1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:05,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey guys, the show's currently on break until 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 1: the new year, but we've got plenty of classic episodes 4 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,160 Speaker 1: to tide you over. Enjoy this trip through the show's 5 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: own history, and I'll see you back here on January 6 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: second with a batch of brand new episodes. See you then. 7 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Day in History Class from how Stuff 8 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: Works dot Com and from the desk of Stuff You 9 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,279 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class. It's the show where we explore 10 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: the past one day at a time with a quick 11 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:35,480 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Hello, and welcome 12 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy B. Wilson, and it's December three. 13 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: The trial of Kenya's cap and Gurias six began on 14 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: the state in ninety two. These were six political activists 15 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,159 Speaker 1: who were arrested under the grounds that they were members 16 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: of the Mau Mau political movement against British colonial rule 17 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: in Kenya. Britain's colonial involvement in Kenya went back to 18 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,320 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety five, when that part of Africa became part 19 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: of Britain's East African Protectorate. This was during Europe's Scramble 20 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: for Africa, and basically Europe divided up as much of 21 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: Africa as possible amongst themselves without asking any Africans about it. 22 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty Britain formally declared that Kenya was a 23 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: Crown colony. So all of this placed Kenya under a 24 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 1: white minority government, and that led to widespread poverty and 25 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: racism and oppression and resistance to colonial rules started almost immediately. 26 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: The East Africa Association formed in nineteen twenty one, the 27 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: year after Britain formally declared that Kenya was a Crown colony. 28 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: A man named Jomo Kenyatta, who was one of the 29 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: Capa and Gurias six, was involved almost from the start 30 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: of this. He joined the East Africa Association in nineteen two. 31 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,919 Speaker 1: He continued to work with a series of independ organizations 32 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: as they disbanded and reformed and started over with new 33 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: groups over the next several years. Sometimes these were because 34 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 1: of internal changes, sometimes it was because Britain had outlawed 35 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,239 Speaker 1: a particular organization and they had to start over. He 36 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: also traveled through Europe and studied in England. A lot 37 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: of these first organizations were focused on some constitutional reforms, 38 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 1: but as time passed, with seemingly no progress being made, 39 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,920 Speaker 1: many younger and more radical members started to splinter off, 40 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: and the Mau Mau movement was formed in nineteen forty two. 41 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: It was formed when four Kenyan tribes came together and 42 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: took an oath to secretly fight against British rule. This 43 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: was a militant movement. It advocated violent resistance to the 44 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: British rule of Kenya, and their tactics included sabotage and assassination. 45 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: So by the nineteen fifties, the British government had outlawed 46 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: the movement, but that didn't make the movement disappear, and 47 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty two saw the Mau Mau up Rising that 48 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: led to a massive military engagement between the British Army 49 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: and members of the movement. The Mammouth faced devastating losses 50 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: and members were imprisoned during this time when they reported 51 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: horrifying conditions, including torture and abuse. In October of nineteen 52 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: fifty two, following that uprising, Kenyata and five other leaders 53 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: were arrested on the grounds that they had been directing 54 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: this outlawed movement, and hundreds of other people had been 55 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: arrested as well. At the time Kenyatta was actually leading 56 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: the Kenyan African Union. They were all taken to Capaan, 57 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:39,760 Speaker 1: Guria because it was a very remote location that authorities 58 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: thought would be secure enough that the other members of 59 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: the Memo movement couldn't break them out. These six men 60 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: were placed on trial from December nineteen two until April 61 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty three. Although the British colonial government was approaching 62 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: this as a criminal matter, to a lot of the 63 00:03:57,760 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: rest of the world, it really looked like a politic 64 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: goal trial. They were all found guilty. They were sentenced 65 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: to seven years in prison with hard labor. Over the 66 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: next decade, the British colonial government gradually started shifting Kenya 67 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: towards rule by its African majority rather than having a 68 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 1: white minority government. Kenyatta was released from prison in nineteen 69 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: sixty one, and then he became one of the negotiators 70 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: in a conference in London in nineteen sixty two. That 71 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 1: conference ultimately led to Kenya's independence from Britain. A political 72 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 1: party called the Kenya African National Union won the first election, 73 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: which had actually taken place before independence, while Kenyatta was 74 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: still in prison. He had been elected the first party president. 75 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: Even though he was still imprisoned at the time. Then, 76 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: after Kenya formally became independent on December twelfth, nineteen sixty three, 77 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: Kenyatta became its first Prime Minister and later became Kenya's 78 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: first president. In ten it was announced that Kenyan's who 79 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: had been tortured by colonial forces during the Mamo Uprising 80 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: would receive payouts totaling twenty million pounds. Thanks to Christopher 81 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: Hasciotis for his research work on today's show, and to 82 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: Casey Pgrim and Chandler made for their audio work on 83 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: this podcast. You can subscribe to the Stay in History 84 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: Class on Apple podcast, Google podcast, the I Heart Radio app, 85 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: and wherever else you get your podcasts. Tune in tomorrow 86 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: for the birth of a poet. Hello again, I'm Eaves 87 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 1: and you're listening to This Day in History Class, a 88 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: show where we drop history knowledge every single day. The 89 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: day was December third, eighteen fifty four. Gold miners seeking 90 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: reforms in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia rebelled against the colonial government. 91 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,200 Speaker 1: The conflict led to the Battle of the u Ga 92 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: stock Aide, which resulted in the death of at least 93 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: twenty eight people. The Victorian gold Rush began in Australia 94 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty one. It brought people seeking fortunes from 95 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,159 Speaker 1: all over Australia and the world. As people flocked to 96 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: the area and the colonial government struggled to find the 97 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: money to support them, New South Wales Governor Charles Fitzroy 98 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: and Victoria's Lieutenant Governor Charles Latrobe imposed a license fee 99 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 1: of thirty shillings a month on miners. That was a 100 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,359 Speaker 1: hefty fee for miners, especially when surface gold started to 101 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: dwindle and gold production per person was decreasing. Miners expressed 102 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 1: their concerns to Latrobe, but not much was done about 103 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 1: the miners protests. Police set out on license hunts to 104 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 1: find miners who did not pay their fees, and miners 105 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: claimed that police were exploiting them by extorting money, beating 106 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: people up, taking bribes, and locking people up without due process. 107 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: Many people were unhappy with the way the police handled 108 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: crimes on the goldfields, claiming police and government officials had 109 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,279 Speaker 1: to be bribed. Adding insult to injury was the fact 110 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: that miners could not vote or own the land that 111 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: they were working on. In October of eighteen fifty four, 112 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: a Scottish miner named James Scobie was killed in a 113 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: conflict at the Eureka Hotel in Ballarat. J. F. Bentley, 114 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: the proprietor, was pegged as the murderer. When Bentley was exonerated, 115 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: miners felt it was an injustice. A group of people 116 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: gathered to protest the decision, but a mob of miners 117 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: ended up burning down the hotel. The police arrested them. 118 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: An organization called the Ballarat Reform League formed in response 119 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: to the government's in action on people's demands. It organized 120 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:47,160 Speaker 1: a meeting in Ballarat on November eleventh, eighteen fifty four. 121 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 1: The League advocated for negotiations on the Bentley decision as 122 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 1: well as the people arrested because of the fire, for 123 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: abandonment of the gold licensing system, for removal of the 124 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: gold commissioners, and for better policing and justice system. But 125 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: their grievances were dismissed and more soldiers were sent to 126 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: the goldfields to back up the police and soldiers already present. 127 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: Dissenting miners held another mass meeting, elected Peter Lawler as 128 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 1: their leader and flew the Eureka flag. They swore to 129 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: fight together to defend their rights and liberties, and they 130 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: built a stockade at Eureka performing military drills to prepare 131 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: for any conflict. Robert Reid, Commissioner of the Ballarat Goldfields, 132 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: ordered the police in army to destroy the stockade on 133 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: December three. Before dawn that day, troops stormed the stockade. 134 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: Miners failed quickly against the well armed force. At least 135 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 1: twenty two diggers and six soldiers died. Police detained around 136 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,559 Speaker 1: a hundred and thirteen miners, and thirteen were eventually taken 137 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: to Melbourne for trial. All of the miners accused of 138 00:08:55,280 --> 00:09:00,319 Speaker 1: treason were acquitted within months of Royal Commission recommend didn't 139 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: removing the license fee and adding an export duty and 140 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 1: an annual miners right. The number of police on the 141 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: gold Fields was cut significantly and a warden replaced the 142 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: gold commissioners. Twelve new members were also added to the 143 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,959 Speaker 1: Victorian Legislative Council, with four appointed by the Queen and 144 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: eight elected by diggers who had a miner's right. I'm 145 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: h Deaco and hopefully you know a little more about 146 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to 147 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: follow us on social media, you can do so at 148 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: T d I h C Podcast on Instagram. Twitter and Facebook, 149 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:40,959 Speaker 1: or if you would prefer to email us, you can 150 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,959 Speaker 1: send us a message at this Day at I heart 151 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks for listening. I hope to see 152 00:09:47,679 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 1: you here again tomorrow, Low and Welcome to This Day 153 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: in History Class, a show that shines a light on 154 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:10,040 Speaker 1: the ups and downs of everyday history. I'm Gabe Lousier, 155 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: and in this episode, we're reflecting on a day when 156 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: poor planning turned what should have been a fun event 157 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: into a full blown tragedy. The day was December three, 158 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: seventy nine. At a concert for the British rock band 159 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: The Who, eleven people were crushed to death by a 160 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:43,320 Speaker 1: crowd of overeager fans trying to get inside Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum. 161 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: The deadly incident was precipitated by the venue's general admission 162 00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:52,680 Speaker 1: ticketing policy, known as festival seating. Under this system, the 163 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: vast majority of seats were first come, first served. This 164 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,920 Speaker 1: led to a desperate scramble to claim the better, unreserved seats, 165 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: and in the ensuing chaos, eleven fans lost their lives 166 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 1: and many more were injured. According to the contract between 167 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 1: the venue and the band, the majority of tickets had 168 00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: to be made available as general admission. The sales receipts 169 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: for the Ohio concert show that nearly fifteen thousand general 170 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: admission tickets were sold for ten dollars each. On the 171 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: other hand, only about thirty five hundred tickets had been 172 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 1: sold as reserved seating. The difference in cost was just 173 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:40,200 Speaker 1: one dollar, and many concert goers would have surely paid 174 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: the extra buck to avoid standing in a crowd for 175 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: hours before the doors even opened. Festival seating was so 176 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 1: unpopular that many other venues in the US had already 177 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:56,719 Speaker 1: abandoned it by the late nineteen seventies. The Riverfront Coliseum 178 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 1: was one of the few holdouts. Remarkably, management had kept 179 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,359 Speaker 1: the system in place even though they had already witnessed 180 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: the dangerous conditions it could create. Two years before the 181 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: Who concert, the venue had hosted a show by led Zeppelin, 182 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: with most of the tickets sold being festival seating. As expected, 183 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: a large crowd began to form several hours before showtime, 184 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 1: and eventually it turned violent. In the end, dozens of 185 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 1: fans were injured that day and sixty people were arrested. 186 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 1: The coliseum should have taken notice and done away with 187 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 1: festival seating just as their peers had done, but they didn't. 188 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:45,280 Speaker 1: The WHO concert on December third, n nine was scheduled 189 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 1: to start at eight pm, with doors opening about an 190 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: hour before that. However, since they weren't able to reserve 191 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,199 Speaker 1: good seats, general admission ticket holders had begun to gather 192 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,959 Speaker 1: outside the venue as early as noon. By three pm, 193 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: the crowd had grown so large that the police were 194 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:09,199 Speaker 1: called in to keep order in the Colosseum's plaza. It 195 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,440 Speaker 1: was a cold winter day in Cincinnati, and as the 196 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: hours dragged on and the temperature dropped, the freezing crowd 197 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:21,200 Speaker 1: grew restless. At around six fifteen, people at the back 198 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: of the crowd began to push forward. This forced the 199 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 1: people in front of them to do the same, and 200 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: on and on, until the people at the front of 201 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: the crowd were finally pushed up against the locked glass 202 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: doors at the Colosseum's west gate. One police lieutenant suggested 203 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: that the concert promoters opened the doors early for the 204 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 1: safety of the crowd. However, he was told that there 205 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:50,559 Speaker 1: wouldn't be enough ticket takers on duty until seven pm. 206 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 1: As a result, the forward crush continued for over an 207 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: hour and a half until the doors were finally opened 208 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 1: at seven oh five. According to concert goers, only four 209 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 1: of the sixteen doors were opened, and two of those 210 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:12,080 Speaker 1: were intermittently blocked by guards. This created a bottleneck of 211 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 1: roughly eight thousand people. At seven twenty, the crowd pushed 212 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: forward so powerfully that one set of glass doors shattered. 213 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: Other doors were then forced open by the crowd, and 214 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: people began streaming through the plaza for the next fifteen minutes. 215 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:35,560 Speaker 1: Colisseum security consisted of a handful of guards with billie clubs, 216 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: none of whom stuck around. Once things turned ugly. The 217 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: police were still on the scene, but they were so 218 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 1: outnumbered there was little they could do to stop the 219 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: flow of people. At last, at about seven forty five 220 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 1: p m. The twenty five man police force began to 221 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 1: work its way into the crowd. They quickly found the 222 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 1: first of eleven concert goers who had died from asphyxiation. 223 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,160 Speaker 1: As more bodies were discovered, additional police were called to 224 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:10,720 Speaker 1: the scene, along with emergency medical services and the fire department. 225 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:15,760 Speaker 1: The whose manager, Bill Kurbish Lee, told the Cincinnati Fire 226 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: Marshal that it would be dangerous to stop the concert 227 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: because the fans inside might riot. The fire Marshal agreed, 228 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: as did the city's mayor, so the promoters were told 229 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: to go on with the show as scheduled. As for 230 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:33,560 Speaker 1: the band members, they weren't told what had happened until 231 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: several hours later after their final encore, When they left 232 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 1: the stage, Kurbish Lee took them into the tuning room 233 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 1: and told them that eleven people had just died before 234 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: the show. Three days after the concert, lead singer Roger 235 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:54,240 Speaker 1: Daltrey spoke of the incident, saying, quote, Initially we felt 236 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: stunned and empty. We felt we couldn't go on, but 237 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: you gotta. There's no point and stopping. In the aftermath, 238 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 1: most people held the crowd responsible for the deaths instead 239 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 1: of the promoters, whose negligence had created the unsafe conditions 240 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: that led to those deaths. The coroner's office echoed the idea, 241 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: listing the cause of death as quote suffocation due to 242 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 1: accidental mob stampede. Local TV stations followed suit, depicting the 243 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: concert goers as a drug crazed mob. But according to 244 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 1: survivor Mark Helmcamp, the majority of the people in the 245 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: crowd weren't perpetrators of violence. They were prisoners trapped in 246 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 1: place by a sea of heaving bodies that compressed them 247 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: on all sides. As he put it, quote, there were 248 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: too many people and just two doors open. It was 249 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: a slow squeeze, not a stampede. Promoters across the country 250 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: recognized the role that festival seating played in the tragedy. 251 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: The city of Cincinnati took their advice and quickly outlawed 252 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:08,359 Speaker 1: festival seating at all of its concert venues. That ban 253 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 1: was eventually overturned decades later in light of improved crowd 254 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:17,920 Speaker 1: control measures. Despite a more serious approach to crowd control, 255 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 1: deadly incidents still occur at concerts and festivals with alarming frequency. 256 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: In each case, they serve as sobering reminders that there 257 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:33,120 Speaker 1: are much worse things than having a bad seat. I'm 258 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 1: Gabelusier and hopefully you now know a little more about 259 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. You can learn even 260 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:44,679 Speaker 1: more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 261 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if you 262 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:52,399 Speaker 1: have any feedback or suggestions you'd like to share, you 263 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,199 Speaker 1: can also write to us at this day at I 264 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 1: heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler May's for producing 265 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,280 Speaker 1: the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see you 266 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: back here again tomorrow for another day in history class. 267 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I 268 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,200 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 269 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.