180 years ago, a little-known American hero was born. Willian Henry Jackson, with the aid of his camera, presented to many people back east the first-ever photographs of the geysers, animals, and other features of Yellowstone. Presented in Congress alongside paintings by his friend Thomas Moran, the images were instrumental in the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872. READ more, and see some of the first images of Yellowstone… (1843)

In 1870 Jackson won a commission from the Union Pacific Railway and the U.S. Geological Survey to accompany Ferdinand Hayden’s expedition to Yellowstone and the Rocky Mountains. For some years tales of a “wonderland” where rivers boiled and the pastel ground fell away under one’s feet had intrigued the government who wanted to learn more. Jackson’s involvement with Hayden’s survey established his reputation as one of the most accomplished explorers of the American continent.

Being a photographer back then was hard and dangerous. Risking death in many ways, by animal and cold, the photography was based on the collodion process, and the equipment was heavy and bulky to work with. He would go on to capture the first photos of the Anasazi dwellings at Mesa Verde in Colorado, and later to be part of a round-the-world scientific expedition to North Africa, the Middle East, India and Australia, East Asia, Russia, Europe, East Africa, then finally South and Central America, before returning home with 900 images.

MORE Good News on this Date:

• Bluesman ‘Muddy Waters‘ was born in Mississippi (1913)
• Anne Frank, the 14-year-old Holocaust victim, wrote in her diary: “I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift…of expressing all that is in me” (1944)
• The North Atlantic Treaty pact was signed by twelve nations to create NATO (1949)
• The peace sign was created by artist Gerald Holtom in London for an anti-war protest in Aldermaston, England, incorporating the flag signals (semaphores) for the letters N and D – for Nuclear Disarmament (1958)
• Happy Birthday to Robert Downey, Jr., who turns 58 today (1965)
• Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Joni Mitchell, Al Kooper and Ted Nugent met up for an all-night blues, folk and rock session at The New Generation Club, New York after hearing the news of Martin Luther King’s assassination (1968)
• The first temporary artificial heart was implanted by Dr. Denton Cooley (1969)
• President Ronald Reagan called for an international ban on chemical weapons (1984)
• The Angola government and UNITA rebels signed a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War (2002)
• Prosecutor John M. Tran, elected by the state’s General Assembly, became the first Asian-American to serve as judge in the Commonwealth of Virginia (2013)

59 years ago today, Beatlemania was in full bloom as the band held every one of the top five spots on the US singles chart. The Beatles packed the Billboard Hot 100 with Please Please Me, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Roll Over Beethoven, Love Me Do—and at No.1 Can’t Buy Me Love.

The Fab Four also had another nine songs lower on the chart, bringing their unprecedented total to fourteen, after having arrived in the U.S. two months earlier for a tour. (1964)

And, on this day 48 years ago, Microsoft was founded as a partnership between childhood friends and computer whiz-kids Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The company became the largest seller of software in the world (MS-DOS for early IBM PCs, and later, Windows and Microsoft Office). It also makes the Xbox game console. (1975)

And, 136 years ago today, likely the first female elected to any office in the United States, Susanna M. Salter, won the mayoral race in Argonia, Kansas.

At the time, women didn’t even have the right to vote in national elections. Her name had been placed on the ballot as a prank by a group of men who were actually against women in politics and hoped to secure a humiliating loss that would discourage females from running… Salter herself did not even know she was among the slate of candidates before the polls opened. When, on election day itself, she agreed to accept office if elected, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union abandoned its preferred candidate and voted for Salter en masse, helping to secure her election by a two-thirds majority. She reportedly presided over the city government with great decorum. (1887)

And, Happy 63rd Birthday to Hugo Weaving the English-Australian actor best known for playing Agent Smith in The Matrix trilogy, Lord Elrond in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, ‘V’ in V for Vendetta, and Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger.

His voice acting roles include a sheepdog in Babe, a penguin leader in Happy Feet, and as Megatron in the Transformers film series. He has also been outspoken about his epilepsy in support of research in Australia. ENJOY 14 minutes of Hugo Weaving’s soothing voice… (1960)

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