Monthly Archives: May 2022

History

Remembering History: The Hindenburg Disaster (6 May 1937)

Airship Hindenburg crash in Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937
Photo originally taken by Murray Becker, AP
Public Domain

On 6 May 1937 the German passenger airship Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while trying to dock at Naval Air Station Lakehurst near Lakehurst, New Jersey. Of the 97 passengers and crew, 35 perished and one worker was killed on the ground.

Airships were a popular way to travel. They were comfortable and often afforded their passengers the ability to see things that passengers of airplanes would not often see. The Germans had perfected the use of airships while the United States suffered humiliating crashes that confounded designers. The German Zeppelins used hydrogen for many years without any major incident until 1937.

Hindenburg over New York hours prior to the disaster. (Public domain)

The event was caught on newsreel and on radio. Herbert Morrision’s radio coverage is classic and you can listen to at History.com. You can also listen to this one on YouTube which points out that Morrison’s voice was much higher than normal due to the tape recording speed (he was known for his deep voice). His actual audio report sounds different when you hear it as it ought to have been. A British Pathe newsreel of the disaster be viewed here.

While sabotage was suspected, neither the American or German inquiries concluded that was the cause. The American report concludes:

The cause of the accident was the ignition of a mixture of free hydrogen and air. Based upon the evidence, a leak at or in the vicinity of cell 4 and 5 caused a combustible mixture of hydrogen and air to form in the upper stern part of the ship in considerable quantity; the first appearance of an open flame was on the top of the ship and a relatively short distance forward of the upper vertical fin. The theory that a brush discharge ignited such mixture appears most probable.

The many theories that continue to persist are:

  • Sabotage
  • Lightning
  • Static Spark
  • Engine Failure
  • Incendiary Paint
  • Hydrogen Leak
  • Fuel Leak

Mythbusters examined the incendiary paint hypothesis and concluded it did not cause the catastrophe. Many believe the most likely reason for the explosion is that a tiny tear in the fabric or an exposed piece of metal was the entry point for static electricity to ignite the hydrogen. Hydrogen would never be used again for airships after this.

Airships faded from use though the famous Goodyear blimps over sports and other events are used to film the events below. And with the desire to conserve our environment these days, helium filled airships may yet return as a means of travel.

History

Forgotten History: U.S. Starts Building Panama Canal (4 May 1905)

Unidentified Ship at Cape Horn sometime between 1885-1954
Unidentified Ship at Cape Horn sometime between 1885-1954
National Library of Australia (via Wikimedia Commons)
Public Domain

For hundreds of years sailors who made the long trek from Europe to the Pacific Ocean had a dream. A dream of one day being able to sail straight across rather than all the way down to the tip of South America where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. Cape Horn, so named by a Dutch captain in 1615, was a major point shipping point where trade ships plied between Europe and Asia. If you wanted to get to China, Japan, or shipping ports on the Pacific western coast (South America up to Alaska), this was the preferred route for many merchant and military vessels. However, the convergence of both oceans at that area also led to it being a treacherous path at times due to fierce storms that really put the skills of a mariner to a test. Many a ship has sunk in those waters and many explorers saw their fleets thinned out in that area. The building of the transatlantic railway helped reduce the need to ship freight and passengers somewhat but not enough. A land route through the Isthmus of Panama was possible though it had its own perils as well. You had to walk from the one coast to the other through a jungle. The Spanish established Panama on the Pacific and the Nombre de Dios on the Atlantic connected by 49 mile (80 km) simple jungle path. The path was simple and not built for moving cargo but moving people (mostly soldiers) from one coast to the other. People who choose this route over taking a ship faced a hot climate, insects that carried malaria, and other surprises that were not for the faint of heart. A railroad was constructed (at heavy cost) to move people and freight but that still left ships making the dangerous route. Hence the dream of a canal was born

Building it was another matter. The French gave it a try and it was a complete failure. The construction costs quickly mushroomed, and they lost 20,0000 workers due to malaria and accidents. The company collapsed and many speculated it could not be done. The US, for both maritime and military reasons, decided to buy up the French company and do it themselves. At the time, the proposed canal was in Columbia resulting having to negotiate terms for the digging of the canal. However, Columbia and the U.S. could not come to terms, leaving the U.S. with a problem. The area of Panama was inhabited by native people who had tried in the past to gain independence from Columbia but not able to pull it off. An early attempt to recognize Panama independence in 1903 was rejected by Columbia. So, with the full support of the US, Panama declared its independence in November 1903. The treaty signed between Panama and the US allowed for the construction of the canal but gave the US sovereign rights in the canal zone. This allowed the US to not only build the canal but administer and defend it as well. Fees for using the canal would go to the zone but also to Panama as well.

It was on 4 May 1905, formally called Acquisition Day, the project became official, and construction would commence. It was completed in 1914. The 52-mile canal now connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans without having to sail down to Cape Horn and into the Pacific. Commercial traffic would increase as more cargo and passenger ships could easily move between the two oceans. The 10-mile Panama Canal Zone would grow and become more important as a result. Today only the supersized ships must make the trip down to Cape Horn as they are too big for the Panama Canal.

Today the Panama Canal is recognized as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, many Panamanians wanted to revisit the original treaty and gain more control of the canal. In a 1977 treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter and Panama leader Omar Torrijos, it was agreed that the Panama Canal Authority would be turned over to Panama in 1999.

Sources:


Titanic

Titanic News: April News Review (March 31-15 April 2022)

This is a curated list of Titanic news for the first part of April 2022.  I will be posting the second half soon.

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Titanic News-April 2022

March 31-April 15, 2022

*29 Shipwrecks Found Since the Discovery of the Titanic
247wallst.com, 31 Mar 2022
https://247wallst.com/special-report/2022/03/31/29-shipwrecks-found-since-the-discovery-of-the-titanic/

Finding a shipwreck has been the stuff of fantasy for as long as people have sought opportunities beyond the horizon. There is no shortage of wrecked vessels to find; it’s estimated that there are more than three million undiscovered shipwrecks around the world.

*Molly Brown House Opens New Titanic Exhibit With More Unseen Artifacts
4CBS Denver, 1 April 2022
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2022/04/01/titanic-molly-brown-house-unseen-artifacts-denver-museum/

Many of the artifacts are associated with “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, who survived the Titanic’s sinking and is one of the most well-known women in Denver’s history. “Heroine of the Titanic” opened on Friday at the Molly Brown House, 1340 Pennsylvania Street. It will be open for visitation on select days through late September.

*12 Artifacts Brought Up From the ‘Titanic’
Mental Floss, 2 April 2022
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/titanic-shipwreck-recovered-artifacts

Since 1987—two years after the Titanic wreck was discovered—seven trips have been made to the ship’s debris field, and more than 5500 artifacts have been salvaged. Here are a few of them.

*Titanic Artifact Goes On Display For The First Time Since 1912
Attractions Magazine, 2 April 2022
https://attractionsmagazine.com/titanic-artifact-goes-on-display-for-the-first-time-since-1912/

On April 5, 2022, Titanic Museum Attraction will unveil the charm-like embellishment, which was once attached to Straus’s watch fob chain, to a gathering of select members of the media, Straus’s great-great-grandson David Kurzman, and others, marking the first time the public will see it since 1912.

*Rare Illustrated Brochure Is Set To Sell At Auction For £6,000
Daily Mail, 2 April 2022
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10679139/Rare-111-year-old-brochure-Titanic-set-sell-auction-6-000.html

A rare holiday brochure for the Titanic has surfaced 111 years after it was originally produced. The brochure is being sold by a private collector who uncovered it in Northern Ireland several years ago on April 23 and is expected to sell for £6,000.

*Woman Shares Stories of Titanic Passengers for Anniversary of Sinking
Newsweek, 4 April 2022
https://www.newsweek.com/woman-shares-stories-titanic-passengers-anniversary-sinking-viral-tiktok-1694891

A series of videos is gaining traction on TikTok as a woman has decided to share the stories behind various passengers on the Titanic for each day in April—the month the ship sunk over 100 years ago. TikToker @kjdish, whose name is Kaylee Jukich-Fish began the series on April 1 which she calls “Titanic Month” by going through a stack of “boarding passes” from passengers on the ship. The first video has now received over 1 million views in which Jukich-Fish talks about the life of passenger, and survivor, Annie “Nina” Harper.

*The Legend of Jenny, the ‘Titanic’ Cat Said to Have Predicted the Ship’s Fate
Mental Floss, 4 April 2022
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/jenny-titanic-cat

Titanic’s resident feline, who joined the ship while it was still in Belfast, didn’t receive the same first-class treatment as the canine passengers that boarded the ocean liner with their owners. Jenny was a ship cat, meaning she was allowed to roam the decks freely and help keep the rat population under control. With no one to smuggle her into a lifeboat—as was the case with two lucky Pomeranians and one Pekingese on board—Jenny’s story likely didn’t have a happy ending. The cat never turned up after the ship sank into the Atlantic, and she was presumed dead.

*Isidor Straus Fob On Display At Pigeon Forge’s Titanic Museum
WVLT8, 5 April 2022
https://www.wvlt.tv/2022/04/05/isidor-straus-fob-display-pigeon-forges-titanic-museum/

The fob, a charm for men’s pocket watches, is on exclusive display for the first time since 1912 at the museum. Isidor Straus wore the fob the night he died during the Titanic’s sinking. Straus’s body was found and the artifact was returned to his family, who has had it for over 100 years.

*Grimm Prospects: Jack Grimm, the Eccentric Billionaire Hell-Bent On Finding the ‘Titanic,’ Bigfoot, and Noah’s Ark
Mental Floss, 5 April 2022
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/jack-grimm-explorer-titanic-bigfoot

It was 1980, and Grimm, an oil tycoon, was organizing yet another of his seemingly impossible quests. After searching for the remains of Noah’s Ark, evidence of Bigfoot, and proof of the Abominable Snowman, Grimm had set his sights on finding the wreckage of the Titanic, which had sunk to the depths of the North Atlantic in 1912. No one had located the ship. Grimm believed he could—with the aid of a monkey named Titan.

*Titanic Survivor Molly Brown’s Blanket To Go Under The Hammer
Independent, 6 April 2022
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/belfast-harland-and-wolff-errol-flynn-new-york-american-b2052008.html

“As part of the sale, Molly’s White Star Line embroidered deck chair blanket, which was in her possession when she was travelling on the Titanic, will be going under the hammer, as will an engraved trinket box that was given to Molly by her husband upon her safe return to New York,” he said. The auction catalogue for the sale, which will take place on April 26 in house and online, is now available to view: www.bloomfieldauctions.co.uk

*Titanic’s 110th Anniversary: One Of Only Six Life Jackets Remaining From Ship To Be Displayed In Belfast Museum
Belfast Telegraph, 7 April 2022
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/archive/titanic/titanics-110th-anniversary-one-of-only-six-life-jackets-remaining-from-ship-to-be-displayed-in-belfast-museum-41529595.html

One of only six life jackets remaining from the Titanic has gone on display at the Titanic Belfast museum to commemorate the 110th anniversary of its sinking. This is the first time the life jacket has been on public display on the island of Ireland and it is free for the public to view in the Grand Atrium of Titanic Belfast until Sunday, April 24.

*110th Anniversary Of Titanic To Take Place In Cobh Over The Weekend
Irish Times, 7 April 2022
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/110th-anniversary-of-titanic-to-take-place-in-cobh-over-the-weekend-1.4847141

The 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with the loss of 1,504 lives will be remembered in Cobh this weekend. Members of the British Titanic Society (BTS) will travel to the Cork Harbour town to lay a wreath at the spot that the White Star liner departed from on her ill-fated maiden voyage. Over 80 members of the British Titanic Society will travel to Cobh for the society’s 2022 convention where they will travel to Roches Point on Friday to lay a wreath at the point from where the liner departed from Ireland en route to New York.

*6 Facts About ‘Titanic’ Survivor Eva Hart, One of the Last to Remember the Disaster
Mental Floss, 8 April 2022
https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/eva-hart-titanic-survivor-facts-history

Seven-year-old Eva Hart boarded the Titanic with her family on April 10, 1912, not knowing that her life was about to change forever. In her later years, she had the distinction of being one of the last living Titanic survivor with first-hand memories of the disaster. Here are six facts about Eva Hart’s role in history.

*Key Facts On Titanic And Belfast — 110 Years After It Sailed On Its Fateful Transatlantic Voyage
News Letter, 10 April 2022
https://www.newsletter.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/key-facts-on-titanic-and-belfast-110-years-after-it-sailed-on-its-fateful-transatlantic-voyage-3648285

(The article is fine but they should have edited it more carefully. In some places, time travel took place as dates such as 2011 are used!)

The Titanic link to Belfast has its origins almost half a century earlier, when White Star Line in 1869 chose Harland and Wolff in the city to commence construction of vessels to rival Cunard Line, which was the main shipping service across the Atlantic.

*Remembering Titanic Victim ‘Tom’ Kerley Of Bowerchalke
Salisbury Journal, 10 April 2022
https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/features/journalfeatures/20055511.remembering-titanic-victim-tom-kerley-bowerchalke/

William Thomas Kerley lived at Woodminton Cottages, Bowerchalke and on the release of the Titanic film ‘A Night to Remember’ in 1957, many locals came forward to say they knew “Tom” Kerley. Mr Will Case knew the Kerley family, as did a Mrs Hardiman, of Shaftesbury, who reported in 1957: “The young man Tommy Kerley, as he was called, had two brothers and four or five sisters. The family left Bowerchalke soon after the disaster.”

*Brooch From Titanic With Jack And Rose-Like Love Story Up For Auction
New York Post, 11 April 2022
https://nypost.com/2022/04/11/brooch-dating-back-to-the-titanic-ship-goes-up-for-auction/

Titanic survivor Roberta Maioni was just 20 years old when she found romance with a young gentleman steward aboard the ill-fated voyage. The first-class passenger fell in love with an unnamed crew member, who gifted her a white brooch the night of the ocean liner’s sinking.

*When Did Titanic Sink And How Long Did It Take? A Timeline Of The Disaster
History Extra, 13 April 2022
https://www.historyextra.com/period/edwardian/when-did-titanic-sink-how-long-timeline-disaster/

As day turned to night on 14 April 1912, little did passengers and crew on board Titanic know of the horrors that lay ahead. Nige Tassell tracks a timeline of how the disaster unfolded…

*Divine Mercy And The Sinking Of The Titanic
National Catholic Register, 12 April 2022
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/titanic-and-divine-mercy

Father Byles worked as quickly and as calmly as he could to usher the women and children to the lifeboats. The characteristic of the priest most in evidence, and the one most remarked on later by survivors, was his presence of mind throughout. It was as if this moment was the one for which he had been preparing all his life. Seeing the first batch of women and children safely aboard lifeboats, and declining an offer to join them, he quickly descended once more below decks.

*Titanic Passengers: 8 Stories Of People Who Sailed On The Liner
History Extra, 13 April 2022
https://www.historyextra.com/period/edwardian/titanic-passengers-stories-people-who-sailed-on-board/

Titanic brought people together from all levels of society – from the wealthy to those seeking a new start. From a future Olympian to the architect who went down with his ship, uncover the tales of those who were on board…

*Titanic Shipyard Wins Britain’s First Cruise Ship Contract In 50 YEARS As UK Economy Soars
Express, 13 April 2022
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1595204/Titanic-shipyard-queen-victoria-belfast-cruise-ship-P-O

Harland & Wolff will now undertake works on P&O Cruises’ ship Aurora and Cunard’s Queen Victoria. When the work begins, the Queen Victoria will be the largest cruise ship ever to have dry docked in a UK yard. Prior to the planned work, the last cruise liner built by Britain was the Saga Ruby, built in 1973 in Newcastle upon Tyne.

*Enduring Mystery: Do These Photos Show The Iceberg That Sank The Titanic?
Yahoo, 13 April 2022
https://news.yahoo.com/enduring-mystery-photos-show-iceberg-172036577.html

One such photo showing an iceberg that, experts say, the massive Titanic ocean liner may have likely struck before sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic, is the first one believed to be taken by a passenger on the S.S. Carpathia, a passenger ship re-routed to help to the sinking Titanic.

*The Titanic Sank 110 Years Ago. An Indy Newspaper Got The Story Very Wrong.
IndyStar, 15 April 2022
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2022/04/15/titanic-anniversary-indianapolis-star-newspapers-covered-tragedy/7008835001/

By now, we all know this story. One hundred and ten years ago, during her maiden voyage, the RMS Titanic — then the world’s most luxurious liner, deemed “unsinkable” because of her state-of-the-art safety features — struck an iceberg in the north Atlantic Ocean and sank, killing 1,500 passengers. Although, for Indianapolis residents in 1912, that kind of depended on where you got your news.

Miscellaneous

Welcome to May

May, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1412-1416)
Limbourg brothers (fl. 1402–1416)
Public Domain (Wikimedia Commons)

May is the fifth month on the current Gregorian and the old Julian calendar. It is named for the Greek goddess Maia. On the old Roman calendar, this was the third month. May has 31 days. The full moon in May is sometimes called the Flower Moon since many flowers bloom during this month.

May is commonly associated with spring in the Northern Hemisphere but autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Usually, it is also the time that plants begin to grow. It is a time for many festivals and celebrations as well. The ancient Romans had several of them during May and many Europeans today have events during the month. Late May is often considered the beginnings of the summer season in many places.

The May symbols are the emerald (birthstone), along with Lilly of the Valley and Hawthorn as the birth flowers.

Find Gifts for Mother’s Day. Shop Amazon for Mothers Day Gifts.