On This Day In American History: October 17:
On October 17, 1989 an earthquake that measured 6.9 on the Richter scale occurred in the San Francisco Bay area and lasted less than a minute. Sixty seven people were killed in the earthquake and the damage to buildings and transportation systems in the area totaled more than five billion dollars.
California is a place where earthquakes of varying degrees of intensity occur on a regular basis because there a major fault line (aka a break in the Earth’s crust caused by shifting tectonic plates of rock) in that region. The previous super earthquake in the region occurred on April 1906 with the epicenter of the quake so close to San Francisco that an area that encompassed 500 city blocks was completely destroyed by the quake!
Here’s a link to a History webpage that offers more information on the earthquake and also has links to photos and videos of the quake and its aftermath:
http://www.history.com/topics/san-francisco-oakland-earthquake-of-1989
Here’s a link to a San Andreas Foundation site page that offers information on the California earthquakes cause – the San Andreas Fault:
http://www.sanandreasfault.org/
And a link to a National Archives page on the 1906 earthquake that features a number of photos showing the massive devastation caused by that earthquake:
http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/sf/
On This Day In American History: October 18:
Rock n’ Roll Pioneer, Guitarist & Icon Chuck Berry was born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 18, 1926. In the late nineteen fifties Berry’s youth oriented songs became exceptionally popular with young people and his guitar playing influenced a whole host of future musicians including members of the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys. Some of Chuck Berry’s most notable songs include “Johnny B. Good,” “Maybelline,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Almost Grown,” “You Can’t Catch Me” and “Havana Moon.”
Chuck Berry celebrates his 87th birthday on October 18th!
Here’s a link to a Biography bio of Chuck Berry:
http://www.biography.com/people/chuck-berry-9210488
And a link to a YouTube clip of Berry playing the song “You Can’t Catch Me” in 1956:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcblXxc4oqo
On This Day In American History: October 20:
Actor Viggo Mortensen was born in New York City on October 20, 1958. Mortensen made his film debut in the 1985 hit “Witness” and appeared in The Indian Runner (1991), Portrait of a Lady (1996) and 28 Days (2000) before being cast as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy based upon the books written by J. R. R. Tolkien – Aragorn of course being the actual King of the title of the third book and film in the trilogy “The Return of the King.”
The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films (and books) includes the following three titles that tell one complete tale: “The Fellowship of the Ring,” (2002), “The Two Towers” (2003) and “The Return of the King” (2004).
Mortensen has subsequently starred in films including “Hidalgo” from 2004, “A History of Violence” from 2005, Eastern Promises from 2006, “The Road” from 2009 and “A Walk on the Moon” from 2010.
Here’s a link to a Biography bio of Viggo Mortensen:
http://www.biography.com/people/viggo-mortensen-13729309
And here’s a link to a pivotal scene from the film “The Return of the King” that shows Aragorn the King giving a speech to his troops just before they engage the enemy troops lead by the evil and powerful Sauron:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReDWEGDioDA
And if you’d ever like to read more about any of the historical or cultural items mentioned in the blog postings on this blog, or to view any of the movies or television shows mentioned – ask the staff at our library (or your library) – to assist you in requesting the books and/or DVDs you’re interested in!
Have a great week!
Linda R.
References
Chuck Berry. Biography. Online. Accessed October 17, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/chuck-berry-9210488
San Francisco Earthquake, 1906. National Archives. Online. Accessed October 17, 2013, http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/sf/
San Francisco–Oakland earthquake of 1989. History. Online. Accessed October 17, 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/san-francisco-oakland-earthquake-of-1989
San Andreas Fault Information. San Andreas Fault. Online. Accessed October 17, 2013, http://www.sanandreasfault.org/Information.html
Viggo Mortensen. Biography. Online. Accessed October 17, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/viggo-mortensen-13729309
What is a Fault? (2012, September 12). Earth Science Picture of the Day. Online. Accessed October 17, 2013, http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2012/09/what-is-a-fault.html
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