Good morning.

Snow today, with additional accumulations of one to two inches, and a high of thirty-five.

On this day in 1991, Pres. Bush suspends combat operations against Iraq, declaring that “Kuwait is liberated, Iraq’s army is defeated.”

On 2.27.1904, a fire in Madison:

1904 – Second State Capitol Burns

On this date fire destroyed the second State Capitol building in Madison. On the evening of the 26th, the generator was turned off for the night. The only lights visible were two gas jets serving the night watchman. At approximately 2 a.m., night watchman Nat Crampton smelled smoke and followed the odor to a recently varnished ceiling, already in flames. A second watchman arrived to assist, but there was no water pressure with which to operate a hose. The fire department encountered a similar situation upon arrival. Governor Robert M. La Follette telegraphed fire departments in Janesville and Milwaukee for assistance. La Follette was at the capitol, directing efforts to douse the fire and entering the burning building to retrieve valuable papers. The fire was completly extinguished by 10 p.m. the next day. Losses were estimated to be close to $1 million.

Google-a-Day serves a tennis question: “The longest tennis match in history was played over three days and included how many strokes by the American born player?”

Good morning.

Tuesday will be a snowy day, with a high of thirty-six, and a few inches of total accumulation.

Whitewater’s Tourism Council meets today at 9 AM, and her Urban Forestry Commission at 4:30 PM.

On this day in 1993, a bomb explodes at the World Trade Center, killing six, and wounding many others:

An explosion apparently caused by a car bomb in an underground garage shook the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan with the force of a small earthquake shortly after noon yesterday, collapsing walls and floors, igniting fires and plunging the city’s largest building complex into a maelstrom of smoke, darkness and fearful chaos.

The police said the blast killed at least five people and left more than 650 others injured, mostly with smoke inhalation or minor burns, but dozens with cuts, bruises, broken bones or serious burns. The police said 476 were treated at hospitals and the rest by rescue and medical crews at the scene.

The explosion also trapped hundreds of people in debris or in smoke-filled stairwells and elevators of the towers overhead and forced the evacuation of more than 50,000 workers from a trade center bereft of power for lights and elevators for seven hours.

Google-a-Day poses a history question: “Who was the former municipal judge that became the source of criminal allegations against the 42nd U.S. President?”

Good morning.

Monday brings partly sunny skies and a high of thirty-nine to Whitewater.

Downtown Whitewater’s Design Committee meets at 8 AM, and the Community Development Authority at 4:30 PM.

On this day in 1933, America launches her first ship built initially and expressly as an aircraft carrier:

Ranger was laid down on 26 September 1931 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Virginia, launched on 25 February 1933, sponsored by Lou Henry Hoover (the wife of the President of the United States), and commissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 4 June 1934, with Captain Arthur L. Bristol in command.

CNN dishes up a rhino at play:

Google-a-Day, meanwhile, asks about sea creatures: “What do scientists call the ‘aliens’ and odd organisms that live below the bottom of the ocean?”

Good morning.

It’s a lovely Sunday for us: mostly sunny, a high of thirty-three, and light west winds.

On this day in 1917, America learns of a German promise to split part of the United States should America and Germany go to war:

During World War I, British authorities give Walter H. Page, the U.S. ambassador to Britain, a copy of the “Zimmermann Note,” a coded message from Arthur Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary, to Count Johann von Bernstorff, the German ambassador to Mexico. In the telegram, intercepted and deciphered by British intelligence in late January, Zimmermann stated that in the event of war with the United States, Mexico should be asked to enter the conflict as a German ally. In return, Germany promised to restore to Mexico the lost territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

After receiving the telegram, Page promptly sent a copy to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who in early March allowed the U.S. State Department to publish the note. The press initially treated the telegram as a hoax, but Arthur Zimmermann himself confirmed its authenticity. The Zimmermann Note helped turn U.S. public opinion, already severely strained by repeated German attacks on U.S. ships, firmly against Germany. On April 2, President Wilson, who had initially sought a peaceful resolution to end World War I, urged the immediate U.S. entrance into the war. Four days later, Congress formally declared war against Germany.

Zimmerman’s admission – intended to intimidate America – had the opposite effect.  Coupled with a sober Mexican military analysis that concluded German promises of aid would prove wholly inadequate, and that a war for territory could not be won, the note’s an example of German ignorance of conditions in the Americas.

Google-a-Day asks about tennis: “The 2010 tennis match that lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes beat the previous record for the longest match by how many hours?”

Saturday in the Whippet City brings flurries, and a high of twenty-eight. 10h 56m of sunlight and 11h 53m of daylight await us.

On this day in 1954, not so long ago really, results confirm the effectiveness of Jonas Salk’s vaccination for polio. The news appeared in the New York Times a few weeks later:

New Orleans, March 11 — The latest tests on children with the anti-polio vaccine have revealed that the vaccine provides the body with lasting defensive powers against the three types of viruses causing the disease, it was reported tonight.

This was described as the long-sought answer to a vital question, making it practically certain not only that the vaccine will produce effective immunity against all three types of polio but also that the immunity will be of the lasting type, possibly for the individual’s lifetime.

On this day in 1846, a malted-milk magnate is born:

1846 – William Horlick Born
On this date William Horlick was born in Ruardean, Gloucestershire, England. A noted food manufacturer and philanthopist, Horlick arrived in the U.S. in 1869 and settled in Racine. In 1872 he moved to Chicago with his brother and began to manufacture food products. In 1876 his company moved to Racine where he began to experiment with creating a dried milk product.

In 1887 he trademarked Malted Milk. In 1889 he opened a company branch in New York City and another in England the following year. He constructed additional plants in Racine in 1902 and 1905. The company name was changed to Horlick’s Malted Milk Co. in 1906.

This success enabled Horlick to achieve a widespread reputation as a philanthropist in Racine. He also helped fund the first Byrd expedition to the South Pole and the Amundsen expedition to the North Pole. After his death in 1936, control of the company passed to his son, Ander James Horlick. [Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography, SHSW 1960, pg. 177]

Google-a-Day asks about film: “What kind of parent does a dad describe himself as in the 2012 Academy Award-nominated movie set in Hawaii?”