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 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: T D I H C vall, so you'll also here 4 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,479 Speaker 1: to 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 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Welcome to the podcast. 10 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and it's August one. Caroline Herschel 11 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: was born on this day in Sight six and she 12 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: was the sister of astronomer William Herschel, who was twelve 13 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 1: years older than she was, and she didn't have the 14 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: same access to education or an independent life that he 15 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: did as a woman in Germany in the late eighteenth century. 16 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: But she wasn't just William's sister. She was an astronomer 17 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: in her own right. So when they were children, their parents, 18 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: especially their father, had a really strong idea of what 19 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: he wanted their lives to be like. He really wanted 20 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: William to study music, and Caroline was destined to be 21 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: a good wife and a homemaker, so at first that 22 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: was really how they he steered their educations. William learned 23 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: a lot about things like music and philosophy and French, 24 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: and while sometimes Caroline did get to participate in the 25 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 1: same sorts of study, she spent a lot more learning 26 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: how to run a household. But in seventeen sixty one, 27 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,680 Speaker 1: Caroline contracted typhus and she almost died. She was so 28 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: weak that she had to crawl up and down the 29 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: steps in her house rather than walking up and down them, 30 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,960 Speaker 1: and that went on for months. This illness was really serious, 31 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: and it also affected her growth, and her mother in particular, 32 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: thought she was not going to be attractive to men 33 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: as a potential wife anymore, so instead of training her 34 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: to be someone's wife and run a household, they instead 35 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: started focusing on the idea of her becoming a scullery maid. 36 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: She would be doing a lot of the same work, 37 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: but she would be doing it as a job, a 38 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: job for pay, rather than the unpaid job of being 39 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: someone's wife. This whole time, though, like I alluded to earlier, 40 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:09,959 Speaker 1: her father had been teaching or some things like music 41 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: and philosophy on the side, but that came to an 42 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: end after he became paralyzed after a seizure, and he 43 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: continued to be in really poor health until seventeen sixty seven, 44 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: when he died and she was nineteen. But then in 45 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy one, William proposed that his sister Caroline come 46 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: to work as his housekeeper and then also to accompany 47 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 1: him in concerts, so she would sing and he would 48 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,239 Speaker 1: play the organ, and she was overjoyed at this possibility. 49 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: She started practicing in secret, and finally the two of 50 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: them departed for England on August sixteenth of seventeen seventy two. Now, 51 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: in addition to that musical career that his father had 52 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: wanted for him so badly, William had also been studying astronomy, 53 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: including starting to publish in some papers. Caroline started out 54 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: by keeping his house and keeping the accounts she sang 55 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: on stage, and she started working with her brother on 56 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,359 Speaker 1: his astronomical pursuits. She learned and she assisted until eventually 57 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: William gave her her own telescope. She started identifying and 58 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: cataloging clusters and galaxies and so many other astronomical bodies. 59 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: On August one, six and for several nights after that night, 60 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,000 Speaker 1: she spotted an object that was moving in the sky 61 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: that turned out to be a comet. This makes her 62 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: the first woman credited with discovering a comet, and after 63 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: she did so, William, who by this point had become 64 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: the King's astronomer, lobbied for her to have an actual 65 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: paid position, and she got one. This made her the 66 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: first woman who was paid as a professional scientist in 67 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: Great Britain. So William definitely opened a lot of doors 68 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: for Caroline. She was able to get access to things 69 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: she couldn't have had access to otherwise because she was 70 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: his sister. But she was an astronomer in her own right, 71 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: and her work continued long after her brother's death. In 72 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: the decade after that first calm At discovery, she found 73 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,839 Speaker 1: seven more. She helped expand the number of known star 74 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: clusters from a hundred to twenty five hundred. She earned 75 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: medals from the Royal Astronomical Society, from the King of 76 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: Denmark and from the King of Prussia. She became an 77 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,479 Speaker 1: honorary member of the Royal Society of London in eighteen 78 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: thirty five and the Royal Irish Academy in eighteen thirty eight. 79 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: And today there are comets, asteroids, and a lunar crater 80 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 1: named after her. She died on January nine of eighteen 81 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: forty eight at the age of ninety seven. Thanks to 82 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: Terry Harrison for her audio skills on these episodes of 83 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:35,479 Speaker 1: the Stay in History Class, and you can learn more 84 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: about Caroline Herschel on the June episode of Stuff You 85 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,280 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class. You can subscribe to This Day 86 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: in History Class on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and wherever 87 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 1: else you get podcasts. Tomorrow we'll have an infamous Rise 88 00:04:49,600 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: to power. Welcome to This Day in History Class, where 89 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: we bring you a new tidbit from history every day. 90 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: The day was August first, nineteen eleven. Zelda Jackson ORMs, 91 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,480 Speaker 1: better known as Jackie ORMs, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 92 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: ORMs is considered the first African American woman who was 93 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: a professional cartoonist. Jackie's parents were William Winnifield Jackson and 94 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: Mary Brown Jackson. Jackie's mom raised Jackie and her younger 95 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: sister after their father died in a car accident, but 96 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: when Jackie was a child, the family moved to Monoga Hala, Pennsylvania. 97 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: She went to Minanga Hala High School, where she was 98 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: already writing and drawing. While in high school, the Pittsburgh Courier, 99 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: a black newspaper, assigned her to cover a boxing match, 100 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,559 Speaker 1: but after she graduated, she began working as a proof 101 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,359 Speaker 1: reader at the Pittsburgh Courier. She also worked as a 102 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: freelance reporter, covering police beats, court cases, and human interest stories, 103 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: but she was more interested in drawing. In nineteen thirty seven, 104 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,919 Speaker 1: Jackie's first comic strip, Torti Brown and Dixie to Harlem, 105 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: first appeared in the Pittsburgh Courier. The comic was about 106 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: Torti Brown, a black girl from a small town in 107 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 1: Mississippi who moved to New York City to become a performer. 108 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 1: Torti was self reliant, and she found success at the 109 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: Cotton Club in Harlem. Though the comic strip followed Torti's escapades, 110 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: it also addressed racism in the US and the challenges 111 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: black people moving north face. The Courier was widely read 112 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: in and outside of Pittsburgh, and the strip also ran 113 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: in more than a dozen other black newspapers around the country. 114 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 1: The comic strip ran until April of nineteen thirty eight. 115 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: And in the end there were fifty three original Torti strips. 116 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 1: Jackie married Earl ORMs in nineteen thirty six. They moved 117 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 1: to Ohio where Earl could be closer to his family, 118 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: but they eventually moved to Chicago. They had a child, Jacqueline, 119 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: but she died at age three of a brain aneurysm. 120 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: While in Chicago, ORMs began working as a reporter for 121 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 1: The Chicago Defender, a black newspaper, but by nine her 122 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: single panel cartoon called Candy, that was about a housemaid, 123 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: began publishing in The Defender in a run that lasted 124 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: several months. In nineteen forty five, Jackie's single panel cartoon, 125 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 1: Patty Joe and Ginger began running in the Pittsburgh Courier, 126 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: the Chicago Defender, and other black papers. The cartoon was 127 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: about an outspoken girl named Patty Joe and her silent 128 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: and consistently shocked older sister, Ginger. It ran for eleven 129 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:02,160 Speaker 1: years until nineteen fifty six. The cartoon even inspired a 130 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: Patti Joe doll that had an extensive wardrobe and was 131 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: successful among black and white children, though production of the 132 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: doll did not last long. When the smith Man syndicate 133 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,680 Speaker 1: reached out to ORMs in nineteen fifty and asked her 134 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: to bring back the Torchy character. She agreed to do 135 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: so and created the comic strip Torty Brown's Heartbeats. At first, 136 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: she was set to just draw the panels and work 137 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: with a writer to come up with the storylines, but 138 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: she eventually gained soul control over the production of the cartoon, 139 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,079 Speaker 1: and she addressed big issues of the day in this 140 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: cartoon too, like environmental pollution, racial injustice, and foreign policy. 141 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: The FBI investigated ORMs because she attended communist meetings, but 142 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: no reference to the left leaning views espouse in her 143 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: cartoons appeared in her files Torchy togs or paper dolls 144 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: of Torchy with a range of upscale outfits supplemented the 145 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: comic strip. Her career as a cartoonist ended when the 146 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:08,679 Speaker 1: Defender and Courier neglected comic strips to focus on social 147 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: and political issues, but she continued to create murals and 148 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:17,439 Speaker 1: other art into her later years, until her rheumatoid arthritis 149 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: got too severe for her to work on them. ORMs 150 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: was also engaged in her community through organizations like the 151 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: Chicago Urban League and the Southside Community Art Center. She 152 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: and her husband were friends with artists like jazz singers 153 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 1: Sara Vaughan and Lena Horne. She died of a cerebral 154 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: hemorrhage at age seventy four in Salem, Ohio. Jackie ORMs 155 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: did pioneering work as a syndicated cartoonist, and she's remembered 156 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: for her nuanced depictions of black women and girls, as 157 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: well as the bold social commentary she put in her cartoons. 158 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Jeff Cote and hopefully you know a little 159 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. And if 160 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:03,960 Speaker 1: you haven't gotten your fill of history after listening to 161 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: today's episode, you can follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and 162 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: Facebook at t d I h V podcast We'll see 163 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 1: you Tomorrow. For more podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit 164 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 165 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.