Day Tripping: March 19
Uprisings, Appeasements, and Game Changers
Welcome to my daily feature where each day on the calendar marks a part of our shared history.
New Territory
Returning from exile in the Montana Region, Métis and political leader Louis Riel spearheaded the Northwest Rebellion of 1885, entering the district of Saskatchewan and proclaiming a provisional government for an independent state. The pronouncement was shortlived as the ad-hoc legislature was defeated two months later at the Battle of Batoche.
Riel was subsequently captured and hanged for treason later that year. Saskatchewan joined the federation as a province of Canada in 1905.
Fair Warning
After a demand letter appears in the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper the week before, the town is filled with Jazz music on this night in 1919. The reason for the citizens’ capitulation?
A serial killer known only as The Axman is the author, proclaiming his love for Jazz and stating he will spare anyone who is enjoying the music during this evening. Until then, Jazz music was not the preferred form of many New Orleans citizens, but the threat of being murdered in the night changes their minds.
The Axman, who has struck before on multiple occasions, honours his part of the bargain and does not kill on that night. He will return though to continue his murderous ways later in the year.
Doubling Down
Governor Fred Balzar of Nevada signs Assembly Bill 98 into law, officially reinstating open gambling for games of cards and dice. The bill was not official legalization, but it paved the way for backroom gambling halls to operate publicly.
The state of Nevada was reeling from the effects of the Great Depression and the law was passed in an effort to stave off mass emigration. The birth of the Las Vegas strip style casino followed shortly after the bill was signed.
Musical Milestones
The first and arguable best ‘Rock Opera’ premiers as a motion picture musical in 1975. The Who’s Tommy hit American theatres with the band’s frontman, Roger Daltrey in the starring role supported by a star-studded cast, including his bandmates, Ann Margret, Oliver Reed, and a singing Jack Nicholson. Eesh!
The film also features grand performances by Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, and Elton John as the Pinball Wizard.
Narratives
The novel The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk is published in1951 and wins a Pulitzer prize the following year.
Remembrance
Arthur C. Clarke was not only a Science Fiction author and creator of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He was a visionary who proposed the idea of satellite communications in 1945 and pursued a life of underwater diving. He died in 2008.
Notable Births
1947 — Glenn Close has played some of the most memorable villainous characters in film and on television. She is once again in Oscar territory with her most recent performance in Hillbilly Elegy, a film well worth seeing.
1955 — Ranging from the Die Hard series to Pulp Fiction, Bruce Willis has enjoyed a varied career that began on TV with Moonlighting.
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
The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present
