Day Tripping: February 28
Mass transport, Massacres, and Murder
Welcome to my daily feature where each day on the calendar marks a part of our shared history.
All Aboard Past Go
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, or B&O for Monopoly game lovers, sets out as the first steam-operated, common carrier railway in the United States. Though there were tracks laid elsewhere before the B&O took flight in 1827, this was the first to offer public transport. The Tom Thumb engine became the original Little Engine That Could when it stifled all doubts that coal burner could handle the difficult terrain on its route.
Baltimore was the second-largest city to New York at the time, so the new freight and people mover was thought to be a great competitive advantage.
An Infamous Incident
The Republic of China and leader Chiang Kai-shek carried out the brutal massacre of anti-government protesters in Taiwan, declaring martial law and leaving between 20,000 and 28,000 people dead. The uprising began the day before when a woman merchant was struck repeatedly on the head for selling contraband cigarettes. Taiwanese protestors took to the streets on this day in 1947 in defiance when they were fired upon by authorities.
The mainland Chinese government quelled any public reference to the action known today as the 228 Incident for the date it occurred. Further dissensions were met with similar action and thirty-eight years of martial law called the White Terror was enforced on the tiny nation-state.
Cold Blooded Killing
Sweden’s Prime Minister Olof Palme joined his wife, their son and his girlfriend at a cinema on the evening of 1986. Olof learned of his wife’s intention only hours before and though a prominent figure, he joined her without the escort of bodyguards. While walking home that night in Stockholm after the show, the Prime Minister was shot in the back and killed. His wife sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Theories have been expressed about the assassination ranging from a speech Palme made in the Swedish parliament denouncing Apartheid in South Africa, to a vendetta carried out by the Chilean fascist, Roberto Thieme. Palme was a pacifist who granted asylum to leftist Chileans, as well as a strong denounced of the Vietnam war. The CIA has also been implicated in his death.
Musical Milestones
1970 — After Eva von Zeppelin, a descendent of the late airship designer Ferdinand von Zeppelin threatens a lawsuit against the band, Led Zeppelin performs live in Copenhagen, Denmark under the name, The Nobs.
Narratives
The final episode of award-winning sitcom/drama M*A*S*H aired in 1983 and was viewed by over 100 million people.
Remembrance
The buxom bombshell that was discovered and brought to stardom by Howard Hughes in the nineteen forties, Jane Russell died in 2011 at the age of 89.
Notable Births
1906 — A guy who knew how to dream big and run with a dangerous crowd, gangster Bugsy Siegel was best known for his visionary insights into the development of Las Vegas.
1973 — The Canadian hockey player Eric Lindros, was dubbed The Next One on the heels of the success of Wayne The Great One Gretzky. Lindros was bigger, faster, and much stronger than Wayne, but when Scott Stevens caught Eric coming over the blue line with his head down one night, it spelt the beginning of the end of a promising career.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article dedicated to the days of our history. I hope to see you tomorrow for another instalment.
K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Joseph M. Learned 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
