For a little historical background on the years before Louisiana became a state, I want to go back to the early years of Europe’s interest in what is now Louisiana.  Beginning with the French, land in the the new world was claimed by Renee-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in the late 17th century in the name of King Louis XIV of France.  This territory would become part or all of many modern day states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Louis XIV, King of France, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly right, wearing armor.

A few years after La Salle, Louis XIV sent Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville to further advance French interests.  Later he sent d’Iberville’s brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, and it was he who established the city of New Orleans in 1718.  Alas, the French didn’t hold onto their territories long.  In 1763 French lands east of the Mississippi River were given to the British as part of the Treaty of Paris in the wake of France’s loss of the French and Indian War while Spain took possession of the holdings on the west side of the river in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau.  This transfer of lands resulted in two groups of people settling in Louisiana.  Many of the French living in Nova Scotia (Acadia) immigrated to the Louisiana territory after the British forced them out, while Spain sent people, often referred to as Isleños, from the Canary Islands.

Washington Times. February 26, 1899.

France reacquired the Louisiana territory from Spain under Napoleon Bonaparte as part of the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1800.  To much local dismay, this was not to last.  In 1803 the United States took possession of the French holdings in what is known as the Louisiana Purchase for the price of about $15 million dollars, one of the better real estate deals in history.  President Thomas Jefferson then sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to survey the newly purchased lands in what became known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition (also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition).

Louisiana brought a lot to the Union, including sugar, rice, and cotton crops.  While she didn’t bring the Mississippi River per se, she did bring a major port New Orleans where those crops were traded.  The river and the city have a shared history and have been an important part of commerce to and from the United States. This strategic importance made it an important target in two wars.  Just a few years after statehood, in January of 1815, Andrew Jackson led American forces to victory against the British at Chalmette in the War of 1812 and in 1862 the city fell to Union forces during the Civil War.

Bird's-eye view of New Orleans, Louisiana with the Mississippi River in the foreground. c1851

Today the Port accounts for millions of tons of cargo each year, most of which is steel, forest products, rubber, containerized cargo, and copper. Considering the region’s love of coffee it’s no surprise that the Port of New Orleans is the nation’s premier coffee-handling port.  All of that trade at the Port brought other economic interests like railroads – the city was also a major railroad hub – and money.  All of this trade and money made it one of the largest banking cities in the United States though much of the 19th century.

Fisherman's home along the bayou, Akers, Louisiana 1938. U.S. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information

You can’t talk about Louisiana without mentioning two other contributions – music and food.  Jazz (sometimes referred to as Jass in its early years) is a musical tradition whose history is most closely associated with New Orleans – particularly the notorious Storyville – and produced one of the city’s most famous sons – Louis Armstrong, also known as Satchmo.  But Jazz isn’t the state’s only musical tradition, there is also Zydeco which is more associated with Cajun country.  And in Louisiana, you can’t have the music without the food, particularly Cajun and Creole cooking.  Cooking in Louisiana almost requires seafood, and as a business, seafood has always been important.  Today the Louisiana Seafood Promotion Board estimates about 1/3 of the seafood consumed in the U.S. comes from or by way of, Louisiana.  The state accounts for about 90% of the crawfish, is the largest supplier of live crabs, supplies about 69% of shrimp, and the waters of the Gulf of Mexico off the state’s coast account for about 70% of the oysters.  [1]

The Gulf of Mexico is more than just seafood and trade.  One industry that developed many years after statehood is the oil and natural gas industry.  The first oil well in Louisiana was drilled on land in 1901, and by the late 1930’s they were drilling in the shallow waters off the cost.  Drilling increased as a result of the ability to drill deeper, and by the 1980′s there were wells all over the state and coastal waters.  The industry lost ground in 1980′s but did rebound, and according to 2008 figures from the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association, 25% of the oil and 25% natural gas of the United States flows though the state. [2]

Happy 200 Louisiana.

References
[1] http://louisianaseafood.com/louisiana_leads_the_way
[2] http://www.loga.la/pdf/Letter%20to%20Boustany.pdf

I ran across an April 1902 Washington Times article that described how to request a book at the Library of Congress.  Despite the fact that it was written over one hundred years ago and many things have changed, shades of that system still remain, including the pneumatic tubes.

It is by means of the extremely ingenious mechanism of the pneumatic tubes and the automatic book-carriers that this quick service is rendered possible. The pneumatic tubes are operated by compressed air, shooting short leather cases two inches in diameter in a few seconds between stations. These tubes run from the central desk in the main reading room to each of the nine decks or stories in each stack.

Having received a reader’s ticket, the desk attendant in the stack finds on the shelves the volume wanted and places it on one of the automatic carriers which are constantly moving on an endless chain, and which traverse the entire height of each stack. The carrier delivers the book at the reading room desk to be handed to the reader. When returned by him it may be at once sent back to the stack by the same machine.

While many requests are now done via the Library of Congress Automated Call Slip system, I hope these tubes don’t go away anytime soon.

Fenway Park ball grounds. Exterior. George Grantham Bain Collection.

Without looking at today’s photo, can you use the following clues to figure out what today is?

• The Green Monster
• Duffy’s Cliff
• The Triangle
• Williamsburg
• The Lone Red Seat
• The Splendid Splinter
• Pesky’s Pole
• Sweet Caroline
• Curse of the Bambino
• The Snodgrass Muff

One hundred years ago today Fenway Park had its first professional game and became the much beloved home of the Boston Red Sox.  That first game, Boston played (and beat) the New York Highlanders, later known as the Yankees – their biggest rival.  Later that year, they beat another New York team, the Giants, to win the World Series.

For more information, Major League Baseball has developed a web site for Fenway’s anniversary with videos on the people and the traditions.

Space Shuttle Discovery fly-by over West Potomac Park (Washington, D.C) April 17, 2012. Photo © Anthony Christopher.

If you were in the Washington, D.C. area this morning (April 17),  you were treated to a fly-by of the Space Shuttle Discovery riding piggy-back on a 747 as it made its way to the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located near Dulles International Airport.

I did not want to miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity, so I took the morning off and headed down to West Potomac Park. Feeling like a wide-eyed little kid and giggling with joy (YAY!), I witnessed the Shuttle make three fly-bys along the Potomac River and the National Mall. It was utterly amazing, something that I will never forget.

The Titanic. Photo by Bain News Service

I answer a fair share of questions from authors, historians, and filmmakers who are trying to find weather or astronomical observations for a particular time and place so they can accurately describe a moment in time. You can imagine my delight when I read that film director James Cameron will be including a historically accurate night sky in the re-release of the 1997 epic film Titanic, which happens to coincide with the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912. The inaccuracies of the film’s night sky were brought to Cameron’s attention back in the late 1990’s when American astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson informed the filmmaker that the sky he used in the iconic film was astronomically incorrect. It turns out the night sky in the 1997 film was an artistic rendering, with half of the sky reflecting a mirror image of the other half.

Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson provided Cameron with the astronomically correct star field to use in the 2012 re-release. According to Cameron, the restructured night sky is the only technical change made to the 2012 release. To give you an idea of the night sky during the Titanic’s voyage in 1912, I scanned the April 1912 Evening Sky Map from the Monthly Evening Sky Map series.  I also discovered that there was central eclipse of the sun on April 17, 1912 that would have been partially seen in the morning hours along the Eastern US and Canada.

From Monthly Evening Sky Map, v. 6 , April 1912.

Additionally, I decided to calculate the sun and moon times for the Titanic on April 14-15, 1912 using the United States Naval Observatory Complete Sun and Moon Data (Please keep in mind that these times are estimates  based on the latitude N41.8, longitude W50.2,  and Universal Time hour – 3 hours).

April 14, 1912

Sun:

• Sunrise: 5:43 am
• Sunset 7:00 pm
• End of civil Twilight: 7:29 pm

Moon: Waning crescent with 9% of the Moon’s visible disk illuminated. New Moon on April 17, 1912

• Moonrise 4:36 am
•  Moon Transit: 10:15 am
•  Moonset: 4:04 pm
• Moonrise 4:56 am on following day (April 15, 1912)

April 15, 1912

Sun:

• Sunrise 5:41 am
• Sunset 7:01 pm
• End of Civil Twilight: 7:30 pm

Moon: Waning crescent with 4% of the Moon’s visible disk illuminated

• Moon rise 4:56 am
• Moon Transit 10:58 am
• Moonset 5:11 pm

Composite of five mounted photographs of wireless operator on shipboard receiving distress call; life boats bringing Titanic's survivors to the Carpathia; Capt. Smith of the Titanic--1912.

The Library of Congress offers a wealth of primary and secondary sources about the Titanic. Mark Hall, a librarian for the Digital Reference Service, wrote about the Library’s Titanic Treasure Trove in a 1998 LC Information Bulletin. In this article, Mark highlights and discusses the Library’s vast collection of Titanic material that includes newspaper articles, music, photographs, books, sound recordings, manuscripts, and film/footage.

This past week my fellow LC bloggers have also published articles on the Titanic in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of its sinking:

LC Blog:- An Unsinkable Legacy- Remembering the Titanic 

In the Muse (Performing Arts) – Sheet music of the Week-Titanic Centennial Edition 

Teaching with the Library of Congress- Titanic: In the News and Memory 

Picture This! (Prints and Photographs)- The Waifs in the Deep: Titanic Survivors

In Custodia Legis (Law Library) – Failure to Update the Law a Titanic Mistake

From the Catbird Seat (Poetry) – RMS Titanic: The Poetic Response

This topic is difficult to write about since it brings up a traumatic event and feelings of helplessness for many us, including myself. I showed up on Capitol Hill to start my new job at the Library as the Senate building incident was unfolding. Still, it is important to recognize what happened and what became of the many investigations of who was responsible. 

To help us better understand these attacks and the subsequent investigations, Jeanne Guillemin, Senior Advisor to Security Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be at the Library’s Pickford Theater on April 3 from 12:30-1:30 to discuss her recently published book American Anthrax: Fear, Crime, and the Investigation of the Nation’s Deadliest Bioterrorist Attack (Macmillian/Henry Holt, 2011). Guillemin’s background in anthropology and sociology allows her to focus on the human response and reaction of this biological attack and her expertise of infectious diseases gives a meticulous scientific analysis of the investigations. For more detailed information about this book talk see our press release.

In addition to her research on the American Anthrax case, Guillemin has also investigated, at length, the 1979 Sverdlovsk (Russia) anthrax outbreak which she published in Anthrax: The Investigation of a Deadly Outbreak (University of California Press, 1999). She has also published a history of biological weapons programs in Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-Sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism (Columbia University Press, 2005).

If you cannot make it to the book talk, it will be recorded and available for viewing shortly after on the Library’s science and technology webcast page and Topics in Science Playlist from our Youtube channel.

And if you are interested in learning more about the history, nature, toxicity, and physical effects of biological weapons, as well as international treaties and related documents check out our Chemical and Biological Warfare guide that will lead you to resources on these topics.

From the New York Tribune, December 27, 1911 p 1.

The Triangle Waist Company was owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris and manufactured shirtwaists.  Most of the company’s employees were young, immigrant women; and like many manufacturing concerns of the day, working conditions were not ideal and the space was cramped.

When the Shirtwaist fire broke out on the 8th floor, many workers found exiting their floor, as well as the building itself, almost impossible. Many doors were locked, some were impassable because they were already blocked by the fire itself, and the few exits that were available quickly became impassable once the fire spread. To make matters worse, when the fire department arrived, they had a difficult time rescuing people because their ladders couldn’t reach high enough.  As a result, 146 people, mostly women, died of burns, asphyxiation, or blunt impact from jumping.

After the fire there were two efforts  to investigate factory safety and propose new regulations – the Committee on Safety and the New York Factory Investigating Commission.  Eventually, the state of New York updated labor laws, passed new laws mandating better building access and egress, updated fireproofing requirements, and other reforms. While the inadequate safety preparations and poor working conditions of this particular factory were exposed, the fire galvanized workers and others concerned about working conditions in factories.

Copy of a photograph taken c. 1910 showing American Steel & Wire's campaign for safety on the Job: 'The Fence of Safety Around the Happy Home. . . Every Broken Picket Means One Lost Time Accident.' Photo courtesy Ralph A. Dise, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. - Central Furnaces, 2650 Broadway, east bank of Cuyahoga River, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH

Prior to the Shirtwaist Factory fire, especially during the Progressive Era, the standards and regulations that did exist for workplace safety originated with state and local governments – New York, California, Ohio, and Wisconsin were particularly active in creating safety standards.  While most of the attention was devoted to mines and railroads due to the dangerous nature of the work, factories did not go unnoticed.

Poster for the WPA Illinois Safety Division - WPA Federal Art Project. 1936

The publicity surrounding the fire pushed workplace safety issues onto the national stage.  In 1913 the National Safety Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to safety issues, was formed. That same year at the meeting of the Second Safety Council, there was a session on fire prevention where they addressed progress in fire suppression techniques, the importance of fire exits, and how both employees and employers needed to be involved in workplace fire safety.  Also in 1913, the President signed Public Law 426-62 which created the Department of Labor. Its mission was to:

“foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of the United States, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment.”

While national consolidation of workplace safety monitoring and regulation had begun early in the mining sector, resulting in several pieces of legislation, standards for manufacturing and other workplaces were still predominantly governed by the states.  General safety monitoring at a national level was slower to develop.  Many felt state governments were unable to keep up and looked to create a national system.  Eventually New Deal policies and the gradual development of administrative governance further developed workplace safety standards.  But it wasn’t until 1970, long after the fire, that the Occupational Safety and Health Act passed and created a federal government agency specifically tasked with overseeing workplace safety issues.

Allan Nase, artist. Pennsylvania : WPA Federal Art Project, 1936 or 1937

If you are interested in doing research on the fire or industrial safety, the Library’s collection and web pages have items that may be of interest.  The Prints & Photographs catalog has a number of photographs and the Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading collected a series of articles from Chronicling America.  You may also enjoy reading two previous blog posts – one from In the Muse and another from the main Library blog.

For more information and additional sources, OSHA developed a page dedicated to the fire and several New York area institutions also remembered the event.  The New York Times blog published several posts, Cornell developed an online exhibit, and New York Public Radio has several audio files.

Kwan-zan (Kanzan or Sekiyama) blossom. K. Tsunoi, possibly Kōkichi Tsunoi (fl. 1892–1921). Kwan-zan (Barrier Mountain). Watercolor, 1918–1921. Japanese Collection, Asian Division, Library of Congress

I doubt that anyone would disagree that the best time to visit Washington D.C. is when the Japanese cherry trees are in bloom. It is said that the cherry blossoms are awakened in spring by the ‘maiden who causes trees to bloom’ or by fairies who visit the emperor at the Palace of Yoshino in the moonlight. This year (2012) is the centennial celebration of the 1912 gift of around 3,000 cherry trees from the city of Tokyo. To mark this event the Library has opened a special exhibit called: Sakura: Cherry Blossoms as Living Symbols of Friendship in the Graphic Arts Galleries on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building.

Cherry, along with almond, peach, apricot, nectarine and plum trees belong to the genus Prunus L and are part of the rose family- Rosacea. This family of plants, which are ornamental (decoration) and economical (edible stone fruits); include over 100 genera and more than 2,000 species. The Japanese cherry tree is an ornamental tree, which means it’s grown as a decorative plant for its attractive appearance. Generally speaking, it blooms the first few days in April, however, it can bloom as early as mid-March or as late as mid-April. It is important to note that the Japanese cherry trees are different from the native North American species of deciduous cherry trees (Prunus serotina- black cherry, Prunus virginia- choke cherry, Prunus carolina- Carolina-laurel cherry), which also provide beautiful flowers in the spring.

The reverence for the Japanese flowering cherry trees (also known as sakura) originated with Japan’s emperor and his court in the 5^th century A.D. By the 19^th century there were over 1,000 sakura of 80 different selections planted in Kyoto, Japan, and in the beginning of the 20^th century there were more than 130 cultivated selections produced.  

Coming to America

Much of what we know about the introduction of the Japanese flowering cherry tree in Washington D.C. comes from the research of Roland M. Jefferson and Alan E. Fusonie which was published in the seminal work – The Japanese Flowering Cherry Trees of Washington D.C.  (1977) ( a digital copy of this work is available from the National Agricultural Library). According to this work, Japanese cherry trees began to appear in U.S. nursery catalogs in the mid 19^th century. In the Descriptive Catalogue of Fruits, Ornamental Trees, Flowering Shrubs and Plants by Ellwanger and Barry Co. (Rochester, New York, 1846), the weeping cherry was sold under the name Cerasus pendula and in the Catalogue of Fruits and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Vines, and Roses, Greenhouse and Stove Plants by Parson and Co. (Flushing, New York, 1852), the double flowering cherry was sold as Cerasus pendula plena.

Japan Weeping Rose-Flowerd Cherry published in National Nurseryman, December 1893. Photoengraving from Ellawagner and Barry, Co.

The Library of Congress does not collect nursery catalogs; we defer to the collections of the National Agricultural Library and its Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog collection. However, the Library of Congress has a great collection of nursery, horticulture, and gardening trade journals such as the American Nurseryman, National Nurseryman, and Meehan’s Monthly (Meehan’s Garden Bulletin). In the December 1893 issue of the National Nurseryman there is a photo-engraving and brief article of the Japan Weeping Rose-Flowered Cherry (see image at left).

The Late 19^th and early 20^th century saw an increase in popularity of using foreign plants in the U.S. , including the Japanese cherry tree. In 1862, George Roger Hall, noted as one of the first to introduce Japanese cherry trees into the U.S, brought in 15 varieties, and in 1876 Dr. William S. Clark began to introduce wild species of Prunus sargentii (sargent cherry) into the United States. In response to the desire for foreign plants by U.S. citizens, the USDA created the Section for Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction. This office was run by renowed plant explorer David Fairchild, who was one of the key players in beautifying Washington, D.C. with Japanese cherry trees. By 1903, Fairchild and his friend Barbour Lathrop introduced 30 named varieties of Japanese cherry trees into the United States and in the following years Fairchild ordered more trees from the Yokohama Nursery in Japan for his Chevy Chase, Maryland home (commonly known as In the Woods). Here is a 1913 catalog from the Yokohama Nursery.

Fairchild’s obsession to cover Washington, D.C. in a “field of cherries” picked up momentum. In 1908 he successfully organized an Arbor Day ceremony in which students from D.C. public schools planted Japanese cherry trees on school grounds and parks . At the same time Fairchild joined Eliza Scidmore, noted expert on Japanese subjects, in the campaign to plant cherry trees along the newly constructed Potomac Park (aka Speedway).

Living Symbols of Friendship, the Gift from Tokyo 1909 and 1912

Cherry trees along the Tidal Basin with Japanese Lantern placed in the park in 1954. Washington, D.C. Photograph by Carol Highsmith.

Possibly fueled by Fairchild and Scidmore’s “field of cherries” project, First Lady Helen Harron Taft also became interested in beautifying Potomac Park. This seems to be the boost that Fairchild and Scidmore needed, because in 1909 the mayor of Tokyo donated 2,000 trees to Washington, D.C. which were shipped from Japan on October 29, 1909. The trees arrived in Seattle on December 10 and in Washington on January 6, 1910. Upon inspection, the trees were found to be infested with pests and various diseases. Assistant Chief of the USDA’s Bureau of Entomology Charles Marlett, who strongly supported the necessity for plant quarantine legislation, ordered the lot to be burned.

But this did not sway Tokyo’s Mayor Yukio Ozaki who, in 1912, shipped a second batch of 6,000 trees to the United States- around half went to New York City and the other half to Washington, D.C. Twelve selections of flowering cherries were included, mostly of the scented white or pale pink single blossom Prunus x yedoensis ( Somei- Yoshino), but the selections also included Prunus serrulata (Kwan-zan, also known as Kanzan or Sekiyama), a deep-pink double blossom that blooms two weeks later than Yoshino. This time precautionary measures were taken to ward off pests and disease, including the supervised cultivation and fumigation of the new trees.  Read more about Charles Marlett and the Plant Quarantine Act of 1912 from the Law Library’s blog post  Cherry Blossoms, Insects and Inspections.

 This second shipment proved to be a success with every tree passing inspection. On March 27, 1912 the first of these trees was planted at the Tidal Basin by First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Iwa Chinda (wife of the Japanese ambassador). These two trees located in the northwest side of the Tidal Basin are still alive today. In addition to the Tidal Basin plantings, the trees were also planted along Riverside Dr., the White House, Rock Creek Park, and a nursery on 17^th and B St.

Enduring Friendship

Unfortunately, cherry trees do not live forever. Regrettably, many of the Yoshino trees died in the first few years and were replaced by the variety called Akebono, which is an American form of the Japanese tree propagated in a San Jose, California nursery. In the past few decades, scientists from the U.S. National Arboretum have taken steps to replace the dying trees with plants from the 1912 original clippings (See Cherry Blossoms: Restoring a National Treasure published in Agricultural Research, April 1999.)

Original 1912 Yoshino Cherry Tree, Library of Congress, 2012. Photography by J. Harbster

Because of overcrowding, some of the original plantings were transplanted to other D.C. landmarks, such as the U.S. Capitol grounds, U.S. Naval Observatory, and even the Library of Congress. In fact, the Library has two documented original 1912 Yoshino trees- one is held up by a crutch near the corner of Independence Ave and 2^nd st, SE and the other is at the corner of 2^nd and East Capitol Streets.

In 1978, Roland Jefferson noted that only 28% of the original 1912 plantings were left and of these nearly all except Yoshino and Kwanzan have disappeared. Today, the National Park Service estimates that around 100 Yoshino trees from the original 1912 plantings are still alive.

If you would like to learn more, take a look our Cherry Blossom Selected Internet Resources Guide.

I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night – Sarah Willams (1837-1868)*

Galileo offering his telescope to three women (possibly Urania and attendants) seated on a throne; he is pointing toward the sky where some of his astronomical discoveries are depicted

In February of 2010 I wrote a post  for Inside Adams titled “Stars in His Eyes” about the 1610 Sidereus nuncius (Starry Messenger) by Galileo Galilei. This was the small book in which Galileo described his adventures with the newly invented telescope. Having read descriptions of the then recently invented ‘spyglass,’ Galileo set about devising his own, creating prototypes and making observations of the Moon, stars, and most importantly, what he referred to as the four little ‘stars’ spotted near Jupiter. These he described and illustrated in the Sidereus nuncius, deducing by their movement and positions that they were in fact not stars, but moons – satellites of Jupiter revolving around the larger body in a regular and predictable orbit.

 Of course the implication of this discovery, that celestial bodies revolved around objects other than the Earth, caused Galileo a little bit of trouble before all was said and done, but the value of the telescope as an instrument of scientific truth has become evident and it continues to this day to reveal to us hidden corners of our Universe.

Around 1608 Hans Lippershey of Holland created some of the earliest telescopes  that were of a refracting design with a convex shaped object lens and a concave shaped eyepiece. This was the design that Galileo employed. Johannes Kepler also designed telescopes with compound eyepieces, and Christiaan Huygens built bigger and more powerful, but less practical ones. Isaac Newton came up with a reflecting telescope which incorporated a mirror and had an eyepiece mounted on the side. Developments of reflecting telescopes continued by incorporating larger mirrors, coatings on the mirrors, and more refined optics, which all of the large optical research telescopes around the world use today. If you are interested in learning more about Galileo and the history of telescopes see our webcast of Galileo: 400 Years of the Telescope with NASA scientist Michelle Thaller.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) being deployed during the STS 31 flight. Image from NSSDC Photo Gallery

In the 20^th century radio astronomy was born and telescopes were   developed for other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum beyond the visible wavelengths. Cosmic microwave background radiation was discovered in 1964 and radio telescopes are used to study it from space. The telescopes of today are used in infrared astronomy, ultraviolet astronomy, X-ray astronomy, and gamma ray astronomy. Many of these are space-based telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope which was carried into orbit  by the space shuttle Discovery on April 25, 1990.

The Hubble, still in orbit and operation, has four main instruments that operate in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Hubble observations represent quantum breakthroughs in astrophysics, including an accurate determination of the rate of expansion of the Universe. Though its last servicing mission was completed in 2009, it is expected to function at least until 2014. In 2009 Dave Leckrone, retired senior project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope Program, spoke at the Library about Hubble’s final mission in his lecture- Hubble: A New Beginning. 

Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is scheduled for launch in 2018. The JWST is optimized for observations in the infrared. Its main goals are to study the birth and evolution of galaxies and the formation of stars and planets. It will observe some of the most distant objects in the Universe, currently beyond the reach of existing ground and space-based telescopes. It will be a ‘starry messenger’ of the 21^st century, revealing the hidden secrets and history of our Universe, and showing us as yet unseen phenomena, as Galileo’s simple ‘telescopio’ discovered the moons of Jupiter over 400 years ago, teaching us all to love the stars and not to be fearful of the night.

Coincidentally aligned spiral galaxies. (NGC 3314). From the NSSDC Photo Gallery

If you are interested in learning more join us on March 21,2012 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm, in Pickford Theater, Madison Building, where we will are hosting a lecture about the James Webb Space Telescope with NASA Scientist Amber Straughn.

*Quote is from the poem The Old Astronomer published in Twilight Hours by Sarah Willimas (1868) and later published as The Old Astronomer and His Pupil in Best Loved Poems of  the American People (c1936, 1957).

The San Francisco Call., March 26, 1899, p 18.

Harriet Robinson was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in November 1834.  Her family had made millions with their whaling fleet and shipping interests.  Hetty seems to have developed her financial skills at a very early age after spending considerable time with her grandfather Gideon Howland who would talk to her about financial matters and encourage her to read financial papers. Hetty married a wealthy Vermont man, Edward Henry Green, and did something unusual for the day – she asked the prospective husband to renounce all rights to her money.

Although formidable, she was also quite talented and very successful. Through her own efforts, she parlayed the money her father left her (varying accounts put at about $5 – $7 million dollars), as well as money left to her by her spinster aunt, Sylvia Ann Howland, into an even bigger fortune by investing in real estate and railroads.  In 1899 an article in the San Francisco Call estimated her worth at about $60,000,000 while an article titled “The World’s Richest Two Dozen” in the June 2,1905 Seattle Republican estimated her worth at $100,000,000. When confronted with the question in 1905, she is quoted in an article in the National Magazine, as saying she was worth less than everyone thought because “rich people are always worth less than report has it.” [1]  Due to her wealth and interests, her name was linked with the likes of Russell Sage, JP Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and other financiers and tycoons of the day.

A cabinet that could afford it. Pughe, J. S. Illustration shows eight men and one woman sitting and standing around a table, each is identified with a Cabinet position: J.P. Morgan as "Sec'y Navy", Thomas W. Lawson as "Sec'y War", Thomas F. Ryan as "Att'y Gen'l", James J. Hill as "Sec'y Int.", James H. Hyde as "Sec'y Com. and Lab.", Russell Sage as "Sec'y Agric", Henrietta "Hetty" Green as "Post Mistress Gen'l", Andrew Carnegie as "Sec'y State", and John D. Rockefeller as "Sec'y Treas"; sitting on the table is a statue labeled "Golden Calf" and hanging on the wall are portraits of "Midas" and "Croesus". On the far left is a ticker tape machine.

Like many successful people, she was often asked for financial advice.   On being asked what a woman with a few hundred dollars should do with that money, she said real estate was the best investment – especially if bought at auction when the prices were lower.

“I regard real estate investments as the safest means of using idle money… Let a woman watch and see in which direction a city is going to develop and buy there.” [2]

Hetty felt that for women “safe and low was better than risky and high.”  For her:

“There was no great secret in fortune making. All you have to do is buy cheap and sell dear, act with thrift and shrewdness and then be persistent.” [3]

Her advice to others followed her own practices – her real estate investment strategy was to buy property cheap when nobody wanted it, hold onto it until there was interest, and then sell high.  She was less active in stocks, especially industrials, because she felt Wall Street was “no place for a woman,” but did have a fondness for government bonds, despite the fact they didn’t pay a high rate of interest. [4] However, when she did buy stocks she preferred buying them for investment and not for speculation and would “never buy on a margin.” She was definitely one to pay attention and seize any opportunities that arose.  In the book  The Witch of Wall Street (1936), there is a chapter on the Panic of 1907 where Hetty assessed the events of the year.  She indicated that she knew the panic was coming and goes on to say that she made every effort to have cash on hand in order to lend to those that came to her – including the city of New York, to whom she lent over a million dollars in return for short-term revenue bonds.

Many of the stories written about her were rather sensational.  A San Francisco Call article from March 26, 1899 indicated that she never paid taxes, lived in cheap lodgings, and believed so strongly that there was a conspiracy of lawyers who were out to get her, that she hired a bodyguard and began carrying a pistol. The article went on to say that she and her husband had stopped living together because she didn’t respect him after he lost all of his money and hinted that her son lost his leg because she wouldn’t pay the money to fix it properly. [5]

Most articles written about Mrs. Hetty Green mention the numerous lawsuits over family wills and other issues in which she was embroiled for most of her life. A 1910 article in the Salt Lake Herald Republican detailed how Hetty supposedly tried to break her aunt’s will with a forged one because she wanted all of her aunt’s estate (she lost the case).  Another article titled “Mister Hetty Green” said her husband was on an allowance. 

Richest Woman, Mrs. Green, Dies. El Paso Herald., July 03, 1916, p5.

Hetty died in July 1916 in New York City.  According to her obituary in the New York Times on July 4th, her estate was estimated to be about $100,000,000.  When the text of her will was printed in the July 23, 1916 New York Times, the mystery of how much she was worth continued -  her will did not stipulate an inventory of the estate which would have determined the exact amount of her final estate. [6]

As to the origin of the Witch of Wall Street nickname, in the Witch of Wall Street by Boyden Sparkes and Samuel Taylor Moore, the authors had this to say:

“When, however, Mrs. Green next appeared in New York she was wearing her mourning and for years thereafter she was never seen on the street except with a heavy swathing of black veil.  It was this garment, perhaps, as much as anything that caused her to be spoken of as the Witch of Wall Street.” [7]

If you want to read more on this interesting woman, there are several books that may be of interest:

• Hetty : The Genius and Madness of America’s First Female Tycoon
• Hetty Green, A Woman Who Loved Money
• Witch of Wall Street
• The Richest Woman in America : The Life and Times of Hetty Green
• The Day They Shook the Plum Tree

References

1. Ford, Carol. “Hetty Green, A Character Study”, National Magazine, September, 1905.  p. 633.
2. Ford, p. 632.
3. Ford, p. 633.
4. Ford, p. 633.
5. “Hetty Green the Richest Woman in America.” San Francisco Call, March 26, 1899, p. 18.
6. “Hetty Green’s Will is Read in Court.” New York Times, July 23, 1916, p 1.
7. Sparkes, Boyden. The Witch of Wall Street, Hetty Green. (Garden City: Garden City Publishing, 1936) p. 265