Browsing: June

A Brief History On June 26, 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened for traffic.  (See our other article today.)  The seaway opened the Great Lakes to ocean going freighters enhancing the economy of the region and transportation efficiency for the US and Canada.  Unfortunately, it also brought invasive species.  Sometimes invasive species are brought to a new land or water on purpose, other times by accident.  Often times, the introduction of a non-native species has unwanted consequences for their new home and neighbors, be they plant or animal.  Here we list 10 of the most irritating (to us; it is a…

A Brief History On June 26, 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened for commerce, bringing ocean going ships access to the Great Lakes.  Consisting of a series of canals and 15 locks to bypass rapids on the river and Niagara Falls between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, work on the system was started in 1954, although other canals had been dug much earlier. Digging Deeper Passing about 50 million tons of cargo per year, the Seaway has had tremendous positive impact on the industry and commerce of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region.  Unfortunately, it has come at an ecological price.  Opening passage…

A Brief History On June 26, 1409, the Roman Catholic Church reached a low point of unity when a third pope was crowned by the Council of Pisa.  There was already a Pope in Rome (Gregory XII) and another Pope in Avignon (Benedict XII) to “welcome” the newly crowned Pope Alexander V. Digging Deeper The Catholic Church had schisms before, that is, splits within its ranks, including the Great Schism of the 11th Century when the Eastern Orthodox Church split from the Roman Catholic fold.  The Reformation in the 16th Century was another great schism, resulting in many non-Catholic Christian…

A Brief History On June 25, 1923, Lt. John Richter and Capt. Lowell Smith of the US Army performed the first aerial refueling of an airplane in flight in their DH-4B.  Here we list 10 groundbreaking (pun intended) aviation firsts, not necessarily the most important, but hopefully interesting ones.   Digging Deeper 10. Sophie Blanchard, 1st Woman Aviation Fatality, 1819. Putting on an exhibition at the Tivoli Gardens in Paris, Blanchard was flying a Balloon and shooting fireworks, which predictably ignited the gas (hydrogen) in the balloon causing it to crash, killing Sophie.  Blanchard was also the first woman balloonist and…

A Brief History On June 25, 1976, the Governor of Missouri, Christopher Bond, signed an executive order rescinding Executive Order 44, better known as “The Extermination Order.”  Executive Order 44 had been issued by then Governor Lilburn Boggs (“Lilburn”???) ordering that a force of 400 mounted men be raised to “exterminate or be driven from the state” all Mormons (Latter Day Saints). Digging Deeper Governor Boggs (and many other Missourians) believed the Mormon religion and practices to be an abomination and them to be in open defiance of state laws.  He further ordered the amount of men detailed to exterminate the Mormons…