11.
In the 17th and 18th century, boys usually 6 years old were purchased from their poverty stricken parents by a master sweep in England. These boys would become chimney sweeps. Children would climb up chimneys using their elbows, back, and knees. Unfortunately, some children would get stuck and never get out. Since kids were put in unnatural positions, their growth was stunted and they would suffer from lung problems, soreness, and Chimney Sweep Cancer. In 1864, Parliament passed the “Act for the Regulation of Chimney Sweepers” which ended the use of young boys to clean chimneys.
12.
In 1887, Hellen Keller meets her teacher, Anne Sullivan. When Keller was 19 months old she lost her sight and hearing. Sullivan taught Keller techniques that led Keller to become a college graduate, lecturer, and activist. For this accomplishment, Sullivan became known as “the miracle worker.”
13.
In 1993, Andre the Giant dies. Andre was a professional wrestler who was 7 ft. and 4 in. tall and weighed 520 pounds. Andre’s massive size was due to a brain tumor that produced large amounts of a human growth hormone. The giant had a high alcohol tolerance, as he was able to drink 108 12 oz beers in one sitting. With the mixture of his tumor and unhealthy lifestyle, Andre died due to heart failure at 46 years old.
14.
In 1979, sixteen year old Brenda Spencer shoots at a elementary school from her home. Spencer killed 2 men and wounded 9 kids, as she lived across the street from the school. The rifle that Spencer used was gifted to her for Christmas by her father. When asked why she committed the act, Spencer said “I just don’t like Mondays. I did this because it’s a way to cheer up the day. Nobody likes Mondays.” As of result, Spencer is currently serving two 25 year sentences.
15.
In 1895, German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen becomes the first person to observe X-rays. This finding occurred accidentally as he was testing to see if cathode rays could pass through glass. He noticed a glow from a nearby chemically coated screen and labeled this an X-ray because of its unknown nature. Rontgen then learned that the X-ray can penetrate human skin but not higher density parts like a bone and can be photographed. This was a major finding in the medical world as doctors no longer needed to open a body to see inside the human body.
16.
On this day in 1972, the deadliest snow storm in history begins. The 7 day snow storm dropped 10 to 28 ft of snow on Iran. The snow buried thousands of people and two villages had no survivors. By the end of the storm, 200 villages were wiped off of the map and 4,000 people died.
17.
In 1921, the Tulsa Race Massacre begins. One of America’s worst and least known incidents of racial violence. On May 30th, an African American man, Dick Rowland was riding in an elevator with a white woman. It is unclear as to what happened in the elevator, but it believed that the woman screamed and Rowland fled the scene. The police arrested Rowland the following day and began an investigation. The next day, a newspaper reported that Rowland would be lynched. This began a 2 day riot where the outnumbered African Americans had their businesses and homes burned in Greenwood, one of the few up and coming African American cities at the time. As of result, it is now believed that around 300 African Americans have died while 10 white people have died. Roughly 9,000 African Americans were left homeless and thousands were arrested.
18.
In 1926, famous magician and escape artist Harry Houdini dies from a poisoned appendix. Interestingly, two weeks prior to his death Houdini was giving a lecture and commented on how he has the ability to withstand blows. Moments after making the comment a student punched Houdini twice in the stomach. However, Houdini had no time to prepare. These blows ruptured Houdini’s appendix and the bacteria eventually poisoned his system. “Never try to fool children, they expect nothing, and therefore see everything…”-Harry Houdini
19.
In June 1871, 8’1 Anna Haining Swan and 7’9 Martin van Buren Bates became the tallest married couple ever. The two fell in love when they met each other as employees of a circus. After moving in to a custom made house, the two were unfortunately unable to have a healthy baby as their first child died in a few hours and their second child that weighed 23 pounds survived for 11 hours. Their second child has the record for being the heaviest baby. When Anna died in 1888, Martin ordered a statute of her from Europe.
20.
In 1942, news of Holocaust death camp killings becomes public for the first time. The news broke out almost 7 months after the extermination of Jews began. The genocide began in Chelmno, a death camp in Poland that used gas vans as the main source to achieve their goals. This was used because it was silent and invisible. The gas vans would end up killing 360,000 Jews.
