January 20

1777  The Wyoming Independent Company, a unit raised from the Wyoming region of Pennsylvania and Ohio, takes part in the battle of Millstone River.

1868   Vigilance committee hangs Charles Martin and Charles Morgan in Cheyenne.

1891  John B. Kendrick married Eula Wulfjen.

1913  A riot breaks out in the Wyoming Legislature.

1917   Legislature passed an act submitting an act for a constitutional amendment that would allow people to vote on prohibition.  Attribution:  On This Day.

Lex Anteinternet:  Today In Wyoming's History: January 20. The Legislature sends Prohibition to the voters.

People tend not to think of Wyoming in the context of Prohibition, but the state was part of the big sweep that lead to it.  Indeed, while the story lays in the future from this post, Wyoming would push prohibition over the top with Sen. Francis E. Warren's vote in favor of the Volstead Act.

On this day, a century ago, the Legislature, which was predicted to pass a pro-Prohibition bill, did:

Today In Wyoming's History: January 20:

1917   Legislature passed an act submitting an act for a constitutional amendment that would allow people to vote on prohibition. Attribution:  On This Day.

The introduction of the bill had been widely predicated by the Cheyenne newspapers, in the form of predicting some bill.  That it would have taken the form, in 1917, of a proposed amendment to the state constitution is a bit of a surprise, but that would have served the dual purpose of making anything that passed really difficult to get rid of and, additionally, sort of passing the buck to the voters, as such an amendment requires the voters to approve it.

Which they didn't.

I'm not certain how it played out, but if the regular process took place, the voters rejected the measure that following fall.  Wyoming was the last state in the Rocky Mountain region to adopt Prohibition and the proposed amendment did not become law.

Which might have been a sign of things to come. While the state did pass Prohibition into law voluntarily, and in fact pushed it over the top nationally, it took to violating it nearly immediately.  Indeed Western Wyoming would become a bootleg liquor center, with wine being fermented in the Italian sections of Rock Springs and, ironically, heavily Mormon Kemmerer becoming a location for the distillation of high quality bootleg whiskey made with locally grown grain.

As outlined by Phil Roberts in an excellent article in Annals of Wyoming recently, Prohibition did break the back of the saloon trade in Wyoming, which in the end was a good thing. When alcohol returned in the 1930s it was stepped in over time, and with a new system which we retain today. That system, oddly enough for "free enterprise" Wyoming, runs all alcohol through the State Liquor Warehouse, which is the wholesaler for Wyoming, with no legal exceptions.

Prohibition would have the unfortunate impact of killing off a lot of local breweries, including those in Wyoming.  This has changed only recently, although there are quite a few small breweries now and even two distilleries.

A bottle of Wyoming Whiskey.  Something the legislators of 1917 would probably not have appreciated seeing at the time.

1920  Bert Cole, who was the pilot in the incident that resulted in the loss of the life of Maude Toomey on the January 14, was already back in the air, piloting for a stunt.

I'm frankly a little shocked. That seems awfully soon.

1924  Sunday, January 20, 1924. Ships ordered to Vera Cruz, Sheridan County Sheriff to be ousted.

US warships were ordered to Vera Cruz.

On the same day, rebel forces took Villahermosa, capital of the Mexican state of Tabasco.

And Sheridan County's Sheriff had been served with an Order To Show Cause by the Governor.  The Sheriff was accused of being drunk on duty, which is bad enough, but this was of course during Prohibition.

This power is little known, but it still exists. The Governor can remove a sheriff, or any county officer, for cause.  A sheriff has been removed by a Governor as recently as 2014.

1928  Fire destroys a St. Stephen's Mission building.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1937  Second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the first to occur on January 20.

1941.  Third inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1944  Marjorie Woodsworth and Paul Kelly, motion picture actors, appeared at the University of Wyoming to open the 4th War Loan Drive.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1945  Fourth inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

1949  Second inauguration of Harry S. Truman.

1953  First inauguration of Dwight Eisenhower.

1954  An earthquake in southwestern Wyoming is felt in the Albany region.

1957  Second inauguration of Dwight Eisenhower.

1961  Inauguration of John F. Kennedy.

1961   South Pass, Independence Rock and Horner Site were designated as National Historic Landmarks. Attribution:  On This Day.

1965 Second inauguration of Lyndon Johnson.

1969  First inauguration of Richard Nixon.

1973  Second inauguration of Richard Nixon.

1977  Inauguration of Jimmy Carter.

1977  Richard Cheney's term as the 7th White House Chief of Staff ends.

Cheney is undoubtedly the best known of Wyoming's post World War Two politicians, and there are, oddly, a lot of entries for him today.  He is also easily the most controversial of any Wyoming politician.  Like many of Wyoming's political figures, he is not a native of the state, having been actually born in Lincoln Nebraska.  Indeed, Cheney has likely spent the majority of his years outside of Wyoming.  He arrived in Casper Wyoming with his family in his early teens and graduated from Natrona County High School.  After high school, he attended Yale, The University of Wyoming, and the University of Wisconsin.  He worked in Washington for office holders and the administration from 1969 until being elected Congressman in 1978.  

1981  First inauguration of Ronald Reagan.

1985  Second inauguration of Ronald Reagan.

1989  Inauguration of George H. W. Bush.

1987  Peggy Simson Curry dies.

1993  Inauguration of William J. Clinton.

1993  Richard Cheney ends his term as the 17th Secretary of Defense.

1997  Second inauguration of Bill Clinton.

2001  Inauguration of George W. Bush.

2005.  Second inauguration of George W. Bush.

2009.  First inauguration of Barack Obama.

2009  Richard Cheney's term as Vice President ends.

2013  Second inauguration of Barack Obama.

2017  President Trump inaugurated.

Trump is the oldest President to have received an initial inauguration.  That is, while Ronald Reagan was older when he was inaugurated the second time, he was slightly younger the first time.  He's also the first American President to hold that office without holding any prior public offices or a military commission.

His inaugural speech, like everything else about this candidate in this year, was distinctly different from the norm.   The full text is as follows:

Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you. 

We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people. Together we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come. We will face challenges. We will confront hardships, but we will get the job done. Every four years we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you. 

Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning because, today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people. 

For too long, a small group in our nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have born the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs and, while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land. 

That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment. It belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration, and this, the United States of America, is your country.

What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20th, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of an historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before. At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public, but for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists. 

Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation, an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. 

We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans. For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry, subsidized the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. 

We've defended other nations' borders, while refusing to defend our own, and spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas, while America's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We've made other countries rich while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon. One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world. 

But, that is the past and now we are looking only to the future. We assembled here today, are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first. America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. 

We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never, ever let you down. 

America will start winning again. Winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams. We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor. We will follow two simple rules: buy American and hire American. We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. 

We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow. We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth. At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America and, through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. 

The bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when god's people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable. There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement and most importantly, we will be protected by God. 

Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action constantly complaining, but never doing anything about it. The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again. 

We stand at the birth of a new millennium ready to unlock the histories of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease and to harness the energies, industries, and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will lift our sights and heal our divisions. It's time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots. We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American flag. 

And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky. They fill their heart with the same dreams and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator. So, to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words: You will never be ignored again. Your voice, your hopes and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way. 

Together we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And, yes, together, we will make America great again. Thank you. God bless you and god bless America. Thank you. God bless America.

2017   Senator Bebout reads the tea leaves
 

Yesterday, after the Inauguration, Senator Bebout announced that he was killing the proposed public lands transfer constitutional amendment by refusing to assign it for consideration. That's his option as President of the Senate.

He acknowledged, in doing that, the full force of public opinion, although he maintained that the whole effort was misunderstood.

To the extent it is misunderstood, and that wouldn't be misunderstood much, it would apparently be by our Senators and Congresswoman back in Washington D.C., who still appear to be clueless on this.  Faced with a public revolt, Bebout took the wise and politic route and sidetracked it before the legislature and individual legislators had to pay a price for refusing to listen to the public.  Located more remotely, we haven't seen any similar reactions out of D. C. yet.  But that may be coming . . . if people like holding their seats.

2018.  Congress failed to pass a budget and failed to pass a continuing resolution on spending as a result of disagreement over the "Dreamers", the same being illegal aliens who were brought in by their parents as children.  Commentary on the same at Lex Anteinternet.

2021  Inauguration of Joe Biden.

Generally inauguration day is a sort of big celebration for the incoming President, but this one was one like no other and will go down as truly historic.

At noon Joseph Robinett Biden was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States following a surreal and tumultuous two months during with the outgoing President, Donald Trump, consistently falsely maintained that he, and not Biden, had won the election.  The GOP, generally not knowing what to do, ranged from outright support of Trump's falsehoods to being simply mute, up until January 6, 2021 when President Trump gave a speech to a group of diehard supports while the vote on the acceptance of the electoral vote was going on.  That vote, presided over by the Vice President, saw a last ditch effort by Republicans in the House and the Senate to taint it, even though it was well known going into it that any effort to reject the vote was both doomed and, had it succeeded, would have lead to a state of anarchy if not outright revolution in the country.  Efforts to push Vice President Trump into support of the action failed.

Spurred on by President Trump's words, the crowed stormed the Capitol and disrupted the proceedings.  Order was restored, and the vote continued, but in a truncated fashion.  Wyoming's Cynthia Lummis voted to reject Pennsylvania's electoral votes none the less on the pretext that it shined "a light" on election problems there, even though those same problems also would have to deemed to have existed in Wyoming's election, where they real, which repeated courts stated they were not.

Following the insurrection Trump accepted the outcome of the election while still maintaining it was stolen from him but faced an immediate vote of impeachment from the House of Representatives.  At the time of the inauguration, that matter had gone over to a trial in the Senate.  Senate Majority Whip McConnell has indicated he will not attempt to direct the Republican vote against a conviction on this occasion, President Trump's second impeachment trial.  McConnell effectively truncated Trump's first impeachment trial in the Senate.

Trump chose not to attend the inauguration and by that time a large section of the country no longer wanted him there.  He departed into post defeat uncertainty upon Marine One and then Air Force One while still President, sent off by a Twenty One Gun Salute, a dubious honor if you can order those giving it to you to do so.

His inaugural speech is as follows:

Chief Justice Roberts, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Vice President Pence, distinguished guests, and my fellow Americans. 

This is America's day.

This is democracy's day.

A day of history and hope.

Of renewal and resolve.

Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge.

Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy.

The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded.

We have learned again that democracy is precious.

Democracy is fragile.

And at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.

So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol's very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.

We look ahead in our uniquely American way - restless, bold, optimistic - and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be.

I thank my predecessors of both parties for their presence here.

I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

You know the resilience of our Constitution and the strength of our nation.

As does President Carter, who I spoke to last night but who cannot be with us today, but whom we salute for his lifetime of service.

I have just taken the sacred oath each of these patriots took - an oath first sworn by George Washington.

But the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us.

On "We the People" who seek a more perfect Union.

This is a great nation and we are a good people.

Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go.

We will press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility.

Much to repair.

Much to restore.

Much to heal.

Much to build.

And much to gain.

Few periods in our nation's history have been more challenging or difficult than the one we're in now.

A once-in-a-century virus silently stalks the country.

It's taken as many lives in one year as America lost in all of World War II.

Millions of jobs have been lost.

Hundreds of thousands of businesses closed.

A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.

A cry for survival comes from the planet itself. A cry that can't be any more desperate or any more clear.

And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.

To overcome these challenges - to restore the soul and to secure the future of America - requires more than words.

It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy:

Unity.

Unity.

In another January in Washington, on New Year's Day 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

When he put pen to paper, the President said, "If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act and my whole soul is in it."

My whole soul is in it.

Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this:

Bringing America together.

Uniting our people.

And uniting our nation.

I ask every American to join me in this cause.

Uniting to fight the common foes we face:

Anger, resentment, hatred.

Extremism, lawlessness, violence.

Disease, joblessness, hopelessness.

With unity we can do great things. Important things.

We can right wrongs.

We can put people to work in good jobs.

We can teach our children in safe schools.

We can overcome this deadly virus.

We can reward work, rebuild the middle class, and make health care
secure for all.

We can deliver racial justice.

We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world.

I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy.

I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real.

But I also know they are not new.

Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, and demonization have long torn us apart.

The battle is perennial.

Victory is never assured.

Through the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War, 9/11, through struggle, sacrifice, and setbacks, our "better angels" have always prevailed.

In each of these moments, enough of us came together to carry all of us forward.

And, we can do so now.

History, faith, and reason show the way, the way of unity.

We can see each other not as adversaries but as neighbors.

We can treat each other with dignity and respect.

We can join forces, stop the shouting, and lower the temperature.

For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury.

No progress, only exhausting outrage.

No nation, only a state of chaos.

This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge, and unity is the path forward.

And, we must meet this moment as the United States of America.

If we do that, I guarantee you, we will not fail.

We have never, ever, ever failed in America when we have acted together.

And so today, at this time and in this place, let us start afresh.

All of us.

Let us listen to one another.

Hear one another.
See one another.

Show respect to one another.

Politics need not be a raging fire destroying everything in its path.

Every disagreement doesn't have to be a cause for total war.

And, we must reject a culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.

My fellow Americans, we have to be different than this.

America has to be better than this.

And, I believe America is better than this.

Just look around.

Here we stand, in the shadow of a Capitol dome that was completed amid the Civil War, when the Union itself hung in the balance.

Yet we endured and we prevailed.

Here we stand looking out to the great Mall where Dr. King spoke of his dream.

Here we stand, where 108 years ago at another inaugural, thousands of protestors tried to block brave women from marching for the right to vote.

Today, we mark the swearing-in of the first woman in American history elected to national office - Vice President Kamala Harris.

Don't tell me things can't change.

Here we stand across the Potomac from Arlington National Cemetery, where heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion rest in eternal peace.

And here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, and to drive us from this sacred ground.

That did not happen.

It will never happen.

Not today.

Not tomorrow.

Not ever.

To all those who supported our campaign I am humbled by the faith you have placed in us.

To all those who did not support us, let me say this: Hear me out as we move forward. Take a measure of me and my heart.

And if you still disagree, so be it.

That's democracy. That's America. The right to dissent peaceably, within the guardrails of our Republic, is perhaps our nation's greatest strength.

Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement must not lead to disunion.

And I pledge this to you: I will be a President for all Americans.

I will fight as hard for those who did not support me as for those who did.

Many centuries ago, Saint Augustine, a saint of my church, wrote that a people was a multitude defined by the common objects of their love.

What are the common objects we love that define us as Americans?

I think I know.

Opportunity.

Security.

Liberty.

Dignity.

Respect.

Honor.

And, yes, the truth.

Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson.

There is truth and there are lies.

Lies told for power and for profit.

And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders - leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation - to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.

I understand that many Americans view the future with some fear and trepidation.

I understand they worry about their jobs, about taking care of their families, about what comes next.

I get it.

But the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don't look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don't get their news from the same sources you do.

We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.

We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.

If we show a little tolerance and humility.

If we're willing to stand in the other person's shoes just for a moment.
Because here is the thing about life: There is no accounting for what fate will deal you.

There are some days when we need a hand.

There are other days when we're called on to lend one.

That is how we must be with one another.

And, if we are this way, our country will be stronger, more prosperous, more ready for the future.

My fellow Americans, in the work ahead of us, we will need each other.

We will need all our strength to persevere through this dark winter.

We are entering what may well be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus.

We must set aside the politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation.

I promise you this: as the Bible says weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.

We will get through this, together

The world is watching today.

So here is my message to those beyond our borders: America has been tested and we have come out stronger for it.

We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.

Not to meet yesterday's challenges, but today's and tomorrow's.

We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example.

We will be a strong and trusted partner for peace, progress, and security.

We have been through so much in this nation.

And, in my first act as President, I would like to ask you to join me in a moment of silent prayer to remember all those we lost this past year to the pandemic.

To those 400,000 fellow Americans - mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

We will honor them by becoming the people and nation we know we can and should be.

Let us say a silent prayer for those who lost their lives, for those they left behind, and for our country.

Amen.

This is a time of testing.

We face an attack on democracy and on truth.

A raging virus.

Growing inequity.

The sting of systemic racism.

A climate in crisis.

America's role in the world.

Any one of these would be enough to challenge us in profound ways.

But the fact is we face them all at once, presenting this nation with the gravest of responsibilities.

Now we must step up.

All of us.

It is a time for boldness, for there is so much to do.

And, this is certain.

We will be judged, you and I, for how we resolve the cascading crises of our era.

Will we rise to the occasion?

Will we master this rare and difficult hour?

Will we meet our obligations and pass along a new and better world for our children?

I believe we must and I believe we will.

And when we do, we will write the next chapter in the American story.

It's a story that might sound something like a song that means a lot to me.

It's called "American Anthem" and there is one verse stands out for me:

"The work and prayers
of centuries have brought us to this day
What shall be our legacy?
What will our children say?...
Let me know in my heart
When my days are through
America
America
I gave my best to you."

Let us add our own work and prayers to the unfolding story of our nation.

If we do this then when our days are through our children and our children's children will say of us they gave their best.

They did their duty.

They healed a broken land.
My fellow Americans, I close today where I began, with a sacred oath.

Before God and all of you I give you my word.

I will always level with you.

I will defend the Constitution.

I will defend our democracy.

I will defend America.

I will give my all in your service thinking not of power, but of possibilities.

Not of personal interest, but of the public good.

And together, we shall write an American story of hope, not fear.

Of unity, not division.

Of light, not darkness.

An American story of decency and dignity.

Of love and of healing.

Of greatness and of goodness.

May this be the story that guides us.

The story that inspires us.

The story that tells ages yet to come that we answered the call of history.

We met the moment.

That democracy and hope, truth and justice, did not die on our watch but thrived.

That our America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world.

That is what we owe our forbearers, one another, and generations to follow.

So, with purpose and resolve we turn to the tasks of our time.

Sustained by faith.

Driven by conviction.

And, devoted to one another and to this country we love with all our hearts.

May God bless America and may God protect our troops.

Thank you, America.

The star of the inauguration was undoubtedly 22 year old Amanda Gorman, whose poem and its delivery were stunning.

Biden takes office during a time of unprecedented challenges which will make his Presidency unique in any event.  It's surreal start makes it, additionally, undoubtedly historic.

January 19

1845  Joseph M. Carey born in Milton Delaware.  He was an 1864 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania College of Law and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1867.  He moved to Wyoming in 1869 and became the first United States Attorney for Wyoming.  He soon served on the Territorial Supreme Court before becoming a Natrona County rancher in 1876.  He entered politics thereafter and became a US Congressman, Senator and Governor of Wyoming.

1859  The screw sloop USS Wyoming launched.  It saw action during the Civil War and in the Far East during the Civil War.  While named Wyoming, it was not named after the state, which of course had not yet been named that.

USS Wyoming in the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits, when she became the first US warship to fire in action in defense of U.S. treaty rights in Japan.

1872  A courthouse in Albany County was completed.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1896  Butch Cassidy (Robert LeRoy Parker) released from the State Penitentiary after serving a term for horse theft. Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1911 Park County organized.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1912  The  Rt. Rev. Patrick A. McGovern named the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne.

1923  Union Pacific firemen had a dance at the Masonic Temple in Rawlins.

1938  First concrete poured on the construction of Seminoe Dam.

It always surprises me to read of these wintertime concrete efforts. And Seminoe is at pretty high altitude too.

1966  Dick Cheney received his six exemption from the draft, this one being for a married man with dependents.

2017  The District Court in Cheyenne dismissed a lawsuit brought by former Wyoming Representative Gerald Gay of Casper, and Karl Allred, an Evanston resident.  The suit had named Governor Mead, Wyoming Attorney General Michaels and a selection of legislators over allegations over improper granting of contracts for the capitol renovation project. The suit always had a politicized atmosphere to it as Gay was a far right conservative firebrand who went down in defeat in the last election over his comments regarding women, which shocked his own party.  The plaintiffs were further represented by Drake Hill, the husband for former Wyoming Secretary of Education Cindy Hill, who has been a controversial figure.  Hill, following the court's decision, vowed to appeal the ruling.

2024  End of a Legend? Sports Illustrated lays off its entire staff.

That's correct.  Just months shy of its 70th Anniversary, SI laid off everyone after failing to pay its licensing fees to the magazine's parent company.

Where I learned of the sad news:

Friday, January 19, 2024

Sports Illustrated, 1954-2024

That's a shame.

Print magazines are rapidly becoming dinosaurs, as we all know.  Many of the greats, such as The New Republic, Time or Newsweek, aren't what they once were. For that matter, many don't print at all.  Newsweek, for instance, does not.

Sic transit glori mundi.

My father subscribed to it.  It came to the house, along with Time, Newsweek, People, Life and Look (when there was a Look).  After we perused them, they went down to his office.  I loved Time and Newsweek (People is trash) and I recall pretty vividly observing South Vietnam's fall as I read them, at 12 years old.

I always looked through Sports Illustrated when I was young, although I think the infamous swimsuit issue, which is and was soft pornography, didn't seem to make an appearance at the house, or the office either.  

It was, and is, a great magazine, covering every sport imaginable.

Wyoming teams appeared on the cover more than once.

As an adult, I lost interest in the magazine, although remained a great one when I occasionally viewed it.  A college friend of mine took up giving me their swimsuit calendar every year for a while when I was a college student, with the great model of that era being Kathy Ireland, who had the Kate Upton role of her era.  Interestingly, both Ireland and Upton are devout Christians (Upton has a cross tattoo on her hand), which given their swimsuit issue role is a bit of a surprise, but perhaps no more than the fact that I had those calendars on my walls during those years, and certainly wouldn't now.

As noted, save for its annual descent into cheesecake, it was a great magazine.

Until now, it appears.

January 18

1890  The editor of the Rawlins newspaper said unmarried men should be taxed $2.50.  Attribution. Wyoming State Historical Society.

1890  The U.S. Senate Committee on Territories recommended a bill to the Senate to make Wyoming a state.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1903   President Theodore Roosevelt sends a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.

1910  The Casper newspaper reported on the relief of a stranded passenger train attempting to go from Lander Wyoming to Casper Wyoming.   The train became stranded for two days on the prairie where it remained until Saturday, January 16 when it was dug out and backed down the railway to Lander.

1916   Secretary of War Newton D. Baker informs Maj. Gen Frederick Funston that the US withdrawing from Mexico.
 

The caption says it all.

Newton D. Baker.

Frederick Funston.

Well, I suppose it might not if you don't know  who Frederick Funston was.  He was the commander of American forces in the Southwest and in overall  charge of the forces then in Mexico, contrary to it being John Pershing, whom people typically imagine to have been in overall charge.  Pershing was the commander in the field, and Funston was his superior.

1918   Industry Stopped. The Industry Vacation of 1918
 

This week in 1918 the United States was day one into an ordered five day industry work stoppage east of the Mississippi, where most American industry was in fact located, something absolutely phenomenal for a nation at war.

The phenomenal move was brought about by a coal shortage and what that meant for food transportation and heating homes.  As American industry was coal fired the thought and hope was that a few days off would give the government time to address the crisis, which was indeed becoming a crisis.

So, as the country started to see some of its first casualties in Europe, the news at home wasn't exactly cheery.

1919   The USS Wyoming becomes the flagship of Rear Admiral Robert Coontz, Commander Battleship Division 7, Battle Squadron 3.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1919     The World War I peace conference opened in Versailles, France.

January 18, 1919. The Paris Peace Conference Commenced.

The work of the war was over, although the peace wasn't very peaceful by a long measure in many places.  Be that as it may, on this day in 1919, the Paris Peace Conference opened to commence the work on arriving at a formal peace.

In addition to the momentous story of the opening of the Paris Peace Conference, some other news was circulating as well, including the start of the news on the uneven treatment the National Guard, which had shouldered a heavy burden in the war, had received from the Regular Army.  It truly did, and indeed it continued to be slighted even into the peace, where the Regular Army, in its memory of the war in France, managed to omit the Guard as much as possible.

1924  Douglas bank closes in failure, part of a waive of bank failures.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society. 

1943  The sale of sliced bread banned in the US.  This was done in order to keep a demand for steel replacement parts for slicers down and because officials with the government had determined that sliced bread required a heavier wrapping.  The ban only remained in effect until March 8, when the government announced the anticipated materials savings had not been realized.

 A World War One bread conservation poster.

January 17

1882  First session of the Wyoming Academy of Sciences.  Attribution:  On  This Day.

1917   Joint Mexican American Committee Concludes

 

Mexican refugee entering the United States.  In spite of the caption, his wealth is probably all on this horse.  Part of the tragedy that involved both the United States and Mexico for well over a decade.

The Joint Committee between the US and Mexico concluded its business.  With the agreement of December 24, 1916 having been made, with Carranza having refused to sign it, and with events overcoming the United States that would give Carranza the result he wanted anyway, there was no more work to be done.

 

Porfirio Diaz in full military costume.  The collapse of his rule lead to the long civil war in Mexico.

Some have stated that the mere existence of the Joint Committee was a success in and of itself, and there is some truth to that.  The committee worked for months on an agreement and came to one, and even if Carranza would not execute it as it didn't guaranty the withdraw of American forces, the fact that the country was now hurtling towards war with Germany made it necessary for that to occur without American formal assent to Carranza's demand.  By not agreeing to it, the US was not bound not to intervene again, which was one of the points that it had sought in the first place. Events essentially gave both nations what they had been demanding.

 

 Revolutionary, intellectual, and radical. General Carranza.  His government fought Villa and Zapata successfully, but he'd go down in a coup lead by his own general, Obregon some years later. 

Even if that was the case this step, the first in the beginning of the end of the event we have been tracking since March, has to be seen as a Mexican Constitutionalist victory in the midst of the Mexican Revolution.  At the time the Commission came to the United States it represented only one side in a three way (sometimes more) Mexican civil war that was still raging.  Even as Carranza demanded that the United States withdraw his forces were not uniformly doing well against either Villa or Zapata.  Disdaining the United States in general, in spite of the fact that Wilson treated his government as the de facto government, he also knew that he could not be seen to be achieving victory over Villa through the intervention of the United States, nor could he be seen to be allowing a violation of Mexican sovereignty.  His refusal to acquiesce to allowing American troops to cross the border in pursuit of raiders, something that the Mexican and American governments had allowed for both nations since the mid 19th Century, allowed him to be seen as a legitimate defender of Mexican sovereignty and as the legitimate head of a Mexican government.

 

More typically imagined in a sombrero, General Francisco Villa.  The colorful, erratic, and perhaps somewhat mentally unstable Villa would attempt to retire to a ranch he acquired after his surrender to Obregon and Carranza, but he ended up being assassinated under cloudy circumstances in 1923.  His killer would live into the 1950s and declare at the end of his life that he'd rid the world of a "monster".

 Emiliano Zapata and his staff.  Zapata was an agrarian and looked the part, which we in turn tend to confuse with the look of the Mexican Revolution.  As with many leaders of the Mexican Revolution, Zapata was assassinated, although unlike Villa he still commanded an army in the field at the time of his death.

As will be seen, even though the war in Mexico raged on, events were overtaking the US and Mexico very quickly.  The Constitutionalist government was legitimizing itself as a radical Mexican de jure government and would quickly become just that.  Revolutions against it would go on for years, but it was very quickly moving towards full legitimacy.  And the United States, having failed to capture Villa or even defeat the Villistas, and having accepted an effective passive role in Mexico after nearly getting into a full war with the Constitutionalist, now very much had its eye on Europe and could not strategically afford to be bogged down in Mexico.  A silent desire to get out of Mexico had become fully open.  The rough terms of the agreement arrived upon by the Committee, while never ratified by Carranza, would effectively operate anyway and the United States now very quickly turned to withdrawing from Mexico.

 

Alvaro Obregon, whose competence and study of military tactics lead to the defeat of Pancho Villa and his Division del Norte.  He'd ultimately become present of Mexico following his coup against Carranza.  Obregon would serve one term as president of Mexico, and was elected to a second term to follow his successor Calles, but he was assassinated prior to taking office.

1919  January 17, 1919. Fake News

I've been impressed, by and large, by how quickly the papers of a century ago reported the news, and often how accurately.

But that wasn't always the case.

Such was the case regarding the murder of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.

We've already touched on this story, but what I didn't realize, and in fact what's contrary to the way the story tends to be reported now, their murder was known have occurred almost immediately after it occurred.  I thought it took a period of days, but not so.

But the story surrounding that murder was completely false.

Their murders did add fuel to the Communist flames, as the Casper paper reported, but it certainly wasn't at the hand of the Berlin populace, as seemingly all papers reported that day.  There was no Berliner storming of the lobby of a hotel where they were staying.  No mob clubbed Liebknecht and lynched Luxemburg (although her body was thrown in a canal).  No, indeed, the story was ludicrous given that Berlin had the reputation of being a far left city at the time. . . Red Berlin.

As we know, they were killed by the Freikorps, under orders of a Freikorps Captain Waldemar Pabst, formerly an officer of the German Imperial Army.  Liebknecht was clubbed to death with a rifle butt.  Luxemburg was shot.  Both were tortured. But not by a crowd of Berliners.

How did the contrary story get started?  I don't know, but I have to suspect it was a planted story to cover up the murder.

1920  January 17, 1920. And then the entire nation was dry forever. . .

or so it seemed.

The Wyoming State Tribune, which was united with the rest of the press in seeing Prohibition as a great advance, counselled that eternal vigilance would be necessary to keep the nation dry.

An article in Colliers already used the term "moonshine" in connection with bootleg liquor, and featured this illustration with a young boy confronting "Revenues".

1930  Kendall Wyoming hits -52F.

1933 A Baggs school-bell was rung in the Bells of Hope Presidential Inauguration celebration.  Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.

1955  The 141st Medium Tank Battalion, Wyoming Army National Guard, which had been mobilized due to the Korean War, but which was not sent overseas, was deactivated.
2010  Small earthquake swarm commences in Yellowstone National Park.

January 16

Today is Martin Luther King Day for 2012.  The day is observed on the third Monday of each year.

Today is Wyoming Equality Day for 2012.  The day is observed on the third Monday of each year.  This is, of course, a state holiday only.

The fact that the days overlap is not coincidental.  Wyoming was slow to recognize the Martin Luther King Day holiday.  The reason does not stem from racism, but rather from the fact that the Wyoming Legislature of the time felt the holiday was an intrusion on the state's rights and that it was, additionally, worried about the creation of an additional Federal holiday at at time in which fewer and fewer are actually recognized by non governmental employees.  There was also a feeling on the part of the sitting legislature that the holiday was, in some way, not directly applicable to the state, given the state's long history of recognizing equality.  The conflict was ultimately solved by the state passing a holiday recognizing Wyoming's pioneering role in equality which fell on the same date as the Martin Luther King Holiday.

1847  John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.

1882. H. R. 3174 introduced by Congressman Post, of Wyoming, to construct a military road from Fort Washakie to Yellowstone Park. Adversely reported later by Military Affairs Committee.

1883   The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is passed.

1910  Contrary to yesterday's entry, others note that today is actually the day in which the Buffalo Bill Dam was completed, and not the last cement was poured on this date, in sub zero weather.  The dam was originally named the Shoshone Dam.

1915   Younghawk, an Indian scout for the 7th Cavalry who participated in the valley and hilltop fights at Little Big Horn, died in Elbowood, North Dakota.

1919  Wyoming ratified the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Wyoming, North Carolina, Utah, Nebraska, and Missouri push the 18th Amendment over the top.

On this day in 1919, Wyoming, in combination with North Carolina, Utah, Nebraska and Missouri ratified the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution.  These legislative acts secured a sufficient number of votes to make the 18th Amendment the law. The Senate had passed the original proposal on August 1, 1917 and the House a revised variant on December 17, 1917.  The various states passed it in the following order:

1. Mississippi (January 7, 1918)
2. Virginia (January 11, 1918)
3. Kentucky (January 14, 1918)
4. North Dakota (January 25, 1918)
5. South Carolina (January 29, 1918)
6. Maryland (February 13, 1918)
7. Montana (February 19, 1918)
8. Texas (March 4, 1918)
9. Delaware (March 18, 1918)
10. South Dakota (March 20, 1918)
11. Massachusetts (April 2, 1918)
12. Arizona (May 24, 1918)
13. Georgia (June 26, 1918)
14. Louisiana (August 3, 1918)
15. Florida (November 27, 1918)
16. Michigan (January 2, 1919)
17. Ohio (January 7, 1919)
18. Oklahoma (January 7, 1919)
19. Idaho (January 8, 1919)
20. Maine (January 8, 1919)
21. West Virginia (January 9, 1919)
22. California (January 13, 1919)
23. Tennessee (January 13, 1919)
24. Washington (January 13, 1919)
25. Arkansas (January 14, 1919)
26. Illinois (January 14, 1919)
27. Indiana (January 14, 1919)
28. Kansas (January 14, 1919)
29. Alabama (January 15, 1919)
30. Colorado (January 15, 1919)
31. Iowa (January 15, 1919)
32. New Hampshire (January 15, 1919)
33. Oregon (January 15, 1919)
34. North Carolina (January 16, 1919)
35. Utah (January 16, 1919)
36. Nebraska (January 16, 1919)
37. Missouri (January 16, 1919)
38. Wyoming (January 16, 1919)
39. Minnesota (January 17, 1919)
40. Wisconsin (January 17, 1919)
41. New Mexico (January 20, 1919)
42. Nevada (January 21, 1919)
43. New York (January 29, 1919)
44. Vermont (January 29, 1919)
45. Pennsylvania (February 25, 1919)
46. New Jersey (March 9, 1922)

Connecticut and Rhode Island told Congress to pound dry sand and didn't ratify the amendment, not that that matter in context.  There were, of course, only 48 states at the time.

The 18th Amendment provided:

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all the territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

While the intent of the Amendment was clear; "bone dry prohibition", it didn't actually provide any definitions and so it required legislation to make it effective, which was quick in coming. 

As this list should indicate, Prohibition was actually massively popular in the United States including the Western United States.  Only two states refused to ratify the proposed amendment.  I'm not sure what the situation was in Connecticut, but Rhode Island was heavily Catholic with a large Italian demographic and likely found the proposal abhorrent for that reason.  Still, it's somewhat telling that Wyoming's ratification came with a slate of late Western states that voted for it.  Still, the entire process really only took one year once Congress had passed it.

Everyone is well aware of how the history of Prohibition worked and its generally regarded as a failure.  Like most popular history, it's become mythologized, which isn't a bad thing in and of itself as myths are the means by which humans originally remembered their history.  However, like other instances in which an event quickly turned into an unacceptable defeat, the myth isn't completely accurate.  The popular myth is that Prohibition was unpopular from the start and is a failed example of legislating morality.  While it may be an example of such a failure, it very clearly wasn't unpopular at first and in fact the opposite was very much the case.  Indeed, as late as the election of 1922 it remained so popular in Wyoming that William B. Ross, the Democrat who ran for office, ran on a platform of more strictly enforcing its provisions.

So a person might reasonably ask what happened to cause it to so rapidly fail and to be so inaccurately remembered.  Quite a few things really.

For one thing, the final push to pass Prohibition came in the context of World War One.  While momentum to pass it had been building for well over a decade, the war caused an enormous fear that American youth would be exposed to the corrupting influences of European culture.  If that seems really odd, and it is, we have to keep in mind that American culture in the 1910s remained predominantly Protestant in outlook (and indeed it still is).  English speaking Protestants took a distinctively different view of drink in this period than their Catholic fellows, in part because their history with it was considerably different.  While early Protestants had not been opposed to drink at all, this had evolved and by this point there was a strong anti drinking culture in the English speaking world.  People feared that progress on the anti drinking front would be lost when young Americans were exposed to French wine and, frankly, French women.

But for the most part the cultural impact on Americans, who were not in the war long, was much less than it would be for later wars, even where they fought overseas.  So this fear did not really last that long.  The short but deep depression that followed the war, moreover, reminded people that alcohol was an agricultural byproduct, and like a lot of things that impact a person's wallet, that had an influence.  The lid coming off of the culture in the 1920s had an additional big impact on things as the 1920s started to Roar and Prohibition became fashionable to flaunt.  That in turn inspired criminal activity that became a major problem.  By the early 1930s Americans had substantially changed their minds as a second depression, the Great Depression, again depressed the agricultural sector along with every other.  So, after a short stint, Prohibition went from massively popular to substantially unpopular, and the 18th Amendment was repealed.

1919  January 16, 1919 (Other than Prohibition). Back to War? Wyoming National Guardsmen "in the heart of Prussia", Smaller Baseball Salaries?

The Cheyenne newspaper had some shocking headlines, in addition to the expected arrival of Prohibition, on this day in 1919.  Fears of a resumed war in Europe loomed large as German objections to the terms of the peace were developing.

News of a revolution in Argentina had been in the press all week long as well. And now there was news of a revolution in Peru.

And baseball salaries, reportedly huge just prior to this time, but certainly not retrospectively, were in the news.

Officers of the 49th Infantry Division arriving in New York on January 16, 1919.  Note the officer on the left is wearing pince nez glasses, still in style at the time.  The officer in the middle is wearing leather gloves of a type that would continue to see use for decades.

While fears of a revived war were in the press in Cheyenne, troops were none the less still pouring home.

Fantastic "yard long" panoramic photograph of Camp Custer, Michigan, copyrighted on this day in 1919.  Not taken on this day clearly, but a great photo.

1920     Prohibition began as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect.  Wyoming's politicians were surprisingly supportive of prohibition, even though the population began evading it from the onset of the Volstead Act.

This, of course, was the official arrival of permanent, or thought to be permanent, Prohibition under an amendment to the United States Constitution and the enabling act the Volstead Act.  Wyoming, which was very supportive of Prohibition at first, helped push it over the top.

Indeed, by this point Wyoming was several months into state prohibition.  Often forgotten, however, the enter country was now in "wartime" prohibition, which had passed during World War One ostensibly as a grain saving measure.  As the US didn't ratify the Versailles Treaty, the war was technically still on and wartime prohibition still in effect.  Therefore, the night prior wasn't a giant party by drinkers seeking one last legal drink.  The sale of alcohol had been illegal for months.

1924  First aircraft landing at Pinedale.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1943  A B-17 bomber did a ground loop in high winds at the Casper Air Base.  Wind was a contributing cause.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1944  USS Johnson County, which was not named that at the time, but later renamed that in honor of several counties in various states, including Wyoming, called that, commissioned.


1944.  Rev. Francis Penny was appointed pastor of St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Cody but he resided at St. Barbara's in Powell where he was administrator in the absence of Rev. Fred Kimmett.  Rev. Kimmett was serving as Chaplain in the U.S. Armed Services.

1953  Wyoming's long National Guard association with cavalry ends when the 115th Cavalry becomes the 349th Armored Field Artillery.  The 115th had not been activated during the ongoing Korean War.

2017  Today is Equality Day for 2017

Elsewhere: 

1917  Admiral George Dewey dies
 

George Dewey, a hero of the Spanish American War and the only U.S. officer to ever hold the rank Admiral of the Navy died at age 79 on this date in 1917.  He had been an officer in the U.S. Navy since the Civil War but obtained fame during the war with Spain during which his fleet took Manila Bay, securing the Philippines for the United States.

 Dewey as a Captain while with the Bureau of Equipment.

Dewey was a Naval Academy graduate from the Class of 1858.  He saw very active service during the Civil War with service on a variety of vessels.  He married Susan Goodwin after the Civil War and had one son, George, by Susan in 1872, but she died only five days thereafter leaving him a widower with a young son.  He none the less shortly received sea duty, retaining it until 1880 when he was assigned to lighthouse administration duty, a serious assignment at the time.  His son was principally raised by his aunts and would not follow the military career of his father, becoming instead a stock broker who passed away, having never married, in 1963.  Dewey himself asked for sea duty again in 1893 as he felt his health was deteriorating with a desk job.  He was therefore assigned, at the rank of Commodore, to command the Asiatic Squadron in  1897.

Seeing the war coming and receiving what were essentially war warnings from Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt in the weeks leading up to the Spanish American War, he based himself at Hong Kong, the British possession, and began war preparations from there.  His fleet was ordered out of harbor at Hong Kong only shortly before the declaration of war with Spain as the British, knowing that the war was to come, did not want a belligerent power in their ports, which they were effectively doing in the run up to war. His squadron was therefore well situated, if not completely re-outfitted, to attack Manila Bay only a few days later, on April 30, 1898 after war had been declared.  In a one sided victory which cost only one American life (of course the "only" wouldn't mean much to that sailor) Spanish naval power in the Philippines was essentially eliminated in the battle.  As a result he became a household name and a great American hero of the era.

 Heroic painting of Dewey in the Battle of Manila in the Maine State House.

Dewey married for the second time (second marriages were somewhat looked down upon for widowers) in 1899, this time to the widow of a U.S. Army general.  The marriage to Mildred McLean Hazen would be a factor, amongst several others, in keeping him from running for President in 1900, which was a semi popular position with some people and which he entertained.  His second wife was Catholic and the marriage had been a Catholic ceremony, which angered Protestants at a time at which it remained effectively impossible for a Catholic to run for that office.  In 1903 he was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Navy in honor of his Spanish American War achievement making him the only U.S. officer to ever hold that rank.

 Dewey in 1903.

The extent to which Dewey was a huge hero at the time cannot be overestimated.  That he would seriously be considered as a Presidential contender, and seriously consider running, says something about his fame at the time.  His promotion to a rank that is matched only to that held by John Pershing in the U.S. Army, and which of course Pershing did not yet hold, meant that he was effectively at that time holding a rank that exceeded that granted to any other American officer during their lifetime and which has never been exceeded by any Naval officer since.  A special medal was struck bearing his likeness and awarded to every sailor or marine serving in the battle, a remarkable unique military award.  That he is not a household name today, and he is not, says a lot about the fickle nature of fame.

Armour's meat packing calendar from 1899, Dewey medal, as it is commonly known, on lower left corner.

There's no denying that Admiral Dewey's death had a certain fin de siecle feel to it, particularly when combined with the passing of Buffalo Bill Cody, which happened the prior week, and also in combination with the death of another famous person which was about to occur.  It is not that Dewey and Cody had similar careers or that they'd become famous for the same reason, but there was a sense that the transition age which began in the 1890s and continued on into the early 20th Century was ending.  Both Cody and Dewey had careers that started at about the same time. Both were Civil War veterans.  If Cody became famous well before the 1890s, which he did, it was also the case that in some ways the full flower of his Wild West Show came during that period.  Indeed, Cody had modified his show after the Spanish American War to feature the "Congress of Rough Riders", building on the romantic notions that the term "Rough Rider" conveyed. That term, of course, had come up during the Spanish American War to describe members of the three volunteer cavalry regiments raised during that conflict, never mind that only one of them, the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, saw service in the war and that it was in fact deployed dismounted.

 Dewey receiving Roosevelt on board the Olympia, 1909.

Indeed, the actual Spanish American War had been a fully modern war, much like the Boer War was, and which saw the US attempting to belatedly adapt to that change.  The Navy was really better prepared for it than the Army.  That contributed to the peculiar nature of the era, however, with combat being much like what we'd later see in World War One but with the service still having one foot in the Civil War era.  By the war's end, of course, the US was a global colonial power, whether it was ready to be or not, and that was a large part of the reason that Dewey was such a celebrated figure.  His actions in the Philippines had significantly contributed to the defeat of a European colonial power, albeit a weak and decrepit one, and which helped to make the US a colonial power, albeit a confused and reluctant one.  The passing of Dewey and Cody seem, even now, to have the feel of the people who opened the door stepping aside to let they party in, just before they go back out.

Dewey in retirement, 1912.

January 15

1883  Cheyenne puts in electric street lights.

1886.  Union Pacific employees required to wear blue uniforms. Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1890  Eleventh and final Territorial Legislature convened.

1890  The Wyoming Supreme Court, in the first of what has come to be an ongoing series of decisions, found Wyoming's system for funding public schools unconstitutional.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1910  Work completed on the Buffalo Bill Dam.

1919  January 15, 1919. Murders in Germany, The Eve of Prohibition in the United States

This day is the centennial of one of the giant, and most mythologized days in the history of communism.  Indeed, it's one of its foundational myths, and like most myths cited by communists, they've cited it without really grasping the story.  On this day in 1919 German Freikorps officers murdered Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.  The had both been captured following the collapse of the Communist uprising in Berlin and both tortured prior to their murder on this day.

Beyond that the details are murky.

It's known that they were under the custody of the Freikorps Garde-Kavallerie-Shutzendivision, a cavalry Freikorps unit that had been committed to action after the German Army had failed to put down an earlier phase of the rebellion and in fact had been repulsed.  The Socialist German provisional government then turned to the right wing Freikorps, which did put it down.  Both Socialist leaders were captured in the wake of the collapse of the rebellion.  Both were tortured and the units commander Waldemar Pabst and a lieutenant in the unit, Horst von Pflugk-Harttung gave orders for them to be killed.  The killing was very clearly a murder.  Liebknecht was sent to the morgue as an unidentified body and Luxemburg was dumped in a canal.  Their execution would spark further left wing rebellion.

Luxemburg.  Even in her portraits she appears vaguely perplexed.

The fact that it sparked additional uprisings says something about the extent to which Luxemburg and Liebknecht were held in high regard by the German hard left.  The irony is that neither of them were as radical as they are now remembered to be.  Indeed, it's hard not to look at both of them and assign a certain level of cluelessness to them.  They had been opponents of the German war effort in World War One, as radical socialist generally were, but they were also opposed to the Sparticist uprising itself.  They went along with it when it came, perhaps feeling they had no choice.  Luxemburg, who was a Pole by birth and who had adopted Germany as her home and as the center of her revolutionary activities, was a critic of Lenin's and a vocal proponent of allowing all sides to participate in an imagined future democratic Germany.  Both of them would have ironically found more of a home in the side they were rebelling against and in the name of revolution essentially operated against the very thing they were attempting to build.  Had they lived, they would have been unlikely to have remained Communists and their views certainly did not square with the Communism that was rapidly coming into being in Soviet Russia.

Liebknechct, who was a lawyer by profession.

Pabst, whom we would figure would have been a Nazi official, did not become that but briefly and went into the World War Two years as a businessman, after having been influential in early Nazi politics even though he never joined the Nazi Party, and fled to Switzerland on the even of the July 20 plot.  It's not known if he was an extreme right wing sympathizer with it, but that fact is extremely odd if he was not.  After World War Two he returned to Germany and associated himself with extreme right wing political parties again.  He claimed that German Socialists Noske and Ebert had approved of his actions in ordering the murders of Luxemburg and Liebknecht but as he made that claim well after the war there's no way to know the truth of that claim and at least to me it seems highly unlikely.  He died in Germany in 1970 at age 89, never having been punished for his role in the murders.

Both Liebknecht and Luxemburg have gone on to become Communist martyrs, an irony given that their views, while radically socialist, were also radically democratic, and did not square well with the German Communist Party's that they helped come into being, or with the Russian one at that time.  In retrospect, they seem to have been more in the nature of true Social Democrats who went along with a rebellion and aided in it, when they really ought to have stepped back.

Concrete Central Elevator.  January 15, 1919.

Closer to home it was clear that Prohibition was on the right side of history and about to become the law of the land.

And some Wyoming artillerymen were arriving home.  Governor Carey was addressing the state, and calling for a memorial for those lost in the recent war.

1941  School in Kooi destroyed by fire. Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1967 The first Super Bowl, an American celebration of televised advertising, occurred. A football game was also played as the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League, 35-10.

1991  The 1022nd Medical Company, Wyoming Army National Guard, deployed to Saudi Arabia.

2001 Wikipedia made its debut.