1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Technically you're getting two days in history today 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,920 Speaker 1: because we're running two episodes from the History Vault. I 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: hope you enjoy Welcome to this day in History class, 4 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: where we bring you a new tipbit from history every day. 5 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: The day was June one. The Ferris Will, designed and 6 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,520 Speaker 1: built by engineer George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. Was unveiled 7 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 1: to the public at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. 8 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: It's run at the exposition was successful, and though Ferris 9 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: was not the first to create a huge will as 10 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:49,000 Speaker 1: an amusement ride, his name has become synonymous with the attraction. 11 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 1: The origin of pleasure wills as amusement wills were once 12 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: known is unclear. They could have been inspired by ancient 13 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: water wheels, or they could have originated in Eastern Europe 14 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,759 Speaker 1: or the Middle East. In a sixteen twenty diary entry 15 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,320 Speaker 1: by Peter Mundy, the English Traveler describes a type of 16 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: pleasure will in present day Bulgaria. Early fairs had rides 17 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: similar to the pleasure will that weren't quite a wheel, 18 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: but where passengers would travel around a horizontal axis. There 19 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: were swings, roundabouts, and ups and downs that were precursors 20 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: to the Ferris Will, and in the United States in 21 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 1: the eighteen hundreds, pleasure wheels were already entertaining fairgoers. A 22 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: carpenter named William Summers built an observation roundabout that debuted 23 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: in eight and from there his company went on to 24 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: build more wheels in New Jersey and New York. But 25 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,559 Speaker 1: it was at the World's Columbian Exposition where Ferris's Will 26 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: made its big debut. The exposition, also known as the 27 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: Chicago World's Fair, was organized to celebrate the four hundredth 28 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:02,880 Speaker 1: anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the America's The expositions 29 00:02:02,960 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: director of work, Daniel Burnham, was interested in displaying a 30 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: feat of engineering that would rival the Eiffel Tower, which 31 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: was unveiled at the Paris Exposition in eighty nine. But 32 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: a bigger tower would not do. It had to be 33 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: something original, daring, and unique. George Ferris answered the call. 34 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: At the time, Ferris was a senior partner in a 35 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,799 Speaker 1: firm that specialized in building steel bridges. He had attended 36 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: the California Military Academy and got his engineering degree from 37 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: rins Lear Polytechnic Institute in eight one. Ferris had spent 38 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:47,799 Speaker 1: many years building tunnels, railroads, trestles and bridges. He helped 39 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: promote the story that he came up with the design 40 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: for the Ferris Will while at dinner with friends one night, 41 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 1: but in reality, there had been many proposals for a will, 42 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: including one by H. W. Fowler and the aforementioned William Summers. 43 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: In fact, the Garden City Observation Wheel Company applied for 44 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: a concession to build a Summer's Wheel on exposition grounds 45 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: around the same time Ferris did. Summer's request to build 46 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: a whill there was denied, so his company built a 47 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:24,519 Speaker 1: will outside the exposition grounds. Later, the Garden City Observation 48 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: Will Company sued the Ferris Wheel Company for patent infringement, 49 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: but the Ferris Will Company won the suit. Anyway, When 50 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: Ferris went to the Exposition's Ways and Means Committee with 51 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: his idea for a giant wheel, his idea was dismissed 52 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: as ridiculous or impossible, but in late eight two, the 53 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: fair granted his concession to construct the wheel on the Midway. 54 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: By the time the exposition opened on May one, ere 55 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: the wheel was not yet complete. On June nine, the 56 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: wheel went for a test run without cars, and the 57 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: following days cars were hung and loading platforms were completed. 58 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: Local press members were invited for a trial trip on 59 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: the wheel end on June one. After speeches from Ferris 60 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: and other notable people, the wheel began turning to music 61 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:18,720 Speaker 1: and much fanfare. The wheel weighed more than two million 62 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: pounds and was two hundred and fifty ft in diameter. 63 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: It had thirty six passenger cars and it could carry 64 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,719 Speaker 1: two thousand, one hundred sixty people. An employee was stationed 65 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: in each car as passengers road. The ride was two 66 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: revolutions and twenty minutes long. The wheel was lit by 67 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: thousands of incandescent light bulbs. The Ferrest Wheel ran until 68 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,040 Speaker 1: November of that year. By this time, more than one 69 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 1: point four million people had paid fifty cents to ride 70 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: the wheel, adding up to more than seven hundred thousand 71 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:58,720 Speaker 1: dollars and gross earnings in The Ferrest Whill was dismantled 72 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: in the year after that was reconstructed at a new site, 73 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: but it failed to prove as successful as before. When 74 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: George Ferris died of typhoid fever in eight he had 75 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 1: spent years in litigation over the Ferris Wild profits and 76 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: was bankrupt. I'm Eve Jeff Coo and hopefully you know 77 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,040 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 78 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: If there's something that I missed in an episode, you 79 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: can share it with everybody else on Twitter, Instagram or 80 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: Facebook at t d i HC podcast. But if you 81 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,160 Speaker 1: haven't gotten your field of history yet, then you can 82 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,280 Speaker 1: listen to a new show I host called Unpopular. You 83 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: already know what Unpopular is about, just go listen to it. Thanks, 84 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: and we'll see you again tomorrow. Hello, y'all, it's Eves 85 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: and welcome to This Day in History Class, a podcast 86 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: that flips through the book of history and rips out 87 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:12,159 Speaker 1: of page every single day. The day was June one, 88 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: nineteen o five French philosopher and writer Jean Paul Sartra 89 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: was born. He was a major figure in twentieth century 90 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: French philosophy and one of the most well known intellectuals 91 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: in the country. Startra studied psychology, sociology and the history 92 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: of philosophy in Paris. While he was at the Ecole Normal, 93 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: he formed a relationship with Simone de Beauvois, who would 94 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: also go on to become a noted philosopher and writer. 95 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: He spent some time in the French army during World 96 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,039 Speaker 1: War Two, and was even taken as a prisoner of war, 97 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 1: but he was soon released and returned to Paris. Sartre 98 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: rid at Mundhussel and Martin Heidegger, studying their phenomenological philosophy. 99 00:06:56,279 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: Phenomenology is the philosophical study of the structures of conscious 100 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: this as experienced from the first person point of view. 101 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: Sarta took part in the resistance movement and wrote for 102 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: underground newspapers, but in ninety three he wrote the first 103 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: major philosophical work of his career, being in Nothingness, an 104 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 1: essay on phenomenological ontology. In the book, Sarta deals with 105 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: topics like consciousness, free will, and perception. The book gained 106 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: popularity after the war and garnered start recognition. There's been 107 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: debate over Simone de beauvois influence on the book and 108 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: later developments in Startre's thought. After the war, Starta also 109 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: published novels and articles on literature and politics. Before Sarta 110 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: had not been deeply interested or involved in politics, but 111 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: he eventually became more politicized, speaking out on issues like 112 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: France's presence in Southeast Asia. Over the course of his career. 113 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 1: He also co founded the journal Letant Modern, and he 114 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: wrote plays, biographies, and an autobiography v. He also served 115 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 1: as a philosophy professor and universities, and he developed a 116 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: role as a public intellectual. That said, he began to 117 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,800 Speaker 1: resent his inevitable acceptance by the bourgeoisie. He often questioned 118 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: his previously held attitudes and engaged in debate with his 119 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: earlier works. Sarta embraced communism, but he was never a 120 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: member of the French Communist Party. He also made clear 121 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 1: his opposition to Western capitalism and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 122 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:35,200 Speaker 1: a military alliance between North American and European countries. Sarcha 123 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: continued to write throughout his entire life, building a body 124 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: of work impossible to condense in any meaningful way. But 125 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: one of the works important to him was the nineteen 126 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:48,319 Speaker 1: sixty book Critique of Dialectical Reason, in which he expounds 127 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: on ideas of existentialist Marxism. It wasn't a popular work, though. 128 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty four, Sarta was awarded the Nobel Prize 129 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,320 Speaker 1: in Literature, but he refused to accept it. He said 130 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: that he declined to accept official distinctions and did not 131 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: want to be institutionalized. He also said that he was 132 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: concerned the award would limit the impact of his writing. 133 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 1: In the nineteen sixty four interview, Sartre said the following 134 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: I discovered abruptly that alien nation exploitation of man by 135 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: man under nourishment, relegated to the background metaphysical evil, which 136 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 1: is a luxury. Later in life, Starcha participated in demonstrations 137 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: in marches, and he was vocal about topics like housing 138 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:34,559 Speaker 1: and the Vietnam War. Sarta died in nineteen eighty. After 139 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: his death, his daughter authorized the publication of several collections 140 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: of his letters, like those he wrote to Simone de Beauvoir. 141 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: Sarcha is remembered as one of the foremost intellectual figures 142 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century. I'm Eve Jeff Cote and hopefully 143 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you 144 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: did yesterday. And if you have any comments our suggestions, 145 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: you can send them to us at this day at 146 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: I heeart media dot com. You can also hit us 147 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: up on social media. We're at t D I HC. Podcast. 148 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:07,319 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening to the show and we'll 149 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from i heeart Radio, 150 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you 151 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.