1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,640
Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, Eve's here. Today's episode contains not just one,

2
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,080
Speaker 1: but two nuggets of history. Consider it a double feature.

3
00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:12,000
Speaker 1: Enjoy the show. Hi, I'm Eves, and welcome to This

4
00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:15,840
Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a show that uncovers history one

5
00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:27,960
Speaker 1: day at a time. The day was March fourth, ninety six.

6
00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:33,080
Speaker 1: At about three in the afternoon, a German passenger airship

7
00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:37,000
Speaker 1: called the Hendenburg set off on its first test flight,

8
00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:42,360
Speaker 1: carrying more than eighty crew members and passengers. The Hendenberg

9
00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:47,000
Speaker 1: was a zeppelin or a cylindrical rigid airship that contains

10
00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:51,839
Speaker 1: internal gas sales. At the time, ships were slow and

11
00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:56,080
Speaker 1: passenger airplanes weren't advanced enough to carry people across the

12
00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,720
Speaker 1: ocean efficiently, so it seemed like airship we're going to

13
00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:05,319
Speaker 1: be the future of long distance travel. They were relatively

14
00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:10,200
Speaker 1: fast and provided passengers with the modicum of comfort. But

15
00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,880
Speaker 1: even though the Hendenburg traveled more than two hundred thousand

16
00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:17,920
Speaker 1: miles during its lifetime, the tragic disaster that ended the

17
00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,520
Speaker 1: story of the Hindenburg also brought the era of airships

18
00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:26,040
Speaker 1: to a close. The Zeppelin Company started building the Handenburg,

19
00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:31,480
Speaker 1: officially known as the l ze Handenburg in Germany in

20
00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:36,680
Speaker 1: nineteen thirty one. By nineteen thirty five, construction was complete

21
00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,640
Speaker 1: and the airship was huge. In fact, it and its counterpart,

22
00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,000
Speaker 1: the l Z one thirty, are the largest airships ever

23
00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:47,960
Speaker 1: at over eight hundred and three feet or two hundred

24
00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:52,000
Speaker 1: forty and nearly two hundred and fourteen metric tons or

25
00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:56,560
Speaker 1: two hundred and thirty six US tons. The Hendenburg had

26
00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:00,000
Speaker 1: four diesel engines and it was filled with seven million

27
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,840
Speaker 1: in cubic feet of hydrogen gas, and the airship's frame

28
00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,559
Speaker 1: was made of door lumen, which is an alloy of aluminum,

29
00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:12,840
Speaker 1: copper and other metals. German architect Fritz Auguste bry House

30
00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:17,680
Speaker 1: day Rout designed its interior. In the Hindenburg were an

31
00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,280
Speaker 1: upper deck in a lower deck. On the upper deck

32
00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,240
Speaker 1: were the cramped passenger rooms that contained the most basic

33
00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:30,440
Speaker 1: of amenities, like bunks in a wash basin. The public rooms, though,

34
00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:35,120
Speaker 1: were a lot more impressive than the passengers quarters. There

35
00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,920
Speaker 1: was a riding room, a lounge with a piano, and

36
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,239
Speaker 1: a dining room with a long slanted window running along

37
00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:45,720
Speaker 1: the deck. Cruise quarters, a mess hall, washrooms, and a

38
00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,960
Speaker 1: smoking lounge were located on the lower deck of the airship.

39
00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,440
Speaker 1: But even though the Hindenburg had a rather cozy interior.

40
00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:58,560
Speaker 1: There was a lurking problem. Hydrogen is highly flammable, and

41
00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,040
Speaker 1: the airship was coated thermite, which is also flammable at

42
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,680
Speaker 1: high temperatures. But helium is not flammable, making it the

43
00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:10,560
Speaker 1: safer choice for passenger air travel. So the plan was

44
00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,400
Speaker 1: to employ helium as the lifting gas for the airship.

45
00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:18,359
Speaker 1: But helium was not easy to acquire in Germany and

46
00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:22,480
Speaker 1: it was expensive and reduced the potential payload of the airship.

47
00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,760
Speaker 1: The US had large quantities of helium, but there was

48
00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,639
Speaker 1: a ban on exporting the gas, so the Germans returned

49
00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:35,720
Speaker 1: to hydrogen. Hydrogen was cheaper and readily available, and it

50
00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,720
Speaker 1: was the best lighter than air gas that could give

51
00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,520
Speaker 1: them the most bang for their book. Besides, they had

52
00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,880
Speaker 1: to use hydrogen in airships plenty of times before without

53
00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:50,400
Speaker 1: a problem, so hydrogen it was, and on March fourth,

54
00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:56,000
Speaker 1: n the Hindenberg was ready to make his debut. The Hyndenberg,

55
00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,840
Speaker 1: which was named after the field marshal and German commander

56
00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,520
Speaker 1: who had appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany, was a vessel

57
00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:07,920
Speaker 1: for Nazi propaganda. The name Hendenberg had not been added

58
00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:10,480
Speaker 1: to the side of the airship yet, but it had

59
00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,560
Speaker 1: already been chosen for the dirigible, and it already had

60
00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,960
Speaker 1: Swastika's painted on its tail fans. The flight had been

61
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,800
Speaker 1: scheduled for the morning, but it was postponed until the

62
00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:28,200
Speaker 1: afternoon due to weather, so around three pm the Hendenburg

63
00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,840
Speaker 1: took its first test flight, a three hour and six

64
00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:36,799
Speaker 1: minute trip over Lake Constance in the city of Friedrichshafen, Germany.

65
00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,560
Speaker 1: Over the next few weeks, the Hendenburg went on more

66
00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,560
Speaker 1: test flights, and it left for its first commercial passenger

67
00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,320
Speaker 1: flight on March thirty one, when it traveled from Germany

68
00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:53,240
Speaker 1: to Rio de Janeiro. Over the next year, the Hendenburg

69
00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:58,520
Speaker 1: took many more propagandistic and demonstrative flights from Germany to

70
00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:03,599
Speaker 1: North America, saw of America and Europe. More passenger cabins

71
00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,160
Speaker 1: were added, and other changes were made to the airship structure.

72
00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,799
Speaker 1: Passengers were typically wealthy, as tickets for flights were not cheap.

73
00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:18,520
Speaker 1: By its last trip, the Hendenburg had taken many successful

74
00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:25,159
Speaker 1: flights carrying passengers, mail, and other cargo. But on May six,

75
00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:29,680
Speaker 1: when the airship arrived in Lakehurst, New Jersey, after being

76
00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:34,159
Speaker 1: held up by thunderstorms for hours, the Hendenburg caught fire.

77
00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:39,200
Speaker 1: It only took thirty four seconds for the whole airship

78
00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:44,880
Speaker 1: to burn. Thirty six people died. Even though many people

79
00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:49,279
Speaker 1: survived the Handenburg disaster, the fire was the last straw

80
00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:54,640
Speaker 1: after a series of devastating airship incidents. The fire and

81
00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:59,719
Speaker 1: the resulting media storm effectively ended Zeppelin's short but heavy

82
00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,640
Speaker 1: time in the limelight. I'm Eves, Jeff Cote, and hopefully

83
00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,840
Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you

84
00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:12,800
Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you'd like to learn more about the Hyndenburgh,

85
00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,760
Speaker 1: listen to the episode of Stuff you missed in History

86
00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:21,080
Speaker 1: Class called the Hindenburg Disaster. You can follow us on Twitter,

87
00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:27,240
Speaker 1: Instagram and Facebook at t d I h C podcast.

88
00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:42,960
Speaker 1: Thanks for showing up. We'll meet here again tomorrow. Hi everyone,

89
00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,680
Speaker 1: I'm Eves. Welcome to this Day and History Class, a

90
00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,800
Speaker 1: show that will convince you that history can be fascinating

91
00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:59,479
Speaker 1: even when you expect it not to be. The day

92
00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:05,159
Speaker 1: was March worth, ninety two. Singer, actor and activist Miriam

93
00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:10,080
Speaker 1: Macaba was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mccayba's mother was

94
00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,880
Speaker 1: a domestic worker and a practitioner of herbal medicine. When

95
00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:16,960
Speaker 1: Macaba was just an infant. Her mother was in prison

96
00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,280
Speaker 1: for a legally brewing beer, and Macayba spent the first

97
00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,880
Speaker 1: months of her life in jail with her mother. Macayba's

98
00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,200
Speaker 1: father was a teacher, though he died when she was

99
00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:30,120
Speaker 1: just a child. After he died, Micaba went to live

100
00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,480
Speaker 1: with her grandmother in Pretoria for a while. Macaba also

101
00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,960
Speaker 1: spent time doing domestic work to help the family make money.

102
00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,040
Speaker 1: Miriam had a love for singing from a young age.

103
00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:42,680
Speaker 1: She sang in a choir at her school, and she's

104
00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,680
Speaker 1: sang in church choirs, and she spoke and sang in

105
00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:50,200
Speaker 1: several languages. By the nineteen fifties, Macaba had begun her

106
00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:54,239
Speaker 1: professional musical career. She began singing with a band called

107
00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,840
Speaker 1: the Cuban Brothers and started getting attention on the club circuit.

108
00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:00,840
Speaker 1: But she picked up a lot more attention when she

109
00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:05,040
Speaker 1: joined the Manhattan Brothers, a popular South African singing group.

110
00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:08,560
Speaker 1: She toured with them from nineteen fifty four to nineteen

111
00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,760
Speaker 1: fifty seven. After that, Micayba began singing for an all

112
00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,000
Speaker 1: woman group called the Sunbeams, who were later known as

113
00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:20,360
Speaker 1: the Skylarks. By the late nineteen fifties, Macayba was well

114
00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,920
Speaker 1: known across South Africa. She had a singing role in

115
00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,600
Speaker 1: the film Come Back Africa, and anti apartheid movie that

116
00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,200
Speaker 1: was released in nineteen fifty nine. She was also the

117
00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:35,080
Speaker 1: lead in Todd Matsakisas nineteen fifty nine film King Kong,

118
00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,920
Speaker 1: which really kicked off her international career. After the film

119
00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:41,840
Speaker 1: showed at the Venice Film Festival, Macayba went to London,

120
00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,760
Speaker 1: where she met entertainer and activists Harry Belafonte. Her singing

121
00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:50,200
Speaker 1: attracted the interests of other American performers too, and by

122
00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:54,480
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty nine she settled in the US. Macayba began

123
00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:56,959
Speaker 1: performing in New York City clubs and got a guest

124
00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,520
Speaker 1: spot on The Steve Allen Show, an American Varie d show.

125
00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,280
Speaker 1: But she wasn't only involved in music. She was also

126
00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,480
Speaker 1: vocal about her opposition to apartheid, a topic that she

127
00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,920
Speaker 1: explored in her songs. In nineteen sixty South Africa denied

128
00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,680
Speaker 1: her reentry into the country, and she lived in exile

129
00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:18,600
Speaker 1: for the next three decades. In nineteen sixty three, the

130
00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,199
Speaker 1: South African government banned her songs and revoked her passport.

131
00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:25,600
Speaker 1: The next year, Macaba married her King Kong co star

132
00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,240
Speaker 1: Hugh Maskela, so they divorced a couple of years later.

133
00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:34,439
Speaker 1: They continued to work together professionally throughout the early nineteen sixties.

134
00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,600
Speaker 1: She also had to deal with difficulties due to cervical cancer.

135
00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:43,040
Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty eight, Macaba married American activist Stokely Carmichael.

136
00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:47,240
Speaker 1: Her affiliation with him affected her musical career, as many

137
00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:51,160
Speaker 1: of her shows were canceled. When her record label wouldn't

138
00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,160
Speaker 1: honor her contract in the US, she moved to Guinea

139
00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:58,240
Speaker 1: with Carmichael. The couple divorced in the late nineteen seventies,

140
00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,880
Speaker 1: but she continued performing in Europe in Africa, speaking on

141
00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:06,640
Speaker 1: social themes like freedom and social change. She performed in

142
00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,560
Speaker 1: South Africa in nine for the first time since her exile.

143
00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,120
Speaker 1: Macayba died of a heart attack in two thousand and eight.

144
00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:20,040
Speaker 1: She had one child, Bungy Macayba, who died in I'm

145
00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,760
Speaker 1: eaves Jeffcote and hopefully you know a little more about

146
00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,600
Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you've seen any

147
00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:29,560
Speaker 1: good history means lately, you can send them to us

148
00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,719
Speaker 1: on social media at T D I h C podcast.

149
00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,719
Speaker 1: If emails your thing send us a note at this

150
00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:41,480
Speaker 1: day at i heeart media dot com. Thanks for listening

151
00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:47,280
Speaker 1: and we'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from i

152
00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,120
Speaker 1: heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

153
00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:51,760
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.