Johann Strauss II (#61)

Background

Johann Baptist Strauss II was born on October 25, 1825 outside the city of Vienna. His father, Johann Strauss I, was a famous musician, but Johann Strauss Sr. did not want his son to be a musician, but a banker. Against his father's wishes, Strauss Jr. learned how to play violin from the first violinist of his father's orchestra. When his father found out, Strauss Jr. was beaten. It was not until his father abandoned his family for a mistress that Strauss Jr. was able to concentrate on his career as a composer. 

Musical Career

Strauss studied music theory under Joachim Hoffmann and continued to learn violin under Anton Kollmann. With this education, Strauss was able to gain a Viennese license to perform. Strauss's debut was made at Dommayer's Casino in October of 1844, where critics unanimously praised Strauss's original pieces. When Strauss began accepting commissions, he earned much fame and was given the musical position of Kapellmeister of the 2nd Vienna Citizen's Regiment.

As Strauss's career grew, the competition between himself and his father grew larger as well. When bourgeois revolution broke out in 1848, Strauss Jr. sided with the revolutionaries. Because of this, the musical title of KK Hofballmusikdirektor was given to Strauss Sr. rather than Strauss Jr. Johann Strauss the Younger was also arrested during he revolution for playing revolutionary music, but he was later acquited.

When his father died of scarlet fever in 1849, Strauss merged their orchestras and engaged in further touring. To regain the trust of the royalty in Vienna after his siding with revolutionaries, Strauss wrote many patriotic songs dedicated to the new Habsburg Emperor Franz Josef I. 

After recovering from a nervous breakdown in 1853, Strauss's career grew once more. Strauss began to perform in St. Petersburg in Russia in 1855 and performed their each year for ten years. Also, the KK Hofballmusikdirektor position, the musical position he had had applied for several times, was finally given to Strauss in 1863. In the 1870s, Strauss traveled to the United States, where his shows were widely popular.

The End

Strauss died in 1899 from pleural pneumonia in 1899 at the age of 73. Today, Strauss has become most famous for his piece, the "Blue Danube" waltz. Strauss is on our list for writing such a memorable piece, but also for being such a centerpiece in the music scene. Strauss inspired many composers, including Richard Wagner. Strauss was also good friends with the composer Johannes Brahms. During Strauss's lifetime, it was customary for composers to sign women's fans with their name and a section of a piece of music they wrote. When Brahms signed the fan of Strauss's wife, he inscribe a few measures from Strauss's music and wrote "Unfortunately, not by Johannes Brahms."

Jack the Ripper (#62, August 31st)

Background

In the mid-1800s, many immigrants were flooding into London, mainly into London's East End. Irish immigrants were coming from the West, and Jewish Immigrants were coming from the East. The sudden jump in population led to worsening of conditions in London. On April 3rd, 1888, the first of eleven "Whitechapel Murders" took place in London's East End.

Murders

During the investigation process of these eleven murders, at least five are assumed to have been committed by the same person, who became known as Jack the Ripper. On August 31st, 1888, the body of Mary Ann Nichols was found, with her throat cut and her abdomen ripped open. From that date to November 9th, 1888, there were four more murders, each similar to the one described above. Each murder victim was a poor women, and each body was mutilated, some even having organs missing. 

As the police investigated the Whitechapel murders, it was assumed that the Ripper was a man who lived in London and worked during the week. This was assumed because the Ripper struck around a certain area of town each time, yet only struck during the weekend. The police first investigated surgeons, butchers, other workers who handled knives, believing that people of these occupations were more likely to kill victims by cutting them with knives. Unfortunately, all the main suspects had alibis that checked out.

There were hundreds of letters sent to the police and the newspapers whose authors claimed to be Jack the Ripper. In the letter known as the "Dear Boss" letter, the author became the first to use the name Jack the Ripper, which became a world famous name. In another letter, known as the "From Hell" letter, the author sent half a kidney, which the author claimed was the kidney of Catherine Eddowes, who had had her kidney stolen during her murder by the Ripper. The author also claimed that he had cooked and eaten the other half of the kidney. Though most letters were immediately thrown out as hoaxes, the "From Hell" letter was kept, though it was never discovered whether the kidney was indeed Eddowes's.

As the murder investigation progressed, the media caught onto the story. Tax reforms had made printing newspapers much cheaper than before, and Jack the Ripper's story was one of the first to be widely distributed throughout the city and the country. 

The End

The true identity of Jack the Ripper was never discovered, though policemen investigated the murders until 1931. Jack the Ripper became a legend, a fairy tale to scare children into being good. The Ripper's appearance also helped to bring media attention to the poor living conditions of London's East End. Jack the Ripper is on our list for being one of the few people who remain famous (or infamous) without actually having a face to put with their name.

Battle of San Juan del Monte (August 30th)

On July 7th, 1892, Jose Rizal, a Filipino writer who critiqued Spanish government, was banished from the Philippines. Because of this, Filipino patriots, led by Andres Bonifacio, founded the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan. In English, this means The Highest and Most Honorable Society of the Children of the Nation. This Katipunan was a secret revolutionary organization that stayed secret until 1896.

In 1896, the Katipunan sent a delegation to the Emperor of Japan in order to solicit funds and weapons. When one member of the Katipunan, Teodoro Patino, went to the Spanish authorities, the existence of the Katipunan was realized. On August 26th, 1896, the members of the Katipunan tore up their identification cards and began the Philippine Revolution.

On the night of the 29th of August, 1896, Bonifacio led his men to El Polvorin, a Spanish powder magazine in San Juan del Monte. At 4:00am on August 30th, 1896, after two unsuccessful attempts at taking the powder magazine, Bonifacio made his surprise attack on the Spanish soldiers stationed at El Polvorin. Though the Spanish soldiers had rifles and the Filipinos only had bolo knives, a few guns, and bamboo spears, Bonifacio was able to take El Polvorin. The Spanish retreated, but regrouped, and with reinforcements, the Spanish were able to recapture the powder magazine, capturing 200 Filipino patriots and killing another150. Banifacio and his remaining men were forced to retreat.

On August 30th, 1896, Governor-General Ramon Blanco y Erenas declared the eight provinces of Manila under martial law. The Philippine Revolution continued until 1899, and though the Philippines was close to independence, the victory was short-lived, for that same year, Spain signed the Philippines over to America in the Treaty of Paris. Both Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio were executed by the Spanish Government.

British Hong Kong (August 29th)

In 1836, the China was the center of the opium trade, but the Chinese government wanted the trade to be stopped. Lin Zexu was given the task in 1839 of suppressing opium. He went to the British and ordered them to surrender the opium trade. All the British soldiers and merchants, including the Superintendent of Trade, Charles Elliot, were confined to the Canton Factories and cut off their supplies. Elliot complied to the demands of the Chinese in order to secure passage back to England for himself and his men.

All 20,283 chests of British opium were handed over to Zexu, who had all of it burned publicly. The British Cabinet demanded that the Chinese pay for the destruction of British property. The British stressed the fact that they cared not for China's opium policies, but did care about the way the situation was handled. In 1840, when China refused to pay, Charles Elliot and his cousin, Rear Admiral George Elliot, blockaded key ports along the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. This fighting led to the First Opium War.

In 1841, Elliot negotiated with Emperor Qishan at the Convention of Chuenpee. In the treaty that was arranged, peace would be made, but the Emperor would give Hong Kong to the British Empire. The flag was first raised in January of 1842, and on August 29th, 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was officially ratified and the island of Hong Kong was ceded to Britain, and it stayed in British hands for 100 years.

"I Have a Dream" (August 28th)

Martin Luther King Jr. found himself in the middle in the center of what would become known as the American Civil Rights Movement. King was one of the leaders of the African American civil disobedience protests. In these protests, African Americans would disobey laws while not violently protesting. This disobedience included going into whites-only restaurants, refusing to give up seats for white people on buses, and protesting discriminatory businesses altogether.

Martin Luther King also helped organize marches to bring awareness to the cause. The largest march that King helped organized was the March on Washington, in which over 200,000 people, both black and white, marched to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to rally support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech to the hundreds of thousands of people who showed up to the March on Washington. Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, King spoke the immortal words "I have a dream." The speech, which became known as the "I Have A Dream" speech, showed King's hope of a world with full equality for all men. That speech became one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century, and that moment came to represent the entire Civil Rights Movement.

The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act both passed, and King became the TIME magazine Person of the Year. In 1964, King became the youngest person ever to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Krakatoa (August 27th)

Krakatoa is an Indonesian island that is the result of three volcanoes: Rakata, Danan, and Perbowatan. These three volcanoes had been active for hundreds of years, but the eruption in 1883 would be what made these volcanoes the most famous in the world.

By 1883, the area surrounding Krakatoa had been having seismic activity around the volcanoes for several years, some were so strong, they were felt as far off as Australia. In May of that year, steam began regularly venting from Perbowatan, and small eruptions of ash reached altitudes of 20,000 ft.  By the end of May, all activity had died down, but the volcanoes began erupting again around June 16th, covering the island in a black cloud. The eruptions reached their highest level of intensity on August 25th, and by the 26th, it was evident that a greater eruption was yet to come.

On August 27th, 1883, four explosions occurred on the small island of Krakatoa. At 5:30am, Perboewatan volcano erupted, creating tsunamis going North. At 6:44am, Danan volcano exploded, sending tsunamis both East and West. At 10:02am, the largest explosion took place, and was heard 3,110 km south in Perth, Australia and 4,800km west in Mauritius, where the sound was mistaken for distant cannon fire. The energy released in this explosion alone was said to be equal to 200 megatons of TNT, or four times the energy created by the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful thermonuclear weapon ever detonated.

 At 10:41am, a landslide on Rakata volcano caused the fourth and final eruption. The pressure created by the last explosion radiated out from the volcano at 1,086 km/h (675mph). The blast was so powerful, it blew out the eardrums of sailors in ships nearby. The pressure also caused a 2 and a half inch spike of mercury in pressure gauges in Batavia, and records from barographs around the world continued to pick up the volcano's shock-wave for the next five days. From these records, it has been concluded that the last eruption's shock-wave reverberated around the world seven times in total.

Hot ash from the volcano fell in Ketimbang in Sumatra later on the 27th, and approximately 1,000 people died. On the nearby island of Sebesi, only 13km off from the volcano, 3,000 were killed. Many settlements in the area were destroyed by the 30m tall tsunami. Smaller waves caused by the volcano were recorded as far away as the English Channel.

The volcanic ashed forced into the atmosphere by the eruption lowered the earth's temperature by 1.2 degrees Celsius, and it took five years for the temperature to return to normal. This ash also caused the sky to redden around the world. In New York, it was said that the sky was so red, many believed that there was a fire. In other areas, a Bishop's ring, or halo, formed around the sun.

The Nineteenth Amendment (August 26th)

In 1789, when the United States Constitution was adopted, only white males were allowed to vote for representatives. The 15th amendment was passed in 1869, giving men of all races the right to vote. The next group to rise up for their right to vote was the women.

Though many smaller organizations existed before this point, the beginning of the Women's Suffrage Movement is traditionally said to be the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in New York.  The movement had grown, but during the Civil War, the Women's Rights movement faded into the background while the nation turned its head to a more pressing issue, slavery. When the reconstruction amendments were passed, granting 'universal suffrage', women pushed to be included, but were denied.

As Americans moved West, though, the Women's Suffrage Movement gained ground. Women's suffrage was soon established in the Wyoming Territory, Utah, and the Washington Territory. The 19th amendment was originally created by Susan B. Anthony with the help of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who gave the bill to California Senator Aaron A. Sargent. The bill was first introduced to congress in 1878. The first vote taken on the amendment was taken in 1887, when it failed with a 16 to 34 vote. For the next three decades, the amendment was voted on several times, yet failed each time. In a 1919 vote, the amendment failed by only one vote. The bill was brought back to vote on May 19th, 1919, where it passed with 42 more votes than necessary.

The amendment was then sent to the states to be ratified. Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan were the first states to ratify the amendment, doing so on June 10th, 1919. Over the next year, the other states began to ratify the amendment. On August 18th, 1920, Tennessee was the 36th of 48 states to ratify the amendment, giving the amendment the two-thirds majority it needed to become part of the U.S. Constitution. On August 26th, 2013, the Secretary of State proclaimed the 19th Amendment of the United States, giving women the right to vote in America.