October 15: Death Of An Exotic Dancer And The Mystery Of A Missing Head

On October 15th 1917 wold famous exotic dancer Mata Hari was executed by firing squad in Paris France. Born Margaretha Zelle in Leeuwarden, Netherlands in 1876 to a Dutch father of means and Javanese mother (making her Eurasian, a fact she built upon for her act) Zelle worked under the name Mata Hari quickly becoming a world traveling exotic dancer, mesmerizing society's elite with her famous fan dance. Starting relatively late, at about 29, Mata Hari debuted her unique style of exotic dancing in Paris in 1905 (so carefree she would finish her shows completely naked save for a bra as she was self conscious about her small breast size) and by 1910 worked her way into the highest social circles as a courtesan to royalty and military elite. Her work allowed her to travel freely between borders during World War I. The French government offered Mata Hari a million francs (about $170,000) to seduce the Crown Prince Wilhelm, son of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Senior German General on the Western Front, and provide France with secret German intelligence.
         In 1916 the French intercepted a German transmission involving an agent (Agent H-21) that attempted to set up a meeting with the Crown Prince Wilhelm to give him information about French secrets. Realizing that Agent H-21 was Mata Hari she was arrested and charged with being a double agent. Mata Hari argued that this was only a way for her to get close enough to the Prince to collect the type of secrets they asked for.
       The trial was a sham, her lawyer was not allowed to cross examine witnesses or present his own, and despite having no evidence that Mata Hari was a double agent she was convicted and sentenced to death. For Mata Hari, the worst part was when her lover,  Russian pilot Captain Vadim Maslov, who had fallen into deep depression after being blinded in battle, declined to testify on her behalf saying he couldn't care less if she was convicted or not. She reportedly fainted at hearing this news.
          On October 15, 1917, at the age of 41, Mata Hari declined a blindfold, blew a kiss to the firing squad, and stared blankly at the executioners as she was shot, not flinching or breaking her stare as she fell to her knees and died. She was shot once more in the head at close range for good measure, and having no one to claim her body, she was donated to science. Her head was embalmed and kept in the Museum of Anatomy in Paris, but almost one hundred years later it was discovered that the head (as well as the rest of her body) had disappeared, no one quite sure when either went missing.

Mata Hari's arrest photo. Public Domain. 

October 12: Christopher Columbus: Not the first European to reach America (but instead the first mass murderer)

On October 12th, 1492, 3 ships (Nina, Pinta, & Santa Maria) led by Christopher Columbus pulled ashore on the Caribbean island of what is now called Santo Domingo. Not the first European explorer to reach the Americas, but Columbus' voyages were the first lasting European influence with the Americas, leading to an extended period of European conquest, colonization, terror and genocide that has had a lasting impact for centuries.
      The first recorded European explorer (whose name know) to reach the Americas was Viking explorer Leif  'The Lucky' Erikson 500 years before Columbus. Referenced in the Icelandic historical book Íslendingabók (c. 1122 A.D.) Eirkson reached the northern tip of Vinland (what he named the land now called Newfoundland in Canada, due to all the grapevines there) and was surprised to find 2 shipwrecked European sailors standing ashore (making these two men, whose names were not recorded, the first known Europeans to discover America).
      Half a millennia later Spain funded a voyage led by Columbus to find a new route to Asia.
On the early morning of the 12th of October one of Columbus' sailor's (a man named Rodrigo) cried out that he could see land by the moon's reflection. The first crewmen to spot land would be rewarded 100,000 Maravedís (about $15,000) a year for life. But Rodrigo never saw the money, as Columbus later claimed to see the coastline the day before and took the prize money for himself. In Columbus' logbook he remarked on the first natives he met, the Arawaks, speaking to their generosity and hospitality. And then he took them as slaves.  Columbus surveyed the Caribbean islands, collecting gold and slaves, killing anyone in his way, and headed back to Spain to report his findings.
      The timber from the Santa Maria was used to make the first European military fort in the Americas, which he named Navidad (Christmas), and in his absence he left a brigade of men to find more gold until his return.  In his logbook Columbus wrote about the natives "With 50 men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want." But Columbus did not take his own advice and only left 39 men at the Christmas fort. Upon his return Columbus found all his men dead; after the men began taking native women and children for sex slaves the Arawaks killed them all.
     But this time Columbus was prepared. On the promise of "As much gold as they want" and "as many slaves as they need" Columbus was given 17 ships and over 1200 men to enslave the Arawaks and strip their lands of resources. The only issue was that Columbus knowingly over exaggerated the amount of gold he figured was there. The solution to fulfilling his promise would become a living nightmare of unending horrors for the native people of the Caribbean. Columbus first sent hundreds of slaves back to Europe, noting "Let us in the name of the Holy Trinity go on sending all the slaves that can be sold." but too many died en route so the name of the game now was to enslave them all and force them to collect gold from their native lands. Columbus told his benefactors of fields of gold, but the natives knew the only gold to be found was dust in streams.  Any native who could not produce a certain quantity every 3 months was killed by hanging, set on fire, or had their hands chopped off causing death by exsanguination. In a desperate situation, the Arawaks fled but were chased down by dogs and killed. What followed next were mass suicides by the natives in a desperate attempt to escape the brutality. Children and babies were killed as a compassionate measure to spare them the torture handed down by Columbus' men.
In just two years, of the original 250,000 natives, half of were dead. The rest were forced to work on estates in horrific conditions, and by 1515 there were only 50,000 left. A report from 1650 showed no natives left, the entire Arawak race erased by brutal genocide.
 Columbus' voyage to the Americas is still recognized as an official holiday, on October 12th,  by the U.S. and Spanish governments.
 

Columbus Day, 1892, Salem Massachusetts 

Editor's Note: Unlike Columbus' actions of enslaving, raping, and killing the first people he met standing on the shoreline, The Viking Lief Erikson (who was also a Christian) rescued the men he met on the American shoreline; as well as rescuing a crew of castaways on the return voyage back to Iceland. Which is the reason he was given the nickname "Leif the Lucky".  I propose we replace Columbus Day with Lucky Leif Day, or even Shipwrecked Castaway Day would be a fine replacement.  
   

October 10: American War Hero Forced To Dress As A Woman Against His Will Is Rescued By Town

On October 10th, 1915, Civil War veteran Albert Cashier of the 95th Illinois Infantry died at the age of 72 and was laid to rest at Sunny Slope Cemetery in Saunemin, Illinois.

     Although the shortest soldier in his regiment, Private Cashier was a capable fighter and admired by his peers, serving a full 3 year enlistment and fighting in over 40 battles. Cashier at one point became a prisoner of war but escaped by overpowering a prison guard. Surviving the war, Cashier settled in Saunemin, living a quiet life on his military pension supplemented by working as a handyman. At the age of 66, while working for Illinois State Senator I.M. Lish, Cashier suffered a broken leg while doing yard work (hit accidentally by a car Lish was driving) and was taken to the local hospital where it was discovered that Cashier was in fact a woman. Hospital employees did not divulge Cashier's secret and sent him to the Soldiers and Sailors Home in Quincy, Illinois to recover.      
Cashier remained a resident of the Home until 1913, when he was sent to a state hospital for the insane due to the onset of dementia. Attendants there discovered Cashier was a woman and forced him to give his birth name and information (Jennie Hodgers born December 25, 1843 in Louth, Ireland) as well as forcing him to wear a dress,  which was upsetting and confusing to the aging Soldier who had lived as Cashier for 50 years. When word got out about the cruel treatment of the Civil War veteran many of his friends and former regiment soldiers protested his treatment at the state hospital, surprised but not deterred by his secret identity, and demanded the veteran be acknowledged and treated with respect.
When Cashier died on October 10th, 1915, he was buried in his Military uniform with his name and military rank on the tombstone.

Union soldier Albert Chashier. 

Editor's Note: There are 400 documented cases of women assuming males identities in order to fight in the Civil War. Historians believe as many as 1,000 Women (or more) bravely fought on the front lines, many successfully keeping their male identities in tact after the war. Research looking into the hundreds of these soldiers shows different motivations for assuming male identities and joining the fight. Many were discovered after being killed in battle so little else is known about them.  Others wrote books and did interviews after the war  explaining motivations such as the patriotic call to duty; others joined so they could fight along side of their lovers, husbands, and brothers (two women were cousins and joined together) and resumed their previous identities after the war. One woman joined and fought along side her husband, and after the war they became marauders terrorizing small towns in the Appalachian region. 
Others, like Cashier, identified as men and remained so for the rest of their lives (Cashier identified as a man long before he enlisted). The part of story I left out in the article is that more than 50 years after Cashier's death a second tombstone was added next to the first inscribed with his birth name (of Jennie Hodgers). Given that the town and his fellow soldiers fought to preserve his name and legacy, adding the second tombstone could be seen as disrespectful, but because I do not know what the motivation was for doing so I personally reserve judgement. 

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