Didn't know, or forgot, that McQueen died of mesothelioma. "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" is campaign slogan I learned in class about a 100 years ago that pops into my mind every time a new 'Tyler' bumps into my life. What I never knew was . . "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", originally published as "Tip and Ty", was a popular and influential campaign song of the Whig Party's colorful Log Cabin Campaign in the 1840 United States presidential election. Its lyrics sang the praises of Whig candidates William Henry Harrison (the "hero of Tippecanoe") and John Tyler, while denigrating incumbent Democrat Martin Van Buren. Folk music critic Irwin Silber wrote that the song "firmly established the power of singing as a campaign device" in the United States, and that this and the other songs of 1840 represent a "Great Divide" in the development of American campaign music.[1] The North American Review at the time even remarked that the song was, "in the political canvas of 1840 what the Marseillaise was to the French Revolution. It sang Harrison into the presidency."[2] Tip and Ty What's the cause of this commotion, motion, motion, Our country through? It is the ball a-rolling on For Tippecanoe and Tyler too. For Tippecanoe and Tyler too. And with them we'll beat little Van, Van, Van, Van is a used up man. And with them we'll beat little Van.
On November 8. 1965, the Murder Act of 1965 receives royal assent, essentially outlawing capital punishment in the United Kingdom. Parliament had previously made the rules for death penalty more stringent with the Homicide Act of 1957. The '65 statute replaces the charge of capital murder with simple murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence. All prisoners already on the UK's death row for capital murder had their death sentences commuted. The Murder Act stipulates that only the crimes of high treason, espionage, piracy with intent to kill or inflict bodily harm, or arson in royal dockyards warrant the death penalty (the military code of justice retains more leeway). As a result, the UK has not put a criminal to death since August 13, 1964. On November 8, 1950, aircraft propelled by jet engines engage in aerial combat for the first time. Over South Korea, US Air Force pilot Lt. Russell Brown, flying an F-80 Shooting Star, shoots down a North Korean Soviet-built MIG 15. The Soviets dispute the claim, saying the pilot saved the damaged aircraft. They also claim the first jet-to-jet aerial kill, in an engagement a week earlier involving the same types of aircraft. USAF records say there were no aerial engagements that day, but acknowledge an F-80 lost to ground fire. On November 8, 1972, Time-Life Corporation and Sterling Communications launch Home Box Office. For the first time, TV viewers can pay a flat rate fee for programming normally not available, including recent theatrical releases that are unedited for content and commercial-free. 365 cable subscribers in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area receive the first telecast, an NHL game between the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks (although HBO originated from New York City, NYC rules regarding movies aired on TV initially prevented HBO's launch in the city). In addition to being the oldest premium channel, HBO remains the most-watched, with more than 35 million subscribers receiving 7 different channels (original HBO logo).
I used to collect model airplanes as a kid. The ones made out of plastic pieces that you glued together. I had an F-80; and an F-86; and an F-100; and many more. Loved flying them around my room but it bugged the shit out of my older brother.
I did the kits too. Revell made the best ones, but Aurora and Monogram were good too. I leaned to anything WWII, but preferred ships.
On November 9, 1967, America rejoins the space race with the successful launch of Apollo 4. Project Apollo is the third and final series of missions designed to ultimately put Americans on the moon and return them safely to Earth. The first 3 Apollo missions are unmanned and involve suborbital flights. The project was put on hold the previous February, when a fire during a launch test killed the 3 Apollo 1 astronauts in their spacecraft. Apollo 4 is an unmanned flight, but is the first launch of the massive, 3-stage Saturn V rocket designed to break Earth orbit and put the astronauts on course for the moon. It also confirms that the heat shield designed to protect the command module, the manned and only piece of the spacecraft that will return to Earth, can handle the tremendous friction and heat generated by re-entry into the atmosphere. Two more unmanned missions will follow before NASA sends astronauts to space again, aboard Apollo 7 in October, 1968. On November 9, 1935, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) is founded in Pittsburgh. Created by United Mine Workers president John L Lewis (below) by organizing 8 international unions under the umbrella of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), the CIO is envisioned as a union for unskilled laborers. AFL leaders, however, resented this group within their group, and the CIO went on its own in 1938. A fierce, often violent, rivalry quickly sprang up as both unions grew, but many of their differences dissolved over the next 15 years, and the two merged into one organization in 1952. Today, the AFL-CIO is a composite of 56 national and international unions with more than 12 million members. On November 9, 1990, the Internal Revenue Service seizes the assets of country music legend Willie Nelson. Nelson found himself owing about $16.7 million in taxes and penalties after a series of investments in what turned out to be an illegal tax shelter in the late 1980's. Attorneys negotiated a $6 million settlement, but the generous and free-spending Nelson couldn't even afford that - his daughter says Nelson's liquidity at the time barely reached $30,000. The IRS sold off many of his assets, including his Texas ranch, and in 1991 agreed to a first-of-its-kind revenue sharing deal; Nelson would release a compilation album (The IRS Tapes: Who'll Buy My Memories?) with part of the proceeds going directly to clearing his debt. Nelson managed to retire his debt to the government in 1993.
On November 10, 1865, Captain Henry Wirz is hanged for conspiracy and murder related to his service as commander of the Confederate POW camp at Andersonville, GA. It is 6 months after the end of the Civil War. The son of Swiss immigrants, Wirz married and moved to Louisiana five years before the war. Joining a state militia unit, he rose through the ranks during the war but was given non-combat duties after being wounded and was appointed commander of the Andersonville camp in Febuary, 1964. At its peak, Andersonville housed 32,000 Union POW's (it would have been the 5th largest city in the Confederacy), and stories of the inhuman living conditions in the camp are legendary. Wirz is one of only 3 soldiers executed for war crimes related to the Civil War. On November 10, 1898, Democrat white supremacists invade city hall and force the mayor and city council of Wilmington, NC to resign. Wilmington is the largest city in North Carolina at the time, with a majority black population. Two days before, voters elected a white mayor and a biracial city council - all Republicans - to office. Order was restored by state militia within a couple of days, but some 2,000 black residents were driven from the city by the incident, leaving Wilmington with a majority white population. Although portrayed as a race riot at the time, 20th century researchers would label the "Wilmington Insurrection" a coup d'etat, and the only incident of a municipal government being overthrown in U.S. history (rioters pose in front of the remains of The Daily Record newspaper office, which was burned before rioters moved on city hall). On November 10, 1954, the anniversary of the establishment of the United States Marine Corps, President Dwight Eisenhower dedicates the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, VA. The monument depicts the famed Joe Rosenthal photograph of Marines raising the flag over Iwo Jima during WWII. Each figure in the monument is cast of bronze and, if upright, would be 32 feet tall. Standing atop a base 10 feet tall and including a 60-feet long flagpole, the entire memorial stands 78 feet high. It cost $850,000, entirely paid for by donations from active and retired Marines and Marine reservists.
November 11, 1911 (11/11/11) brings perhaps the strangest weather day in US history. A massive cold front sweeps across the midwest early in the afternoon, ending an unusually warm snap in the region. The effects are bizarre to say the least. In Springfield, IL, the temperature dropped 40 degrees in 15 minutes. Kansas City, MO and Oklahoma City reported both a record high temperature for the date and a record low. Rock County, Wisconsin experienced a blizzard less than an hour after an F4 tornado hit the county. And Chicago hospitals reported deaths due to heat stroke and hypothermia on the same date. Climatologists refer to the event as the Great Blue Norther of 1911. On November 11, 1839, Virginia Military Institute is established at Lexington, VA. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln would give VMI the nickname, "West Point of the South." In fact, the Confederacy would call on VMI to hasten commissions of its cadets 14 times during the war, many of whom would serve under General "Stonewall" Jackson, who was an instructor at the Institute when the war began. Noted alumni include President Zachary Taylor, Gen. George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff during WWII, Polar explorer Richard Byrd, Colonel George Patton, CSA (his grandson of WWII fame also attended but transferred to West Point before graduating), legendary Marine Lewis "Chesty" Puller, and film director/producer Mel Brooks (though he didn't graduate). On November 11, 1971 at the Geneva Motor Show, Automobili Lamborghini unveils its Prototype LP500 concept car. On its release to the public, Lamborghini diverts from its tradition of names associated with bullfighting and calls the LP500 the Countach, which is used as an exclamation of astonishment in a regional Italian dialect. Its appropriate; the Countach is one of the first cars to feature a wedge-shaped body, has an absurdly low profile, introduces doors that scissor upward rather than outward to open, a huge tail wing, and is loaded with futuristic interior features. The Countach is considered one of the top exotic cars of the 70's and 80's with just under 2,000 produced during its 16-year production run. Most are sold in America, though the earlier models require extensive, expensive modifications to make them conform to EPA emission standards. On the car's 50th anniversary today, Lamborghini announced it will be producing a limited run of hybrid Countaches, with a 48-volt electric motor supplementing its 6.5 liter V12 engine.
On November 13, 1927, the Holland Tunnel opens to vehicular traffic. Twenty-two years in design and planning, the Holland Tunnel travels 93 feet beneath the Hudson River, and is the first vehicular direct connection between New York City and the state of New Jersey. It is also the longest vehicular tunnel in the world at the time of its opening, spanning just over 2.6 miles for its westbound lanes (eastbound lanes are 180 feet shorter). On November 13, 1947, Mikhael Kalashnikov delivers his prototype for a small automatic rifle to the Soviet Army. Four years earlier, Kalashnikov was a soldier recovering from a shoulder wound when a soldier in the bed next to him wondered out loud why the Russians had only bolt action rifles to counter the Germans' automatic weapon. Kalashnikov took it upon himself to begin working on a counter-weapon. Nearly 75 years later, the AK-47 has gone through several modifications but is the most widely distributed small arms automatic rifle in the world. On November 27, 1982 in Las Vegas, 21-year old Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, World Boxing Association light heavyweight champion, defeats 27-year old challenger Duk Koo Kim in his second title defense, winning in a 14th round TKO. Moments after the fight is stopped, Kim collapses in the ring. He dies four days later, diagnosed with a subdural hematoma (internal bleeding due to catastrophic brain trauma). Within a year, Kim's mother and Richard Green, would commit suicide. The tragedy would spark all four of the world's major boxing organizations to shorten the maximum length of fights allowed from 15 to 12 rounds. The death of Duk Koo Kim vs Ray Mancini - YouTube
On November 14, 1960, the New Orleans public school system integrates, as 6-year old Ruby Bridges becomes the first African American child to attend a previously-all white school. A year earlier, Bridges was one of six students at a segregated kindergarten to pass a test certifying them to be qualified to enter the all-white William Frantz Elementary School. One decided to remain in the black system and three enrolled in McDonogh No. 19 later in the fall. Federal marshals escorted Bridges to and from school on the 14th; many parents immediately pulled their children out of the school, and all but one teacher, Boston native Barbara Henry, refused to teach Ruby. Henry would teach a class consisting solely of Bridges for more than a year. She would eventually complete high school in the newly-integrated school system, and still lives in New Orleans. On November 14, 1910, off Hampton Roads, VA, self taught pilot Eugene Burton Ely becomes the first pilot to successfully fly an airplane off the deck of a ship, piloting a Curtiss Pusher off an improvised flight deck of the cruiser USS Birmingham. The plane plunged down immediately after leaving the deck and its wheels skimmed the water's surface before Ely recovered and landed the plan on a nearby beach. Two months later, Ely landed the same plane on another makeshift platform, this time on the cruiser USS Pennsylvania. Ely's success helped the Navy in its decision to move forward with the development of aircraft carriers. He died in a plane crash less than a year later, and was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1933. On November 14, 1680, German astronomer Gottfried Kirch becomes the first person to discover a comet through use of a telescope. Comet C/1860 V1 passed the earth at .42au (less than half the distance between the earth and the sun) 2 weeks later and was bright enough to be seen in daylight. It would later be renamed Kirch's Comet. It is estimated that Kirch's Comet orbits the sun at a rate of once every 10,400 years. (computer simulation of comet's 1680 appearance by planetarium software Stellarium)
