Ms. Y

congressarchives:

With the country continually expanding and growing, Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Acts in 1862, authorizing two companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, to construct a transcontinental railroad. Work began the next year, and eventually over 18,000 Chinese, German, Irish, and Italian immigrants worked on the project. The last spike was driven on May 10, 1869, in a ceremony at Promontory, Utah.

Memorial and Joint Resolution relative to a grant of Lands, 2/11/1858, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives

Letter from Secretary of the Interior, 1/14/1869, Records of the U.S. Senate

(via todaysdocument)

pbsthisdayinhistory:

May 10, 1994: Nelson Mandela Becomes President of South Africa

On this day in 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president. Mandela had spent 27 years imprisoned for working in the anti-apartheid movement.

FRONTLINE’s “The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela” site takes an inside look at his childhood, revolutionary years, imprisonment, and personal life.

(via npr)

Florin, California. Two of the nine American soldiers of Japanese ancestry who have returned to their home town on furloughs that were granted to them in order that they could assist their families prepare for evacuation of all persons of Japanese ancestry from their west coast homes. This community is depending on their returned service men for many errands, shopping, banking, etc., because the soldiers are permitted to travel into town, nine miles away, while others cannot because of military restrictions. 05/10/1942

Dorothea Lange, Photographer. From the Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority

(via todaysdocument)

Ha!

nypl:

Happy Mustache Monday!

This is Charlie Gould, who played ball for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, among other teams. According to Harry Ellard’s book Baseball in Cincinnati: A History, he was one of the more affable players in the league and his fielding prowess was so well known that fellows called him “the bushel-basket.”

We have a photo of his wife Laura, as well, so she joins him as a special, non-mustached Mustache Monday guest.

ourpresidents:

The Unconditional Surrender of Germany

On May 7, 1945, the European conflict of World War II ended when Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France.

In this photo, Colonel General Gustaf Jodl, German Chief of Staff signs the documents of unconditional surrender, under which all remaining forces of German Army are bound to lay down their arms. 

On Jodl’s left is General Admiral Von Friedeburg of the German Navy, on his right is Major Wilhelm Oxenius of the German General Staff. 

-from the FDR Library

theeconomist:

Daily chart: the world’s most expensive art. When Edvard Munch painted “The Scream” he did not have enough money to buy canvas, so the painting that sold on May 2nd at Sotheby’s for $120m is on cardboard. Yet the sale is only a record in nominal terms: adjusted for inflation, several more expensive paintings have been sold.

ourpresidents:

The U-2 Mission and the Cold War

The U-2 spy plane was designed as a high altitude, single-pilot, single-engine aircraft. It was lightweight, but able to carry a variety of equipment such as multi-sensor cameras, and electro-optic, infrared and radar imagery machines.

Although the plane’s design broke ground in many ways, its main drawback was sluggish flight control due to its landing gear requirements.  In case of an emergency ejection, the pilot seat was equipped with a hunting knife, a .22 caliber pistol, a parachute, and a survival pack. An explosive mechanism was installed that would blow up the plane after the pilot ejected.

On May 1, 1960, Captain Francis Gary Powers’ CIA mission was to perform secret aerial reconnaissance by flying over the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact territory.  While in flight, a missile hit his plane and Powers was unable to follow the self-destruct protocols. The Soviet Union quickly recovered the wreckage and captured the pilot.

President Eisenhower learned of the missing U-2 plane on May 2.  Believing that there was no possibility that Powers could survive a high-altitude missile strike, President Eisenhower gave the order to proceed with releasing a cover story.

More - Letters to the President about the U-2 Incident

-from the Eisenhower Library

(via todaysdocument)

todaysdocument:

The atomic cloud formed by the detonation seems close enough to touch, and tension gone, Poth and Wilson do a little clowning for the camera, 05/01/1952 

Note - The Today’s Document staff does not encourage clowning around with atomic clouds…

newyorker:

Slide Show: Presidential First Pitches

The general-election campaign is under way, and so is the baseball season. Over at Daily Comment, Steve Coll asks how those two could be joined—and maybe, just maybe, whether a World Series run by the Washington Nationals might play a decisive role in the Presidential race. Presidents have been throwing out pitches at Washington baseball games, and at other stadiums around the country, for a century. You can see some of the best moments—from William Howard Taft, who tossed the ball to Walter Johnson, to Barack Obama, in the following slide show:  http://nyr.kr/J08ZI1  (Also see: Presidents and their dogs.)

(via ourpresidents)