Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan in 1853..... A first person narrative from the journey printed in Harper's Monthly in 1855 (complete)

This voyage opened the shores of Japan to the United States. It opened a relationship between the two countries. However the Japanese were not well understood by the Americans. This was the one of the first narratives dealing with the complete visit. This was written in 1855, when this was still looked at as a major event. So once again read history when it was news.

Mario Lanza The 50th anniversary of his death.. October 7, 1959

Mario Lanza January 31, 1921 - October 7, 1959

His was a great voice, image and career. He died so young at only 38 years of age. His life was also one of excess in eating, drinking and sadly loosing control. His weight would go from one massive extreme to another. His life was just too much for his heart. He died of a heart attack on this day 50 years ago.

One wishes he could have lived and entertained and enriched many lives. One also wishes he could have lived to enjoy his children and his wife. His wife was also one of excess. She took pills of every kind and was dead a year after her husband. It was sad for the children as they lost not only their father, but also their mother and raised by their grandparents .

When I was a boy I first heard Mario Lanza. In fact I heard the voice of Lanza before I had ever heard Caruso. I remember it well, it was in 1971. I got a 78 record of "The loveliest night of the year" on a RCA Victor Red Seal.

I played it a lot I will admit. It was Lanza who brought me to my appreciation of opera and of course Enrico Caruso. His life was full of happiness and tragedy.

On this 50th anniversary I honor his memory.

When he was before the public he looked healthy.
By the time of his death he was heavy and looking so unlike what he was to the public.
Rest in peace Alfred Cocozza. You were great singer and maybe becoming Mario Lanza made life just a little too hard.

President Grant's letter to his doctor July 2, 1885... Twenty days before he died.

President Grant died on July 23, 1885 after a long battle with cancer. This letter and drawing was published in the Century Magazine ...November 1885. Here is the article as written in the magazine in 1885

A picture history of the General Slocum disaster of June 15, 1904

The great Slocum disaster of 1904 was the worst disaster in New York History till September 11, 2001. I have an article in this blog already about the disaster. But I just found more pictures on a story of the disaster in Munsey's Magazine of December 1904. I thought since most people will not have a copy of the December 1904 issue of Munsey's, I would provide you with the pictures in that article. I also added a few more of the vessel and the funeral and lastly the monument to those lost that day in 1904.

It is a disaster that few truly remember. One of the reasons is, it was filled with rather poor German immigrants. Had high society been on the Slocum there would have been memorials all over and court cases trying to find why such an event happened. There was a court case on this, but it really did not effect much.

There were investigations on why life preservers that were useless were marked by safely inspectors from New York City as safe? The lifeboats were wired to the deck? The fire system did not work. One can see that the inspectors of New York City never looked at the ship and were given bribes most probably.

But look at these graphic pictures and wonder with a shore close on each side of the ship....why didn't the captain stop on one of them? Why did over one thousand people have to perish needlessly. It was a disaster that never needed to happen. The captions on the bottom of each picture tells it all.....The General Slocum. The ship was a disaster waiting to happen.






The life preservers were filled with cork dust. In this case the items that were designed to save lives soaked up water and became deadly pieces of waterlogged material





This is a funeral of the unknown bodies from the disaster.


This fountain in Tompkins Square Park was dedicated in 1906 to the memory of all those who were lost in the great disaster. Today few people even know of its existence. However every year on the anniversary of the disaster a small memorial takes place.

Now what of the hulk of the General Slocum and the Knickerbocker Steamship Company that owned it? The General Slocum was rebuilt into a barge and made more money for the company. The Knickerbocker Steamship Company paid little fines, it was all quickly forgotten. That barge sailed till 1911, when it thankfully sank.

Richard Mansfield 1857-1907... One of the great actors of his time.

Richard Mansfield was a man of many talents. He was a very good artist as well as performer. He was a good singer and actor as well. He was also quite a prima donna when it came to dealing with his managers. It is interesting that Daniel Frohman was to have produced one of his performances and wrote many years later that he (Mansfield) came with so many conditions that he just dropped him.
He was famous for many performances. He was well known in this play "Peer Gynt". In fact this playbill was from one of his later performances in October of 1906. he was performing till early 1907.

In fact his stellar performances in the play "The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Hyde" in 1888 caused him some serious trouble. He was performing the play in England and of course in the play he went from being the mild mannered Jekyll, to the mad, wild, and beastly Hyde.

It was at this time in London that "Jack the Ripper" was doing his various murders. It was suggested that Mansfield may very well be the "ripper" as anyone who could be such a beast on stage must be somewhat of a madman anyway!

Mansfield became the first suspect in that infamous case. Yes he was a great actor, but not a murderer. But it was a testament to his great acting that he was even thought of at all as the killer. There was a lot of speculation on him none the less and he had to do some other roles to gain a better favor with the public.
This biography of Mansfield was done by Paul Wilstach in 1908. It covers much of Mansfield's life. But a little over dramatically though!
These are some press clippings from the time of his death in 1907