Day Tripping: June 20

Steamed, Erased, and Chased

Part Steam Ahead

The SS Savannah arrived in Liverpool, England becoming the first steam-powered vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 1819. Though fitted with a sidewheel steamer, the distinction is dubious as most of the voyage was managed with sails up. The enormous amount of cargo area taken up by the huge engine prevents the design from gaining any commercial success. Still, after stalling in waters off York Harbour for two days, Savannah’s arrival was hailed by crowds onshore at Liverpool, and greeted by a British war sloop.

Nearly twenty years later, two British sidewheel ships racing for New York, would be the first to cross under full steam. Thirty years would pass after the Savannah before an American ship made a steam-powered crossing. The SS Savannah was wrecked in 1821 off the coast of Long Island.

Bad Rewind

A tape recording of White House conversations between President Richard Nixon and his aids on June 20, 1972, is found to have 18 1/2 minutes missing during investigations the following year. The recording where the Watergate Hotel break-ins and subsequent arrests are being discussed are partly recorded over and partly white noise.

According to testimony by Rose Mary Woods, the President’s secretary, she inadvertently hit record for five minutes when answering a telephone call. When the tape revealed another 13 minutes of missing conversation, Woods could not account for the discrepancy. Nixon himself claimed he only knew about 4 minutes of missing tape and said later when he learned how long the gap really was, “I practically blew my stack.”

Stay Out of the Water

The film that began the trend of the summer blockbuster, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was released in 1975. It became the highest-grossing box office hit of all time, and the race was on to exceed the mark for summer audiences. The story of the killer shark was also the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean which caused numerous technical difficulties, not the least of which was getting the mechanical shark to function properly.

Those issues may have been what made this film so successful because Spielberg was forced to edit the film with more suggestive cutting, much like Hitchcock’s technique in drawing out tension. Though the shark was rarely shown on screen, Jaws viewers were given the fright of their lives, sending the picture to the top of the charts.

Musical Milestones

Among those in attendance at the funeral for Billy Preston in 2006 were Little Richard, Della Reese, The Temptations, and Joe Cocker who sang the deceased’s song You Are So Beautiful in eulogizing the great keyboardist. Preston got his start from Little Richard and has often been referred to as the fifth Beatle for his work on the Let It Be album and more. He was also a close friend to The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton who all sent tributes. Billy Preston died two weeks earlier at the age of 59.

Narratives

Inventor of the famous code, Samuel Morse received a patent for his single-wire telegraph in 1840.

Remembrance

Always recognizable with his bushy handlebar mustache, LeRoy Neiman was a gifted American artist who painted some of the world’s greatest athletes in action. He passed away in 2012 at 91.

Notable Births

Another star-studded lineup:

1942 — Brian Wilson

1945 — Anne Murray

1949 — Lionel Richie

1952 — John Goodman

1967 — Nicole Kidman

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, Ph.D. 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 Thewriteyard David Perlmutter Joe Luca

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