September 13: An Elephant Is Executed, Tupac Dies, And The Man Who Made A Liar Out Of Hitler Is Born

Public Domain image of Mary's execution  

On September 13, 1916, in Erwin Tennessee, a circus elephant named Mary was publicly executed in front of a crowd of 2,500 by hanging after killing her handler, Walter 'Red' Eldridge, the day before. Accounts recall that Eldridge prodded her cheek that sent her into a rage and trampling him to death. The execution took 2 attempts, the first ended when the chain noose broke causing Mary to fall and break her hip. The second attempt took 30 minutes of hanging by the neck before she died.
An autopsy by a veterinarian concluded that Mary had a severely infected tooth in the spot that Eldridge was prodding.
in 2016 the town of Erwin celebrated the centennial of Mary's hanging with 2 weeks of events including a nightfall parade of the town's school children dressed as elephants pulling 'ghost elephant' sculptures. Money raised during the festivities was donated to an Elephant Refuge in Tennessee.

Centennial Celebration of Mary's Legacy in Erwin Tennessee on August 27th 2016
Public Domain Photo by John King

Born on this day:
1913  Jesse Owens the four-time Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. Track & Field team. Owens, who was black, is credited for single handedly disproving Hitler's Aryan Racial Superiority Theory at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Hitler's response to Owens victory was to say the physiques of black athletes were stronger than those of whites and hence should be excluded from future games.

Died on this day Tupac Shakur:

1996 Rap artist Tupac Shakur died after being shot six days earlier on September 7th in a BMW in Las Vegas. Conspiracies abound over the reason for his murder including East Coast/West Coast rivalries, retribution for sex crimes committed by Shakur, as well as a hit placed by Death Row Records CEO Marion "Suge" Knight.

September 4: Kelly Clarkson= Toping Charts And Making Greeting Cards

On September 4  in 2002 Kelly Clarkson (b. 1982) became the first ever winner of the hit show American Idol (beating out over 120 contestants and 10,000 initial hopefuls). Over 22 million viewers watched as Clarkson  beat runner up Justin Guarini for the win singing  "Before Your Love" and "A Moment Like This".
Thirteen days later on September 17, 2002, her debut double-A-side single of the two previously mentioned songs was released debuting at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, before reaching to No. 1. It broke a 38-year-old record set by the British band The Beatles for the biggest leap to No. 1 and was the best-selling single of 2002 in the United States.

Clarkson now has her own line of greeting cards sold exclusively at Walmart.

Public Domain Photo by Kathy Reesey

September 2: Great Fire of London And The Timeless Fears Of Foreigners

On September 2 in 1666 the Great Fire of London began in a bakery on Pudding Lane, burning for 4 days, consuming 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches, St Paul's Cathedral, and is estimated to have destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the City's 80,000 inhabitants. Panic raced through the streets as rumors of the fire being started by foreigners caused riots and lynchings before the fire was finally contained on September 5th.
    A 12 meter long scale model of 1666 London, created by American artist David Best, was set ablaze on the River Thames on the 350th anniversary of the fire.

17th Century painting of the Great Fire of London