An uninspired night

 

I'm uninspired tonight.

I'm working and trying to keep an eye on the Yankees and the Gades.

So here I am.

I reached out to Susan and told her how I just feel like I've got nothing. I guess I'm tired and a little -- I don't know -- down? Defeated? It's hard to say.

So she hit the "On this day" list.

And thus:

1692: Bridget Bishop is the first person tried for witchcraft in Salem, Mass. She was found guilty and later hanged.

Poor Bridget! Married three (or four) times (Wikipedia isn't clear), she was a tavern owner who was 60 when she went to the gallows. There is obviously more to her story, including the accusation that she had a third nipple, which apparently was a sure sign(!) of witchcraft!

Sounds like she was someone to hang with. Wait. That's an awkward way to put it. Perhaps she was a person to have an ale with.

1835: P.T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.

Oh, Ol' Phineas T.! The former Connecticut politician and master showman! He was also a newspaperman, starting The Herald of Freedom in Danbury. But he also dealt with lawsuits and was jailed as a result of some of what he wrote! That pretty much ended his entry into journalism.

1896: Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.

Well, well, well! Now we're talking! Marconi is the most accepted answer when looking at the question of "Who invented radio?" 

Now of course, we can muddy the water with Tesla and DeForest and Fessenden and others, but I think Guglielmo is sort of the amalgamation of everyone, thus getting the title.

He applied for and received British Patent number 12039 titled "Improvements in Transmitting Electrical impulses and Signals, and in Apparatus therefor."

In short, it was a big step in moving forward towards radio, but still years away from what we use today.

Within a year, he would transmit the message, "Are you ready?" over open water. Though the transmission was only 3.7 miles but it was impressive nonetheless. By the early 20th century, Marconi was sending transatlantic messages to Newfoundland and, eventually, from Cape Cod to England on Jan 18, 1903.

And, of course, it was on this day in 1925 that Henry Louis Gehrig -- a day after serving as a pinch-hitter -- started at first base for the New York Yankees. He replaced Wally Pipp, not due to a headache, but due to Pipp slumping. Gehrig had three hits, including a double, and Pipp became a member of the Cincinnati Reds in 1926.

Lastly, on this day in 1941, around 10 a.m., Henry Louis Gehrig died in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

Thanks, Susan, for the inspiration.