Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in town will be partly cloudy, with a high of eighty-nine, and an even chance of afternoon thunderstorms.  Sunrise is 5:39 AM and sunset 20:23 PM, for 14h 43m 34s of daytime.  The moon is a waning gibbous with 76.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

Friday’s FW poll asked whether readers thought that unofficial national holidays (for foods, causes, etc.) were inspiring or irritating.  The results were about evenly split, at least compared to most FW polls that wind up leaning strongly one way or another.

On this day in 1911, historian Hiram Bingham makes an extraordinary discovery:

Machu Picchu (in hispanicized spelling, Spanish pronunciation … or Machu Pikchu (Quechua machu old, old person, pikchu peak; mountain or prominence with a broad base that ends in sharp peaks,^[1] “old peak”, pronunciation.. is a 15th-century Inca citadel situated on a mountain ridge 2,430 metres (7,970 ft)above sea level.^[2][3] It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machupicchu District in Peru,^[4] above the Sacred Valley, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows.

Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the “Lost City of the Incas” (a title more accurately applied to Vilcabamba), it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its three primary structures are the Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of how they originally appeared.^[5] By 1976, thirty percent of Machu Picchu had been restored^[5] and restoration continues.^[6]

Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.^[3] In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll.

On this day in 1892, Iron River experiences disaster:

1892 – Fire Destroys Iron River

On this date a major fire destroyed most of Iron River, Wisconsin. After the fire was extinguished, the town resembled a “tent city” during the rebuilding. [Source: “B” Book I, Beer Bottles, Brawls, Boards, Brothels, Bibles, Battles & Brownstone by Tony Woiak, p.18]

Dust Buddies from Ringling Computer Animation on Vimeo.

Good morning, Whitewater.

Saturday in town will be partly sunny with a high of eighty-nine, and a one-in-five chance of an afternoon thunderstorm. Sunrise is 5:38 AM and sunset 8:24 PM, for 14h 45m 31s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 85.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

Viviana Guzman, the “Flute Queen” contends that the humpback whales of Half Moon Bay like her flute playing. Perhaps they do – one came close recently, as recorded below:

Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was a British-American novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. His first short story, “Blackmailers Don’t Shoot“, was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime (an eighth, in progress at the time of his death, was completed by Robert B. Parker). All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some more than once. In the year before he died, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. He died on March 26, 1959, in La Jolla, California.^[1]

Chandler had an immense stylistic influence on American popular literature. He is considered to be a founder of the hard-boiled school of detective fiction, along with Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain and other Black Mask writers. The protagonist of his novels, Philip Marlowe, like Hammett’s Sam Spade, is considered by some to be synonymous with “private detective.” Both were played in films by Humphrey Bogart, whom many consider to be the quintessential Marlowe.

Some of Chandler’s novels are considered important literary works, and three have been considered masterpieces:Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The Little Sister (1949), and The Long Goodbye (1953). The Long Goodbye was praised in an anthology of American crime stories as “arguably the first book since Hammett’s The Glass Key, published more than twenty years earlier, to qualify as a serious and significant mainstream novel that just happened to possess elements of mystery”.^[2]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Friday in town will be mostly sunny with a high of ninety-two. Sunrise is 5:37 AM and sunset 8:25 PM, for 14h 47m 25s of daytime. The moon’s a waning gibbous with 92.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1864, the Battle of Atlanta rages:

Confederate General John Bell Hood continues to try to drive General William T. Sherman from the outskirts of Atlanta when he attacks the Yankees on Bald Hill. The attack failed, and Sherman tightened his hold on Atlanta.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis had appointed Hood commander of the Army of Tennessee just four days before the engagement at Atlanta. Davis had been frustrated with the defensive campaign of the previous commander, Joseph Johnston, so he appointed Hood to drive Sherman back North. Hood attacked Peachtree Creek on July 20, but he could not break the Federals.

Two days later, Hood tried again at Bald Hill. The Union force under Sherman consisted of three armies: James McPherson’s Army of the Tennessee, John Schofield’s Army of the Ohio, and George Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland. Thomas’ force pressed on Atlanta from the north, at Peachtree Creek, while McPherson swung to Atlanta’s eastern fringe to cut the Georgia Railroad, which ran to Decatur. Hood struck at McPherson on July 22, but several problems blunted the Confederate attack. The broken, rugged terrain made coordination difficult, and the attack, which had been planned for dawn, did not begin until after noon. Most important, and unbeknownst to Hood, McPherson extended his line east. The Confederates had assembled along a line–which they thought was behind the Union flank–but was now directly in front of fortified Federal soldiers. Hood’s men briefly breached the Union line, but could not hold the position. The day ended without a significant change in the position of the two armies.

For the second time in three days, Hood failed to break the Union hold on Atlanta. His already-outnumbered army fared poorly. He lost more than 5,000 men, while the Union suffered 3,700 casualties.

A Google a Day asks a question on art and geography: “In what European capital can you view the city’s first nude statue by Sir Richard Westmacott erected in 1822?”

Good morning, Whitewater.

Thursday in town will be partly cloudy and hot, with a high  of ninety-three.  Sunrise is 5:36 AM and sunset 8:25 PM, for 14h 49m 17s of daytime.  The moon is a waning gibbous with 97.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

The Downtown Whitewater Board meets this morning at 8 AM, and the Urban Forestry Commission’s Subcommittee on Landscaping Guidelines meets in the afternoon at 4 PM.

On this day in 1861, the Union suffers a defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run:

Just months after the start of the war at Fort Sumter, the Northern public clamored for a march against the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, which they expected to bring an early end to the rebellion. Yielding to political pressure, Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell led his unseasoned Union Army across Bull Run against the equally inexperienced Confederate Army of Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard camped near Manassas Junction. McDowell’s ambitious plan for a surprise flank attack on the Confederate left was poorly executed by his officers and men; nevertheless, the Confederates, who had been planning to attack the Union left flank, found themselves at an initial disadvantage.

Confederate reinforcements under Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad and the course of the battle quickly changed. A brigade of Virginians under the relatively unknown brigadier general from the Virginia Military Institute, Thomas J. Jackson, stood their ground and Jackson received his famous nickname, “Stonewall Jackson”. The Confederates launched a strong counterattack, and as the Union troops began withdrawing under fire, many panicked and the retreat turned into a rout. McDowell’s men frantically ran without order in the direction of Washington, D.C.

Both armies were sobered by the fierce fighting and many casualties, and realized the war was going to be much longer and bloodier than either had anticipated, and not the short conflict that had been expected. The Battle of First Bull Run highlighted many of the problems and deficiencies that were typical of the first year of the war. Units were committed piecemeal, attacks were frontal, infantry failed to protect exposed artillery, tactical intelligence was nil, and neither commander was able to employ his whole force effectively. McDowell, with 35,000 men, was only able to commit about 18,000, and the combined Confederate forces, with about 32,000 men, committed only 18,000.^[12]

On this day in 1921, Gen. Mitchell proves his point:

1921 – General Billy Mitchell Proves Theory of Air Power

On this date Milwaukee’s General William “Billy” Mitchell proved to the world that development of military air power was not outlandish. He flew his De Havilland DH-4B fighter, leading a bombing demonstration that proved a naval ship could be sunk by air bombardment. Mitchell’s ideas for developing military air power were innovative but largely ignored by those who favored development of military sea power. Mitchell zealously advocated his views and was eventually court martialed for speaking out against the United States’ organization of its forces. [Source: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Division of Archives & Special Collections]

A Google a Day asks a history question: “What abolitionist rented a house from the husband of the woman for whom Grace Park in Akron, Ohio, is named?”