Month: August 2023

The First Execution by Electric Chair (1890)

In the 1880s, inventor Thomas Edison sought to promote direct current (DC) power distribution by convincing the public that the alternating current (AC) electricity backed by rival George Westinghouse was dangerous. To that end, his partners developed an AC-powered electric chair, which was adopted by the state of New York as an official execution device. In 1889, murderer William Kemmler was sentenced to be the first person to be executed via electric chair. What happened during the execution? Discuss

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony

This ceremony has been held each year since 1947 at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, in memory of the victims of the atomic bomb that devastated the city in 1945. On August 15, Japan surrendered, ending World War II. The peace ceremony is held in the evening, when the city’s citizens set thousands of lanterns adrift on the Ota River and prayers are offered for world peace. Memorial services are also held throughout the world. Discuss

Andy Warhol (1928)

Warhol, one of the most influential artists of the late 20th century, was the leading exponent of the pop art movement. Seeking to minimize the role of his own hand in his work, Warhol began mass-producing silkscreen paintings with the help of assistants at his studio, dubbed “the Factory.” His works, which are both popular and controversial, feature commonplace objects, such as dollar bills, soup cans, and soft-drink bottles, as well as celebrities like Marilyn Monroe. Who shot him in 1968? Discuss

The CIA

Established in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an independent executive bureau of the US government. Its primary function is obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and persons, and reporting such information to the various branches of government. Congress placed restraints on its activities in the early 1970s, when reports that it had engaged in assassinations and domestic spying surfaced. How was CIA involved in the Watergate scandal? Discuss

Cowra Breakout: One of the Biggest Escapes in History (1944)

During World War II, Japanese prisoners of war at a camp near Cowra, Australia, orchestrated one of the largest prison escapes of the war. Armed only with makeshift weapons, hundreds of Japanese prisoners stormed the machine gun posts and overwhelmed the guards. Some prisoners, rather than escaping, attempted or committed suicide, or were killed by fellow soldiers. The breakout resulted in the deaths of four Australian soldiers and 231 Japanese prisoners. How many managed to escape? Discuss

Joseph Merrick, "The Elephant Man" (1862)

Known as “The Elephant Man,” Merrick was an Englishman who suffered from a severely disfiguring disease, mistakenly thought to have been elephantiasis, that caused growths all over his skin and bone surfaces and made it difficult for him to walk and speak. He escaped from a workhouse at 21 to join a freak show, where he was discovered by a physician who later admitted him to London Hospital. He was cared for there until his death at age 27. What rare syndrome likely caused his deformities? Discuss