“History is a kind of introduction to more interesting people than we can possibly meet in our restricted lives; let us not neglect the opportunity.”
~Dexter Perkins
1831 – Nat Turner’s slave rebellion commenced just after midnight in Southampton County, Virginia, leading to the deaths of more than 50 whites and several hundred African-Americans who were killed in retaliation for the uprising.
Turner led a group of slaves carrying farm implements in a rebellion against slavery. As they went from plantation to plantation they gathered horses and guns, freed other slaves along the way, and recruited other blacks that wanted to join their revolt. During the rebellion, Virginia legislators targeted free blacks with a colonization bill, which allocated new funding to remove them, and a police bill that denied free blacks trials by jury and made any free blacks convicted of a crime subject to sale and relocation.
Whites organized militias and called out regular troops to suppress the uprising. In addition, white militias and mobs attacked blacks in the area, killing an estimated 200, many of whom were not involved in the revolt.
In the aftermath, the state quickly arrested and executed 57 blacks accused of being part of Turner’s slave rebellion. Turner hid successfully for two months. When found, he was quickly tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and hanged.
1851 – The U.S. built schooner America defeated a fleet of 14 of Britain’s finest ships in a race around England’s Isle of Wight. In the 53-mile race, the America trounced the competition, beating the cutter Aurora by 22 minutes and finishing nearly an hour ahead of the third boat, the schooner Bacchante.
The ornate silver trophy won by the America was later donated to the New York Yacht Club on condition that it forever be placed in international competition. Today, the “America’s Cup” is the world’s oldest continually contested sporting trophy and represents the pinnacle of international sailing yacht competition.
1862 – President Abraham Lincoln wrote a carefully worded letter in response to an abolitionist editorial by Horace Greeley, the editor of the influential New York Tribune, and hinted at a change in his policy concerning slavery.
From the outset of the Civil War, Lincoln proclaimed the war’s goal to be the reunion of the nation. He said little about slavery for fear of alienating key constituencies such as the border states of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and, to a lesser extent, Delaware. Each of these states allowed slavery but had not seceded from the Union. Lincoln was also concerned about Northern Democrats, who generally opposed fighting the war to free the slaves but whose support Lincoln needed.
In his editorial, “The Prayer of Twenty Millions,” Greeley had criticized Lincoln for his soft treatment of slaveholders and for his unwillingness to enforce the Confiscation Acts, which called for the property, including slaves, of Confederates to be taken when their homes were captured by Union forces.
In a rare public response to criticism, Lincoln articulated his policy by stating, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.” Although this sounded noncommittal, Lincoln closed by stating, “I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free.”
By hinting that ending slavery might become a goal of the war, Lincoln was preparing the public for the change in policy that would come one month later with the Emancipation Proclamation.
1864 – The Geneva Convention of 1864 for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick of Armies in the Field was adopted by 12 nations meeting in Geneva. The agreement, advocated by Swiss humanitarian Jean-Henri Dunant, called for nonpartisan care to the sick and wounded in times of war and provided for the neutrality of medical personnel. It also proposed the use of an international emblem to mark medical personnel and supplies. In honor of Dunant’s nationality, a red cross on a white background – the Swiss flag in reverse – was chosen.
In 1881, American humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons founded the American National Red Cross, an organization designed to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters in agreement with the rules of the International Red Cross.
1953 – The penal colony on Devil’s Island in French Guiana was permanently closed. Opened in 1852, it was notorious for being used for internal exile of French political prisoners, the most famous being Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a French artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most tense political dramas in modern European history. Devil’s Island was also known for its harsh treatment of criminals, who were deported there from all parts of the French empire.
1989 – Huey P. Newton, African-American political activist and revolutionary who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966, was fatally shot by drug dealer Tyrone Robinson in Oakland, CA. The murder occurred in a neighborhood where Newton once organized social programs that helped destitute African-Americans.
Robinson claimed that Newton pulled a gun when the two met at the street corner, but Oakland police officers found no evidence that Newton had been armed. Newton’s last words, as he stood facing his killer, were, “You can kill my body, and you can take my life but you can never kill my soul. My soul will live forever!” Robinson then shot Newton twice in the face.
1992 – In the second day of a standoff at Randy Weaver’s remote northern Idaho cabin, FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi wounded Randy Weaver, Kevin Harrison, and killed Weaver’s wife, Vicki.
Randy Weaver, a white separatist, had been targeted by the federal government after failing to appear in court to face charges related to his selling of two illegal sawed-off shotguns to an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms informant. On August 21, 1992, after a period of surveillance, U.S. marshals came upon Harrison, Weaver, Weaver’s 14-year-old son, Sammy; and the family dog on a road near the Weaver property. A marshal shot and killed the dog, prompting Sammy to fire at the marshal. In the ensuing gun battle, the dog, along with Sammy and U.S. Marshal Michael Degan were shot and killed. A tense standoff ensued, and on August 22 the FBI joined the marshals besieging Ruby Ridge.
Later that day, Harris, Weaver, and his daughter, Sarah, left the cabin, allegedly for the purpose of preparing the dog’s body for burial. FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi, waiting 200 yards away, opened fire, allegedly because he thought Harrison was armed and intending to fire on a helicopter in the vicinity. Horiuchi wounded Weaver, and the group ran to the shed where Sammy’s body was lying. When they attempted to escape back into the cabin, Horiuchi fired again, wounding Harrison as he dove through the door and killing Vicki Weaver, who was holding the door open with one hand and cradling her infant daughter with the other. Horiuchi claimed he didn’t know that Vicki Weaver was standing behind the door. Harris, Weaver, and Weaver’s three daughters surrendered nine days later.
2003 – Alabama’s chief justice, Roy Moore, was suspended for his refusal to obey a federal court order to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of his courthouse.
2007 – The Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles 30–3, the most runs scored by a team in modern Major League Baseball history. Texas pounded out 29 hits, including 5 home runs. The combined run total is also Major League record.
2011 – Lyricist Jerry Leiber, who together with composer Mike Stoller wrote countless hits during the early days of rock and roll, died at the age of 78.
The duo wrote (and these are just a few examples) Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, Kansas City, Yakety Yak, There Goes My Baby, Love Potion #9, Charlie Brown, Ruby Baby, Along Came Jones, Loving You, Poison Ivy, and so many more.
Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2016 RayLemire.com. All Rights Reserved.
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