Well, that's what it all comes down to, doesn't it? Welcome once more to The Spark, your source for a deep dig into the week's events. Let's begin, shall we? Monday: The week begins with the anniversaries of the deaths of a couple of prominent Southerners. It's hard to determine which was the more notable, though. Obviously, Elvis Presley dying in 1977 got more ink (and the good people at FTD had more orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland than for any other event or place), and his effect on pop culture is incalculable, but in 1888, John Pemberton died in Atlanta, three years after inventing Coca-Cola. Memphians will note the anniversary with Elvis Week, but we don’t think Atlantans will be celebrating Pemberton Week, so Mr. Presley may get the nod. But Elvis and Dr. Pemberton aren’t the only prominent folks who died on this date. In 1956, Bela Lugosi died. Lugosi was so identified with Count Dracula that he resented the way the role had typecast him, so it was odd that he chose to be buried in the Dracula cape he had worn on stage and screen. In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died. Had he lived another six years, he might have made the cover of "Sports Illustrated," the first issue of which hit the newsstands in 1954. In birthdays today, we note two creators and an icon (of sorts). In 1884, Hugo Gernsback was born. Gernsback is all but unknown today, but in the 1920s, he nurtured not only the genre of science fiction (which he called "scientifiction"), but also created what has come to be known as fandom by printing names and addresses of readers in his science fiction magazines. (Coincidentally, the World Science Fiction Convention opens tomorrow in Reno, NV.) 1892, Otto Messmer was born. Messmer was an artist and animator who may or may not have created Felix the Cat, who, until the advent of Mickey Mouse in the late 1920s, was the biggest animated star in movies. The icon is Fess Parker, who was born in 1924. In the 1950s, he played frontiersman and Congressman Davy Crockett (whose own birth in 1786 we note tomorrow) on television, causing a mania for coonskin caps. In the 60s, he played frontiersman and legislator Daniel Boone. In the oddity file, we see that Chang and Eng Bunker, the original "Siamese Twins," arrived in Boston in 1829. Though they were joined at the sternum, the Bunkers married sisters and fathered 21 children between them. We needn't dwell on the details. And it's the 90th birthday of bohemian writer Charles Bukowski, who managed to turn a life of dissipation and alcohol into poetry. Tuesday: Last week, we mentioned that "The Wizard of Oz" had had its world premiere in Oconomowoc, WI. Well, on August 17, 1939, it finally reached New York, opening at the Capitol Theatre on Broadway. Speaking of things reaching the Big Apple, it was on this day in 1790, that the U.S. capital moved from New York to Philadelphia (the government would open shop in Washington DC in 1800.) Speaking of things leaving New York, Robert Fulton's steamboat, The Clermont, left New York for Albany in 1807. (That route later became notorious in the early 20th century, as philandering husbands and wives used it to follow through on trysts. "Taking the night boat to Albany" became shorthand for having an affair.) And speaking of illicit affairs, how could we forget that, on this day in 1893, Mae West was born? West was an actor an playwright who traded in the power of sex to scandalize, so much so that a number of her plays were shut down for their scandalous plots and she herself was arrested more than once. Some musical events of note today. In 1954, Billy Murray died. Murray is all but unknown today, but he was a staggeringly popular recording artist in the first quarter of the 20th century, becoming the first person to sell a million records. In 1959, Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue" was released. It marked a new type of cool jazz that hadn't been widely heard before, and Miles struck gold, with the album being generally considered to the best-selling jazz album of all time. Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson will release an album of his arrangements of songs by George Gershwin today. It’s also the 27th anniversary of the death of George’s brother Ira, though we don't know if the though of Wilson messing with the Gershwin songbook is what killed him. Wednesday: Today is a day for all types of women's events. In 1587, Virginia Dare became the first child of European parents to be born on American soil. She was born in the Roanoake colony in North Carolina, an outpost from which every resident mysteriously vanished soon after. In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, guaranteeing women the right to vote. And today, the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders will release a swimsuit calendar. Whether this is a step forward or backward, we leave to you, dear reader. In three completely unrelated events, we note than, in 1227, Genghis Khan, who created the largest empire the world has ever known, died; that today is International Homeless Animals Day; and that an expedition to create the first 3D map of the wreckage site of RMS Titanic will begin. Thursday: Not a good day for witches or those suspected of being witches. In 1612, three women from the Lancashire village of Samlesbury, England, were put on trial, for allegedly practicing witchcraft, and eighty years later, in 1692 in Salem, MA, one woman and four men ere executed after being convicted of witchcraft. Following the death of Elvis earlier in the week, the death of Groucho Marx in 1977 didn't cause much of a ripple, but to fans of classic comedy, it was a bigger event. Thanks to the efforts of birthday boy Philo T. Farnsworth (1906), who invented the television, news travels faster than ever -- or certainly faster than it did in 1848, when the news of the California Gold Rush finally reached the New York Herald, a mere seven months after gold had been discovered. Had airplanes been around in those days (and today is National Aviation Day, to commemorate the 1871 birth of Orville Wright), the east coast might have gotten the word sooner, though. Friday: Speaking of getting the word late, it was on this day in 1866 that President Andrew Johnson formally declared the Civil War over, a mere 16 months after the surrender at Appomattox. (We might also mention in this context that in 1858, Charles Darwin first published his theory of evolution in "The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London," alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory, though there are still some folks who either haven’t gotten that news, or who choose to ignore it.) In musical anniversaries, in 1882 Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" debuted in Moscow and in 1885, Gilbert and Sullivan’s "The Mikado," opened in New York. Some sports stuff today, too. It's the 90th birthday of the National Football League, founded in Canton, OH, as well as the being the openings of the World Series of both mahjong and Little League baseball. A less happy reminder of football also occurs today, when "The Tillman Story" opens; it's a documentary investigating the life and the cover-up of the death of NFL star and Army Ranger Pat Tillman. On a (much) lighter note, a "Twilight" convention opens today in Parsippany, NJ. Why Parsippany, we have no idea. Saturday: In 1878, the American Bar Association was founded. We'd make a joke here, but we don't want to get sued. Speaking of theft, it was on this day in 1911 that the Mona Lisa was stolen by an employee of the Louvre Museum (There must be something about art thefts this weekend. Sunday is the sixth anniversary of the thefts of two paintings by Edvard Munch from the Munch Museum in Oslo.) And speaking of exaggeration, it's Wilt Chamberlain’s birthday. Wilt was born in 1936, and while he was one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, he also claimed to be one of the most prolific scorers off the court, boasting in his autobiography that he had slept with over 20,000 women (nearly as many as his 31,419 career points). In other birthdays today, piano legend Count Basie, who lead the swingingest big band ever, was born in 1904; Oscar-winning animation director Friz Freleng was born in 1906; Christopher Robin Milne, who inspired (and resented) the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, was born in 1920; and in 1938, country singer Kenny Rogers was born. We're not quite sure when his face was born, however. And on this day in 1959, Hawaii became a state -- just in time to either be or not be the birthplace of Barack Obama. Sunday: In 1485, King Richard III was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field. Shakespeare's play of 100 or so years later painted him as an utter villain, but contemporary historians have rehabilitated him somewhat. Guess history will also be written by the victors. Speaking of writers, we close the week by noting that, in 1893, Dorothy Parker was born. Mrs. Parker was generally considered to be the wittiest woman in America in the 1920s and '30s, with a pen dipped in poison and a tongue to match. In her later years, she tried to renounce her fame and wit, but any woman who could say, "If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised" had something going on. Earlier, we mentioned how Hugo Gernsback more or less created science fiction fandom, and one of those early fans celebrates his 90th birthday today: Ray Bradbury. Bradbury wrote more than just science fiction, but that's what he's best known for. "If you enjoy living, it is not difficult to keep the sense of wonder," he once said. Over nearly a century, that"s a heck of a lot of wonder. See you next time! Suggested Sites... Little League World Series - a Williamsport tradition since 1947. Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders - because you really want to know what the date is. eHow: Rules for Mah-Jongg - not that we understand them. Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin - not that he needed it, but it should be interesting, regardless. Titanic Expedition Aims To Create 3D Map Of Wreck - bet they don't find the iceberg.

Directory categories: Inventors, Vampires, Big Bands, Science Fiction Authors, Music History

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"Hey, where'd everybody go?" The Marie Celeste after her crew vanished On December 4, 1872, the merchant boat Dei Gratia happened upon a ship drifting in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Everything seemed normal with this ship: its sails were still intact, the cargo hold still full of merchandise bound for the markets of Europe. The only odd thing was that all of the ship's passengers were missing. Weather in the area had been normal and there were no signs of foul play. How could an entire group of experienced seamen simply vanish into thin air? The strange disappearance of the crew of the Mary Celeste has intrigued historians, mystery-lovers, and conspiracy theorists for over a hundred years. The Mary Celeste had set sail from New York City in early November bound for Italy with over a thousand barrels of alcohol on board. The ship was manned by seven veteran sailors, their experienced captain, and the captain's wife and young daughter. But when the crew of the Dei Gratia discovered the Mary Celeste a month later in the North Atlantic between Africa and Portugal, no one remained aboard. Furthermore, the entire ship was drenched with water, its compass destroyed, and important papers, sailing tools, and the only lifeboat aboard were missing as well. But there was no evidence of violence, either natural or man-made, and the entire stock of alcohol barrels remained secure onboard. Inquiries made by both Great Britain and the U.S. initially suspected the crew of the Dei Gratia of orchestrating the Mary Celeste incident in order to obtain salvage rights to the ship. But the captains of both ships had been longtime friends and nothing of value onboard had been taken. Other suspects included North African pirates. But again, the ship's cargo was intact and pirates hadn't operated in the Atlantic in years. There was some conjecture that the Mary Celeste's owners and its captain had conspired in an insurance scam, but the financial benefits to such a scheme were minimal at best. More scientific explanations included such ocean disasters as a freak storm or an earthquake, or a rare event like a tsunami or waterspout (a tornado on the ocean). It's possible that any of these incidents could have swept the passengers overboard, or, perhaps (more likely) given them the impression that the ship was sinking. They then abandoned the ship and got into the lifeboat, which then either sank itself or drifted long enough for all aboard to succumb to illness or starvation. But no inclement weather or seismic activity were noted by other ships in the area or on land nearby. Another possible explanation stems from the Mary Celeste’s cargo: alcohol barrels. Upon docking in Italy, nine of the 1000 barrels were found to be empty. A leak of alcohol could potentially cause an explosion, panicking the crew into abandoning ship. All of these explanations are probable, but certainly not as interesting as whispers of murder, mutiny, or piracy. And then there are the outlandish theories of alien abduction, sea monsters, ghost ships, or Bermuda Triangle-like phenomena that stem primarily from fictional works by science-fiction and fantasy writers like Arthur Conan Doyle and Dean Koontz. Personally, I like to picture the crew of the Mary Celeste docked off the coast of Atlantis, sharing drinks with Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Hoffa, Judge Crater, and D.B. Cooper. But that’s just me. Suggested Sites... The Mary Celeste: Fact not Fiction - dedicated to remembering the Mary Celeste and her passengers, as well as to investigating theories behind their disappearance. Smithsonian Channel: The Mary Celeste - watch videos from the Smithsonian that explore the strange disappearance of the Mary Celeste's passengers and possible explanations. Ghosts at Sea - learn about the Mary Celeste, the Flying Dutchman, and other "phantom ships." NUMA: The Mary Celeste - images and information about the shipwreck thought to be the Mary Celeste.

Directory categories: Phantom Ships, Sailing, Ships, U.S. Maritime History, Paranormal Phenonena

Archived under: 19th Century, American History, Boating, Disappearances, Disasters, Missing Persons, Mysteries, Paranormal, Pirates, Shipwrecks, Transportation

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(Photo by Matthew Hoelscher) Shipwreck is a word that conjures up fantastic images in our minds, whether they be comical or tragic. For most of us shipwrecks mean historical galleons carrying hordes of treasure from the new world back to the old, a notion fresh on our minds on the 25th anniversary of the raising of the Mary Rose. Lest you think that shipwrecks are only for the archaeologists and marine salvage companies, know that wreck diving has become almost a rite of passage amongst scuba divers worldwide. Thanks to all the unlucky captains out there, divers are presented with opportunities that are as rich in fish as they are in history. In fact, all around the world, states and nations are intentionally sinking old vessels to create artificial reefs. In the process they are creating both new mini-ecosystems for marine life, as well as fueling their economies by attracting intrepid divers. Having just recently missed out on the opportunity to dive a wreck in Cozumel, we'd love to hear your tales of wreck dives -- or perhaps a rousing chorus of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"? Suggested Sites... The Mary Rose - the only 16th-century warship on display. Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society - discoverers of the Atocha. Professional Shipwreck Explorers Association - unites explorers, salvors, archaeologists, and historians. War Wrecks of the Coral Seas - from war wreckage to valuable mini-ecosystems. Shipwreck Central - documenting and filming the world's shipwrecks.

Directory categories: Shipwrecks, Historical Shipwrecks, Wreck Diving, Artificial Reefs, Gilligan's Island

Archived under: Archaeology, History, Outdoors, Shipwrecks, Transportation, Treasure, Underwater

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