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 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: but two nuggets of history. These are coming from the 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: T D I h C Vault, so you'll also here 4 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,479 Speaker 1: two hosts. Consider it a double feature. Enjoy the show. 5 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to this Day in History class from how Stuff 6 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: Works dot com and from the desk of Stuff you 7 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: missed in History Class. It's the show where we explore 8 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:23,239 Speaker 1: the past, one day at a time with a quick 9 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Hello, and welcome 10 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and it's August nine. 11 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Skyler Hamilton's was born on this day in seventeen 12 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:42,360 Speaker 1: fifty seven. Of course, she was born Elizabeth Skyler. She 13 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: had two sisters, Angelica and Peggy, five other brothers and 14 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: sisters as well. Shouldn't get the Hamilton's until December fourteen seventy, 15 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: when she married a man named Alexander. But he has 16 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: his own biography by Ron chernow, and of course that 17 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: colossally successful Broadway musical. We don't really need to dwell 18 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 1: on him, but let's do just get one thing out 19 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: of the way. That musical makes very much of Angelica 20 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: Skyler's affection for Alexander Hamilton's, but Angelica had eloped with 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: John Barker Church back in seventeen seventy seven. The fact 22 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,039 Speaker 1: that Angelica and Alexander were both married protected them from 23 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: some scrutiny when it came to their flirtatious friendship, which 24 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: was definitely very close, and it was definitely very flirty, 25 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 1: and they definitely did have a whole letter exchange about 26 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: punctuation and whether it intended to change the meaning of 27 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: the letter, but it's not clear whether this relationship ever 28 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,320 Speaker 1: went beyond this flirt nous. At the same time, though, 29 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 1: it shouldn't diminish Alexander's feelings for his wife, and I 30 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: will let him say it in his own words in 31 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,559 Speaker 1: a surviving letter that he wrote before they were married 32 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: on August seventy You are certainly a little sorceress and 33 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: have bewitched me, for you have made me disrelish everything 34 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: that used to please me, and have rendered me as 35 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,919 Speaker 1: restless and unsatisfied with all about me, as if I 36 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: was the inhabitant of another world and had nothing in 37 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: common with this. Two of them also had eight children 38 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: together around the turn of the nineteenth century. Elizabeth Skyler 39 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: Hamilton's life saw series of tragedies and upsets. Her husband, 40 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: in spite of that beautiful letter he wrote to her 41 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: so much earlier, had a torrid affair, and he wrote 42 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: it all down and published it in seventeen ninety seven. 43 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: Her sister Peggy died after a long illness in eighteen 44 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: o four, her son Philip died that November in a duel. 45 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: Alexander Hamilton's died following another duel with Aaron Burr on 46 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,919 Speaker 1: July eleven of eighteen o four, and Eliza's father died 47 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 1: in November of that year. This would have been enough 48 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: grief to crush any person, but Hamilton's spent the rest 49 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: of her life dedicated to charitable works, and she did 50 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: this even though she had very little money of her 51 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: own after Alexander's death, and she was now a single 52 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: parent who still had small children to support. Her youngest 53 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: had only just turned to when his father died. This 54 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: also was a huge contrast to her earlier life, being 55 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: a widow in reduced circumstances. She had grown up as 56 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: part of one of the wealthiest families in New York, 57 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: in a mansion with its own enslaved workforce and before 58 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: her husband's death, they had just finished building their own 59 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: mansion called the Grange. She lost that to pay her 60 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: husband's debts after he died, and was only able to 61 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: repurchase it later due to the generosity of others. But 62 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: with two other women, she founded the first private orphanage 63 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: in New York in eighteen o six, and she worked 64 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: with it extensively until eighteen forty eight. This organization still 65 00:03:56,320 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: exists today as Graham wyndhom which serves thousands of aldern 66 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: and families in New York every year. During her life, 67 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: Hamilton's had helped her husband with his own writing, including 68 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: helping him to write George Washington's farewell address, and after 69 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: his death, she recruited biographers to make sure that her 70 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: husband's work as one of the founders of the United 71 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: States was documented and recorded. She also hired clerks to 72 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 1: keep his papers in order and to make sure to 73 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: preserve them for the future record. She did destroy many 74 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: of his love letters, making it I think for a 75 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: fortunate that I had that one to read from earlier 76 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: in the episode. After fifty years of philanthropic service that 77 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: followed the death of her husband, Elizabeth Skyler Hamilton died 78 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: at the age of nineties seven on November nine, eighteen 79 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: fifty four. Thanks to Tari Harrison for her audio skills 80 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: and all these episodes, and you can subscribe to This 81 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: Day in History class on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and 82 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 1: wherever else you get your podcasts. Tune in tomorrow for 83 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:58,359 Speaker 1: a seventeenth century victory whose record was either written down 84 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:11,800 Speaker 1: by or dictated the losers. Hello, Welcome to This Day 85 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: in History class, where we flipped through the book of 86 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:23,479 Speaker 1: history and bring you a new page every day. The 87 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: day was August nine, eleven seventy three. Construction began on 88 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a monument now famous for 89 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 1: its unstable foundation and four degree lean. In eleven seventy two, 90 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: the widow Berta of Bernardo left sixty salty or gold 91 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: coins to the Opena Company Les Petrum Santa Maria. The 92 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: organization used these coins to buy stones to build the 93 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: base of a bill tower. On August nine, eleven seventy three, 94 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: the foundation stones were laid for a white to marble 95 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: bell tower for the cathedral complex in Pizza, Italy. Besides 96 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: the Pizza Cathedral and Campanile or freestanding bell tower, the 97 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: complex also included a baptistery and cemetery. The architect of 98 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: the design for the tower is unknown, but the tower 99 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: was set to be one and eighty five feet or 100 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: fifty six meters tall. It was built in a circular 101 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: ditch on ground made of clay, fine sand and shells, 102 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: but by the time three of the towers eight stories 103 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: were built, about five years after construction began, it became 104 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: clear that the building's foundation was settling unevenly on the 105 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:48,479 Speaker 1: ground that was causing it to tilt slightly, But construction 106 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: came to a halt since war broke out between the 107 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: city states in Italy. During this break, the foundation was 108 00:06:55,360 --> 00:06:59,159 Speaker 1: given time to settle, which probably kept the tower from falling. 109 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: Construction on the tower did not begin again until twelve 110 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: seventy two, almost a century later. Giovanni di Simone, the 111 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: new chief engineer on the project, added extra masonry to 112 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: the short side of the tower to try to fix 113 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: the lean, but the tower sunk even further with the 114 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: additional weight. By twelve seventy eight, when construction once again stopped, 115 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: the tower tilted to the south by about one degree 116 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: or about two point seven feet. As construction continued and 117 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: builders attempted to correct the lean, the degree of the 118 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: angle only increased. By thirteen sixty, it was at about 119 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:47,120 Speaker 1: one point six degrees. There are two spiral staircases inside 120 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: of the building. When work on the bell Chamber began, 121 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: builders added six steps from the seventh corners to the 122 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: bell chambers floor on the south side, but only built 123 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: four steps on the north side. The tower was completed 124 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: around thirteen seventy seven bills were installed in it, the 125 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: largest of which was put up in sixteen fifty five, 126 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: but despite attempts to correct the lean through methods like 127 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: reinforcement and cement crowding, the building kept entering towards collapse. 128 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: It reached a tilt of about five point five degrees 129 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 1: or fifteen feet by nine At this point, the Tower 130 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,080 Speaker 1: of Pisa was closed and engineers worked on straightening it. 131 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:33,959 Speaker 1: They managed to decrease the lean by more than a foot, 132 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: and the tower straightened even more over the following years. 133 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,960 Speaker 1: The leaning Tower of Pizza is projected to stay stable 134 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: for the next two centuries unless some kind of natural 135 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: disaster happens that affects its stability. The cathedral complex is 136 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:55,559 Speaker 1: now known as the Piazza Day Middlecoly or Square of Miracles. 137 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Stepcote and hopefully you know a little more 138 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,679 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If there's something 139 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: that I missed in an episode, you can share it 140 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: with everybody else on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook at t 141 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:17,040 Speaker 1: d i h C podcast. Thanks for showing up. We'll 142 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: meet here again tomorrow. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, 143 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 144 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:33,800 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.