Month: July 2026

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year in order to be able to increase dividends to stockholders. It was the first strike that spread across multiple states in the U.S. The strike ended 52 days later, after it was put down by unofficial militias, the National Guard, and federal troops. Because of economic problems and pressure on wages by the railroads, workers in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois and Missouri, also went on strike. An estimated 126 to 160 people were killed in the unrest across the country.

West Virginia Governor Henry M. Mathews sent in militia forces to move the trains. One militiaman was shot by a striker while trying to operate a switch; the militiaman returned fire. Both were wounded, and the striker died. In the end, the militia failed to get the trains moving again, as strikebreakers were unwilling to operate them.

In Baltimore, the Fifth (“Dandy Fifth”) and Sixth Regiments of the former state militia, reorganized after the Civil War as the Maryland National Guard, were called up by Maryland Governor John Lee Carroll, at the request of the railroad. The Sixth assembled at its armory at East Fayette and North Front Streets and headed to Camden. It had to fight its way west through sympathetic Baltimore citizens, rioters and striking workers. The march erupted into bloodshed along Baltimore Street. It was a horrible scene, reminiscent of the worst of the bloody “Pratt Street Riots” of the Civil War era. When the outnumbered troops of the 6th Regiment finally fired volleys on an attacking crowd, they killed 10 civilians and wounded 25. The rioters injured several members of the National Guard, damaged B&O engines and train cars, and burned portions of the train station at South Howard and West Camden Streets. The National Guard was trapped in the Camden Yards and besieged by armed rioters. Hayes sent 2,000 federal troops and 600 U.S. Marines to Baltimore to restore order.

Pittsburgh became the site of the worst violence of the related strikes. Thomas Alexander Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad, described as one of the first robber barons, suggested that the strikers should be given “a rifle diet for a few days and see how they like that kind of bread”. On July 21, National Guard members bayoneted and fired on rock-throwing strikers, killing 20 people and wounding 29. Instead of calming the strikers, these actions made them even angrier which led them to fight back and force the National Guard to retreat into a railroad roundhouse. The strikers then set fires that burned down 39 buildings and destroyed equipment, including 104 locomotives and 1,245 freight and passenger cars. On July 22, the National Guard mounted an assault on the strikers, shooting their way out of the roundhouse and killing 20 more people on their way out of the city. After more than a month of rioting and bloodshed in Pittsburgh, Hayes sent in federal troops to end the strikes.

Maryland National Guard’s Sixth Regiment fighting its way west along main downtown commercial thoroughfare Baltimore Street through Baltimore, Maryland, July 20, 1877

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Houseboat:

Umm…

Today is the birthday, in 1948, of Cat Stevens, singer, songwriter, who had the 1967 UK No.2 single ‘Matthew And Son’, and the 1972 UK No.9 & US No.6 single, ‘Morning Has Broken’. He wrote ‘The First Cut Is The Deepest’ covered by many artists including PP Arnold, Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow. Stevens converted to the Muslim religion in 1977 changing his name to Yusef Islam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmAOBosGlHY

On this day in 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the surface of the Moon aboard the Landing Module Eagle, landing in the Sea of Tranquility at 20:17 UTC. Armstrong became the first human to walk on the Moon approximately six hours after landing, followed by Aldrin nineteen minutes later. Together they spent around two and a half hours walking on the surface, planting an American flag, speaking by telephone with President Richard Nixon, deploying scientific instruments, and collecting 21.5 kg (47.5 lb) of lunar material. After more than 21 hours on the surface, they rejoined Michael Collins in lunar orbit, and the crew returned safely to Earth on July 24, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

Apollo 11 was the culmination of the Space Race, a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union rooted in Cold War rivalry. It fulfilled a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy in May 1961, who had challenged the United States to land a man on the Moon and return him safely before the end of the decade. The program overcame a severe setback with the fatal Apollo 1 launchpad fire in January 1967 and drew on technologies developed through the preceding Mercury and Gemini programs.

Armstrong’s moonwalk was broadcast live to an estimated 600 million viewers, roughly one-fifth of the world’s population, making it among the most-watched television events in history.

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon in a photograph taken by Neil Armstrong, who can be seen in the visor reflection along with Earth, the Lunar Module Eagle, and the U.S. flag

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Shakira…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcnDmrtj6Sk

On this day in 1936, Spanish armed forces rebelled against the recently elected government, beginning the Spanish Civil War. Planned chiefly by Generals Emilio Mola and José Sanjurjo and joined by Francisco Franco, it was intended to overthrow the Popular Front government and replace it with an authoritarian regime. Instead of securing a rapid transfer of power, the coup only partially succeeded and precipitated the Spanish Civil War.

The rebellion began in Spanish Morocco on 17 July and spread to mainland garrisons the following day. It triumphed in parts of northern, western, and southern Spain, but failed in key political and industrial centers including Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia. The failed coup transformed a political crisis into the Spanish Civil War, which lasted until 1939. It ended with the defeat of the Republic, the victory of Franco’s Nationalists, and the establishment of the Franco dictatorship, which ruled Spain until 1975.

Republican soldiers and Assault Guards during the July 1936 uprising in Barcelona, in the Telefónica building

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Effective sign…

It’s HOT out there… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs8ZNa73OS4

On this day in 1945, at at 5:29 a.m. Mountain War Time, the first detonation of a nuclear weapon was conducted by the United States Army. The test, code-named ‘Trinity’ was of an implosion-design plutonium bomb, or “gadget” – the same design as the Fat Man bomb later detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.

At 05:29:21 MWT the device exploded with an energy equivalent to 24.8 ± 2 kilotons of TNT (103.8 ± 8.4 TJ). The desert sand, largely made of silica, melted and became a mildly radioactive light green glass, which was named trinitite. The explosion created a crater approximately 4.7 feet (1.4 m) deep and 88 yards (80 m) wide. The radius of the trinitite layer was approximately 330 yards (300 m). The 100-foot tower was completely vaporized. At the time of detonation, the surrounding mountains were illuminated “brighter than daytime” for one to two seconds, and the heat was reported as “being as hot as an oven” at the base camp. The observed colors of the illumination changed from purple to green and eventually to white. The roar of the shock wave took 40 seconds to reach the observers. It was felt over 100 miles (160 km) away, and the mushroom cloud reached 7.5 miles (12.1 km) in height.

Famous color photograph of the “Trinity” shot, the first nuclear test explosion.

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Surf and Turf???

Today is the birthday, in 1952, of American musician, multi-instrumentalist and composer Stewart Copeland best known as the drummer for The Police and for his film music soundtracks. He was also a member of Curved Air who had 1971 UK No.4 single ‘Back Street Luv’. The Police scored the 1983 UK & US No.1 single ‘Every Breath You Take’ plus four other UK No.1 singles.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs

On this day in 1916, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing). Like many, William Boeing was the son of immigrants who had recently immigrated to the United States.

In 1890, when William was eight, his father died of influenza and his mother soon moved to Europe. Marie enrolled William Jr. and his sister at schools in Switzerland. William Boeing’s mother remarried in 1898 and moved to Virginia. He enrolled at Yale University in 1898, studying in the engineering department but dropped out in 1903 to go into the lumber business.

In 1903, at age 22, Boeing moved to Hoquiam, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. He prospered in the lumber business during a nationwide construction boom. He was successful in the venture, in part by shipping lumber to the East Coast via the then-new Panama Canal, generating funds that he would later apply to a very different business.

During the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909, he saw a piloted flying machine for the first time and became fascinated with aircraft. Boeing took flying lessons and purchased a plane which he assembled. When it was damaged and replacement parts were not available Boeing told his friend, Commander George Conrad Westervelt of the US Navy, “We could build a better plane ourselves and build it faster.”

Portrait of Boeing

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Nothing to add here…

Today is the birthday, in 1946, of American singer Linda Ronstadt who had the 1975 US No.1 single ‘You’re No Good’, and the 1989 UK No.2 single with Aaron Neville, ‘Don’t Know Much’ plus over 15 other US Top 40 hits. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp9G0zkorio