Category: 1800s
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Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow Drowns Off the North Carolina Coast When a Yankee Vessel Runs Her Ship Aground, and She Falls in While Holding $2000 in Gold. October 1, 1864.
Image: Rose O’Neal Greenhow with her youngest daughter and namesake, “Little” Rose, at the Old Capitol Prison, Washington, D.C., 1862. (Public Domain) On this day in history, October 1, 1864, Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow drowns off the North Carolina coast when a Yankee vessel runs her ship aground, and she falls in while holding…
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While Traveling From New York from Liverpool, England, the SS Arctic Struck the SS Vesta, a Small Fishing Boat, 50 Miles Off the Coast of Newfoundland – 322 Souls would Perish. September 27, 1854.
Original caption: “Wreck of the U.S.M. Steam Ship ‘Arctic’. Off Cape Race Wednesday September 27th 1854. On her homeward voyage from Liverpool, during a dense fog, she came in collision with the French iron propeller ‘VESTA,’ and was so badly injured that in about 5 hours she sunk stern foremost by which terrible calamity nearly…
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Wild West Wednesday, Part 4 – The Death of Billy the Kid
Image: The only surviving authenticated portrait of Billy the Kid, 1880. This tintype portrait sold at auction in June 2011 for USD $2,300,000 to William Koch. (Public Domain.) On April 9, 1881, after a one-day trial, Henry McCarty, aka “Billy the Kid,” or William H. Bonney, was found guilty of murdering the Lincoln County, New…
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Shaka, the originator of the Zulu Kingdom of Southern Africa, is Assassinated by His Two Half-Brothers, after Shaka’s Mental Illness Threatens the Survival of the Zulu Tribe. September 22, 1828.
Image: An artistic rendition of Shaka (artist unknown) On this day in history, Shaka, the originator of the Zulu Kingdom of southern Africa, is assassinated by his two half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, after Shaka’s mental illness threatens the survival of the Zulu tribe. When Shaka became chief of the Zulus in 1816, the tribe totaled…
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Wild West Wednesday – Part 3 – “Black Jack” Tom Ketchum
Image: “Black Jack” Tom Ketchum. (Wikimedia Commons.) “Black Jack” Tom Ketchum was an American cowboy who later in life became an outlaw. He was hanged in 1901 for attempted train robbery. The execution was bungled; he was decapitated because the executioner used a rope that was too long, and the lubricated rope was too thin…
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Joshua Abraham Norton, an English-Born Resident of San Francisco, California, Proclaimed Himself Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America. September 17, 1859.
Image: Emperor Norton in full dress uniform and military regalia, his hand on the hilt of a ceremonial sabre, c. 1875. (Wikimedia Commons.) On this day in history, September 17, 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton, an English-born resident of San Francisco, California, proclaimed himself Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America.…
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Wild West Wednesday (a day late) Part 2 – The Death of Outlaw Johnny Ringo
On July 14, 1882, Wild West outlaw Johnny Ringo was found dead, apparently caused by a self-inflicted gunshot, in Turkey Creek Canyon, Arizona. John Peters Ringo, known as Johnny Ringo, was an American Old West outlaw associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He participated in the Mason County War in Texas,…
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On This Day in History, During the Mexican-American War, the United States Army Under General Winfield Scott Entered Mexico City. September 14, 1847.
Image: The Battle of Chapultepec was a battle between American forces and Mexican forces holding the strategically located Chapultepec Castle just outside Mexico City, fought 13 September 1847 during the Mexican–American War. American forces under General Winfield Scott would enter Mexico City the next day. (Wikimedia Commons.) On this day in history, September 14, 1847,…
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The James-Younger Gang Rode Into Northfield, Minnesota, Intending to Rob the First National Bank. September 7, 1876
On this day in history, when the James-Younger Gang rode into Northfield, Minnesota, intending to rob the First National Bank, they did not expect any trouble from the local citizens. Unbeknownst to them, the townspeople would soon be nationally applauded for defending their town from some of the period’s most notorious outlaws. Image: Jesse and…
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Wild West Wednesdays Part 1
Today we begin a new series, appearing every Wednesday, profiling one notorious outlaw who was roaming the American Wild West in the late-1800s. I hope that you will enjoy the series as much as I did writing it. Enjoy!. Francis John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin was an Old West outlaw and gunfighter. Hardin was…
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 