1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,160 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, it's Eves. I just wanted to let you 2 00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: know that you'll be hearing an episode from me and 3 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: an episode from Tracy V. Wilson today. I hope you 4 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: enjoyed the show. Welcome to this Day in History Class 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: from how Stuff Works dot Com and from the desk 6 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: of Stuff you missed in History Class. It's the show 7 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:17,919 Speaker 1: where we explore the past one day at a time 8 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: with a quick look at what happened today in history. Hello, 9 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and 10 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: it's October. The Battle of Mobila took place on this 11 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 1: day in fifteen forty. This was during Spain's conquest of 12 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: the America's and in this conquest, Spain really had multiple goals. 13 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 1: They were looking for gold, silver and other riches. They 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,599 Speaker 1: were converting the local population to Christianity, and they were 15 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,839 Speaker 1: claiming colonial territory for the Spanish Empire. Fernando de Soto 16 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 1: had been part of the conquests in Central and South 17 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: America and both Nicaragua and Peru, and in fifteen thirty 18 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: seven he asked to be sent into North America to 19 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: continue on with the same conquest. He had an expedition 20 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,919 Speaker 1: that he helped fund himself, and that expedition left Spain 21 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: on April seventh. They first made their way to Cuba. 22 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: They stopped there to pick up supplies, and they landed 23 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,479 Speaker 1: on the western coast of what's now Florida more than 24 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 1: a year after departing from Spain, De Soto's force moved 25 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,960 Speaker 1: inland and north and as they did this, they became 26 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: the first Europeans to make their way through what's now 27 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: the southwestern United States. And really this expedition didn't go 28 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 1: particularly well. They had a much more formal fighting style 29 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: and that was really susceptible to attacks and ambush by 30 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: the native people, who did things like fire at them 31 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: while concealed in trees and other vegetation. And when they 32 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: met native people, De Soto wasn't particularly kind to them. 33 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 1: He would demand to be provided with food and labor 34 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: and porters from the native population, and if the native 35 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: population didn't immediately bow to these demands, he would just 36 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: take the chief captive to try to force them to comply. 37 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: And de Soto's relentless search for treasure. They also repeatedly 38 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: dug up and plundered indigenous burial mounds. In October of 39 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: fifteen forty, de Soto met Tuscalooza, who was a powerful 40 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: chief among the Mississippian people's. Exactly who his people's were 41 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: the cultural makeup is a little bit unclear, and we 42 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,639 Speaker 1: also don't know which languages they spoke amongst each other. 43 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: But de Soto met Tuscaloosa and his major settlement of Adahachi. 44 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: Do Soto demanded that Tuscalooza provide him with four hundred porters, 45 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,360 Speaker 1: and Tuscaloosa said that he would only do this from Mobila, 46 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: not from Odahachi, where they currently were. Oh De Soto, 47 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: following the pattern he had been until this point, took 48 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: Tuscaloosa captive. They left Atahachie on October twelfth. Once they 49 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: got to the town of Abela, de Soto decided to 50 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: bring all the plunder that he had gathered up until 51 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,119 Speaker 1: this point into the town with him. He also had 52 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: guards armed with crossbows and Halbert's Tuscaloosa went into a 53 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: house and he sent a message to De Soto that 54 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:26,959 Speaker 1: he would not travel any further with him, that De 55 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 1: Soto should just go, He should leave the town and 56 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: leave Tuscaloosa's territory. When one of de Soto's men tried 57 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: to order one of the native people to go and 58 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: fetch Tuscaloosa and bring him back out. This man refused 59 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: to do it. Desoto's soldier responded by cutting the native 60 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: man's arm off, and that's when the fighting began. It 61 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: turned out that it was not porters who were waiting 62 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: in Mobila, it was warriors. De Soto's force had to 63 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: fight their way out of the town, but they had 64 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: to leave all of those supplies and plunder behind. Once 65 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 1: they were out, De Soto's force set fire to the town, 66 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: which was surrounded by a palisade, and so all of 67 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: their loot and all of their supplies burned up along 68 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: with the town. About three thousand people died in the 69 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: battle and the burning. It may though, have been as 70 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: many as five thousand people. Tusagaloosa does seem to have 71 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: tried to escape, but it's almost certain that he was killed. 72 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: Only about twenty of De Soto's force was killed, but 73 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: more than two hundred were wounded in all of this. 74 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:34,919 Speaker 1: They also lost many of their horses, and, as I 75 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: said earlier, all the supplies that had been brought into 76 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: the town. Soto's brother in law and nephew were among 77 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: the people killed. Dosto continued to press west after this point, 78 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: insisting that he had to find gold and thinking that 79 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: if he stopped the expedition now after this massive disaster 80 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,599 Speaker 1: at Mobila, it would be considered a failure. His force 81 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: passed by resources and fertile land in order to make 82 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: this press westward, and they only reached the Mississippi River 83 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: in fifteen forty one. They still didn't find any goal, though, 84 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,239 Speaker 1: and he finally decided to turn back and to build 85 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: boats and to try to use the river to reach 86 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: the sea and maybe regroup and go out again from there. 87 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: But instead he died before accomplishing any of that on one, 88 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: fifteen forty two. His expedition had traveled on most four 89 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:23,479 Speaker 1: thousand miles. Of course, the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is 90 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: named for Tuscaloosa, and the exact location of the town 91 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: of Mobila and the side of the battle isn't precisely known. 92 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,680 Speaker 1: Archaeologists have been searching for it, and it's likely that 93 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: it's somewhere outside of what's now Selma, Alabama. That's one 94 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: of the reasons why there are still questions about exactly 95 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,360 Speaker 1: who the people were that were fighting against De Soto 96 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: on that day. Thanks to Christopher Osciotis for his research 97 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: work on today's episode and Tatari Harrison for her audio 98 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: work on this podcast. You can subscribe to This Day 99 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 1: in History Class on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever 100 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: else you get your podcasts, and you can tune in 101 00:05:54,920 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: tomorrow for a revolution. Hello everybody, I'm Eaves and you're 102 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: tuned into This Day in History Class, a show where 103 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:13,480 Speaker 1: we travel back in time, one day at a time. 104 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 1: The day was October nineteen fifty four. Texas Instruments announced 105 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,600 Speaker 1: the first commercial transistor radio, the Regency t R one. 106 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:34,479 Speaker 1: A transistor is a device that controls the flow of 107 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: electricity and electronic equipment. The device was invented in nine 108 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:45,360 Speaker 1: when scientists at Bill Laboratories in New Jersey successfully demonstrated 109 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,800 Speaker 1: one for the first time. The transistor was developed to 110 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: replace vacuum tubes, which were cumbersome, faulty, used a lot 111 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: of power, and produced a lot of heat. Bill Labs 112 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: announced the invention of the trans sister in nineteen and 113 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:05,680 Speaker 1: over the next several years the device was improved and 114 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: replaced vacuum tubes and mechanical relays. The transistor was smaller 115 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: than vacuum tubes, used less energy, and was more durable. 116 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: The use of transistors also allowed for immediate operation of 117 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: a device, since there were no filaments that had to 118 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 1: heat up. The invention of the transistor changed the field 119 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: of electronics in a major way. In their early years, 120 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: radios were huge, unwildy pieces of equipment. On top of that, 121 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: they used a lot of energy. There were portable radios 122 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: that used vacuum tubes, but they were still heavy and bulky, 123 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:48,160 Speaker 1: and vacuum tubes were still inefficient. It's likely that many 124 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: companies were planning to create radios using the new transistor technology, 125 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: and some did create prototypes, but the technology company Texas Instruments, 126 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: was the first to offer a commerce shally manufactured transistor radio. 127 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: Texas Instruments, which was already producing Germanium transistors, was eager 128 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: to get the first transistor radio to the consumer market. 129 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 1: The company worked with the Regency division of a firm 130 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: called Industrial Development Engineering Associates to create the Regency t 131 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:25,640 Speaker 1: R one. Other prototype transistor radios required manually selecting and 132 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: matching electrical parts to make them work, which made production expensive. 133 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: But an engineer working on the t R one designed 134 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 1: a feedback circuit that let production run parts be soldered 135 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: directly into the boards with manual selection. Production of the 136 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: radio was kept secret until it was unveiled on October eighteenth, 137 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty four, and soon after it was offered for 138 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: sale to the public. The introduction of the t R 139 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: one made portable audio feasible and fashionable. Ads announced that 140 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: the t R one was so small that it could 141 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 1: be put in a normal suitcoat pocket. It had four 142 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: germanium transistors and a two point five bolt battery with 143 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: more than twenty hours of life. It was just five 144 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 1: by three by one and a quarter inches big. At first, 145 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: it was offered in four colors, ivory black, Mandarin red, 146 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: and cloud gray, but soon the color choices were expanded. 147 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: It cost just under fifty dollars, which is around four 148 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy seven dollars nineteen, though that price was 149 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: prohibited for a lot of people. Around one hundred thousand 150 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: of the radios were sold in a year. A contemporary 151 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,560 Speaker 1: press release said that quote the pocket Sauze is a 152 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: significant achievement since it includes a high fidelity, high volume 153 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: speaker and a single battery supply, as well as all 154 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,559 Speaker 1: associated receiver circuit components. People were a fan of the 155 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,839 Speaker 1: radio's appearance, but it was lacking in the areas of 156 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 1: quality and performance. In the years after the release of 157 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,080 Speaker 1: the t R one, other companies like Sony also began 158 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: producing transistor radios, paving the way for later developments in 159 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: portable audio. I'm Eve Steff Coote and hopefully you know 160 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 161 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: Send your best history names to us at t D 162 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 1: i h C Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and 163 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: you can email us at this Day at I heart 164 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks for listening and we'll see you tomorrow. 165 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:50,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I 166 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 167 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:54,440 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.