On This Day In American History – The American Red Cross Is Founded

The American Red Cross was founded in Washington, D.C. by Clara Barton and a group of her friend. Barton, who was a battlefield nurse during the American Civil War, heard of the international Red Cross which was founded in Switzerland in 1864*and she became its first president.

The Red Cross received congressional charters in 1900 and 1905 and the second charter which is still in effect offers the mission statement of the organization which includes offering disaster relief domestically and internationally and serving as a communication medium between members of the armed forces serving abroad and their families living in the United States.

To find out more about the American Red Cross click on the following link which will take you to the history page on the official Red Cross website.

http://www.redcross.org/about-us/history

And if you’d like to know more about the multi-talented American Red Cross founder, Civil War nurse and teacher Clara Barton, who was a pioneer in the arena of women’s rights before that movement was even born, click on the following link which will take you to a bio of Clara Barton found on the American Red Cross website:

http://www.redcross.org/about-us/history/clara-barton

Have a great day!

Linda R.

*The Red Cross was founded in Switzerland in 1864 by representatives from sixteen European nations. The international Red Cross was founded as a non-profit organization organized, administrated – and basically run by volunteers who provide disaster relief both in the home nations of the founding members and abroad.

References

Chase’s Calendar of Events 2012. New York. McGraw-Hill. 2012.

P.S. And don’t forget if you just bought, or received as a gift a new tablet, e-reader, PC or other tech item and would like to know more about how to use it — you can make an appointment at the library for a free On-On-One tech session and a member of our tech team will show you the digital ropes! Call the Reference Desk at: 607-936-3713 to make an appointment! Did I mention it is a free service the library offers? It is! 

On This Day In American History – Bluesman Robert Johnson & President Harry Truman Were Born

Future President Harry S. Truman was born on May 8, 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. Harry Truman grew up in Independence, Missouri and as a young man worked as a clerk in bank, worked as a haberdasher and worked on his family’s farm before beginning a political career in his thirties. He was elected a Missouri Judge and then in 1934 a U.S. Senator. Senator Truman became known as a man of integrity who got things done and in 1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt and top Democratic party officials asked Harry to become Roosevelt’s Vice Presidential Candidate as he ran for a fourth term. The Roosevelt won re-election with Truman as his Vice President and both were sworn into their respective posts in early 1945. On April 12 12, 1945 President Roosevelt died and Harry Truman found himself President of the United States. Truman was the President making the decisions at the close of World War II and had the final say in directing the American military to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan in 1945 ushering in the atomic age. Truman won re-election in 1948 and presided over the beginnings of the Cold War and the early Civil Rights eras that directly followed the end of World War II. He is known to day for  

Harry Truman returned to live in his hometown of Independence, MO after he left office. He died in 1972.

If you want to watch a short video on Truman  – click the following YouTube link which will allow you to watch the eleven minute portion of the History Channel President’s series that offers a brief chronicle, of Truman’s life and presidency; highlights include his decision to use the atomic bomb to end World War II, the implementation of the Berlin Airlift, the breakout of the Korean War, his decision to de-segregate the American Military and the implementation of the Marshall Plan to try and curb the spread of Communism across the globe in the post-World War II era.

Here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaYOPpBf2vA

And for more detailed text bio of Truman check out his page on the official White House website:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/harrystruman

Bluesman Robert Johnson was born on May 8, 1911. Robert Johnson was born in Hazelhurst, Mississippi and only lives to be 27 years old dying being poisoned by an angry husband  with whose wife he had been having an affair. Johnson’s intense, raw blues guitar playing and singing were captured in two recording sessions issued as King of The Delta Blues Singers I and King of The Delta Blues Singers II and his music has influenced countless blues, rock, jazz and country musicians since then. And the man himself has become an almost mythic figure who it is said lived fast and hard and sold his soul to the devil to obtain his great musical talent. So you might say Robert Johnson is an interesting character in American musical history!

You can check out two related CDs at the library. The first is a compilation of the two Delta Blues Singer albums Johnson recorded in the thirties tilted “Robert Johnson, The Complete Recordings” and the second is by the well-known blues-rock musician Eric Clapton is titled “Me & Mr. Johnson” and features Clapton preforming his favorite Robert Johnson songs.

And here’s a link to a bio of Robert Johnson found on the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation site:

http://www.robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org/biography

And a YouTube link that offers listeners a chance to listen to the entire “Robert Johnson Complete Recordings” set (or just a little bit of it if you prefer!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HleLTn60BxE

Also of note not just as an event that had a great impact on American history but as one that had a colossal impact on world history today is the anniversary of V-E Day – it was on May 8, 1945 that Germany unconditionally surrendered to Allied forced putting bringing World War II to a close.

And on a much lighter note – I discovered this morning in researching topics for this post, courtesy of Chase’s Calendar of Events, that today is national “No Socks Day!” The idea being if we all stopped wearing socks for a day we’d have less laundry to do and that would in turn benefit the environment. And I have to say I find that idea of a “No Socks Day” to be a terrifically funny one!

We should all take our socks off for at least part of the day to celebrate!

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

About the Presidents: #33: Harry Truman. White House. Online. Accessed, May 8, 2013.

Biography. Robert Johnson Blues Foundation. Online. Accessed May 8, 2013.