“What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore — And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over — like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?” — Langston Hughes
I love to share the things I am learning. Sometimes my histories will cover significant events, and sometimes they will just be fun. I may not be able to be able to post a history every day, but I want to post as many as possible in response to sycophants who are desperately trying to erase history.
Image is a photograph of a scene from the 1959 Broadway production of “Raisin in the Sun” with (left to right) Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Glynn Turman, Sidney Poitier, and John Fiedler. (4/4)
A Raisin in the Sun” was nominated in four Emmy categories: Best Play, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Direction; but the 1961 movie adaptation, with most of the same cast, was snubbed at the Oscars, receiving zero nominations. (3/4)
Hansberry’s inspiration for the play came from her activist family. When she was a girl, her father, Carl Augustus Hansberry, was a party in the 1940 Supreme Court case of “Hansberry v. Lee” concerning racially restrictive covenants in real estate. “(2/4)
“A Dream Deferred”
On this day in history, 67 years ago, March 11, 1959, Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, the first play written by a Black woman to be performed on Broadway and the first Broadway production with a Black director. (1/4)
Apologies for the typographical error: the patent was granted on May 22, not “Mary 22.” oops!
I love to share the things I am learning. Sometimes my histories will cover significant events, and sometimes they will just be fun. I may not be able to be able to post a history every day, but I want to post as many as possible in response to sycophants who are desperately trying to erase history.
Image—from the United States Patent and Trademark Office—shows the illustration from Lincoln’s patent for “Manner of Buoying Vessels.” (4/4)
Lincoln’s method employed “combining adjustable buoyant air chambers with a steamboat or other vessel for the purpose of enabling their draught of water to be readily lessened to enable them to pass over bars or through shallow water, without discharging their cargoes.” (3/4)
Lincoln was inspired to develop this method from two occasions traveling aboard a boat that got hung up on a shoal, and his knowledge came from his time ferrying travelers on the Great Lakes and midwestern rivers and as a teen taking a flatboat from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico. (2/4)
Lincoln’s Patent:
On this day in history, 177 years ago, March 10, 1849, Abraham Lincoln applied for a patent for a “Manner of Buoying Vessels over Shoals” that was granted on Mary 22 of the same year, which makes him the only United States President to have been granted a patent. (1/4)
I love to share the things I am learning. Sometimes my histories will cover significant events, and sometimes they will just be fun. I may not be able to be able to post a history every day, but I want to post as many as possible in response to sycophants who are desperately trying to erase history.
Image, from the Library of Congress, shows a Kurz and Allison chromolithograph titled “Battle between the Monitor and Merrimack.” (5/5)
The CSS Virginia was damaged and forced to return to port, but the battle was considered a standoff, because the USS Monitor had also been damaged and the Union suffered more casualties than the Confederacy, but the blockade remained unbroken. (4/5)
The Union Navy had been blockading the waterway at Hampton Roads since April 1861, cutting off access to Norfolk and Richmond. When a large number of Confederate ships, including the ironclad CSS Virginia, attacked the blockade, the ironclad USS Monitor was sent in to defend the blockade. (3/5)
Commonly referred to as the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack, it was actually between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. The damaged USS Merrimack had been previously captured by the Confederacy and rebuilt as the ironclad CSS Virginia. (2/5)
Battle of the Ironclads
On this day in history, 164 years ago, March 9, 1862, the second day of the Battle of Hampton Roads saw the first battle between two ironclad warships. (1/5)
I have since learned that Salem Village, where the original interrogations took place, was outside of Salem Town, where the trial took place. Salem Village is now known as Danvers, and Salem Town is now just known as Salem. Image is a 2019 photograph from Wikimedia contributor Francis Helminski.
I love to share the things I am learning. Sometimes my histories will cover significant events, and sometimes they will just be fun. I may not be able to be able to post a history every day, but I want to post as many as possible in response to sycophants who are desperately trying to erase history.
Image is a VW ad from the September 21, 1995, issue of “Rolling Stone” that memorialized Jerry Garcia (lead guitarist and vocalist for the Grateful Dead) after his death, showing a simple sketch of a VW Microbus with a tear coming from its left headlight. (4/4)
The VW Microbus became a symbol of the counterculture of the sixties because of its ability to reliably and economically transport large numbers of people to rock concerts and anti-war rallies, and it became known as the “hippie-mobile,” often painted with psychedelic artwork. (3/4)
Because of Volkswagen’s origins in Nazi Germany, their automobiles were not very popular in the United States, but a successful advertising campaign later made VW the top-selling automobile imported to America. (2/4)
VW Microbus:
On this day in history, 76 years ago, March 8, 1950, mass production of the Volkswagen Transponder (known in the United States as the VW Microbus) began at the Wolfsburg Factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, and it was then offered for sale at the Geneva Motor Show. (1/4)
I love to share the things I am learning. Sometimes my histories will cover significant events, and sometimes they will just be fun. I may not be able to be able to post a history every day, but I want to post as many as possible in response to sycophants who are desperately trying to erase history.
Image—from the Vintage Everyday website—shows a photograph of Mary Martin’s portrayal of Peter Pan and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook in the musical production of “Peter Pan.” (4/4)
It was so well received that they broadcast it again the following year, and in 1957 NBC broadcast a live performance of “Annie Get Your Gun,” also starring Mary Martin, who portrayed Annie Oakley in the national touring company while Ethel Merman was performing the role on Broadway. (3/4)
Although color televisions were uncommon, it was broadcast in color, but the only surviving copies are black-and-white kinescope recordings. Mary Martin won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Peter Pan, which complemented her Tony award for playing the same role on the Broadway stage. (2/4)
Broadway on Television:
On this day in history, 71 years ago, March 7, 1955, the seventh episode of “Producers’ Showcase” on NBC presented an adaptation of the stage musical “Peter Pan,” starring the Broadway cast, the first time a Broadway production was broadcast on television. (1/4)
I love to share the things I am learning. Sometimes my histories will cover significant events, and sometimes they will just be fun. I may not be able to be able to post a history every day, but I want to post as many as possible in response to sycophants who are desperately trying to erase history.
