HELLO, TRAVELERS

July 2nd in history:

The first zeppelin flight in Germany happened on July 2nd, 1900.

Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were attempting to fly around the world on July 2nd, 1937, when they were heard from for the last time.

On this date in 2002, adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to complete an around-the-world, nonstop solo flight in a balloon.

Another adventurer used more than forty weather balloons filled with helium to let him fly in a lawnchair on July 2nd, 1982.  Larry Walters rose to an altitude of about 15,000 feet over southern California, and stayed aloft for several hours.  Walters became caught on a power line as his chair slowly descended, and he was famous for a brief time afterward as “Lawnchair Larry.”

Europeans first arrived in Minnesota on July 2nd, 1679, led by Daniel Greysolon Du Luht – better known as “DuLuth.”

Daniel DuLuth reached the Mississippi River from Lake Superior by way of the St. Croix River. Another European native, Englishman Tyrone Guthrie, established a theater company near the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in 1963. Guthrie was born July 2nd, 1900.

PIONEERING WOMEN

June 18th in history:

She was arrested for voting in a presidential election. A century later, she received an honor usually reserved for presidents: getting her face on a U.S. coin. Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for illegally voting. The fine was imposed on June 18th, 1873.

On this date in 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic. Earhart wasn’t the pilot, but was a passenger.

Exactly 55 years later, on June 18th, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, aboard the shuttle Challenger.

And it’s the birthday of a man known for singing about women named “Sally G,” “Michelle,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and “Lady Madonna.”  Sir Paul McCartney was born on June 18th, 1942.

LADIES FIRST

January 5th in history:

George and Martha Washington never lived in the White House, but they were married at the “White House” in January of 1759.  This White House was Martha’s plantation in Virginia.  Sources disagree on what day the Washington wedding took place.  Some say it was January 5th.  Others say it was on the 6th, or the 17th.  Martha became the first “First Lady” of the United States 30 years later.

Jane Wyman also married a future U.S. President, Ronald Reagan, but wasn’t married to him long enough to be a First Lady. When Reagan was president, Wyman was starring on TV in “Falcon Crest.”  Her movie career included a Best Actress Oscar for the movie Johnny Belinda.  Wyman was born January 5th, 1917.

Another Oscar winner born on this day is Diane Keaton (1946), the first of many ladies to earn an Academy Award for acting in a Woody Allen film (Annie Hall).  Keaton’s credits include Reds and the Godfather movies.  She also starred in a TV movie as Amelia Earhart, the first lady to fly solo across the Atlantic.  Earhart was declared dead on this date in 1939, more than a year after she disappeared while trying to fly around the world.

And Nellie Tayloe Ross became America’s first “lady governor” when she was sworn in as governor of Wyoming on January 5th, 1925.  Nellie had won a special election to succeed her husband, William Ross, who had died after an appendectomy.