Showing posts with label 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Show all posts

Saturday, August 12, 2023

1853, April 26th, Mr. Winbolt, an Upholsterer, Premises were set Ablaze, Chicago.

The alarm of Fire was occasioned by the burning of the premises belonging to Mr. Winbolt, an Upholsterer, at Randolph Street, situated on the alley between Clark and Dearborn Streets. A large quantity of hair and material for mattress making was consumed—no fire had been near the place all day, and it must have been set on fire by an incendiary [device].

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.















Friday, August 11, 2023

The 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, Illinois.

The World's First Parliament of Religions was a historic interfaith gathering held in Chicago, Illinois, from September 11 to 27, 1893. It was the first large-scale gathering of representatives from the world's religions, and it helped to promote religious tolerance and understanding.


On the platform of the Parliament of Religions 1893 (left to right), Virchand Gandhi (Jainism), Anagarika Dharmapala (Buddhism), Swami Vivekananda (Hinduism), G. Bonet Maury (Christianity).




The Parliament was organized by the World's Congress Auxiliary to the Columbian Exposition, which was a world's fair held in Chicago to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. The Parliament was held in the Art Institute of Chicago building before the Art Institute moved in, and it featured over 700 delegates from over 20 different religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.
1893 World's ParliamenWorld'sligions, The Buddhist High Priests of Siam.



The Parliament was a major success attracting over 750,000 visitors. It helped to promote religious tolerance and understanding around the world. It also helped to inspire the development of new interfaith organizations, such as the Parliament of the World's Religions, which still exists today.
1893 World's Parliament of ReliWorld'sDancing Dervishes.


Here are some of the key speakers and events from the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions:
  • Reverend John Henry Barrows: The general chairman of the Parliament, Barrows was a Unitarian minister who was passionate about promoting religious understanding. He gave the opening address to the Parliament, calling for a "world faith" that would unite all people of all religions.
  • Swami Vivekananda: A Hindu monk, Vivekananda was one of the most popular speakers at the Parliament. He gave a passionate speech calling for a "harmony of religions" and a "brotherhood of man" His speech was a significant turning point in how Hinduism was perceived in the West.
  • Mohammed Abduh: An Egyptian scholar and reformer, Abduh was one of the leading voices of Islam in the 19th century. He gave a speech calling for a "reinterpretation" of Islam to make it more relevant to the modern world.
  • Henry Steel Olcott: A co-founder of the Theosophical Society, Olcott was a leading figure in studying comparative religion. He gave a speech in which he argued that all religions are essentially the same and that they all aspire to the same goal.
  • Bishop Charles Henry Brent: An Episcopal bishop, Brent was one of the most vocal advocates for religious tolerance at the Parliament. He gave a speech calling for a "new world faith" that would unite all people of all religions.
The 1893 World's Parl"ament of Religions was a landmark event in the history of interfaith diaWorld'sIt helped promote religious tolerance and understanding worldwide. It inspired the development of new interfaith organizations. The Parliament's legacy continues today, encouraging people to work for peace and understanding betParliament'snt religions.

1993 World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago, Illinois.
The 1993 World's Parliament of Religions was a gathering of religWorld'saders and scholars from around the world, held in Chicago, Illinois, from September 4-10, 1993. It was the second World Parliament of Religions, following the first in 1893. The Parliament's theme was "A Global Ethic: Building a Just and Peaceful World."

Over 8,000 people from over 100 countries attended the 1993 Parliament to celebrate, discuss and explore how religious traditions can work together on the critical issues which confront the world. They repreWorld'svarious religious traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, SikWorld'saoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Baha'i. Each area had a series of workshops, panels, and lectures. There were also performances by artists and musicians from different religious traditions.

2023 World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago, Illinois.
The 2023 Parliament of the World's Religions will be hosted from Monday, August 14 through Friday, August 18, at the McCormick Place Lakeside Center, Chicago, Illinois.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Monday, August 7, 2023

World's Fair Columbian United States Silver 1892 and 1893 Half Dollar Coins.

The Columbian half dollar was the first commemorative coin issued by the United States. It was struck in 1892 and 1893 to raise funds for the World's Columbian Exposition and to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas in 1492. 
Columbus' portrait is on the obverse.
A depiction of the Santa Maria on the reverse.
It is the first American coin to depict a historical figure.

About 4 million half dollars were struck with the 1892 date. On January 1, 1893, the half-dollar year was changed. A total of 5,002,105 Columbian half dollars were struck.
A national campaign advertised in 100s of newspapers.
Approximately half the coins were released into circulation and used into the 1950s. Only about 400,000 uncirculated coins were sold as souvenirs for $1.00. Far less than anticipated. Proof-grade coins were premium prices.

Today (2023), the highest quality coin appraises around $10,000. The remaining coins were melted for other coin blanks. Circulated Columbian half dollars can be purchased online for less than $20.00.
The 1892 replica of the Santa María (initially the La Gallega)


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The Santa María was armed with several cannons and carried a complement of 40 men. Armed with 4 × 90 mm bombards and 50 mm culebrinas. The hull length was 62 feet and a 41 foot keel length with three masts. Christopher Columbus sailed the Santa María with the Santa Clara (The Girl) and the La Pinta (The Painted) on his first voyage to the Americas in 1492.

Copyright © 2023, Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Saturday, June 3, 2023

The Tom Thumb, America's First Steam Locomotive (1830), at the 1933/34 Chicago World's Fair.

In the 1820s, the port of Baltimore was in danger. The threat came from the newly opened Erie Canal and the proposed Chesapeake and Ohio Canal construction that would parallel the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland. These new water routes promised a commercial gateway to the West that would bypass Baltimore's thriving harbor and potentially hurl the city into an economic abyss. Something had to be done.

The local entrepreneurs looked across the Atlantic to England and found an answer in the newly developed railroad. In 1828, the Maryland syndicate, led by Charles Carroll ─ a signer of the Declaration of Independence ─ broke ground for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The railroad aimed to connect Baltimore with the Ohio River and the West. Initially, the railroad's power was to be provided by horses. However, it soon became apparent that animal muscle was no match for the long distances and mountainous terrain that would have to be traveled. The solution lay with the steam engine.


By 1830, the B&O Railroad had extended its track from Baltimore to the village of Ellicott's Mills, thirteen miles to the West. The railroad was also ready to test its first steam engine, an American-made locomotive Peter Cooper of New York engineered.

It was a bright summer's day and full of promise. Syndicate members and friends piled into the open car pulled by a diminutive steam locomotive appropriately named the "Tom Thumb" with its inventor at the controls. The outbound journey took less than an hour. On the return trip, an impromptu race with a horse─drawn car developed. The locomotive came out the loser. It was an inauspicious beginning. However, within a few years, the railroad would become the dominant form of long─distance transportation and relegate the canals to the dustbin of commercial history.

Mr. Cooper's engine boiler was smaller than today's kitchen oven in a standard size range. It was about the same diameter but at most half as high. It stood upright in the car and was filled with vertical tubes from above the furnace, which occupied the lower section. The cylinder was just 3½ inches in diameter, and the speed was achieved by gears. No natural draught could have been sufficient to keep up steam in so small a boiler, and Mr. Cooper used a blowing apparatus driven by a drum attached to one of the car wheels, over which passed a cord that in its turn worked a pulley on the shaft of the blower.

Mr. Cooper's success was such as to induce him to try a trip to Ellicott's Mills; in an open car, the first used upon the road, already mentioned, having been attached to his engine and filled with the directors and some friends, the speaker among the rest, the first journey by steam in America was commenced. The trip was most enjoyable. The curves were passed without difficulty at a speed of six miles an hour; the grades were ascended with comparative ease; the day was fine, the Company in the highest spirits, and some excited gentlemen of the party pulled out memorandum books, and when at the highest speed, which was 8 miles per hour, wrote their names and some connected sentences. The return trip from Ellicott's Mills, a distance of thirteen miles, was made in 57 minutes, averaging 6.8 miles per hour. The top speed was about 10 miles per hour.


But the triumph of this Tom Thumb engine was not altogether without a drawback. The great stage proprietors of the day were Stockton & Stokes. On this occasion, a gallant gray of incredible beauty and power was driven by them from town, attached to another car on the second track. The Company had begun making two tracks to the Mills and met the engine at the Relay House on its way back. From this point, it was determined to have a race home; the start being even, away went horse and engine, the snort of the one and the puff of the other keeping time.

At first, the gray had the best of it, for his steam would be applied to the greatest advantage on the instant, while the engine had to wait until the rotation of the wheels set the blower to work. When the engine's safety valve lifted, the horse was a quarter of a mile ahead, and its thin blue vapor showed excessive steam. The blower whistled, the smoke blew off in vapory clouds, the pace increased, the passengers shouted, the engine gained on the horse, and soon it lapped them him. The race was neck and neck, nose and nose, then the engine passed the horse, and a grand hurrah hailed the victory.
The first steam engine to operate on a commercial track in the United States, the Tom Thumb became famous for its race against a horse-drawn car on August 25, 1830, from Ellicott's Mill to Baltimore.


But it was not repeated; for just at this time, when the gray's master was about giving up, the band which drove the pulley that drove the blower slipped from the drum, the safety valve ceased to scream, and the engine for want of breath began to wheeze and pant. In vain, Mr. Cooper, his own engineman and fireman, lacerated his hands to replace the band upon the wheel. In vain, he tried to urge the fire with light wood; the horse gained on the machine and passed it, and although the band was presently replaced, and steam again did its best, the horse was too far ahead to be overtaken and came in the winner of the race."

The Tom Thumb was salvaged for parts in 1834.

In the 1933-34 Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago, the Tom Thumb and the DeWitt Clinton steam locomotives were part of the "Wings of a Century" transportation pageant: 
A one-horse chaise (shay), a light, covered, two-wheeled carriage for two persons.


"Just south of Thirty-first Street, on the lakeside, you may watch the dramatization of this century of progress in transportation, the pioneer in the field of communication. On a triple stage, in an outdoor theater, two hundred actors, seventy horses, seven trail wagons, ten trains, and the largest collection of historical vehicles ever to be used, operating under their own power, present "Wings of a Century." Here is the "Baltimore Clipper," the fastest boat of them all. From 1825 to 1850, the "Tom Thumb," the first locomotive of the B&O, the De Witt Clinton, from the old Mohawk & Hudson (New York Central), the Thomas Jefferson (1836) of the Winchester & Potomac (first railroad in Virginia) than the old "Pioneer," the Northern Pacific engine of 1851 a giant locomotive of today (the 1930s) and the 1903 Wright brothers' first airplane.
This replica of the DeWitt Clinton was built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
Note the barrels of water for the engine.





Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The DeWitt Clinton Steam Locomotive at the 1893 and 1933/34 Chicago World's Fairs.

The New York Central Railroad built the DeWitt Clinton in 1831, which began the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad (M&H), a New York City predecessor (NYC)They also built this working replica of the DeWitt Clinton for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

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The Tom Thumb Locomotive was the first American-built steam locomotive to operate on a common-carrier railroad. It was designed and constructed by Peter Cooper in 1829 to convince owners of the newly formed Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O;  now CSX) to use steam engines; it was not intended to enter revenue service.

In the 1933-34 Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago, the DeWitt Clinton and Tom Thumb steam locomotives were part of the "Wings of a Century" transportation pageant: 

"Just south of Thirty-first Street, on the lakeside, you may watch the dramatization of this century of progress in transportation, the pioneer in the field of communication. On a triple stage, in an outdoor theater, two hundred actors, seventy horses, seven trail wagons, ten trains, and the largest collection of historical vehicles ever to be used, operating under their own power, present "Wings of a Century." Here is the "Baltimore Clipper," the fastest boat of them all. From 1825 to 1850, the "Tom Thumb," the first locomotive of the B&O, the De Witt Clinton, from the old Mohawk & Hudson (New York Central), the Thomas Jefferson (1836) of the Winchester & Potomac (first railroad in Virginia) than the old "Pioneer," the Northern Pacific engine of 1851 a giant locomotive of today (the 1930s) and the 1903 Wright brothers' first airplane.
A one-horse chaise (shay), a light, covered, two-wheeled carriage for two persons.


There is a one horse chaise, like George Washington traveled in, and covered wagons and stage coaches of the California Gold Rush 1848 to 1855 days."

The DeWitt Clinton was the first steam locomotive built for service in New York State, and it made its inaugural run on August 9, 1831, connecting Albany and Schenectady in New York State. It ran on rails made of wood or iron, laid on the ground to create a track.
This replica was built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Official Photograph. Note the barrels of water for the engine.


It was named after DeWitt Clinton, the governor of New York State responsible for the Erie Canal, a competitor to the railroad. DeWitt Clinton's first run was a success, and it helped to pave the way for the development of the railroad industry in the United States.
At the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, aka St. Louis World's Fair, held in 1904.





The DeWitt Clinton was a 0-4-0 steam locomotive.

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0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven.
The locomotive was powered by a coal-fired boiler, with a top speed of about 15 miles per hour. The DeWitt Clinton was a small locomotive. It played an essential role in demonstrating the feasibility of steam-powered locomotives in the United States for transportation purposes. It paved the way for the rapid expansion of the railroad industry and the subsequent development of the American transportation system.
Lionel O-Gauge DeWitt Clinton
 



Lionel O-Gauge DeWitt Clinton. (0.25" to a Foot) [runtime 12:41]
It was Also Available in H
O-Gauge (3.5 mm to a Foot). 

Comparing this train with modern trains, the 15 miles per hour was considered a terrific speed, and the accommodations afforded by the coaches were considered the height of comfort.

ADDITIONAL READING:  

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Chicago's Founding Hot Dog Co's.: David Berg & Co. (1860); Oscar F. Mayer & Bro. (1883); Vienna Beef (1893).

David Berg & Company — 1860
David Berg & Company had developed a following of customers fond of their signature, "Kosher Style" hot dogs beginning in 1860. David Berg hot dogs were sold at the 3-day 1860 Republican National Convention held at the Wigwam in Chicago.

Abraham Lincoln was nominated as the Republican Presidential Candidate, although Lincoln, following tradition, did not attend the Convention, staying in Springfield when he got the news he won. 
 
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Abraham Lincoln ate mechanically, never having a thought about what he was eating. At the Lincoln's table discusses his excessively low caloric intake, how he ate anything set before him, and made no complaints or comments of any kind about the food or meal. Mary never got accustomed to it.
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The presumption was that ketchup/catsup would be hard to find in the 1860 National Convention, the origin of Chicagoland's ritual, "No Ketchup on a Chicago Hot Dogs."

Chicago-Style Hot Dogs include ALL of these ingrediants : mustard, sweet relish, onion, tomato thin-wedges/slices, a pickle spear or two, sport peppers (only - no substitutes) and a sprinkle of celery salt on a poppy seed bun. This medley creates a less sweet version of ketchup flavors: sweet, tangy, savory and a kiss of heat, making ketchup redundant. It's been claimed that substituting any other type of pepper, and nobody's judging you, clouds one's taste buds from the true flavor experience of a Chicago dog.

David Berg was the pioneer who introduced Hot Dogs at baseball stadiums. Hot Dogs were served at the 1901 home of the Chicago White Sox at the "American Grant Park Baseball Stadium."




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The presumption was that ketchup/catsup would be hard to find in the 1860 National Convention, the origin of Chicagoland's ritual, "No Ketchup on a Chicago Hot Dogs."

Chicago-Style Hot Dogs include ALL of these ingrediants : mustard, sweet relish, raw onion, tomato thin-wedges/slices, a pickle spear or two, sport peppers (only!!! No substitutes) and a sprinkle of celery salt on a poppy seed bun. This medley creates a less sweet version of ketchup flavors: sweet, tangy, savory and a kiss of heat, making ketchup redundant. It's been claimed that substituting any other type of pepper, and nobody's judging you, clouds one's taste buds from the true flavor experience of a Chicago dog.

In 1978, David Berg made a six-foot, 681-pound premium beef hot dog in a 100-pound poppy seed bun covered with two gallons of mustard.

David Berg filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1992.

Oscar F. Mayer and Bro. — 1883
Oscar F. Mayer and Brother (Gottfreid), the second highly successful Chicago sausage company, was established in 1883. They were sponsors of the German building at Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.


Oscar Mayer moved to Chicago in 1876 when he was 17 to work for Kohlhammer's Market. He then worked six years for the Philip Armour & Company meatpackers at the Chicago Union Stock Yards, and Mayer had saved enough money to lease a failing Kolling Meat Market business.
In 1906, they became one of the first companies to volunteer to participate in a new Federal Meat Inspection program to certify the purity and quality of products. Cleanliness was scored so issues could be addressed in person and improvements could be measured for the next inspection. 

Vienna Beef — 1893
A late-comer to the Hot Dog game in Chicago. When Vienna Beef set up shop at the 1893 World's Fair, they quickly became the Chicago hot dog king. 
Courtesy of Foŭ TosHopṕe, Sycuan Reservation, California, USA


In 1992, almost a hundred years later, David Berg joined the Vienna Beef Products family. Vienna produced the David Berg line of products for some time, using the original recipes.

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While it's impossible to be exact, a very high percentage of Chicagoland hot dog places likely use Vienna Beef. A safe 2023 estimate would be somewhere around 80-90%, but even that could be conservative.

Chicago's Biggest Hot Dog Makers Start a Wiener War.
This is a dog fight Chicago will relish.

Vienna Beef, one of the world's most famous hot dog makers, is suing the owner of a rival hot dog company, accusing him of either stealing Vienna's 118-year-old recipe or lying to customers by claiming that he's using it.

The rival is none other than a grandson of one of the two men who founded the company after their hot dogs became a hit at the 1893 World's Fair.

In this wiener war, one of the only things the owners of Vienna Beef and Red Hot Chicago (1986-2012), Chicago are likely to agree on is that you don't put ketchup on a Chicago-style hot dog.

They also might agree that Chicago's dog — with its mustard, bright green relish, tomato slices, pickle spear, chopped onion and more — is far superior to New York's grilled or boiled dog, which by Chicago standards is practically naked with only sauerkraut and mustard.

The lawsuit accuses Red Hot Chicago of false advertising, unfair competition and trademark infringement. But it also offers a reminder that hot dogs are no joking matter in Chicago, where the "meal on a bun" is part of local history and where loyalty to one of the region's 2,000 hot dog stands is passed down from generation to generation.

"This is Chicago, and we take hot dogs seriously," said Tanya Russell, a mail carrier who stopped at Fast Track, a downtown stand, to deliver some letters and grab a Vienna hot dog before finishing her route.

The fight could be a long one, in large part because of the legacy at stake.

Scott Ladany's grandfather arrived as an immigrant from Austria-Hungary and set up a hot-dog consession at the World's Fair. At the time, he "started with little more than hopes, dreams and his sausage-making skills," attorney Jami Gekas wrote.

The grandfather, Samuel Ladany, eventually helped found the business that is now Vienna Beef. Fast forward to the early 1980s, when Scott Ladany was leaving the company. He sold his 10 percent stake and agreed not to "use or divulge" any of Vienna's recipes and, according to the lawsuit, promised not to compete with Vienna for at least 2½ years.

In 1986, after that condition expired, he founded Red Hot Chicago.

Ladany has declined to comment, but in court documents he insists he did not steal anything and that Red Hot's recipe is its own. At the same time, he always made it clear that his family history — complete with the World's Fair photographs and pictures of his grandfather that Vienna had showcased — were going to take center stage at Red Hot Chicago, too.

So, not only did he settle on "A Family Tradition Since 1893" as his company motto, but he also included Vienna Beef's name right in his advertising literature.

And the reason, Gekas, told the judge, is simple: It's all true.

Vienna Beef CEO Jim Bodman says he worries that the messages will confuse customers.

"He was dancing right up to the line by saying it's a family tradition," Bodman said.

"They want to ride Vienna's coattails ... and sell their product using Vienna's brand recognition," Vienna's attorney, Phillip Reed, said recently at a court hearing.

Even the judge handling the case wondered if all the talk about history might mislead customers.

"Isn't there an implication ... that this is one big hot dog family?" asked U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman.

It isn't.

Bodman said he's been aggravated for years by Red Hot's advertising. Then, a few months ago, Red Hot began advertising that it was using a "time-honored family recipe" that's more than a century old — a claim that appeared in print in a food industry magazine.

"That goes over the line," he said, explaining the lawsuit filed this month.

The way hot dog makers see it, recipes are the key to success, just like the formula for Coca-Cola and the secret spices that go into KFC chicken.

Alex Lazarevski of Express Grill in Chicago said that while he has someone else make his sausages, he hires that person to do so with the seasonings that the hot dog stand owner gives him, already mixed.

"I don't want anybody else to get a hold of it," said Lazarevski, who says the recipe is patented.

Vienna's 118-year-old recipes are so important to the company that for years they were kept in a vault. And even today, outside vendors who mix the spices and oils "only handle a portion of the blending process."

That way, "neither vendor knows the entire process, blend and formulation of the Vienna Recipes," according to the lawsuit.

At a recent hearing, Gekas acknowledged that it was a "mistake" for Red Hot to suggest at one point that it had a recipe dating back to the 1800s. But she said the mistake was made by a "marketing person" and it was made only once.

Vienna's Reed has acknowledged a mistake of his own.

In a court document filed Friday, he backed away from one of the complaint's most explosive allegations: That Ladany or his representatives either lied to hot dog vendors, saying that their hot dogs used Vienna's recipe, or asked them to buy the cheaper dogs and pass them off as Vienna products to their customers.

Gekas, who disputed that contention in court, would not comment on Vienna's latest document. But at the hearing, she kept returning to the same point: Ladany is not trying to trick anybody when it comes to his background or his company's history.

"What he is doing is sending a different message: 'I know what I'm doing. I grew up in the business,'" she said. Ladany, she wrote in one document, "represents true Chicago hot dog tradition." 

(AP) June 22, 2011 

Lawsuit Dismissal Order —  Signed by the Honorable Sharon Johnson Coleman on 2/16/2012. Civil case terminated.

October 17, 2017 — I did get into an expensive lawsuit with Vienna. As part of resolving the legal dispute, I agreed to merge Red Hot Chicago with Vienna Beef in 2012 and accept an executive position with my old family business, says Scott Ladany.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Sunday, March 26, 2023

The South Side Rapid Transit 'L' Railroad (CTA Green Line), extended for the 1893 World's Fair.



Chicago would start its first elevated 'L' train line in 1888. 



The first 'L' line ran to the south side, known as the "Alley L" because its elevated tracks were squeezed above the alley between State Street and Wabash Avenue downtown, pulled by steam locomotives.



It was extended to reach Jackson Park when Chicago was chosen to host the World's Fair in 1890. 

Jackson Park was a terminal on the Jackson Park Branch of the Chicago 'L.' The station opened on May 12, 1893, and closed on October 31, 1893, with the conclusion of the World's Columbian Exposition.
The 'L' station in Jackson Park, inside the 1893 Columbian Exposition fairgrounds. Architecturally, the station was a simple shed covering the concourse between the stairs and the platforms. The 'L' platforms are behind the shed on the left, while the fair's Intermural Railway and its connection are on the right.




The line was electrified on July 27, 1898.

Only one train station from that 'L' line remains at Garfield Boulevard near the University of Chicago.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Nikola Tesla's "Egg of Columbus" at the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition.

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was a Serbian-American engineer and physicist who made dozens and dozens of breakthroughs in the production, transmission and application of electric power.

Tesla Electric Light and Manufacturing Company was in Rahway, New Jersey, that operated from December 1884 through 1886. Tesla is forced out of the Tesla Electric Light Company with nothing but worthless stock.
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)


He endured a brutal winter of 1886/87 working as a ditch digger. He persevered, determined to develop his concept of generating electricity through rotating magnetic fields. However, Tesla knew that he must find a way to help investors and supporters understand the potential of his invention.

The rotating magnetic field is one of Tesla's most far-reaching and revolutionary discoveries. This is a new and wonderful manifestation of force — a magnetic cyclone — producing striking phenomena that amazed the world when he first showed them. It results from the joint action of two or more alternating currents definitely related to one another and creating magnetic fluxes, which, by their periodic rise and fall according to a mathematical law, cause a continuous shifting of the lines of force.

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Tesla invented the first alternating current (A/C) 'motor' and developed A/C electric  generation and transmission technology.

There is a vast difference between an ordinary electromagnet and the one invented by Tesla. In standard electromagnets, the lines are stationary, and in Tesla's invention, the lines are made to whirl around at a furious rate. The first attracts a piece of iron and holds it fast; the second causes it to spin in any direction and speed desired. 

Long ago, when Tesla was still a student, he conceived the idea of the rotating magnetic field. This remarkable principle is embodied in his famous induction motor and power transmission system, now universally used.
Tesla's exhibit at Chicago's 1893 World Columbian Exposition.


Tesla devises a machine to illustrate the concept: an electromagnetic motor that generates the force needed to spin a brass egg and stand it upright on its end.
Nikola Tesla's "Egg of Columbus" was exhibited
at Chicago's 1893 World Columbian Exposition.
Tesla named the device the "Egg of Columbus" after the famous story in which Christopher Columbus challenged the Spanish court and investors to stand an egg upright. When they failed, Columbus took an egg and crushed the bottom flat so it would remain upright. They accused him of playing a cheap trick. Still, Columbus overcame their objections by explaining that an idea can seem impossible until a clever solution is found, at which point it suddenly becomes easy.
How The "Egg of Columbus" Works.
Canadian Tesla Technical Museum.
Tesla Projects Laboratory Inc.
 
Tesla incorporates this logic in his Egg of Columbus to present his concept of alternating current A/C electricity to investors. It is a stroke of brilliance that results in funding from investors Alfred S. Brown, director of Western Union, and Charles F. Peck, a big-shot attorney from New York City. 

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Tesla’s first laboratory opened in April 1887 and was located at 89 Liberty Street in New York’s Lower Manhattan Financial District. This is where Tesla began planning and developing his designs for the A/C induction motor.

Tesla wrote in his autobiography of this time in his life when he went from ditch digger to laboratory owner, where he finally built the first models of his induction motor concept: "Then followed a period of struggle in the new medium for which I was not fitted, but the reward came in the end, and in April 1887, the Tesla Electric Company was organized, providing a laboratory and facilities. The motors I built there were exactly as I had imagined them. I made no attempt to improve the design but merely reproduced the pictures as they appeared to my vision, and the operation was always as I expected."
Nikola Tesla (year unknown).



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In 1893, three years prior to the earliest attempts in Hertz wave telegraphy, Tesla first described his wireless system and took out patents on a number of novel devices which were then but imperfectly understood. Even the electrical world at large laughed at these patents. But large wireless interests had to pay him tribute in the form of real money, because his "fool" patents were recognized to be fundamental. He actually antedated every important wireless invention.

Nikola Tesla lived a century behind his time. He had often been denounced as a dreamer even by well-informed men. He has been called crazy by others who ought to have known better. Tesla talked in a language that most of us still do not understand. But as the years roll on, Science appreciates his greatness, and Tesla receives more tributes.
"Today, Nikola Tesla is considered to be the greatest inventor of all time. Tesla has more original inventions to his credit than any other man in history. He is considered greater than Archimedes, Faraday, or Edison. His basic, as well as revolutionary, discoveries for sheer audacity, have no equal in the annals of the world. His master mind is easily one of the seven wonders of the intellectual world."                                                                                        ─ Hugo Gernsback
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There are a lot of assumptions made reguarding Tesla's private life. One of the few 
things that we know for sure is that Tesla never married. Tesla's seemingly indifference  in women {friends, like a sister}, made him the perfect target for whispers and gossip that he was homosexual, but, of course, there's no evidence. (Karl-Maria Kertbeny coined the term 'homosexual' in print 1868.) 

Tesla, unbeknownst to him, was the cynosure of all the lady's eyes. Despite being surrounded by beautiful, intelligent, women of substance, many who grew to love Nikola, yet nobody became Mrs. Nikola Telsa.

The issue wasn't the failure to meet his expectations. Instead, it turns out to be Tesla's 'no distractions' attitude allowing him to focus his energy on inventing (solutions to a problem), improvements, and , most importantly, the documentation.
 
"I don't think that you can name many great inventions that have been made by a married man." ─ Nikola Tesla.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Monday, September 26, 2022

The First Elongated Coin Souvenirs in America were at Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

Modern Example with
Four Different Stamps
It's generally accepted that the first elongated coins in the United States were sold at Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. A commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. 

Coins were rolled through a hand-cranked machine with two die rollers with a reverse-engraved image cut into one of the steel rollers. Regular coins are run between the rollers with over 20 TONS of pressure, causing the "elongated" shape of the coin. Elongated coins came in all denominations, including blank tokens and foreign coins. In the U. S. the 1¢ penny was the most common coin and was sold as souvenirs.

The penny roller takes a different approach, with a purpose-built machine that 'eats' a coin, usually of a small or inexpensive denomination and then 'presses' the coin out between two rollers, engaged by a set of large gears. The rollers are engraved with a design pressed into the elongated metal. This way, the inserted coin is both 'drawn out' while being imprinted. 

The rolling of elongated coins seemed to be rather popular for the first 23 years of their existence, and a large amount was rolled between 1893 and 1916. Then for some unknown reason, there was a slack period between 1916 and 1932. After 1932 momentum seemed to regenerate, and the number of coins rolled had steadily increased. In the 1970s, there was a resurgence of penny rolling innovation, with automated penny rolling machines appearing in popular amusement parks, zoos, and museums. 

In recent times, many of us have watched or personally placed a penny on a train track, watched the train go by, then search for the flattened penny beside the track. In this case, the penny gets stretched and elongated into random shapes. Still fun.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.



Buy Souvenir Coins at the Fair.
We'll Stamp Any Coin You Present.