Daguerreotypes, the first commercial form of photography, appeared in America around the year 1839. These were produced by first sensitizing a polished silvered copper plate with iodine vapor, and then exposing the plate to light. The image was developed over hot mercury, fixed, and rinsed. This was a direct positive process, meaning that no negativesContinue reading “Animals in Daguerreotypes in the Early Years of Photography”
Tag Archives: event & history
Calamity Jane Mugging at Wild Bill Hickok’s Grave, 1903
A historic photo of Martha Jane Cannary, better known as Calamity Jane, mugging at the grave of James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok in Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Deadwood, South Dakota, ca. 1903.
Yesterday Today: August 6
Grady Stiles – The Murderous “Lobster Boy”
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1937, Grady Stiles Jr., aka “Lobster Boy”, was one in a long line of people in the Stiles family, dating back to 1840, who suffered from a rare and strange physical condition known as ectrodactyly. This genetic condition was one in which the fingers and toes are fused together toContinue reading “Grady Stiles – The Murderous “Lobster Boy””
The Story of the Cardiff Giant, the Greatest Hoax in American History
The Cardiff Giant was one of the most famous hoaxes in American history. It was a 10-foot-tall (3.0 m), 3,000 pound purported “petrified man” uncovered on October 16, 1869, by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. “Stub” Newell in Cardiff, New York. He covered the giant with a tent and itContinue reading “The Story of the Cardiff Giant, the Greatest Hoax in American History”
Portraits of Wild Bill Hickok, the Most Famous of All Western Gunfighters
James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837 – August 2, 1876), better known as “Wild Bill” Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement in many famous gunfights. He earned a great deal ofContinue reading “Portraits of Wild Bill Hickok, the Most Famous of All Western Gunfighters”
Here’s the Earliest Known Image of Women’s Hockey, ca. 1890
This 1890 photograph is the oldest-known picture of women playing hockey, taken at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Isobel Stanley, daughter of Lord Stanley, is seen wearing white.
Scalped in 1867 by Cheyenne in Nebraska, Here’s the Story Behind William Thompson’s Scalp
Scalping is often depicted in old-timey cowboy-and-Indian movies with lots of quavering music and dramatic pauses. But then you see the real scalp under a bell jar and it isn’t so melodramatic anymore. William Thompson’s scalp, archived at the Main Library in Omaha, Nebraska, looks more like some sort of rodent than an impactful partContinue reading “Scalped in 1867 by Cheyenne in Nebraska, Here’s the Story Behind William Thompson’s Scalp”
Portrait of Madam C.J. Walker, the First Black Woman Millionaire in America
Madam C.J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919) was an African American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records. Multiple sources mention that although other women (like Mary Ellen Pleasant) might haveContinue reading “Portrait of Madam C.J. Walker, the First Black Woman Millionaire in America”
March 31, 1889: The Eiffel Tower Is Opened
The Eiffel Tower was built to be the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. Construction was started by Gustave Eiffel’s company in January 1887 and completed in March 1889. On March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower’s designer, and attendedContinue reading “March 31, 1889: The Eiffel Tower Is Opened”
