1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,239 Speaker 1: Hey, history enthusiasts, you get not one, but two events 2 00:00:03,240 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: in history today. Heads up that you also might hear 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: two different hosts, me and Tracy V. Wilson. With that said, 4 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: on with the show. Welcome to This Day in History 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: Class from how Stuff Works dot com and from the 6 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: desk of Stuff You Missed in History Class. It's the 7 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: show where we explore the past, one day at a 8 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: time with a quick look at what happened today in history. 9 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 1: Hi there, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Christopher Haciotas, 10 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: subbing in this week for your host Tracy V. Wilson. 11 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 1: Today it's December twelve and the Oaks Colliery exploded on 12 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 1: this day in eighteen sixty six. So we're in Great 13 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:45,520 Speaker 1: Britain and the Industrial Revolution has well revolutionized industry. Coal 14 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: is fueling the boom. But to keep the machine of 15 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: progress going, we've got to get that coal out of 16 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: the ground. So that brings us to the town of 17 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: Barnsley that's located in Yorkshire, Northern England, of halfway between 18 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: Sheffield and Leeds. That's where we find the Oaks Colliery. Now, 19 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: a colliery is a term used to describe both a 20 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: coal mine, itself, and the the agglomeration of buildings, offices 21 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: and infrastructure around the mine, basically the whole complex now. 22 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: Prior to the arrival of the coal industry, Barnsley was 23 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: known for its linen manufacturing, but the land was rich 24 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 1: in coal and industrialists were keen to exploit the land's riches. 25 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: The Barnesley coal scene ran deep below the surface of 26 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 1: the ground. It was particularly prized because it contained numerous 27 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: types of coal, which all formed way back in the 28 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: Carboniferous period, so we're talking about three hundred sixty million 29 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: years ago. Now. Miners sank the first shaft at the 30 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: Oaks Colliery in eighteen thirty and we're able to extract 31 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: hard coals, which are used in train engines and steamships, 32 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: as well as soft coals that were mixed with other 33 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: minerals to make coke, a fuel similar to charcoal. The 34 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: three shafts at the Oaks Colliery were nearly three d 35 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: deep each, but over the decades the colliery experienced several 36 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: explosions and disasters. In the eighteen thirties, for instance, dozens 37 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: of boys working in the mine sound when it flooded 38 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: during a thunderstorm. In the eighteen forties, nearly a hundred 39 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: miners died in several explosions, and the Oaks became regarded 40 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: as one of the more dangerous places in the region 41 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: to work. By the eighteen fifties, workers were fed up 42 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: and hundreds of them went on strike for ten weeks, 43 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: claiming management was incompetent, But eventually the workers had to 44 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: go back to work as they were at risk of starvation. 45 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 1: That brings us to the morning of December twelfth, eighteen 46 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: sixty six. Hundreds of people showed up to work that day. 47 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: Christmas was just around the corner, so very few people 48 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: skipped work and they were eager to make money for 49 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: the upcoming holiday. And in eighteen sixty six December the 50 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 1: twelve fell on a Wednesday, and Wednesdays at the mine 51 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: where the day workers could make up for past absentee 52 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 1: is um. So with hundreds of people at work that day, 53 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 1: you had hewers who had cut the coal out of 54 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:48,799 Speaker 1: the ground, and you had harriers who moved the coal 55 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: to the shaft bottom to be lifted to the top. 56 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: There were men to drive the horses in the shaft, 57 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: and young boys were called trappers. It was their job 58 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: to open ventilation doors to allow wagons to pass through. 59 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: But about one fifteen that day, right near the end 60 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,120 Speaker 1: of the day shift, a massive explosion tore through the 61 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: mine jets of fire damp had ignited. Now that's the 62 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: name given flammable gases, which could have included methane. At 63 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: the time, the noise could be heard three miles away, 64 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: and dust and traveled even further than that. Ventilation systems 65 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: were damaged and fresh air wasn't piped into the mine 66 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: shafts for several minutes. Within forty five minutes of the explosion, 67 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 1: rescuers were able to bring out nearly twenty men who 68 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,239 Speaker 1: had been working near the surface. They were all badly 69 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: burned and only six survived. Later that evening, so many 70 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: volunteers had shown up to help with the rescue effort, 71 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: people had to be turned away. Sadly, all the other 72 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: workers deeper under the earth were killed. Would be Rescuers 73 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: found the bodies of fathers and sons locked in a 74 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: final embrace, and of horse cart drivers draped dead over 75 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: their ponies. They had all died of suffocation breathing the 76 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: carbon dioxide of the mine. Rescue work continued throughout the night, 77 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: with a search for survivors, ending up a search only 78 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: for bodies. The next morning, many scuwers evacuated for fear 79 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: of another explosion. One man, Matthew Haig, who worked as 80 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: a night deputy at the colliery, had survived an explosion 81 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: there two decades prior and recognized the warning signs. By 82 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: nine am, the pit exploded again, though nearly thirty men 83 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: were still below. A third explosion followed later that evening, 84 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,799 Speaker 1: and on day three, rescuers found a man named Samuel 85 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: Brown still alive. Brown wasn't one of the original workers, 86 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: though he was a rescuer who had gone down the 87 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,880 Speaker 1: day before. He was removed from the pit, and he 88 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: was the last man found alive. The next several days 89 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: saw fourteen more minor explosions, and the decision was made 90 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: to abandon rescue efforts and to fill the pits. All 91 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: in all, the tally was estimated at over three and 92 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: sixty people dead. It was the worst mining disaster in 93 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:45,479 Speaker 1: the world at the time, and remains the worst in 94 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: an English coal field history. An official in question to 95 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: the explosion was opened to almost immediately, though the cause 96 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: was never identified. The disaster helped spurs some reforms in 97 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: safety regulation, the mining remained dangerous for years. New research 98 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,160 Speaker 1: conducted in two thousand and sixteen by volunteers with the 99 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: Durn Valley Landscape Partnership puts the final tally of death 100 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: at three. Among the dead were boys as young as 101 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:12,279 Speaker 1: ten years old. Today, in the region, monuments exist to 102 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: both those who were killed and the volunteer rescuers who 103 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: lost their lives. Thanks to Casey Pegrum and Chandler Maids 104 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: for their audio work on this show, you can subscribe 105 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: to This Day in History Class on Apple Podcasts, the 106 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio app, or wherever else you like to 107 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: find your podcasts. Come back tomorrow when we get to 108 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:36,799 Speaker 1: know one of the most famous world travelers in history. 109 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: Hello history lovers, I'm Eves and you're listening to This 110 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a show that uncovers history one 111 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:57,559 Speaker 1: day at a time. The day was December twelve. Dr 112 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: George Franklin Grant received US pet and number six hundred 113 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,599 Speaker 1: and thirty eight thousand, nine hundred and twenty for the 114 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:08,119 Speaker 1: first ever golf tea. Grant was born in Oswego, New York. 115 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,719 Speaker 1: There he worked for a dentist, Dr Albert Smith, first 116 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: running errands and eventually as an assistant. Smith encouraged him 117 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: to pursue dentistry, and he left New York for Boston, 118 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: where he continued working as a dental assistant and was 119 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,720 Speaker 1: admitted to the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. He graduated 120 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy, becoming the second African American ever to 121 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:34,679 Speaker 1: graduate from Harvard Dental School. The next year, Harvard hired 122 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,119 Speaker 1: him as an assistant in the Department of Mechanical Dentistry. 123 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: During this time, Grant specialized in treating patients with cleft palette, 124 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: a congenital condition marked by a split or opening in 125 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 1: the roof of the mouth. He invented and patented the 126 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:53,040 Speaker 1: oblate palette, a prosthetic device that helped his patients speak 127 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: and eat. Eventually, Grant was promoted to instructor and treatment 128 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: for cleft palette and cognate diseases, making him the first 129 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: African American faculty member at the university. He was also 130 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: a founding member and later president of the Harvard Odontological Society. 131 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 1: After working at Harvard for nearly two decades, Grant left 132 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: to start his own dental practice, but outside of his 133 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: dental practice, Grant was an avid golfer. His daughter Francis 134 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: caddied for him on the meadow he built next to 135 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,560 Speaker 1: their home in the Boston suburb of Arlington Heights. The 136 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 1: family moved to Beacon Hill, but went back to Arlington 137 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: Heights to golf from time to time. Though Grant enjoyed golfing, 138 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: he was not a fan of the messy process of 139 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: teeing the ball. At the time, golfers had to pinch 140 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: moist sand together to create a tea, so he decided 141 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: to create a tea that would simplify the process. He 142 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: found a patent application for his golf tea on July one, 143 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 1: and on December twelve he received the first patent for 144 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: a wooden golf tea. The patent application described that the 145 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: tea had to firmly support the ball and also not 146 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 1: interfere with the swing of the golf club. The tea 147 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: had a flexible hit and a rigid base that was 148 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: preferably made of wood and tapered to a point to 149 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: be inserted in the ground. The ball rested in a 150 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: ring shaped seat on top of the tea. Using this 151 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: tea would ensure that the ball was always at the 152 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 1: same height unlike sand teas. Though his invention was a 153 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: lot like the modern tea, Grant did not market it 154 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,200 Speaker 1: or capitalize on it. He had teas and manufactured in 155 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: Arlington Heights and gave them to his friends and playing partners, 156 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: but didn't take the invention any further than that. He 157 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: died of liver disease in nineteen ten. In the nineteen twenties, 158 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: Dr William Muell, also a dentists, invented and popularized the 159 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: ready tea. At that point, using a wooden golf tea 160 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 1: became the norm. He patented the tea a few years 161 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 1: after it found success, but he spent a lot of 162 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: time and money fighting patent infringement. The United States Golf 163 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: Association recognized Grant as the original inventor of the golf tee. 164 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:05,560 Speaker 1: In I'm Eves jeffco and hopefully you know a little 165 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 166 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: know you already spend too much time on social media, 167 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,199 Speaker 1: spend some of that time with us at T D 168 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: I h C podcast on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Email 169 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: still works. Send us a note at this day at 170 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,199 Speaker 1: I heeart Media dot com. We're here every day, so 171 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: you know where to find us by. For more podcasts 172 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:38,199 Speaker 1: from I Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 173 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.