verses but lacked the ability to compose them, publishers started offering them. Then putting them on paper and sending them became possible. Paper valentines became very popular in 19th century England resulting in their industrial production. They became popular in the United States as well. With such cards being popular, you needed other things to accompany a card. Roses and chocolates became popular, likely due to skillful marketing to associate them with the day. And so, Valentine’s Day became a very major day for greeting card companies, chocolate makers, and sellers of flowers (roses being the most popular flower for the day).
But Who Was Saint Valentine?
Saint Valentine is a Christian martyr who died in the 3rd century on April 14 but owing to the confusion there were at least three people named Saint Valentine, his actual history is lacking. One Saint Valentine was a priest and physician in Rome who was martyred in 270 AD under the reign of Claudius II Gothicus (reigned 268-270 AD). He was buried on the Via Flaminia and a basilica was reportedly put over it by Pope Julius I. Archaeological excavations have shown that a found evidence of the tomb. During the thirteenth century his relics were moved to the Church of Praxedes near the Basilica of St. Mary Major where they are today. A small church built near the Flaminian Gate (today called Porta de Popolo) was called in the twelfth century “the Gate of St. Valentine” adding more weight to this Saint Valentine.
The second Saint Valentine was reportedly the bishop of Terni, Italy (Interamna at the time). He too was arrested and martyred during the same emperor. However, it is not clear whether he was executed in Rome or in Terni. Some argue that St. Valentine I and Saint Valentine II are the same person and the accounts got jumbled up. There has been confusion in the past with two people who became saints sharing the same name. Usually, they have something extra added to differentiate (St. John of the Cross vs. St. John of Damascus). It is possible that there were two men named Valentine, one a priest in Rome and the other in Terni. We simply have no way of knowing.
The third St. Valentine was martyred in Africa along with his companions during the same period and possibly under the same emperor. In this case, there is nothing further known at all. Just a mention of it and no one can say for sure whether this is true or not. With three St. Valentine’s all claiming to have suffered martyrdom, all the church can say is that they died as martyrs for their faith. In 1969 St. Valentine was removed from the general Roman calendar making the commemoration of his feast day optional. As in the case of all saints so designated, it is up to the local bishops to decide whether to it observed. For example, the feast of St. Patrick is a solemnity in Ireland and in the diocese of New York but not elsewhere. St. Valentine is still considered a martyr by the Catholic church.
February by Leandro Bassano,1595/1600 Public Domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
February is the second month, and its name comes from a Roman purification ritual called Februarius which took place during the month. February is the shortest month with 28 days but 29 in leap years. Due to shorter number of days, a full moon does not always occur. A February full moon is sometimes referred to as the Snow Moon due to the amount of snow in the month. Native Americans sometimes referred the month as Hunger Moon due to limited supplies during winter. While still winter in the northern hemisphere, it is still summer in the southern.
February is also known for winter prognostication and the most well-known is Punxsutawney Phil. If the gopher sees his shadow, winter will last six weeks. He is rated to be accurate 40% of the time by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It has become a major event with people trekking to in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania every February. The origins of using a groundhog for forecasting winter comes from Germans who used badgers back in Germany before settling in the U.S. Since there are no badgers here, groundhogs became the substitute.
For many Catholics and Christians, February 2 is a very important date on the liturgical calendar. Called Candlemas or Presentation of the Lord, it marked two events: the presentation of Jesus in the temple and the ritual purification of Mary. Candles are brought to the mass to be blessed. Candles represent Christ being the light of the world and to give light during the year. When he is presented in the temple to the prophet Simeon, he was taken in the arms and blessed.
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” (Luke 2:22-40)
The Spring Festival/Chinese Lunar New Year takes place during February and celebrated in East Asia. Millions celebrate it with fireworks, candles, and lanterns along with families gathering for a major feast. Parades, special dances, and performances of all kinds take place during this period. Valentines Day (always February 14) is a day set aside to show your love for that special someone in your life. What perhaps started out as a simple way to honor those we love has morphed into a major commercial event. The February flowers are violet (to signify loyalty, faithfulness and watchfulness) and the primrose (to let someone know you cannot be without them). Of course, roses are the unofficial flower since Valentine’s Day on 14 February usually means a lot of roses are purchased for wives and girlfriends.
Why Do We Need a Leap Year?
When the old Roman calendar was updated to include both January and February, it meant the February was now the last month of the year. To fit into the calendar, it meant that the month could only have 28 days so that a thirteenth month could be fit in. That caused problems as you might guess, so Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar in 46 BC (named for him of course) which abolished the thirteenth month and included a leap year every fourth year where it would be 29 days. This made it fit into the calendar much better (though there was a discrepancy that would be found later that required a new calendar to fix). When the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1582, this was incorporated into it.
Colorised photo of Ned Parfett, best known as the “Titanic paperboy”, holding a large newspaper about the sinking, standing outside the White Star Line offices at Oceanic House on Cockspur Street near Trafalgar Square in London SW1, April 16, 1912. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Mike Reiss, who has been involved with The Simpsons for years, recalls taking a submersible to the Titanic wreck in a Reader’s Digest article. Stockton Rush, who later perished on the infamous dive a year later that took his and others, was the pilot. Reiss describes the descent as boring, with nothing to see, and the craft buffeted by currents. They reached the wreck, had a few minutes to observe and take pictures, then returned to the surface. Reiss does not fully agree with the official inquiry blaming Rush for inattention to safety, arguing that it took time to reach the moon despite terrible disasters that did not stop the program.
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Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol. Public Domain (via Wikipedia)
On January 16, 1919, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, banning (except for industrial and religious uses) the sale, manufacture, and importation of alcohol. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.
In the 19th century, temperance movements arose to address alcoholism, public drunkenness, and related social problems like gambling and prostitution. This religious-based movement gained support in many states with laws curtailing alcohol sales. It soon became national, calling on Congress to impose a nationwide ban. In 1917, Congress passed the 18th Amendment and sent it to the states for ratification. All but two states (Connecticut and Rhode Island) ratified it, though a few did so after the required number had been met.
A separate act, the Volstead Act, gave the Department of the Treasury enforcement power. It was vetoed by President Wilson, but Congress overrode the veto. The Supreme Court ruled in Dillon v. Gloss (1921) that Congress could set a ratification deadline. Controversy arose over the phrase “intoxicating liquor,” as many thought it applied only to hard liquor, not beer or wine. However, it was enforced as a total ban, leading to lax enforcement in many states due to its unpopularity. On January 17, 1920, the United States became a dry country.
Small-time bootlegging and smuggling from Canada, Mexico, or Cuba quickly emerged. Criminal syndicates and gangs in large cities launched their own operations, becoming wealthy and dangerous. They amassed enough money to bribe police, judges, and politicians. Ruthless gangs in Chicago and elsewhere fought lethally, killing rivals and sometimes innocent bystanders.
By the end of the 1920s, Prohibition was widely seen as a failure, having replaced alcohol’s social dangers with worse problems. A countermovement for repeal grew and was adopted by the Democratic Party in 1932, backed by presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt. Congress proposed repeal in February 1933, requiring ratification by state conventions rather than legislatures. Ratification was swift, completed by December 5, 1933.
Henderson Daily Dispatch (Henderson, N.C.), December 5, 1933 U.S. Library of Congress, https://lccn.loc.gov/sn91068401 Public Domain
The repeal allowed states to ban alcohol if desired. A few did so initially, but none do now. Instead, most states let counties and cities decide on alcohol sales restrictions. The speakeasy era ended. Al Capone was imprisoned for tax evasion, and the Mafia, having earned enormous sums during Prohibition, turned to a then-small city in Nevada for its next major source of wealth.
Titanic Wreck Bow Image: Public Domain (NOAA:http://www.gc.noaa.gov/images/gcil/ATT00561.jpg)
A full 3D scan of Titanic will result in the ability to explore Titanic without visiting the wreck itself according to a report at Earth.com. The project by Magellan and Atlantic productions has collected 715,000 deep-sea images of the wreck in striking clarity. The scan will allow researchers to really look at Titanic in a whole different way. Using all the data about Titanic from blueprints and other things, the 3D replica can be used to watch exactly what happened as the ship collided with the iceberg and see in detail about its sinking.
Quite remarkable technology. It will allow people who attend exhibitions to experience Titanic in a whole new way.
The sinking of the Greek passenger steamer Himara near South Evia on January 19, 1947, claimed at least 383 lives and has gone down in history as the “Greek Titanic.” Previously named Hertha, the vessel was handed over to Greece from Germany following WWII as part of war reparations.
Cleveland’s Great Lakes Science Center will offer a new way for guests to immerse themselves in one of history’s most iconic disasters with “TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition.” The exhibition, opening May 21, features over 200 artifacts recovered from the site of the shipwreck, life-size reconstructions of rooms on the Ship of Dreams and a virtual reality experience billed as “the most detailed and complete VR tour of Titanic ever created, including areas of the Ship that weren’t previously visible to the public.”
A major Titanic exhibition is set to come to Liverpool in 2026. Titanic in Focus: White Star Line Hotel, will run from January 8 to March 10 and is set to be held in the former White Star Line headquarters, which is now the White Star Line Hotel. The White Star Line headquarters is the building where the liner was planned, managed, and intimately connected to the city’s maritime history.
On top of injuries from the wreck, the frigid temperature of the northern Atlantic Ocean resulted in many losing their lives to hypothermia. According to the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the water was 28°F—just below freezing, but kept liquid by the high concentrations of sea salt. To illustrate this fact, the Titanic Museum installed an exhibit that allows visitors to put their hands inside a container with 28ºF water. Multiple videos capture visitors trying their best, but giving up just a few seconds later. Those who held a little longer reported feeling a burning sensation on their hands.
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For most of us, the notion that molasses would flood a city causing fatalities and destruction on its face seems implausible. Yet it happened in Boston in 1919.
Molasses tank in North End of Boston. Date unknown. Public Domain (via Wikipedia)
Industrial alcohol (used for machinery and other industrial applications) was very profitable and used for the war effort. It was made from fermented molasses so large tanks were constructed to hold it. A giant tank for it was built in 1915 along Boston’s waterfront on Commercial Street. Operated by the Purity Distribution Company (a subsidiary of United States Industrial Alcohol). The tank was immense measuring 50 feet high, 90 feet in diameter and could hold up to 2.5 million gallons. Back then, the usual standard was to use rivets (welding had not been invented yet) when connecting sections of metal together. Because of the fumes caused by fermentation and the pressure created, it posed a risk. There were leaks and occasional rumbles, but a vent was in place and open during the spring, summer, and fall. However, they were sealed during the winter since temperatures were usually very cool.
Shipments for molasses came in from ships in the harbor and transferred to the tank. Then later it would be transferred to an ethanol plant via pipeline in Cambridge. A recent delivery of molasses had nearly filled the tank. But for Purity, there was another issue. With the war over and Prohibition coming, the demand for industrial alcohol was going to be severely limited (there were still uses from industrial to baking but lower demand meant lower revenues for the company).
15 January 1920 was an unseasonably warm day with temperatures soaring up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit and higher possibly by noon that day. With the vents closed, the fumes had nowhere to go, and pressure built up inside the tank. At 12:30 pm people heard sounds that sounded like machine guns firing. It was likely the rivets being popped out by the pressure inside the tank. And then the tank exploded sending the nearly 2.5 million tons of molasses into Boston. The wave was estimated to be 15-40 feet and about 160 feet wide. Traveling at about 35 miles per hour, it destroyed several city blocks, leveled buildings, damaged autos and killed 21 people with 150 injured. Since molasses is very thick, it made for difficult breathing if it got into your nostrils or mouths. Many died from asphyxiation or drowned. Horses were knocked down and died on the spot with so many that many compared them to being sticky fly paper.
Boston Post,January 16, 1919, describing the Boston Molasses Disaster. Public Domain (via wikipedia)
Clean-up efforts started immediately but lasted for quite a while. Molasses went everywhere and no matter where you went in Boston, you were likely to encounter the sticky stuff in some form. It was on subway platforms, inside streetcars, pay telephones, even inside public buildings. Pedestrians tracked the molasses everywhere they went spreading further. Cleanup crews were kept busy cleaning it all up using salt water. And from many accounts, it appears the city would smell like molasses for some years to come.
Boston molasses explosion Source: U.S. Library of Congress,Digital ID: (digital file from original) anrc 1496
Aftermath
Fingers were pointed at the company, who tried initially to claim it was sabotage. An investigation into how it was built, and approvals were done showed a lot of corners were cut in its design and construction. Lawsuits were filed and consolidated into one of the first-class action suits ever to be done. Stories of known leaks where kids filled buckets with the leaking molasses did not help the company either. Ultimately the company paid out to victim’s families around $628,000.
The disaster highlighted the need for more rigorous standards for construction, required safety tests for tanks containing liquids, and ongoing safety checks. It was determined the company ignored basic safety tests when constructing and ignored the groaning sounds when tank was filled. Also, the company used thinner steel than was commonly used for tanks in that day. They also covered up the leaks by painting the tank brown. Later investigations have shown that as the molasses left the exploded tank, it cooled due to the Boston temperatures making it more viscous (meaning it thickened up) as it went through the streets. This made rescue efforts more difficult and cleanup more difficult as well.
The tank was never rebuilt, and the property became a yard for the Boston Elevated Railway (later the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority). Today is the site of a city owned recreational complex called Langone Park. To the east is the large Puopolo Park which has a small plaque on its entrance commemorating the disaster.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.(1964) Photo:Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress digital id cph 3c26559)
The following stirring speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of the best calls for equality in modern times. King reminds us that in seeking freedom not only for African-Americans, it is also for everyone. He wanted all people to be treated fairly, justly and not by the color of their skin but on the content of their character. He did not want it done out of bitterness or hatred but to work towards brotherhood where all would be free. We honor and remember a man who sought freedom not by the gun but by peaceful and forceful demonstrations to remind many of the promises of this country and what God himself has taught us in Holy Scripture.
I Have A Dream
Lincoln Memorial
August 28, 1963
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men — yes, black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice. We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end but a beginning. Those who hoped that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.
As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “for whites only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my friends — so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father’s died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!”
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi — from every mountainside.
Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring — when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children — black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics — will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
Thomas Patrick Dillon is referred to as the “luckiest survivor” of the Titanic.
Thomas Patrick Dillon signed aboard the Titanic on April 6, 1912, as a trimmer, though rated as an able seaman. Trimmers ensured coal was evenly distributed in the ship’s bunkers to heat the massive boilers, a grueling task involving shovels and wheelbarrows in dark, hot conditions. Dillon was performing this duty when the Titanic struck the iceberg and was later ordered to the steerage deck to evacuate. By then, the lifeboats were gone, so he ended up in the water. Unexpectedly, a passing lifeboat plucked him out, and he survived. He later testified before the British Titanic Inquiry about what he witnessed that night. The Liverpool Echo recently reprinted his testimony, which is quite riveting. He continued serving on other ships, never married, and died in 1939, buried at Ford Cemetery, Sefton. His grave remained unmarked for 89 years until a descendant of his sister petitioned for a headstone.
Thomas Patrick Dillion was buried in an unmarked grave. A descendant of his sister petitioned to have a proper grave marker put up. British Titanic Society helped raise the funds for it. Image: MSN
The exhibition itself isn’t huge. I managed to get around it in about half an hour. Although there are not a museum’s-worth of artefacts on display, the things it has are pretty incredible. From a letter written onboard the ship to playing cards claimed to have been used by someone during the time the iceberg struck, it’s definitely a must visit for anyone with an interest in the Titanic story.
A “love child of the Titanic” spent her “whole life” searching for the truth after her mum narrowly escaped the sinking cruise ship with her life. Ellen Mary Walker was born to Kate Florence Philips on January 13 1913, nine months after the doomed vessel went down in the in the North Atlantic Ocean. Her dad, Henry Samuel Morley, died in the disaster. Ellen tirelessly fought all of her adult life to be recognised as Henry’s daughter but died in 2005 without that proof. For more than 20 years, her granddaughter Beverley Lynn Roberts carried out vast research on their family history and links with the Titanic, finally getting the proof her grandmother always wanted. Ellen tirelessly fought all of her adult life to be recognised as Henry’s daughter but died in 2005 with her dream unfulfilled. Finally, in December 2020, Beverley and Duncan Morley, the grandson of Henry’s younger brother Louis Morley, took DNA tests which confirmed that Henry Samuel Morley was indeed Ellen’s father. Beverley said: “We’ve got a plaque up in Worcestershire where one of his shops was in his memory. It was really special for me to do for gran because over the years people kept saying he wasn’t the father and things like that – so I needed to prove that for her.
Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc.)
Lord, Walter, THE NIGHT LIVES ON, Willian Morrow and Company, New York, New York, 1986 (First Edition)
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