1912

Articles from 1912

More Titanic Verses (Collier’s Magazine, 1912)

American politician, diplomat and author Brand Whitlock (1869 – 1934) composed this pseudo-medieval verse in which the Ironic Spirit mocks man and his triumphs:

This is thy latest, greatest miracle.

The triumph of thy latest science, art and all
That skill thou’st learnt since forth the Norsemen fared
Across these waters in their cockle shells…


Whitlock is not remembered for his poetry, but rather as the outstanding U.S. Ambassador to Belgium between the years 1913 – 1922. It was there that the man’s mettle was put to the test and was not found wanting.

More Titanic Verses (Collier’s Magazine, 1912) Read More »

An Historic Telegram Addressed to General Sherman (The Nation, 1912)

The Nation reported in 1912 that a telegram of great historical importance had been put up for auction (N.B.: the Twenty-First Century equivalent of a telegram is a text message). The telegram was addressed to General William Techumseh Sherman and signed by General U.S. Grant and it clearly gives Sherman free reign to ravage the countryside as he marched.


Click here to read the chronologies of the American Civil War.


To read the story behind Lincoln’s beard, click here.

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Union General James Harrison Wilson (The Dial Magazine, 1912)

Attached is the review from a respected literary journal concerning the autobiography of Brigadier General James Harrison Wilson (1837 – 1925). Under the Old Flag Wilson is today best remembered as the U.S. Army cavalry officer who captured the Confederate President Jefferson Davis in his flight from Richmond. Following the Civil War, where he rose rapidly in the army hierarchy and finished as brigadier general, Wilson continued to play important rolls in the U.S. military; serving during the Spanish-American War and the Boxer Rebellion

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A Child’s Interview With Dickens (The Literary Digest, 1912)

Kate Douglas Wiggin recalled her childhood train ride in the 1840’s in which she was able to have a chat with one of her favorite authors, Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870), as he traveled the United States on a reading tour.

‘Of course, I do skip some of the very dull parts once and a while; not the short dull parts but the long ones.’ He laughed heartily. ‘Now that is something that I hear very little about’ he said.

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Anticipating the Titanic Disaster (The Nation, 1912)

A couple of years prior to the sinking of Titanic the president of the International Seaman’s Union of America presented a petition before the U.S. Congress declaring that the issue of safety at sea is widely ignored on all levels. In his address he remarked:

There is not sailing today on any ocean any passenger vessel carrying the number of boats needed to take care of the passengers and crew…

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Two Parachute Pioneers (Popular Mechanics, 1912)

Attached is a well illustrated article concerning two of the earliest parachute drops: one was quite fatal while the other had a jollier ending. The first leap documented in this column was made by a fellow known only as F. Rodman Law (dates?); he jumped 345 feet from the torch of the Statue of Liberty and landed 30 feet from the water’s edge. The next day, parachute enthuiast Franz Reichelt (1879 – 1912) jumped from the first platform of the Eiffel Tower with a parachute of his own design. The Popular Mechanics correspondent reported that:

His body was a shapeless mass when the police picked it up.

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