Good morning.
It’s a cloudy Thursday ahead, with a high of about twenty-five. There’s a good chance of snow later this evening. Today brings 10h 51m of sunlight, and 11h 47m of daylight, with a waxing gibbous moon (there somewhere, behind the clouds).
Common Council meets tonight at 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1885, a dedication of a world-famous monument:
The Washington Monument, built in honor of America’s revolutionary hero and first president, is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
The 555-foot-high marble obelisk was first proposed in 1783, and Pierre L’Enfant left room for it in his designs for the new U.S. capital. After George Washington‘s death in 1799, plans for a memorial for the “father of the country” were discussed, but none were adopted until 1832–the centennial of Washington’s birth. Architect Robert Mills’ hollow Egyptian obelisk design was accepted for the monument, and on July 4, 1848, the cornerstone was laid. Work on the project was interrupted by political quarreling in the 1850s, and construction ceased entirely during theAmerican Civil War. Finally, in 1876, Congress, inspired by the American centennial, passed legislation appropriating $200,000 for completion of the monument.
In February 1885, the Washington Monument was formally dedicated, and three years later it was opened to the public, who were permitted to climb to the top of the monument by stairs or elevator. The monument was the tallest structure in the world when completed and remains today, by District of Columbia law, the tallest building in the nation’s capital.
In our state’s history, in on 2.21.1918, a sound rejection of efforts to stifle political dissent:
1918 – Denunciation of LaFollette rejected by Assembly
On this day, a move to denounce Sen. Robert LaFollette and the nine Wisconsin congressmen who refused to support World War I failed in the State Assembly, by a vote of 76-15. Calling LaFollette “disloyal,” the amendment’s originator, Democrat John F. Donnelly, insisted that LaFollette’s position did not reflect “the sentiment of the people of Wisconsin. We should not lack the courage to condemn his actions.” Reflecting the majority opinion, Assemblyman Charles F. Hart retorted that “The Wisconsin State Legislature went on record by passing a resolution telling the President that the people of this state did not want war. Now we are condemning them for doing that which we asked them to do.” [Source: Capital Times 2/21/1918, p.1]
Google-a-Day asks a question of geography (and local folklore): “Which landmark pictured on Segovia’s coat of arms is believed by local legend to have been built by the devil?”