King's Day

The Museumplein ('Museum Square'), the Van Gogh Museum is visible at the right with the Concertgebouw ('Concert Building') in the background.

Today is King's Day in The Netherlands. It used to be called Queen's Day (in Dutch: Koninginnedag, try to pronounce that) but since 2013 we have a king instead of a queen.

It seems like the whole nation dresses up in orange (one of the surnames of the queen king is 'from Orange') and visits Amsterdam. Since I don't like large crowds, and I have no desire to witness the annual massive train congestion first hand, I stay at home.

next episode: steen

Vicksburg Waterfront (II)

Vicksburg waterfront with the Mississippi River, ca. 1909 (Detroit Publishing Co)

Coca Cola was first bottled in Vicksburg by Joseph Biedenharn, who owned a small candy store on Washington Street. He shipped it to the plantations in the Delta. Excerpt from a photo found on Shorpy.com.

next episode: king

Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford (Toronto, April 8, 1892 – Santa Monica, May 29, 1979) was a motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

next episode: Vicksburg

Ford's Theatre

An interactive view of Ford's Theatre.

You can get a 360 degrees view by dragging with the mouse. Zooming is also possible. 

Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865 at the Ford's Theatre in Washington.

After the assassination and the execution of the conspirators John T. Ford was given permission to reopen his theatre. He announced the play “The Octoroon”, but after a large uproar he was forced to close his theatre and to sell the building to the government. It was in use by the Office of Records and Pensions (run by the War Department) when on June 9th, 1893 the three upper floors collapsed  causing the death of 24 men.

The building after the collapse in 1893 (NPS photo).

John T. Ford, theater proprietor .

(This is a repost from 2 years ago) 

next episode: mary p.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, May 7, 1858 (photo by Abraham M. Byers)  

April 14-15 will mark the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination. 

Abraham Lincoln, August 9, 1863 (photo by Alexander Gardner)

An overview of all his photos can be found here.

next episode: the inevitable theatre

Evelyn Holt

Evelyn Holt

Evelyn Holt (1908 - 2001) was a highly popular German film actress in the late silent and the early sound era. The rise of the Nazis finished her blossoming film career. The reason: her original name looked too Jewish. She managed to survive by a career at the Komische Oper in Berlin, but when she married a Jewish publisher her stage career was halted as well. In 1938 the couple emigrated first to Switzerland, then in 1940 to Britain, and finally to the US. Evelyn Holt stayed in the US until her death in Los Angeles in 2001, but she never performed in a film again.

next episode: an island