Category Archives: State History

Tidbits of History, November 16

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November 16 is:

National Fast Food Day
During the early 1900s, the hamburger was thought to be polluted, unsafe to eat, and food for the poor. Street carts, not restaurants, typically served them.
There are more than 300,000 fast food restaurants in the U.S. alone

From Today in Science
In 1620, the first corn (maize) found in the U.S. by British settlers was discovered in Provincetown, Mass., by sixteen desperately hungry Pilgrims led by Myles Standish, William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, and Edward Tilley at a place they named Corn Hill. The food came from a previously harvested cache belonging to a local Indian tribe. This corn provided a much needed supply of food which saw the Pilgrims through their first winter in the New World. A commemorative plaque placed on Corn Hill quotes in part “And sure it was God’s good providence that we found this corn for else we know not how we should have done.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky1849 – A Russian court sentenced writer Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group. At the last moment, a note from Tsar Nicholas I was delivered to the scene of the firing squad, commuting the sentence to ten years’ hard labor in Siberia. Dostoevsky’s seizures, which may have started in 1839, increased in frequency in Siberia, and he was diagnosed with epilepsy. On his release, he was forced to serve as a soldier, before being discharged on grounds of ill health. He survived until 1881. Dostoevsky was the author of Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov.

Oklahoma City Oklahoma became the United States 46th state on November 16, 1907

  • Capital: Oklahoma City
  • Nickname: Sooner State
  • Bird: Scissor-tailed flycatcher
  • Flower: Mistletoe
  • Tree: Redbud

See our page Oklahoma for more interesting facts and trivia about Oklahoma.

Trivia:: Although the film, Oklahoma, was initially to have been shot on location in the title state, the producers opted to shoot elsewhere, apparently because the oil wells would be a distraction for exterior scenes. Location shooting was done mostly in Nogales, Arizona. The corn field in the opening number as well as the reprise song, “Surrey With the Fringe On Top” was shot at the historic Canoa Ranch in Green Valley, Arizona. The train station used in the “Kansas City” routine was located in Elgin, Arizona.

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music” opened on Broadway in 1959.

Charlie B Rangel convicted of ethics violations Nov 16, 2010In 2010, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel was convicted on 11 of 13 charges related to financial misconduct, prompting fellow lawmakers to censure the 80-year-old New York Democrat. Despite the ethics violations, Rangel was re-elected in 2012 and 2014.

Tidbits of History, November 11

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Nov 11 is:

Young Readers Day

National Sundae Day

November 11 – At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare. The Allied nations chose this day and time for the commemoration of their war dead and continue to do so by marking a 1–2 minute silence at 11 am on November 11 each year. The time of the remembrance is also known as the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

End of World War I related observances:

Armistice Day (New Zealand, France, Belgium and Serbia)
Independence Day, commemorates the anniversary of Poland’s assumption of independent statehood in 1918 (Poland)
Remembrance Day (United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, including Australia and Canada)
Veterans Day, called Armistice Day until 1954, when the holiday was rededicated to be in honor of American military, naval, and Air Force, veterans. (United States)

Forty-one Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a “body politick” in 1620.

November 11, 1744, Abigail AdamsBirthday of Abigail Smith Adams (November 11, 1744), wife of John Adams, second President of the United States; first lady from 1797-1801. Mother of John Quincy Adams, the 6th President of the United States. John Adams was a prolific writer of letters. He exchanged more than 1100 letters with his wife, Abigail. Most have been preserved in archives.

Fyodor DostoyevskyBirthday of Fyodor Dostoyevsky (November 11, 1821) , Russian novelist famed for “The Brothers Karamazov” and “Crime and Punishment”

Former slave Nat Turner, who had led a violent insurrection, was executed in Jerusalem, Va. in 1831.

George Patton, born November 11, 1885Birthday of George Patton, (Nov. 11, 1885), the famous World War II American military officer.

Olympia WashingtonWashington State Day, 1889, forty-second state

  • Capital: Olympia
  • Nickname: Evergreen State
  • Bird: Willow goldfinch
  • Flower: Coast rhododendron
  • Tree:Western Hemlock
  • Unofficial Motto: “Al-ki”, meaning “by and by” in Chinook Jargon

See our page on Washington for more interesting facts and trivia about the state of Washington.

Tomb on the Unknown SoldierAnniversary of the burial of the Unknown Soldier at the Tomb of the Unknowns in 1921 at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The tomb is guarded by soldiers of the United States Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment. The first 24-hour guard was posted on midnight, July 2, 1937. The Tomb of the Unknowns has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since that time. Inclement weather, terrorist attacks, etc, do not cause the watch to cease.
Everything the guards do is a series of 21, which alludes to the 21-gun salute.
The Sentinel does not execute an about face, rather they stop on the 21st step, then turn and face the Tomb for 21 seconds. They then turn to face back down the mat, change the weapon to the outside shoulder, mentally count off 21 seconds, then step off for another 21 step walk down the mat. They face the Tomb at each end of the 21 step walk for 21 seconds. The Sentinel then repeats this over and over until the Guard Change ceremony begins.

The U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Binh to the South Vietnamese army, symbolizing the end of direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War in 1972.

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Tidbits of History, November 8

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November 8 is:

Mid-term Election Day in 2022.

National Cappuccino Day

International Day of Radiology

Book Lovers Day. Put aside your Kindle or Nook…read a real book!

Dunce Day, the anniversary of the November 8, 1308 death of Duns Scotus, medieval scholar. He is generally considered to be one of the three most important philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages; the others being Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham. Later philosophers in the sixteenth century were less complimentary about his work, and accused him of sophistry. This led to his name, “dunce” (which developed from the name “Dunse” given to his followers in the 1500s) to become synonymous for “somebody who is incapable of scholarship”.

Birthday of Edmund Halley (November 8, 1656), English astronomer for whom Halley’s comet is named.

Doc Holliday1887 –John Henry “Doc” Holliday, who fought on the side of the Earp brothers during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 6 years earlier, died of tuberculosis in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Montana Glacier Montana Admission Day, 1889 forty-first state

  • Capital: Helena
  • Nickname: Treasure State
  • Bird: Western meadowlark
  • Flower: Bitterroot
  • Animal: Grizzly Bear
  • Tree: Ponderosa Pine
  • Motto: Gold and silver

See our page Montana for more interesting facts and trivia about Montana.

1892Grover Cleveland Former President Grover Cleveland beat incumbent Benjamin Harrison, becoming the only president to win non-consecutive terms.

While experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered the X-ray in 1895.

Birthday of Margaret Mitchell (November 8 1900), American novelist, author of “Gone With the Wind”. She died at age 49 after being stuck by a drunk driver while crossing Peachtree Street in Atlanta.

Donald J Trump, President2016 – United States Presidential Election: Republican candidate Donald J. Trump was elected as 45th president of the United States.