Day Tripping: April 15

Lost, Founded, and Rescued

An Icon Lost

Laying in a borrowed bed that is too small for his 6foot, 4inch frame, President Abraham Lincoln died in 1865 at the home of a local Washington tailor named William Peterson. The gunshot wound to the back of the President’s head was so severe, he could neither travel back to the White House nor be operated on to remove the bullet lodged behind his left ear.

Instead, Lincoln was laid out diagonally on a bed inside Peterson’s home where family and close colleagues came to pay last respects. The President died nine hours after being shot from behind by JW Booth while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC.

An Icon Begun

The great consolidator, JP Morgan formed a ‘merger of equals’ between rival inventors Thomas Edison and Elihu Thomson in 1892. The corporation by combining these electrical pioneers of the Edison Electric Company and the Thomson-Houston Electric company respectively became General Electric in 1892.

With a shared vision for the future of electricity, the two inventors leveraged their combined talents to combat legal obstacles abroad. Thomson’s right-hand executive Charles A. Coffin became the new corporation’s first president, and Thomson himself was made chief engineer. A research laboratory was set up in Schenectady, NY which later became GE Global Research.

An Icon Saved

A major landmark of the Paris skyline, the nine centuries-old Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame became engulfed in flames in 2019. The fire spread quickly to the roof of the ancient cathedral and toppled the spire, destroying stained glass artworks in the process. Five hundred firefighters battled the blaze for over five hours and while two-thirds of the roof was demolished, the fire chief eventually declared that the building’s structure had been saved.

It was estimated the fire was extinguished with only half an hour to spare before the entire church collapsed. Work has been underway since to restore the majesty of the UNESCO World Heritage Site with the aid of over $1 billion in donations.

Musical Milestones

At the end of many grueling hours shooting the movie to be called Beatlemania! in 1964, Ringo Starr quips to his bandmates that “it’s been a hard day’s night”. John Lennon turns Ringo’s words into a song and the movie is also retitled A Hard Day’s Night.

Narratives

The first exhibition of the Impressionists opens in Paris in 1874, which includes the works of Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, and Berthe Morisot.

Remembrance

At the beginning of the Swedish-American star’s career, Greta Garbo became the number one leading lady of silent film. Then when her first sound film, Anna Christie came out in 1930, marketing geniuses of the times enticed filmgoers by proclaiming Garbo Talks! She continued a widely successful career until 1941 when she retired at the age of 35. Greta Garbo led a very private life from then on until she died in 1990 at 84.

Notable Births

1452 — Sculptor, painter, architect, and inventor Leonardo da Vinci

1894 — Dubbed the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith pioneered the path for all future female jazz singers.

1990 — Hard to believe Hermione Granger, aka Emma Watson is thirty-one today.

K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora

The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present