Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny, with a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms, and a high of eighty.

In the city today, the Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee meets at 5 PM, and Common Council at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1881, the Red Cross comes to life:

In Washington, D.C., humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons found the American National Red Cross, an organization established to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters in congruence with the International Red Cross.

Barton, born in Massachusetts in 1821, worked with the sick and wounded during the American Civil War and became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield” for her tireless dedication. In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln commissioned her to search for lost prisoners of war, and with the extensive records she had compiled during the war she succeeded in identifying thousands of the Union dead at the Andersonville prisoner-of-war camp.

She was in Europe in 1870 when the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and she went behind the German lines to work for the International Red Cross. In 1873, she returned to the United States, and four years later she organized an American branch of the International Red Cross. The American Red Cross received its first U.S. federal charter in 1900. Barton headed the organization into her 80s and died in 1912.

On this day in 1673, intrepid explorers push on:

1673 – Marquette and Joliet Reach the Menominee
On or about May 21, 1673, Fr. Jacques Marquette, fur-trader Louis Joliet, and five French voyageurs pulled into a Menominee community near modern Marinette, Mich. Marquette wrote that when the Menominee learned that he and Joliet intended to try to descend the Mississippi River all the way to the sea, “They were greatly surprised to hear it, and did their best to dissuade me. They represented to me that I should meet nations who never show mercy to strangers, but break their heads without any cause; and that war was kindled between various peoples who dwelt upon our route, which exposed us to the further manifest danger of being killed by the bands of warriors who are ever in the field. They also said that the great river was very dangerous, when one does not know the difficult places; that it was full of horrible monsters, which devoured men and canoes together; that there was even a demon, who was heard from a great distance, who barred the way, and swallowed up all who ventured to approach him; finally that the heat was so excessive in those countries that it would inevitably cause our death.”

Read what Fr. Marquette said in reply, and follow the explorers down the Mississippi and back again on our pages devoted to Historic Diaries.

Google-a-Day asks about the inspiration behind a literary creation: “What was the middle name of the individual upon whom the fictional character Atticus Finch is based?”

Good morning.

Whitewater’s week begins with scattered showers and thunderstorms, partly sunny otherwise, with a high near 84, and south winds at 10 to 15 mph. There’s an even chance of rain.

The weather west of us has been far worse:

On 5.20.1873, a famous garment’s inventors receive a patent for their creation: “San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis are given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world’s most famous garments: blue jeans.”

On this day in 1991, a treaty dispute between the Ojibwe and Wisconsin ends:

On this day, the 17-year legal battle between Ojibwe Indians and the State of Wisconsin over 19th-century treaties involving rights to hunt, fish, and gather timber was put to rest. Dating from 1974, the suit originated after two Ojibwa were cited for spearfishing in off-reservation waters, and led to numerous racially-charged confrontations when subsequent court decisions validated Ojibwe spearfishing rights.

The court rulings split resources evenly between the Ojibwe and non-Indians, and rejected Ojibwe claims for money to compensate them for years of denial of their treaty rights. The chairmen of six Lake Superior Ojibwe bands explained the decision not to appeal as “a gesture of peace and friendship toward the people of Wisconsin,” while Wisconsin Attorney General James Doyle cited the risk of jeopardizing the state’s “many significant victories” in the battle if the state were to press forward. The history of treaty negotiations in Wisconsin, including the texts of all treaties and contemporary accounts by both Indian and white participants, are on the Treaty Councils page of Turning Points in Wisconsin History.[Source: Capital Times 5/20/1991, p.1]

Google’s looking for a name: “What is another name for the hourly time signal or GTS first broadcast by the RGO in 1924?”

Good morning.

Sunday will be partly sunny with a high of eighty-three, with southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

In the Washington area, the bug-phobic are having a hard time:

On this day in 1675, legendary explorer Jacques Marquette passes away:

1675 – Fr. Jacques Marquette Dies
Fr. Jacques Marquette (1636-1675) died on this date in 1675 near Ludington, Michigan, at the age of 39. After the famous voyage down the Mississippi that he made in 1673 with Louis Joliet, Marquette vowed to return to the Indians he’d met in Illinois. He became ill during that visit in the spring of 1675 and was en route to Canada when he passed away. His diary of the trip is online in our American Journeys collection.

From Google-a-Day, a bit of history: “What was the charge of the 1807 indictment by the man who was chosen as Vice President on February 17, 1801, by the House of Representatives after thirty-six ballots?”

Good morning.

We’ll have a partly sunny Saturday, with a high of seventy-seven, in Whitewater.

Dog’s are man’s best friend. but there are limits to their amity. Sometimes their patience runs out, and this is what that looks like –

Today in 2004, a Diamondbacks pitcher does great things at 40:

On this day in 2004, 40-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks lefthander Randy Johnson becomes the oldest pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game, leading his team to a 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. A “perfect game” is when a pitcher faces a minimum 27 batters, recording 27 outs.

On 5.18.1964, a school boycott in Milwaukee:

1964 – Milwaukee Students Participate in First School Boycott
On this date, the 10th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, students from Milwaukee schools participated in the first boycott of the city’s public schools, a critical moment in civil rights and desegregation movements in Wisconsin. Two months earlier, in March 1964, the NAACP, CORE, and other civil rights organizations formed MUSIC — the Milwaukee United School Integration Committee. Its purpose was to implement mass action to highlight the issue of educational inequality. For two years, sit-ins, picketing, prayer vigils, marches, and boycotts had raised public awareness about segregation but failed to move the school board to action. In December of 1965, Wisconsin civil rights activist and attorney Lloyd Barbee filed a formal desegregation suit in federal court on behalf of 41 black and white children, eventually decided in their favor in 1976. [Source: Rethinking Schools].

Google’s looking for info about oil in Europe: “Who drilled the first European oil wells in 1864?”