1840 History, NZ: Captain William Hobson landed in the Bay of Islands to become the First Governor of New Zealand; he co-authored of the Treaty of Waitangi.
1845 Literature, NYC: Edgar Allan Poe published The Raven ‘on a midnight dreary.’ I did a Poe tour of sorts in Baltimore once upon a daytime weary.
1891 Politics, Honolulu: Liliuokalani became the monarch of the Hawaiian Islands. She was the last. We have visited many sites related to her in Honolulu and on Oahu. Her autobiography is discussed elsewhere on this blog. Get clickin’.
1957 Architecture, Sydney: Danish architect Jörn Utzon won the competition to design the Sydney Opera House. It took nearly twenty more years and many careers to complete the project. Two points: it was built with slide rules and hands and it ran over budget by 1300% even with the design compromises and unfinished interior. Not only was it was almost impossible to build but build it they did, it was quite impossible to estimate the cost of building something that had never been done before or since. Kate has graced the boards there many a time. I have haunted the stage door there now and again.
1989 History: Aviation: A United Airlines 747 (Special Performance) set the around-the-world air speed record of 36 hours, 54 minutes, and 15 seconds. This special flight raised $500,000 for children’s charities. That would be more than a million today. Tickets cost a minimum of $5,000, and special guest passengers included astronaut Neil Armstrong. Flown many a United mile and several times with an around-the-world ticket. though not this route.
Skip to content