Ten Days of Tragedy in April (11-20)-- Part 1: Civil War and Presidential Deaths

From the April 18, 2021 Fox 4 Kansas City, Mo.  "10 days of tragedy:  15 historic  disasters occurred over these days in April" by Brian Dulle.

The middle of April has proven to be a calamitous time in human history.

**  APRIL 11, 1965:  Palm Sunday tornado out break over six Midwestern states killed 271 people.

**  APRIL 12, 1861:  The Civil War begins with the firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, S.C.

**  APRIL  12, 1945--  President Roosevelt dies in his 4th term.  World War II was still underway.

**  APRIL  13, 2014:  Jewish Community Center shootings in Kansas City  (3 killed)

**  APRIL  14, 1912:  Sinking of the RMS Titanic

**  APRIL  14, 1865:  Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln

**  APRIL  15, 2013:  Boston Marathon bombing  (3 dead and more than 260 wounded)

--Cooter

Six Interesting Coincidences-- Part 2: Robert Todd Lincoln and Three Presidential Assassinations

 3.  ROBERT LINCOLN ON SCENE AT THREE PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATIONS

Robert Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son and the man Edwin Booth saved in Philadelphia in 1863, was at his father's death in 1865.  Less than a month later, he resigned from the Army and moved to Chicago with his distraught mother.  He later married, had children and established a successful law practice.

He also remained involved in politics and  became Secretary of War in President James A. Garfield's  administration in 1881.  That July, Lincoln was at a train station in Washington, ready to travel to New Jersey with Garfield (who had been in office less than two months).  Before their train left the station, however, Charles Guiteau shot Garfield in the back.  The president died from complications from the wound two months later.

In 1901, President William McKinley to Buffalo, New York, invited Robert Lincoln to attend the Pan-American Exposition.  Lincoln arrived when the event was already in progress and was heading to meet the president when Leon Czolgosz fatally shot McKinley in the chest and abdomen in front of a crowd of well-wishers.

Lincoln, who was  in the later part of his career, president of the Pullman Company, was said to have remarked that there was "a certain  fatality about the  presidential function when I am present."

--Cooter

Some More 2020 Deaths, October-December: Gibson, Morgan, Dinkins, Maradona, Prowse, and Johnson

DEATHS IN OCTOBER

BOB GIBSON, 84

Baseball Hall of Famer and dominating St. Louis Cardinals pitcher.  Died October 2.

JOE MORGAN, 77

Hall of Fame second baseman became the sparkplug of the dominant Cincinnati teams of the mid-1970s.  Died October 11.

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DEATHS IN NOVEMBER

DAVID DINKINS, 93

Broke barriers as New York City's first black mayor.  Died November 23.

DIEGO MARADONA, 60

Argentine soccer great who scored the "Hand of God" goal in 1986 and led his country to that year's World Cup title.  Died November 25.

DAVE PROWSE, 85

British weight lifter-turned-actor who was the body of arch-villain Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.  Died November 28.

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DECEMBER

RAFER JOHNSON, 86

Won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy's assassin in 1968.  Died December 2.

U.S. Presidents Who Served Under Four Years-- Part 2: Harrison and Garfield

1.  WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON  (March to April 1841)

Served the very least amount of time.  The ninth president and at age 68, the oldest to be elected at the time.  Shortly after his inauguration, he developed pneumonia and died April 4, 1841, exactly a month after taking office.  Better known for fighting Indians and his service in the War of 1812.

2.  JAMES A. GARFIELD (March-September 1881)

Served as a general in the Civil War.  Elected the 20th President of the U.S., he took office in March 1881.  Strong believer in social reforms and education for Blacks.

Shot in the back at a railroad station in July 1881 and died of wound-related causes 79 days later on September 19.  At the time, he was the second president to be assassinated.

Harrison and Garfield are the only presidents to serve less than a year.

--Cooter

1918 Influenza in Butler Co., Pa.,-- Part 6: A "Forgotten Epidemic?"

The epidemic faded from public memory almost as quickly as the disease itself vanished.  The deaths of servicemen in the Great War received far more attention than the deaths caused by the influenza.

Furthermore, on November 11, 1918, the Great War, known now as World War I in the U.S. and the First World War in Britain (hey they wouldn't have known about the second one back then) which overshadowed the influenza outbreak in western Pennsylvania (well, it was also in Chicago and in much of the rest of the United States in October that year).

This was kind of like the Civil War's Sultana Disaster which took place April 27, 1865, when the steamboat Sultana blew up while carrying several thousand recently released Union prisoners.  It is regarded as the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history with at least 1,168 deaths. But it was soon forgotten what with the end of the Civil War, Lincoln Assassination and the killing of John Wilkes Booth all occurring around the same time.

The Influenza epidemic of 1918 became "The Forgotten Epidemic" until various other outbreaks in more recent history brought back the memories.

I'm not so sure it was all that forgotten, but definitely this new coronavirus we're involved with these days has brought back the memory.  I was completely unaware of how hard western Pennsylvania was hit, though, until I came across the information about the immigrant cemetery in Butler County which started this thread.

And, there is still one more entry to go.

--Cooter

More On Ohio's Presidents-- Part 7: Could the Use of an X-Ray Machine Have Saved McKinley's Life?

Another oddity to President McKinley's  assassination was that part of the exposition was the demonstration of a new device called  an X-Ray Light  Machine.

The surgeons operating on President McKinley removed one of the bullets but couldn't find the other and they sewed him up with the bullet still lodged.  Later, McKinley inquired  that maybe the doctors could use the X-Ray machine to find the second bullet, but they refused because they didn't know of possible side effects of its use.

Instead, they opted to reopen the wound and look some more, but still could not find it.

When McKinley died, it was later determined that he had died of a bacterial infection resulting from unsanitary operating conditions at the time.

--Cooter

More on Ohio's Presidents-- Part 6: Why the Scarlet Carnation Is the State Flower

It was adopted by the state in 1904 in memory of President William McKinley, who wore a red carnation on his lapel.

In 1901, at the Pan-American Expo in Buffalo, NY, McKinley was standing in the receiving line, shaking hands  with visitors.  A 12-year-old girl named Myrtle Ledger asked him for a favor:  "Could I have something to show my friends?  They'll never believe I spoke to you."

McKinley then removed his flower from his lapel, and handed it over to the little girl.

A few seconds later, Leon F. Czolgosz, an unhappy anarchist,  with a 32 caliber pistol wrapped in a bandage around his hand shot McKinley twice in the stomach.  The president died  from the wounds a few weeks later.

--Cooter

More On Ohio Presidents-- Part 1: How Many Ohio Presidents Were Assassinated?

From Touring Ohio:  Ohio's Presidents.

**  Of the four men assassinated while president, two were from Ohio:  James Garfield and William McKinley.

**  Eight presidents where born in Ohio.  Seven were born in the state.

**  Eight presidents have died while in office.  Of those four are from Ohio:  William Henry Harrison, James Garfield, William McKinley and Warren G. Harding.

**  Of the nine presidents portrayed on U.S. paper currency, two are from Ohio  Guess.  Answer below.

**  Of the twelve U.S.presidents who were generals at one time, five were from Ohio:  William Henry Harrison, U.S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield and Benjamin Harrison.

Ohio Proud.  --CootPres


Grant ($50) and McKinley ($500)

10 Forgotten Attempted Assassinations of U.S. Presidents

From the March 27, 2014, Listverse by Jake Vigliotti. //// Of course, the site has photos and a whole information about each one: 1. 10. John F. Kennedy Was Almost Shot Weeks Before His Assassination. //// 9. Harry Truman Received a Letter Bomb. //// 8. Osama bin Laden Almost Got Bill Clinton. //// Hoover's Term Almost Ended Before It Began. //// 6. George W. Bush Almost Caught a Grenade in Georgia (not the U.S. Georgia). //// 5. Lincoln's Hat Was Shot Months Before He Was. //// 4. Reagan's Would-Be Assassin Targeted Jimmy Carter. //// 3. Barack Obama, Ricin, And the Elvis Impersonator. //// 2. George Wallace's Would-Be Assassin Targeted Richard Nixon. //// 1. James Buchanan Was Poisoned On His Inauguration Day. //// --Cooter

The Archduke Asassinated, the Spark That Led to World War I

I belierve I remember seeing June 28th, that this date marked the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Austria's Archduke Ferdinand, in line to be king.  This event is widely regarded as the thing that actually started World War I, which we are approaching the centennial. 

Here's hoping I don't start a blog on that war.

I have too many as it is.

No More Blogs, Please!!    --DaCoot

In Memory of Martin Luther King Jr-- Part 4

10.  THE MISSING PRESIDENT.  Although Johnson declared a national day of mourning, he didn't attend the funeral.  Because of the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War, he made few public appearances in 1968.  Vice President Hubert Humphrey went in his place.


11.  THE MOTEL-TURNED-MUSEUM  The Lorraine Motel is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.  Visitors can see the room preserved behind glass where King was staying along with the balcony where he was shot and the courtyard.


12.  THE FINAL WISHES  During the first funeral, mourners heard a recording of the last sermon King delivered in his church.  He spoke about how he would like to be remembered at his funeral:  "I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. ...I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity."

A Great Man.

In Memory of Martin Luther King Jr-- Part 3

7.  THE SANITATION WORKERS STRIKE continued on after the assassination.On April 8th, King's widow, Coretta Scott King, SCLC and union leaders led a march of 42,000 people through Memphis.  On April 16th,a negotiated deal was made and the city recognized the union and workers were guaranteed a better wage.


8.  THE U2 LYRICS  in the song "Pride (In the Name of Love" by U2, commemorates the assassination: "Early morning, April 4/Shot rings out in the Memphis sky."  Actually that's a mistake as the assassination took place in the early evening.


9.  THE WORDS AND MUSIC THAT STOPPED THE RIOTS.  Sadly, in the aftermath of the assassination, riots erupted in cities across the country.  A speech in Indianapolis by Robert Kennedy is widely credited with preventing a riot there.  A concert by James Brown in Boston is believed to have a calming effect.

Whatever Happened to Jackie Kennedy's Rose-Pink Hat?-- Part 2

Somewhere in the hospital, the hat came off. Mary Gallagher, the first lady's personal secretary was handed the pillbox hat and noticed strands of Jackie's hair beneath the hat pin and could imagine her yanking it off.

Staff and handlers wanted Jackie to "clean up her appearance" but were refused. "No. let them see what they've done," she reportedly said.

"The suit was never cleaned and never will be." It is somewhere in the climate-controlled National Archives and Records Adminstration's Maryland complex.

Aides managed to secure Kennedy's belongings back to the White House by nightfall. The hat seemed to hopscotch from Dallas to Washington. Jackie Kennedy accompanied the coffin to Bethesda Naval Hospital for the autopsy while the hat made its way to the White House.

A White House policeman was instructed to give the hat to Clint Hill, but mistakenly gave it to Robert Foster, the agent assigned to protect the Kennedy children.

Mrs. Kennedy returned to the White House early on November 23rd, took off the suit and bathed. Her maid, Providencia Paredes said she put the clothing in a bag and hid it.

Hat, Hat, Who's Got the Hat--DaCoot

That's One Pricey Coffin

From the Dec. 19, 2010 Chicago Tribune "Casket that held Lee Harvey Oswald sells at auction for $87K" by Rob Manker.

As coffins go, it is definitely not fancy, just an old pine box, but it sold at auction for $87,000 to an unidentified buyer (perhaps the individual on the knoll?)

The price went from $37,000 to the final price in the last two hours. The auction house, Nate D. Sanders Auctioneers, expected it to sell for $60,000. The story about the auction was on over 40 different Russian websites, which is not too common and makes you wonder.

Oswald was arrested Nov. 22, 1963, for the assassination of President Kennedy and shot to death two days later by Jack Ruby. Ever since then, there have been many conspiracy theories put forth.

The coffin was dug up in 1981 to verify that the body in it was Oswald's. His remains were buried in a different coffin because the original was damaged.

Nearly 30 years later, the coffin was among many Oswald-related items offered for sale by the Baumgardner Funeral Home in Fort Worth, Texas. Other items sold included the embalming table, instruments used in the embalming and a first draft of the death certificate.

Two chunks of the seat on which Kennedy was riding sold in separate auctions for more than $18,000 each.

Auction house owner Nate D. Sanders said, "People collect anything about the JFK assassination and they pay big prices for it."

After All these Years. --DaCoot