Archive for the ‘News’ Category
July 14th, 2008 | 
Author: The assassination of John F. Kennedy happened on Friday November 22, 1963 in Dallas, TX. It occurred at 12:30 P.M. CST. He was fatally shot while riding with his wife Jacqueline in a presidential motorcade. The investigation of the assassination was conducted by the Warren Commission with the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin – a conclusion still held in doubt by many in the world. In fact, the assassination of JFK is one of the biggest conspiracy theories that exist in our time.
Lets examine some of the facts surrounding the event
First, Kennedy came to Dallas for three main reasons: to generate more campaign funds for his 1964 presidential election; to begin his reelection bid; and to mend political fences among several key Texas Democratic Party members who would be needed to deliver Texas to Kennedy in the election.
Against this positive backdrop were concerns about safety in Dallas as recently Adlai Stevenson, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, was been jeered, jostled, struck by a protest sign, and spat upon during a visit to Dallas. And there was great concern amongst the members of the Kennedy contingent that an assassination attempt might be made. This was both in light of the fact of the unstable environment in Dallas at the time and the fact that the motorcade route was described in both Dallas newspapers on November 19, 1963, and a map of the route was published on November 21, 1963.
The motorcade traveled its route to an excited Dallas populace until 12:30 when the Presidential limousine turned and passed the Depository and continued down Elm Street where shots were fired. Many witnesses recalled hearing the shots but assumed that they were firecrackers at the time of the event.
Two shots were fired. The first shot entered Kennedy’s upper back and exited his throat. It also hit Governor Connally who was riding with Kennedy and his wife. The second shot took place as the limo passed in front of the John Neely Bryan north pergola concrete structure. This shot struck his head and did tremendous damage to his scull and brain and was the shot that eventually led to his death.
Kennedy was quickly brought to the Parkland Hospital and declared dead at 1 P.m CST. His death was officially announced by White House Acting Press Secretary Malcolm Kilduff at 1:33 p.m. CST.
A few minutes after 2:00 p.m. CST, Kennedy’s body was placed in a casket and taken from Parkland Hospital and driven to Air Force One.
Vice-President Johnson became President of the United States upon Kennedy’s death. At 2:38 p.m. he took the oath of office on board Air Force One just before it departed Love Field to Andrews Air Force Base.
The President’s body was then brought back to the White House for private viewing. On Sunday, his flag-draped closed casket was moved to the Capitol for public viewing. Hundreds of thousands lined up to view the guarded casket.
Representatives from over 90 countries attended the funeral on November 25. After the service, the casket was taken to Arlington National Cemetery for burial.
JFK had an amazing life that was tragically cut short. The documentary Years of Lightning, Day of Drums dramatically captures his accomplishments as President against the backdrop of his funeral. This moving film touches upon Kennedy’s hopes during his presidency and details the “Six Faces of the New Frontier”, the Peach Corps, the Alliance for Progress, Civil Rights, Space Exploration, Disarmament, the pursuit of peace, the Cuban crisis, the Berlin crisis, his journey to Costa Rica, his speech at the Berlin Wall and his visit to the Kennedy ancestral home in Ireland.
Visit http://www.thehistoricalarchive.com/categories/Presidents/jfk/index.html for a variety of films and audio recordings about JFK’s Presidency.
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One of JFK’s most powerful speeches was delivered from the balcony of the Rathaus Schöneberg in Berlin, Germany. The purpose of this speech was to show the support of the Untied States for the democratic West Germany shortly after the Soviet-supported East Germany erected the Berlin Wall.
The speech and show of support by the United States proved to be a great morale booster for the West Berliners as they were literally surrounded by East Germany and feared occupation at any moment. The famous quote that made the speech so famous is showcased below:
Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was civis romanus sum [I am a Roman citizen]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’… All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’
The concept of Kennedy delcaring himself a Berliner was a last minute inclusion by Kennedy in the speech and he practiced the phrase in German in the office of Mayor Willy Brandt before delivering the speech. He also created a phonetic card for the phrase ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ to ensure he pronounced it correctly during the speech. (The cue card can be viewed here.)
The speech was very well received but Kennedy’s National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy felt the speech was a bit too strong and the text was revised to a softer tone before delivering it to the Free University later that day.
This strong message of defiance was aimed both at the West Berliners as well as the Soviets and represented a clear statement of U.S. policy in the wake of the construction of the Berlin Wall.
Get the DVD: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums and own your own copy of this speech as well as many others in this excellent JFK documatary.
An incredibly moving speech JFK delivered to the people of Berlin, this clip is taken from the Years of Lightning, Day of Drums DVD.
It is hosted on The Historical Archive Youtube Channel but you can also watch it below in a slightly smaller window size than on Youtube.
[youtube width="350" height="288"]GK907TwM7q0[/youtube]
In our modern world, we don’t even give a thought to the tremendous computation power in even the least expensive computers. Here is an interesting look at some of the things one of the very first computer ENIAC could do:
The original press conference announcing the ENIAC was held on 1 February, 1946. The reporters were addressed by Major General Gladeon M. Barnes, head of Research and Development Service of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, Eckert, Mauchly, Brainerd, and Goldstine. Arthur Burks and Kite Sharpless conducted a formal ENIAC demonstration showing five simple problems:
- 5,000 additions in one second
- 50 multiplications in one second
- Generation of squares and cubes
- Generation of sine and cosine table, to be tabulated
- A more complicated computation
Compared to modern computers, this type of demonstration would be considered a total failure. But it is from these early machines that the knowledge to make modern computers were derived.
1752 By tying a key onto a kite string during a storm, Ben Franklin , proved that static electricity and lightning were the same. His correct understanding of the nature of electricity paved the way for the future.
1800 First electric battery invented by Alessandro Volta. The “volt” is named in his honor.
1808 Humphry Davy invented the first effective “arc lamp.” The arc lamp was a piece of carbon that glowed when attached to a battery by wires.
1820 Separate experiments by Hans Christian Oersted, A.M. Ampere, and D.F.G. Arago confirmed the relationship between electricity and magnetism.
1821 The first electric motor was invented by Michael Faraday.
1826 Georg Ohm defined the relationship between power, voltage, current and resistance in “Ohms Law.”
1831 Using his invention the induction ring, Michael Faraday proved that electricity can be induced (made) by changes in an electromagnetic field. Faraday’s experiments about how electric current works, led to the understanding of electrical transformers and motors.
Joseph Henry separately discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction but didn’t publish his work. He also described an electric motor.
1832 Using Faraday’s principles, Hippolyte Pixii built the first “dynamo,” an electric generator capable of delivering power for industry. Pixxi’s dynamo used a crank to rotate a magnet around a a piece of iron wrapped with wire. Because this devise used a coil of wire, it produced spikes of electric current followed by no current.
1835 Joseph Henry invented the electrical relay, used to send electrical currents long distances.
1837 Thomas Davenport invented the electric motor, an invention that is used in most electrical appliances today.
1839 Sir William Robert Grove developed the first fuel cell, a device that produces electrical energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen.
1841 James Prescott Joule showed that energy is conserved in electrical circuits involving current flow, thermal heating, and chemical transformations. A unit of thermal energy, the Joule, was named after him.
1844 Samuel Morse invented the electric telegraph, a machine that could send messages long distances across wire.
1860′s Mathematical theory of electromagnetic fields published. J.C. Maxwell created a new era of physics when he unified magnetism, electricity and light. Maxwell’s four laws of electrodynamics (“Maxwell’s Equations”) eventually led to electric power, radios, and television.
1876 Charles Brush invented the “open coil” dynamo (or generator) that could produce a study current of electricity.
1878 Joseph Swan, and Englishman, invented the first incandescent lightbulb (also called an “electric lamp”). His lightbulb burned out quickly.
Charles Brush developed an arc lamp that could be powered by a generator.
Thomas Edison founded the Edison Electric Light Co. (US), in New York City. He bought a number of patents related to electric lighting and began experiments to develop a practical, long-lasting light bulb.
1879 After many experiments, Thomas Edison invented an incandescent light bulb that could be used for about 40 hours without burning out. By 1880 his bulbs could be used for 1200 hours.
1879 Electric lights (Brush arc lamps) were first used for public street lighting, in Cleveland, Ohio.
California Electric Light Company, Inc. in San Fransicso was the first electric company to sell electricity to customers. The company used two small Brush generators to power 21 Brush arc light lamps.
1881 The electric streetcar was invented by E.W. v. Siemens
1882 Thomas Edison opened th Pearl Street Power Station in New York City. The Pearl Street Station was one of the world’s first central electric power plants and could power 5,000 lights. The Pearl Street Station was a direct current (DC) power system, unlike the power systems that we use today which use alternating current (AC).
The first hydroelectric station opened in Wisconsin.
Edward Johnson first put electric lights on a Christmas tree.
1883 Nikola Tesla invented the “Tesla coil”, a transformer that changes electricity from low voltage to high voltage making it easier to transport over long distances. The transformer was an important part of Tesla’s alternating current (AC) system, still used to deliver electricity today.
1884 Nikola Tesla invented the electric alternator, an electric generator that produces alternating current (AC). Until this time electricity had been generated using direct current (DC) from batteries. AC electrical systems are better for sending electricity over long distances.
Steam turbine generator, capable of generating huge amounts of electricity, was invented by Sir Charles Algernon Parsons.
1886 William Stanley developed the induction coil transformer and an alternating current electric system.
1888 Nikola Tesla demonstrated the first “polyphase” alternating current (AC) electrical system. His AC system including everything needed for electricity production and use: generator, transformers, transmission system, motor (used in appliances) and lights. George Westinghouse, the head of Westinghouse Electric Company, bought the patent rights to the AC system.
The first use of a large windmill to generate electricity was built by inventor Charles Brush. He used the windmill to charge batteries in the cellar of his home in Cleveland, Ohio.
1893 The Westinghouse Electric Company used an alternating current (AC) system to light the Chicago World’s Fair.
A 22 mile AC powerline was opened, sending electricity from Folsom Powerhouse in California to Sacramento.
1896 An AC powerline that transmits power 20 miles from Niagra Falls to Buffalo, New York was opened.
1897 Electron discovered by Joseph John Thomson.
1900 Highest voltage transmission line 60 Kilovolt.
1901 First power line between USA and Canada at Niagra Falls.
1902 5-Megawatt turbine for Fisk St. Station (Chicago).
1903 First successful gas turbine (France).
World’s first all turbine station (Chicago).
Shawinigan Water & Power installs world’s largest generator (5,000 Watts) and world’s largest and highest voltage line—136 Km and 50 Kilovolts (to Montreal).
1908 Electric vacuum cleaner – J. Spangler.
Electric washing machine- A. Fisher.
1909 First pumped storage plant (Switzerland).
1911 Electric air conditioning – W. Carrier.
1913 T. Murray created the first air pollution control device, the “cinder catcher.”
Electric refrigerator – A. Goss.
1920 Federal Power Commission (FPC).
1921 Lakeside Power Plant in Wisconsin becomes the world’s first power plant to burn only pulverized coal.
1922 Connecticut Valley Power Exchange (CONVEX) starts, pioneering interconnection between utilities.
1923 Photoelectric cells were discovered.
1928 Construction of Boulder Dam begins.
Federal Trade Commission begins investigation of holding companies.
1933 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) established.
1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act.
Federal Power Act.
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bonneville Power Administration.
First night baseball game in major leagues (Reds vs. Phillies) was played in Ohio on May 24th.
1936 Highest steam temperature reaches 900 degrees Fahrenheit vs. 600 degrees Fahrenheit in early 1920s.
Boulder (Hoover) Dam was completed. A 287 Kilovolt power line stretched 266 miles to Boulder (Hoover) Dam.
Rural Electrification Act.
1947 Transistor invented by scientists at Bell Telephone Laboratiories.
1953 First 345 Kilovolt transmission line.
First nuclear power station ordered in England.
1954 World’s first nuclear power plant (Russia) started generating electricity.
First high voltage direct current (HVDC) line (20 megawatts/1900 Kilovolts, 96 Km).
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 allows private ownership of nuclear reactors.
1957 Shippingport Reactor in Pennsylvania was the first nuclear power plant to provide electricity to customers in the U.S.