Category: American History
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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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Operation Market Garden ended in Allied failure as the last British and Polish paratroopers were evacuated from Oosterbeek, near Arnhem. September 25, 1944.
Image: US Army paratroopers are dropped near Grave, Netherlands while livestock graze near gliders that landed earlier. This was the beginning of Operation Market Garden during World War II, which resulted in heavy Allied losses. (Public Domain) On this day in history, September 25, 1944, Operation Market Garden ended in Allied failure as the last…
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During the American Revolution, American General Benedict Arnold Meets with British Major John Andre About Giving the Fort at West Point to the British in Exchange for Cash and a High-Ranking Position in the British Army. September 21, 1780
Image: Benedict Arnold (Wikimedia Commons.) On this day in history, September 21, 1780, during the American Revolution, American General Benedict Arnold meets up with British Major John Andre to talk about giving the fort at West Point to the British in exchange for guaranteeing a substantial amount of cash and a high-ranking position in the…
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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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The Birmingham Church Bombing Occurred in Alabama, Killing four young Black Girls. September 15, 1963.
Image: The four girls killed in the bombing (clockwise from top left) Addie Mae Collins (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Carol Denise McNair (11). (Wikimedia Commons.) On this day in history, September 15, 1963, the Birmingham Church bombing occurred when an explosive device detonated prior to Sunday morning services at the 16th…
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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 four-day Uprising at the Maximum-Security Attica Correctional Facility at Buffalo, New York, Ends When Officers Storm the Complex. Thirty-Nine People Died in the Disastrous Assault. September 13, 1971.
Image: The Attica Prison Riot, 1971. (Wikimedia Commons.) On this day in history, September 13, 1971, the four-day uprising at the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility close to Buffalo, New York, ends when hundreds of state and local police officers storm the complex in a hail of gunfire. Thirty-nine people died in the disastrous assault, including…
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 