1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,840 Speaker 1: Hello, everyone, it's Eves checking in here to let you 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: know that you're going to be hearing two different events 3 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: in history in this episode. They're both good, if I 4 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: do say so myself. On with the show. Hi, I'm Eves, 5 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: and welcome to This Day in History Class, a show 6 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: that un covers a little bit more about history every day. 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: The day was June nineteen o four. Somewhere between nine 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,160 Speaker 1: thirty and nine forty in the morning, the paddle steamer 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: General Slocum left its dock in New York on a 10 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: short trip chartered by St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church. A 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: short time after the vessel's trip began, a fire broke 12 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: out in the forward compartment on the main deck. But 13 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: as the fire spread in the situation descended into chaos, 14 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: more than sev the passengers aboard the General Slocum died. 15 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: It was the worst single day disaster in New York 16 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: until nine eleven. The p s General Slocum was named 17 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 1: after Henry Warner Slocum, who was a general in the 18 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: Union Army during the Civil War. The ship was a 19 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: wooden side wheel steamer. It was built in eighteen nine 20 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 1: one and it was owned by the Knickerbocker Steamboat Company. 21 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: The vessel was able to carry up to twenty passengers. 22 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: Though the General Slocum was impressive when it was built, 23 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: by nineteen o four it had decent wear and tear. Nevertheless, 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: it had passed an inspection in May of nineteen o 25 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: four and it was still approved for travel. It operated 26 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: as an excursion boat from the spring to fall, making 27 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: trips through the waterways in New York. Some of those 28 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: trips were ones that people chartered for a fee. Every 29 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 1: year St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church hosted an end of 30 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: the school year picnic celebration. In nineteen o four, the 31 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,080 Speaker 1: church planned a trip on the General Slocum scheduled for June, 32 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: with a fee of three hundred and fifty dollars. Though 33 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: the exact number of people who boarded the boat for 34 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 1: the trip is unclear, is estimated at about one thousand, 35 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: three hundred and fifty eight passengers that included mostly women 36 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: and children, as the day of the celebration was a 37 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: Wednesday and many men were at work. Most of the 38 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: church members who went on the trip were from Klein 39 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: Deutschland or Little Germany in the lower east side of Manhattan. 40 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: The captain was William H. Van Shike, the first pilot 41 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: was Edward van Wart, and the second pilot was Edwin Weaver. 42 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: Van Shaik was known as a good captain, but as 43 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: he was getting older and had been part of several accidents, 44 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: people had begun calling for his retirement. The cruise was 45 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: said to be two hours long, going down the East 46 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: River from the Third Street Recreation Pier to the north 47 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: shore of Long Island. There the passengers would head to 48 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: a picnic ground called Locust Grove. When the ship left 49 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: the dock the morning of June, everything was off to 50 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,519 Speaker 1: a good start. There was food, a bar in a band, 51 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: but not long after they left the dock a fire 52 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: started on board. How the fire started is unclear, but 53 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: there were a lot of flammable materials in the ford compartment, 54 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: which was used as a storage room and a lamp room. 55 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: Because a crew member filled the lamps in that room, 56 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: the floor was covered in a layer of oil. The 57 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: porter who filled the lamps used a match at one 58 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: point in the room, and other people also used open 59 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: flames in there during the trip. Around the time the 60 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: General Slocum was getting to a part of the East 61 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: River called the hell Gate. A boy alerted a crew 62 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: member to smoke coming from the ford cabin, though the 63 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: crew member did not believe him at first. It soon 64 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 1: became apparent that a fire had started on the ship, 65 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: but a number of things went wrong as the crew 66 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: tried to extinguish the fire and passengers attempted to reach safety. 67 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: The stay end pipe on the ship was in working condition, 68 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: but the hoses were old and poorly constructed, and the 69 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: water hose the crew tried to use fell apart. When 70 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: they tried to use a newer rubber hose, that too failed, 71 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 1: but this time because they did not realize that the 72 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: coupling from the blown hose was still connected. Captain Van 73 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: Shaik decided to beach the boat, and he ended up 74 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: ordering the pilots to go to North Brother Island. As 75 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,039 Speaker 1: the ship went full steam ahead against the wind, the 76 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 1: fire quickly spread towards the passengers. Though many people did 77 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: not use life preservers, a lot of the life preservers 78 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:43,600 Speaker 1: available were old and rotting. Many people did not know 79 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 1: how to swim at this time, and as people tried 80 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: to save themselves by jumping ship in their dressy clothes, 81 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: many died. Since the ship beached at an angle, people 82 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: ended up having to jump into deep, fast moving water. 83 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: On top of all of this, the crew was not 84 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: well trained in emergency situations, if at all, and the 85 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,039 Speaker 1: ship itself was not up to the best fire safety standards. 86 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: Even though quarantine hospital staff on the island, people from 87 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: nearby boats, and two men incarcerated on Wreckers Island helped 88 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: rescue people, only about two d and twenty eight passengers 89 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 1: made it out of the disaster without being hurt. The 90 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 1: community was devastated and Little Germany changed significantly after the disaster. 91 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: Captain Van Shaik had not given orders of what to 92 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: do during the incident, and he, the pilots and the 93 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: crew failed to complete the duties necessary during an emergency. 94 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: Van Shik was convicted of criminal negligence in nineteen oh six, 95 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 1: but he only did three and a half years in 96 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 1: prison and was later pardoned by US President Taft. The 97 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,840 Speaker 1: victims families were not compensated, and it wasn't until many 98 00:05:55,920 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: years after the General Slocum disaster when the Knickerbocker Steamboat 99 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: Company shut down. The last living survivor of the incident, 100 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: a Dela Lebano watherspoon, died in two thousand and four. 101 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: I'm Eves jeffco and hopefully you know a little more 102 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. And if you 103 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:19,240 Speaker 1: like to follow us on social media, you can find 104 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: us at T D I h C Podcast on Twitter, 105 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: Instagram and Facebook. And if you want to learn more 106 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: about history, you can listen to a show that I 107 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 1: host called Unpopular. Unpopular is about people in history who 108 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: divide the conventions of their time, rebelled and we're sometimes 109 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: persecuted for it. If you want to hear the show, 110 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: you can listen anywhere you get This Day in History Class, 111 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: thanks again for listening and we'll see you tomorrow. Hello everyone, 112 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: I'm Eaves and welcome to This Day in History Class, 113 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: a podcast that brings you a new tidbit of history 114 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 1: every day. The day was June. Hungarian newspaper editor Las 115 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: Law Burero filed a British patent for the ballpoint pen. 116 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: A ballpoint pan is one that dispenses ink over a small, 117 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: rotating metal ball at its point. The ballpoint pan served 118 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to dip pens 119 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: and fountain pens. The concept of using a ballpoint in 120 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: a pen emerged years before Bureau filed for any patent. 121 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: An American leather tanner named John Loud originally patented the 122 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: ballpoint pen. Loud wrote that the pen would be especially 123 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: useful for quote marking on rough surfaces such as wood, course, wrapping, paper, 124 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: and other articles where an ordinary pen could not be used, 125 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: but that idea didn't go too far. It was good 126 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: for writing one leather, but it was too rough for paper. 127 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: In the following years, other people filed patents for early 128 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: ballpoint pens, but these pins weren't commercially viable. Many failed 129 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,240 Speaker 1: because the ink inside overflowed, did not flow evenly, or 130 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,640 Speaker 1: would not flow at all. It took until the early 131 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: twentieth century for an inventor to get the ballpoint pin right. 132 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: Hungarian newspaper editor las Law Bureau was frustrated with the 133 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: unreliability of fountain pens and realized that ink used on 134 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: newsprint dried faster and didn't smudge. His brother, George, was 135 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: a chemist, and Bureau solicited his help to create a 136 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,439 Speaker 1: better pin. They experimented with different inks, and they decided 137 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: on a ball tip design that allowed the pin to 138 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: write without leaking. A lot barrel introduced a pen at 139 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: the Budapest International Fair in ninety one. On June fifty eight, 140 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,680 Speaker 1: Bureau filed a British patent for the pen, but the 141 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: threat of Nazi persecution during World War two led the 142 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 1: Barrel Brothers to flee Europe and head to Argentina. In 143 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: June of n they filed a patent for their ballpoint 144 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: pin in Argentina and began production in Argentina. Their pan 145 00:09:12,920 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: was called the Baron, a portmanteau of the name Bureau 146 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: and the name of a friend of theirs. The Royal 147 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,440 Speaker 1: Air Force in Britain reportedly purchased thirty thou of their 148 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: ballpoint pins. The Barrel Brothers pins did not leak at 149 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: high altitudes like others did. Soon, patents for the ballpoint 150 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: pin were being filed and sold to different companies, and 151 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: the ballpoint pin began to show up around the world. 152 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: After World War Two, many companies purchased the rights to 153 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 1: manufacture the ballpoint pin. They began to produce their own designs. 154 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:47,319 Speaker 1: One notable name in this phase of the ballpoint pins 155 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: evolution is Marcell Bick. He bought the patent rights in 156 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,200 Speaker 1: France and brought the price for the pin down today. 157 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: Ballpoint pins are popular across the globe. I'm Eaves Steacote 158 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 159 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. And if you have any comment 160 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: source suggestions, you can send them to us via email 161 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 1: at this day at I heeart media dot com. You 162 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:12,719 Speaker 1: can also hit us up on social media. We're at 163 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:16,560 Speaker 1: t d I h C. Podcast. Thanks so much for 164 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: listening to the show and we'll see you tomorrow. For 165 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 166 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.