This Day in History July 9

July 9

1776 Dec of Ind read aloud to Gen Washington's troops in NY
1800 Mt Vernon Gardens becomes site of 1st summer theatre in US
1816 Argentina declares independence from Spain
1846 Capt Montgomery claims Yerba Buena for US
1850 Zachary Taylor 12th pres of US, dies in White House served 16 mo
1853 Adm Perry & US Navy visit Japan
1862 Gen John Hunt Morgan captures Tompkinsville, Ky
1863 Union troops enter Port Hudson
1868 1st black cabinet member in SC (Francis L Cardozo-sect of state)
1872 Doughnut cutter patented by John Blondel, Thomaston, Me
1878 An improved corncob pipe patented by Henry Tibbe, Washington, Mo
1893 Daniel H Williams performs "world's 1st successful heart operation"
1910 Walter Brookins becomes 1st to pilot an airplane to 1 mile altitude
1915 Germany surrenders South West Africa to Union of South Africa
1916 1st cargo submarine to cross the Atlantic arrives in US from Germany
1917 British warship "Vanguard" explodes at Scapa Flow
1918 US Army's Distinguished Service Cross authorized
1927 Atty William T Francis named minister to Liberia
1944 World's largest circus tent catches fire at Ringling Brother's - Barnum & Bailey 2nd performance. (Hartford Conn)
1947 Britain's Princess Elizabeth & Lt Philip Mountbatten's engagement
1951 Pres Truman asked Congress to formally end state of war with Germany
1953 1st helicopter passenger service (NYC)
1955 1st black executive on White House staff (E Frederic Morrow)
1957 Discovery of element 102 (Nobelium) announced
1958 Giant splash caused by fall of 90 million tons of rock & ice into Lituya Bay, Alaska washes 1,800 feet up the mountain
1976 Uganda asks UN to condemn Israeli hostage rescue raid on Entebbe
1978 Nearly 100,000 demonstrators march on Wash DC for ERA
1979 Dr Walter Massey named director of Argonne national Lab
1982 Margaret Thatcher begins her 2nd term as British prime minster
1982 Pan Am Boeing 727 crashes in Kenner, La

And in 1994, my wife and I were married...

1958 Giant splash caused by fall of 90 million tons of rock & ice into Lituya Bay, Alaska washes 1,800 feet up the mountain

Now this would have been something to see! From a safe distance!!!


Eyewitness account

At 22:15 hours PST on July 9, 1958, which was still daylight at that time of year, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 struck the Lituya Bay area. The tide was ebbing at about plus 1.5 m and the weather was clear. Anchored in Anchorage Cove, near the west side of the entrance of the bay,:[7]

With the first jolt, I tumbled out of the bunk and looked toward the head of the bay where all the noise was coming from. The mountains were shaking something awful, with slide of rock and snow, but what I noticed mostly was the glacier, the north glacier, the one they call Lituya Glacier. I know you can’t ordinarily see that glacier from where I was anchored. People shake their heads when I tell them I saw it that night. I can’t help it if they don’t believe me. I know the glacier is hidden by the point when you’re in Anchorage Cove, but I know what I saw that night, too. The glacier had risen in the air and moved forward so it was in sight. It must have risen several hundred feet. I don’t mean it was just hanging in the air. It seems to be solid, but it was jumping and shaking like crazy. Big chunks of ice were falling off the face of it and down into the water. That was six miles away and they still looked like big chunks. They came off the glacier like a big load of rocks spilling out of a dump truck. That went on for a little while—its hard to tell just how long—and then suddenly the glacier dropped back out of sight and there was a big wall of water going over the point. The wave started for us right after that and I was too busy to tell what else was happening up there.[7]

Big day for me. On this date my only daughter was born in Houston,TX.