First Electric Lights Turned On In The U.S.: On September 4, 1882 the first electric lights were turned on in the United States. The lights were installed in offices on Wall, Pearl, Nassau and Spruce Streets in Manhattan, New York. The great American inventor Thomas Edison, who in 1879 perfected the incandescent light bulb, installed the lighting system via underground cables and was credited with the successful installation of the electric lights in that section of Manhattan. This event really was a major event in the modern era as it was the first step to the rapid adoption of electric lights in towns and cities across the United States. Electric lights of course changed the way people live and work; because the lights allowed people to do much more at night both for work and for play than was ever possible before – and subsequently, the successful installation of electricity and electric lighting systems in homes and business across the United States was a founding pillar of our modern world where we can access information and services online 24/7/365 – as long as we have electricity!
Here’s a link to a PBS page that offers an overview of Thomas Edison’s quest to perfect the electric light bulb and bring electric lights into American homes and businesses:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/edison/filmmore/description.html
The Great Apache Chief Geronimo Surrenders To U.S. Troops: On September 4, 1886 the great Apache Chief Geronimo surrendered to U.S. Army General Nelson Miles and the troops under his command. This ended a thirty year fight between the Apaches and the U.S. Government. The Apaches protested their being pushed off their traditional home land by white settlers, with the approval of the U.S. Government, and did their best to fight back. However, after a 30 year struggle the Apaches were exhausted and greatly outnumbered by the white settlers and U.S. Army Troops. Geronimo and his men surrendered to U.S. troops near the Arizona – New Mexico border and were then sent to Florida, later to Alabama and finally resettled in the Oklahoma Territory. After being re-settled in Oklahoma, Geronimo converted to Christianity and became a successful farmer. He even published a biography titled “Geronimo’s Story of His Life.” Geronimo died in 1909.
The library owns a copy of Geronimo’s autobiography if you’d like to read it! Request it via StarCat by clicking the following link:
http://starcat.stls.org/client/default
And here’s a link to a History Channel page that offers more information on Geronimo and his 1886 surrender to U.S. Troops:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
The Little Rock Nine First Try To Attend Little Rock, Arkansas’ Little Rock High School: On September 4, 1957 nine African American students, in the then racially segregated southern state of Arkansas, attempted to attend the Little Rock High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, ordered National Guard Troops to Little Rock to prevent the students from attending the school; this of course delayed the students in interning the school. In response to Governor Faubus’s actions President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered 101st Army Airborne Troops to the school to enforce the law by desegregating the school as per the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling. The Brown v. Board of Education court case ended with the Supreme Court ruling that the so called “separate but equal” policy which was predominant in the southern states at that time and which required African American students to attend their own schools and not be allowed to attend the much better financed and resourced public schools with white students was unconstitutional. The nine students became known to history as “The Little Rock Nine” and they did attend Little Rock High School despite having to overcoming a great deal of prejudice and public taunting to do so.
Here’s a link to a Time Magazine article on the Little Rock Nine and the desegregation of Little Rock High School in 1957:
http://life.time.com/history/little-rock-nine-1957-photos/#1
Have a great day!
Linda R.
References
Chase’s Calendar of Events 2013. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2013.
The Film & More: Edison’s Miracle of Light. PBS. Online. Accessed September 4, 2013, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/edison/filmmore/description.html
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. National Parks Service. Online. Accessed September 4, 2013, http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/ak1.htm
This Day in History. Geronimo Surrenders. History. Online. Accessed September 4, 2013, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
Wallace, Vaughn. Brave Hearts: Remembering the Little Rock Nine, 1957. Time. Online. Accessed September 4, 2013, http://life.time.com/history/little-rock-nine-1957-photos/#1
The American Dream Starts @ The Southeast Steuben County Library 