1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,320 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, it's Eaves. Just wanted to let you know 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:04,520 Speaker 1: that you'll be hearing an episode from me and an 3 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: episode from Tracy V. Wilson today. I hope you enjoyed 4 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: the show. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. 5 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: Wilson and it's January second, Honest Day. In eighteen sixty, 6 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: Urbat Joseph Leverier announced the discovery of a new planet, 7 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: and that planet was called Vulcan. Vulcan, however, was not 8 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: a thing. Here's a quick recap. Throughout human history, astronomers 9 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: and mathematicians have come up with a number of different 10 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,840 Speaker 1: models to explain how the Solar System and the universe work, 11 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: and some of them have been way more far fetched 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: than others. For example, Ptolemy thought the Earth was at 13 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: the center of universe and that each planet was in 14 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:06,920 Speaker 1: the celestial sphere, but the observed movement of the planets 15 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:08,960 Speaker 1: in the sky just did not line up with his 16 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:12,040 Speaker 1: whole model. So he had a whole weird system in 17 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,919 Speaker 1: which every planet was also orbiting in its its own little, 18 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,759 Speaker 1: smaller orbit. This was called an epicycle. So this epicycling 19 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: planet was moving around in this sphere that also didn't 20 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: match up to the observable movement of the planets in 21 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: the sky, So that's not even the whole explanation, but 22 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,839 Speaker 1: we're going to move on. By the sixteenth century, astronomers 23 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:37,199 Speaker 1: had figured out that the Sun was at the center 24 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: of the Solar System, not the Earth as Ptolemy had thought, 25 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,399 Speaker 1: and by the nineteenth century, mathematicians and astronomers had also 26 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: figured out calculations that could predict the paths of the 27 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: planet's orbit around the Sun. But there were still some 28 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: unanswered questions, like what was up with Mercury. Mercury, like 29 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: all of the other planets, was being in an elliptical orbit. 30 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: That orbit's closest point to the Sun is called the parahelion, 31 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: and Mercury is parahelian moved just a little bit every 32 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: time it orbited the Sun. That's normal, all of the 33 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: planets do this. Mercury's, though, wasn't doing it in exactly 34 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: the way that was expected. It's parahelion wasn't shifting the 35 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:27,640 Speaker 1: correct amount. Another thing that had been worked out by 36 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: this point was gravity. Isaac Newton's work on gravity had 37 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: informed all this astronomy, and people had figured out how 38 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: the planet's gravity affected the orbits of the planets around them. 39 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: But even taking into consideration the gravitational polls of the 40 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: other planets in the Solar System, Mercury was still behaving 41 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: in a way that didn't quite make sense. So lavery 42 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: Air came up with a hypothesis that there was another 43 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: planet somewhere near Mercury and that we just had not 44 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: discovered it yet. One of the weird things about this 45 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: hypothesis is that Mercury can be seen with the naked eye, 46 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: so convenous which is the next planet out after Mercury 47 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: between Mercury and Earth. So can other planets in the 48 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: Solar System. So the idea of an undiscovered planet so 49 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: close to our planet and with other planets that you 50 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: can see with the naked eye, that just seemed a 51 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: little suspicious. But Slaverier also had credentials. His math had 52 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: been used to find the planet Neptune, and it turned 53 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: out that an amateur astronomer had actually observed something, an 54 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 1: unknown object of some sort, traveling in front of the Sun. 55 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: This guy's name was Edmund Modeste Lescarbo. He made this 56 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: observation on March fifty nine. When he heard about Laverier's 57 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: whole hypothesis of this other planet. He got in touch 58 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,080 Speaker 1: and sent him all of his notes, and then to 59 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: reviewing all of those notes. On January second, eighteen sixty, 60 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: laveri Are made the announcement. All kinds of accolades followed 61 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: for these two men, and other people also reported seeing 62 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: this little dot passing in front of the sun, but 63 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: they are observations didn't exactly line up with the predictable 64 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: course of a planet, and then the dot disappeared. There 65 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: was no dot to be seen anymore, so they thought, okay, 66 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:31,280 Speaker 1: this also is logical. It's just behind the sun, and 67 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: some smart folks got together and calculated when it was 68 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: going to be visible again. That answer was in March 69 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: or April. But when March and April rolled around, this 70 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: planet didn't appear. This led to a full on hunt 71 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: for Vulcan, with all kinds of reports coming in of 72 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:51,280 Speaker 1: people seeing something passing in front of the sun. They 73 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:55,599 Speaker 1: weren't confirmed, though, and the scientific community started to conclude 74 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,840 Speaker 1: that maybe there was no Falcan there. It was not 75 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:03,799 Speaker 1: a real plan in it. Laverier died in eighteen seventy seven, 76 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: and it turned out that it wasn't another planet's gravity 77 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: pulling on mercury. It was that the Sun is so 78 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: massive that spacetime and light bend around it. So when 79 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: we observe mercury from Earth, we're seeing it through all 80 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: this distortion. We can thank Albert Einstein for that knowledge. 81 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: Ship came about following his theory of general relativity in 82 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,719 Speaker 1: nineteen fift It is speculated that all those dots that 83 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: people were observing passing in front of the Sun were 84 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: maybe just sun spots. Thanks to Casey Pegraham and Chandler 85 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: Maze for their audio work on this show. You can 86 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 1: subscribe to This Day in History Class on Apple Podcast, 87 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: Google podcast, I Heart Radio app, and wherever you get 88 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: your podcasts, and you can tune in tomorrow for the 89 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:59,600 Speaker 1: birth of an Abolitionist. Hello, everyone, eaves here. If you've 90 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,280 Speaker 1: been listening to the last several episodes and you know 91 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:04,159 Speaker 1: that I've been speaking to you from the comfort of 92 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: my own home, I'm still at home and joined the 93 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 1: beginning of the new year. But it's another day, and 94 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: you know that means there's more history to tell, So 95 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:25,280 Speaker 1: let's get into another episode. The day was January second, 96 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: nineteen forty two thirty three members of a Nazi spy 97 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: ring headed by Frederick also known as Fritz Duquesne, were 98 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:37,160 Speaker 1: sentenced to serve time in prison. Before the US entered 99 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: World War Two in December of nineteen forty one, Germany 100 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: was already conducting espionage in the US. German American spies 101 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 1: had managed to gather important information from military and industrial sites. 102 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,719 Speaker 1: William Sebold was one of many people of Nazi Germany 103 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: enlisted to be spies on US soil. Sabold was born 104 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: in Germany and fought for his birth country in World 105 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:05,039 Speaker 1: War One, but after the war ended, he moved to 106 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: the US and became a citizen there. He worked in 107 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: industrial and aircraft plants in the US and South America, 108 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: but when he took a trip to Germany to visit 109 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: his family in nineteen thirty nine, the Nazis recruited him 110 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: through threats and intimidation to work as a spy when 111 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: he returned to the US. Concerned about the safety of 112 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: his family in Germany, Seabold agreed and started his training 113 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: to become a spy. He made it back to the 114 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 1: US in February of nineteen forty using the alias Harry 115 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: Sawyer and the code name tramp Sea Bowls seemed like 116 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: an ideal recruit, but while he was in Germany, he 117 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: told officials at the American consulate in Cologne that he 118 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: was willing to cooperate with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. 119 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: When he got back to New York City, he posted 120 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: as a diesel engineering consultant. The FBI helped him set 121 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: up a business office in Manhattan where he would meet 122 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: with spy eyes who would give him information to pass 123 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: to the Gestapo or Nazi Germany's secret police. The office 124 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: was decked out with hidden microphones, cameras, and a two 125 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: way mirror. The FBI also built Sea Bold, a short 126 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: way radio transmitting station on Long Island. From their FBI 127 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 1: agents sent messages to Germany and received messages from the 128 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:26,000 Speaker 1: Nazis through that communication line. Germany was unaware that their 129 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: messages were being monitored by US agents. Once by who 130 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 1: visited Sea bold Manhattan office was Frederick Joubert Duquesne, who 131 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: ran a large German spy ring. Duquesne was a South 132 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: African Boer and a US citizen with a long history 133 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: of hating the British. As a German spy, Duquesne gathered 134 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: information about US and British shipping records and US military technology. 135 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,199 Speaker 1: Over the course of several meetings, he revealed to s 136 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: Bold plans for a type of bomb being made in 137 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: the US, and he told sea Bold how fires could 138 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:04,559 Speaker 1: we started in industrial plants. For sixteen months, the FBI 139 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: worked with CBOL to collect a ton of information on 140 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:12,320 Speaker 1: Nazi spies working in the US, Mexico, and South America. 141 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: In June of ninety one, the FBI rounded up a 142 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,960 Speaker 1: band of Nazi spies. Nineteen members of the SPIR Ring 143 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:24,760 Speaker 1: planned guilty. That December, the remaining fourteen members were found 144 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 1: guilty at trial, and on January two of the next year, 145 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: all thirty three people in the SPIR Ring were sentenced 146 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,680 Speaker 1: to prison. Duquesne got eighteen years in prison on espionage 147 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: charges and a two thousand dollar fine for violating the 148 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: Foreign Agents Registration Act. The Act, past in nineteen thirty eight, 149 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: requires anyone who does political or advocacy work on behalf 150 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: of foreign entities to disclose their relationship with the foreign 151 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 1: entity and any relevant activities and finances. After the German 152 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,680 Speaker 1: spies were convicted, the U. S Government relocated c Bold 153 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: to California and gave him a new identity. Diagnosed with 154 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 1: manic depression, he was committed to Napa State Hospital in 155 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: nineteen He died of a heart attack five years later. 156 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 1: I'm Eve Jeff Cote and hopefully you know a little 157 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 158 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:23,959 Speaker 1: have any burning questions, you can send them to us 159 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,679 Speaker 1: on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram at t d i h 160 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 1: C Podcast and if you would prefer, you can send 161 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: them to us via email at this day at I 162 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,079 Speaker 1: heeart media dot com. Thanks again for listening, and we'll 163 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:51,479 Speaker 1: see you here again, same time tomorrow. For more podcasts 164 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:53,440 Speaker 1: from My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 165 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.