Day Tripping: April 9

Soldiers, Spacemen, and Spotlights

Lest We Forget

Perhaps a seminal moment in forging the pride and identity of a new nation, 20,000 Canadian troops stormed Vimy Ridge during WWI in 1917. Four divisions working together for the first time captured the largest advance in territory up to that time in the war. The extent of the cost, however, amounted to more than 10,000 men killed or wounded during the four-day assault.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge memorial stands at the top of the rise as a testament to the bravery of the young Canadian Corps.

The Right Stuff

The first seven astronauts for the NASA space program’s Mercury Project were announced to the public in 1959. The group of flyers who aptly dubbed it The Mercury Seven were chosen after exhaustive tests and selection process. The first American humans to fly in space were all veteran pilots and included Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper, Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn, and Scott Carpenter.

Shepard was tagged to be the first of the group to reach space in 196. Gordon Cooper flew the last Mercury rocket, the first in space for more than a day, and last solo astronaut for the United States.

Let’s Play Inside

The Houston Astros took the field to host the New York Yankees in an exhibition baseball game at the first indoor venue, the Houston Astrodome, in 1965. The home ball club changed its nickname to the Astros from the Colt 45s when the dome was completed.

The field which was mostly comprised of green-painted dirt, wouldn’t see an artificial turf surface until the following season. The first person to hit a home run inside a Major League domed season that day was Yankee great, Mickey Mantle.

Musical Milestones

Progressive Rock’s first and probably most influential band, King Crimson, gave their first live performance at The Speakeasy Club in London in 1969. Their initial impact on rock music was instant and huge.

Three months later, the group opened for the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park in front of an estimated crowd of between 250,000 and 750, 000.

Narratives

At a ceremony in Washington, DC in 1963, President John F. Kennedy presents an honorary US citizenship to Winston Churchill who is watching from home in London with his wife. It was the first time American Congress had bestowed such an honour.

Remembrance

Working from his philosophy of Organic Architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright designed more than 1,000 structures of varying shapes and sizes, most notably the magnificent Fallingwater in Pennsylvania. He died in 1959.

Oddly, Sidney Lumet never won an Academy Award though he directed iconic films such as 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Verdict. He passed away in 2011.

Notable Births

1926 — The King of soft porn and publisher of Playboy, Hugh Hefner.

1930 — An animal lover of a different sort, Jim Fowler was the TV host of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and a frequent guest with his exotic creatures on the talk-show circuit.

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

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