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 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: but two nuggets of history. These are coming from the 3 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: T D I h C Vault, so you'll also here 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: two hosts. Consider it a double feature. Enjoy the show. 5 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to this day in History class from how Stuff 6 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: Works dot com and from the desk of Stuff you 7 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: missed in History Class. It's the show where we explore 8 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: the past one day at a time with a quick 9 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: look at what happened today in history. Hello and welcome 10 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and it's January twelve. 11 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: The Schoolhouse Blizzard took place on this day in eight 12 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: This happened during the relatively early days of weather forecasting 13 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: in the United States. Thanks to the telegraph, it had 14 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,239 Speaker 1: become possible to spread the word about weather events and 15 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: weather forecasts quickly, and on February nine, eight seventy so, 16 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: just eighteen years before, Ulysses S. Grant had signed a 17 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: resolution that made observing and recording the weather something that 18 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: was under the guidance of the Secretary of War. This 19 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: ultimately fell to the Signal Service Corps. Recording the weather 20 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: and making predictions at first was really general and it 21 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: was done for big chunks of North America. But gradually 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: over the years this became more detailed, more frequent, and 23 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: more specific. This was not nearly what we can expect 24 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: from weather forecast today, which even today there will be 25 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: days where the forecast says it will not rain and 26 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,400 Speaker 1: then you get rained on. But it was a lot 27 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 1: better than nothing. So by the winter of this forecasting 28 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:39,839 Speaker 1: had been going on for a while, people had started 29 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: to rely on it, and the weather that winter happened 30 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: to have been particularly hard. There had been blizzards in December, 31 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: with temperatures saying so cold afterward that nothing really melted. 32 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: And then by the morning of January twelve, suddenly that 33 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: long cold snap broke. The temperature got up to forty 34 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: degrees fairn height or four degrees celsius, which, to people 35 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 1: who had been in these frigid temperatures for weeks, felt 36 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: almost like a heat wave. People who had been cooped 37 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: up inside all got out, and in some cases children 38 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,799 Speaker 1: headed off to school for the first time in days. 39 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: A lot of people were out and about in relatively 40 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: light clothing, because when you're used to it being well 41 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: below freezing, a sunny day at forty degrees can feel 42 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: really warm. The weather forecast for that day, which had 43 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: been composed the day before in St. Paul read quote 44 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: the indications for twenty four hours commencing at seven a m. 45 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: Today for St. Paul, Minneapolis in vicinity, warmer weather with 46 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: snow fresh southerly winds becoming variable. For Minnesota, warm with 47 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: snow fresh and too high suddenly winds becoming variable. For 48 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: Dakota snow warmer, followed in the western portion by colder weather, 49 00:02:56,040 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: fresh too high winds generally becoming northerly. Snow will drift 50 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: heavily in Minnesota and Dakota during the day and night. 51 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: Winds will generally shift to high, colder northerly during the 52 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:11,959 Speaker 1: afternoon and night. So the forecasters were expecting a wave 53 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: of warm weather followed by a drop in the temperature, 54 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: but not a drop so severe as to warrant a 55 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: freeze warning for later on in the day. Tragically, though, 56 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 1: it turned out that the weather got a lot warmer 57 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 1: than expected, and then a lot colder as the temperature 58 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: started dropping. On the twelfth, the signal course started sending 59 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: telegrams updating their earlier forecast with a cold warning, but 60 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: for a variety of reasons, this warning did not arrive 61 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: in most places and time to do much good. So 62 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: a blinding blizzard rolled through the area where it had 63 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: previously been so warm earlier in the day, and it 64 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: happened in the afternoon just as a lot of children 65 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 1: were heading home from school. Temperatures plummeted and winds guested 66 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: beyond forty miles, and the snow was also particularly fined, 67 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: the point that people's eyelashes froze together and they couldn't see. 68 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: Accounts of what happened on that day are full of 69 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: just dramatic occurrences, things like teachers trying to keep their 70 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: students safe and warm at school, or trying to guide 71 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: them home through a blizzard when none of them could see. 72 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: People got lost just out of sight of their homes 73 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: and died within steps of their doorsteps. Livestock and other 74 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 1: animals froze to death. An estimated two hundred to three 75 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: hundred people were killed. And then another blizzard struck the 76 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: northeast that March. This was another massive storm, and it 77 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,719 Speaker 1: was nicknamed the Great White Hurricane. This killed at least 78 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:51,040 Speaker 1: four hundred people in nine newly inaugurated President Benjamin Harrison 79 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,359 Speaker 1: moved the responsibility for weather forecasting to the Department of 80 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 1: Agriculture in part because of the embarrassment over these two 81 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,279 Speaker 1: back to back t ategies, both of which had not 82 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 1: had a freeze warning issued far enough ahead of time 83 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: to keep people safe. You can learn a lot more 84 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: about this in the January sixteen episode of Stuffy Miss 85 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: in History Class called The Schoolhouse Blizzard. Thanks to Casey 86 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,279 Speaker 1: Pegraham and Chandler Maze for their audio work on this show. 87 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,479 Speaker 1: You can subscribe to This Day in History Class on 88 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,360 Speaker 1: Apple Podcast, Google podcast, the I Heart Radio app, and 89 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: wherever else you get your podcasts, and you can tune 90 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:39,919 Speaker 1: in tomorrow for an incredibly destructive riot. Hi everyone, I'm Eves. 91 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,919 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Day and History Class, a show that 92 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: will convince you that history can be fascinating even when 93 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: you expect it not to be. The day was January twelve, 94 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four. The government of the Sultan of Zanzibar 95 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:05,679 Speaker 1: was overthrown and Zanzibar was proclaimed a republic under President 96 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: of Baby karum A. Zanzibar is an island in the 97 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: Indian Ocean, just off the coast of East Central Africa. 98 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: Many people immigrated to the island from Persia and from 99 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: the African mainland, and Arabs established a lot of control 100 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: and influence in Zanzibar. The island became central to slave 101 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,600 Speaker 1: in ivory trade routes, and it was rich in resources 102 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,920 Speaker 1: like coconuts. At the end of the seventeenth century, Zanzibar 103 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 1: came under the rule of the Sultan of Oman, but 104 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: Omani rule weakened and in eighteen ninety Zanzibar became a 105 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 1: British protectorate. The British considered Zanzibar an Arab country and 106 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: upheld existing power structures. The office of the Sultan remained, 107 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 1: though it was stripped of most of its power, and 108 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: Arabs were given ample opportunities for education and bureaucratic positions. 109 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: This set up lasted until nineteen sixty three. In July 110 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: of that year, a general election gave a majority to 111 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: a coalition of two political parties, the Arab dominated Zanzibar 112 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: Nationalist Party and the Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party. The 113 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: Afro Sharazi Party and African Nationalist Party was in the minority, 114 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: even though it got fift of the vote. Members of 115 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: the Afro Sharazi Party or a SP, were unsatisfied with 116 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: this lack of representation despite their victories, and the Arab 117 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 1: Elite made it clear that they viewed Africans as inferior 118 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:36,800 Speaker 1: through treatment and policy. Racial tensions were already high between 119 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: the Arab Elite and the black majority, and it was 120 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: no different with the new Arab dominated government. The Sultan 121 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: band the UMA Party, which was made up of radical 122 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: Arab socialists and policemen of mainland African origin, were fired. 123 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: This inspired mainland Africans in Zanzibar and the UMA Party 124 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: to work together. That said, a SP member, John o'kello, 125 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 1: kept his revolution plans secret from the top leaders of 126 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: the party. In December of nineteen sixty three, the UK 127 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: ended the Protectorate over Zanzibar. Zanzibar regained its independence and 128 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,440 Speaker 1: became a member of the British Commonwealth. It became a 129 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: constitutional monarchy under the Sultan, but this period was short lived. 130 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: On the early morning of January twelfth, nineteen sixty four, 131 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: just a month after Zanzibar became independent from British rule, 132 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: o'kello led a group of mainly African insurgents in attacking 133 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: police stations and taking weapons. Then they went to Zanzibar town, 134 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: where they ousted the Sultan and his government. The revolution 135 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: got a lot of support from Africans, but the uprising 136 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: was bloody, as the insurgents killed and raped Arabs in 137 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: South Asians and forced many others to flee. The death 138 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: toll is disputed, with high estimates placed at around twenty 139 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:58,559 Speaker 1: thousand people. The Moderate ASP leader a Baby Karum, became 140 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: Zanzibar's new president and head of state. Members of the 141 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,720 Speaker 1: Uma party were installed in positions of power. Western nations 142 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: feared the new government's communist ties, but Zanzibar never emerged 143 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,440 Speaker 1: as a communist power. Leaders in China, East Germany and 144 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union did establish relations with Zanzibar, though in 145 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: April of nineteen sixty four, Karum signed a declaration immunity 146 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:27,439 Speaker 1: with Tanganyika, a state in East Central Africa, and together 147 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:31,800 Speaker 1: the two countries became the United Republic of Tanzania. The 148 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: revolution ended two centuries of dominance by the Arab ruling class, 149 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: and Zanzibar Revolution Day is a public holiday in Tanzania, 150 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,200 Speaker 1: but the revolutions legacy is also one of brutal violence. 151 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Chef Coote and hopefully you know a little 152 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 153 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:54,199 Speaker 1: haven't gotten your fill of history yet, you can find 154 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at t d I 155 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,959 Speaker 1: h C Podcast. You can also shoot us an email 156 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: at this Day at I heart media dot com. We're 157 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: here every day, so you know where to find us. 158 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: I M.