There is always much to learn from quotes and their historical significance. Read on for a collection of quotes and general history from May 30th – June 1st.
May 30, 1868
“The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.”
– Jeff Miller
The first official Memorial Day was observed on May 30, 1868. The day honors the military personnel who have died in service to our country and is also considered the unofficial start of summer. Originally called “Decoration Day”, the holiday was always celebrated on May 30th until the Uniform Monday Holiday Act moved it to the last Monday in May starting in 1971.
May 31, 1889
“It was David McCullough’s ‘The Johnstown Flood’ that lit my imagination as to how I might one day go about writing book-length nonfiction, though my favorite of his books is ‘Mornings on Horseback,’ about the young Teddy Roosevelt.”
– Erik Larson
On May 31, 1889, the Johnstown Flood occurred in Pennsylvania after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam. The dam’s failure released nearly 4 billion gallons of water, quickly flooding the downstream towns with a volumetric flow rate equaling the Mississippi River. The disaster killed 2,208 people, making it the largest loss of civilian life in the United States at the time. Although it’s since been shown that the modifications made to the dam by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club severely reduced the ability of the dam to withstand major storms, the courts did not hold them at fault and no damages were ever paid. Public outcry at this perceived legal failing prompted American law to move from a fault-based regime to one of strict liability.
June 1, 1957
“It was a target. University athletes had been trying for years and it just didn’t seem to be capable of being broken. There was a magic about four symmetrical laps of one minute each. It was just something that caught the public’s imagination.”
– Roger Bannister on the 4-minute mile
Don Bowden became the first American to run a sub-4-minute mile (3:58.7) on June 1, 1957! His achievement came just over 3 years after Britain’s Roger Bannister first broke the “four-minute barrier” on May 6, 1954. Bowden went on to help develop the Tartan track, the first artificial running surface to provide a consistent surface even in adverse weather conditions. Incredibly, the mile record has since been lowered by almost 17 seconds and stands at 3:43.13 by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco. Despite this, only about 1,500 people have ever broken 4 minutes, less than half the number of those who’ve climbed Mount Everest.
We did it! It may have taken two years, but we’ve now been through a quote and event for every day of the year! I hope you’ve enjoyed this week in quotes series and want to thank everyone who’s read along and supported it. Thank you!
For the rest of this week, check out the very first week in quotes article: History June 2nd – 8th.
In case you missed last week’s quotes, see History May 23rd – 29th.
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