On July 29th, 2005, NASA formally announced a discovery that had the potential to completely change our understanding of the galaxy we live in. The Planet Eris was discovered in January of 2005, but not announced until late July of the same year. The planet was similar in size to Pluto, and scientists began to wonder if they had discovered a 10th planet in our solar system.
The discovery of Eris changed our definition of planets. In size, eris was similar to other dwarf planets, but also Pluto. There were various debates and discussions over whether Eris should be considered a planet or a dwarf planet. This influenced scientists to redefine what is classified as a planet, and what is classified as a dwarf planet. As shared in The Gazette on August 24th, 2006, the discovery of Eris (then called Xena) pushed scientists to make a decision. Since Eris was larger than Pluto, would it become the 10th planet in the solar system? If it was classified as a dwarf planet, then Pluto would have to be demoted from its planetary status. Eventually, they came to a decision and classified Eris as a dwarf planet, which then demoted the beloved Pluto and changed our list of planets in our solar system.
Princess Diana was a beloved figure even for those outside of the United Kingdom. She was known as the People’s Princess because of how beloved she was to more than just her country. In the Robinson Daily News on November 13th, 1985, they shared that Americans were just as hung up on princess Diana as the United Kingdom was. She was introduced to the world through her marriage to Prince Charles on July 29th, 1981. As expected, her wedding was no less iconic than she was herself.
The royal couple got married at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, rather than Westminster Abbey where most royal weddings have taken place. The Robinson Daily News called it a fairy tale wedding because of its extravagance. Millions of people watched their wedding from around the world, 750 million people to be exact. It was the first time in 300 years that the heir to the throne married a British citizen, but people were even more drawn to the woman herself. Her dress was made by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, and featured layers of silk, lace, and sequins. One of the key elements was the 25-foot-long train that trailed behind her as she walked down the aisle.
More beautiful than the wedding though was the person that Princess Diana was in her soul. She was known for her activism and genuine care for her country. Diana was focused on many causes, but most importantly she focused on raising awareness for the AIDS crisis and breaking the stigma surrounding the disease. She was a loving mother to two sons, William and Harry. Diana was also known for her style, which helped to shape the fashion industry in the 80s and 90s. One of her most notable outfits is the ‘revenge dress’ she wore the night her husband Prince Charles disclosed his infidelity, and this move has inspired fashion lovers to this day.
Other than her reputation as a generous and caring princess, she is also known for her tragic passing. On August 31, 1997, she was involved in a car accident in Paris while traveling through the Pont de l’Alma tunnel when her car hit a pillar. She suffered from a concussion, a broken arm, and severe chest wounds. She was taken to a hospital to undergo a lifesaving surgery, but the medical professionals weren’t able to stop the internal bleeding which eventually took her life early in the next morning. Her death shocked the world and hit the United Kingdom hard. She was one of the most beloved members of the royal family, and she was mourned as such.
Space exploration played a major role in the Cold War era. Tension between the soviet union and the United States was high, and they competed in various areas of advancement, including space exploration. In 1958, the soviet union reached the milestone of successfully putting a satellite into orbit around the Earth. In response to this, on July 29th, 1958, President Dwight D Eisenhower signed into law the creation of a space exploration and sciences agency. The following day, as shared in the Newark Evening News, Eisenhower requested an additional $125 million in funding for the organization, showing his full faith in the success of the project.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, more commonly known as NASA, has been behind some of the biggest space exploration missions and achievements in the modern day. It didn’t take long after their creation for NASA to send their first satellite into space. On January 31st, 1958, explorer 1 was sent into orbit, and the United States was officially in the running for the space race.
Since then, NASA has achieved great feats. From landing the first humans on the moon to countless outer space discoveries, our knowledge of space would be significantly smaller without the achievements of NASA.
With the sheer amount of countries involved in the Second World War, we often tend to focus on the biggest players. In my middle and high school history classes, we covered the American battles against Germany and Japan, and the atrocities committed during the holocaust countless times. However, there are players in the world war who we didn’t hear about nearly enough. A story from World War two that i find is often overlooked is that of the Warsaw Uprising.
During World War two, Poland was under German and soviet occupation since 1939. During this occupation, the people of Poland were treated violently and began to organize a government in exile to push back on the Nazi and Soviet regimes.
In the summer of 1944, the Polish saw an opening to free their capital city of Warsaw. The soviet red army was advancing west, and the Polish decided now was their time to rise. The battle began on August 1st, 1944, and was incredibly bloody. The day it began, the Newark Evening News printed the story under the headline “Warsaw in Flames”.
The Polish Home Army was comprised of mostly civilians who had grown tired of being under occupation, and they decided to fight back. Some important groups who fought bravely in the uprising were women and youth. Women served as medics and some of them even fought in the uprising. What I found most interesting though was learning about the impact the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts had in the fight. The scouts were prevented from doing their regular activities, and because of this, they directed their attention toward the civil uprising. Some kids as young as 12 fought along with the resistance fighters to help regain control of Warsaw.
While the Polish had strong numbers of fighters, they just weren’t as well armed as their opponents. This didn’t stop Poland from fighting as long as they possibly could. The uprising lasted for 63 days before the resistance was crushed.
Around 15,000 fighters and 200,000 civilians were killed during the conflict, and even more were run out of the city. Not only did many Polish fighters give their lives in the conflict, but their city was in complete ruins in the aftermath. It wasn’t enough for Hitler though. He wouldn’t be satisfied until the entire city was destroyed. Nazi forces methodically destroyed building after building in Warsaw until 90% of the capital city was ripped to its foundation. The city of Warsaw today is mostly a recreation based on photos and paintings, and very little of it is the original historic capital city.
An interesting quote I found in the Newark Evening News, published on August 16th, 1944, was one from the German Censor. He described the ongoing conflict in Poland as an uprising against what was right, which is a drastically different view of the conflict than the Allied side held. What is remembered as a horrifically bloody uprising against the Nazi regime was then called an uprising against what was right, and the contrast between those two perspectives is quite striking to me. It shows how certain the German Government was that what they were doing was the right thing to do, while the rest of the world was trying to stop their horrible agenda.
In July and August of 1914, one by one more nations began to be involved in the first world war. Many of these entries happened to fall on this week in 1914.
On August 1st, Germany declared war on Russia. Russia supported Serbia and Austria, which Germany did not agree with. Next, on August 3rd, Germany declared war on France. France was allies with Russia, who the Germans had declared war on two days prior, so Germany decided to declare war on France as well. Then, on August 4th, Great Britain declared war on Germany in support of France.
One thing I love about having access to digitalized archives is being able to watch history unfold day by day. One great example of this is how you can see when each country entered the war, and the headlines leading up to it. In the Mount Pleasant Daily News, they published a piece on August 3rd, 1914, which reported that a German liner was seized by Britain. They added underneath the headline that England was on the brink of war. Little did they know that England would enter the war the very next day.
My search tip of the week is to take advantage of having access to the papers leading up to when an event happened. You can get a lot better picture of exactly what was happening leading up to the day by looking at the headlines that came in the days prior. With free access to these important resources, we can watch history unfold. Join me again next week to discover more of history’s hidden gems and timeless tales!
Explore the “Read All About It” archives to read stories that spotlight our partners and their communities, announcements from our team, updates on current projects, and so much more. Discover articles about engagement, outreach, primary sources, community, digitization, education, and other topics of interest. Delve into the happenings in this week in history and take a deep dive into the events and people who helped shape our communities, our nation, and the world.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye, READ ALL ABOUT IT!
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