Born on this day
Monday, December 29, 1800. : Charles Goodyear, inventor of vulcanised rubber, is born.
Charles Goodyear was born on 29 December 1800. Goodyear became famous for accidentally discovering the process of vulcanisation of rubber when he dropped some rubber mixed with sulphur on a hot stove. Vulcanisation, or curing, of rubber is a chemical process in which rubber molecules become locked together to a greater or lesser extent, making the bulk material harder, more durable and more resistant to chemical attack. The process also alters the surface of the material from a stickiness that adheres to other materials, to a smooth soft surface.
Goodyear did not benefit from his invention as Englishman Thomas Hancock copied his idea and attained a British patent for the process before Goodyear applied for a British patent. However, vulcanised rubber was later made into tyres emblazoned with Goodyear’s name. The Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company adopted the Goodyear name because of its activities in the rubber industry, but it has no other links to Charles Goodyear and his family.
Australian History
Tuesday, December 29, 1998. : Six die as fierce storms batter Australia’s annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
The Sydney to Hobart yacht race is a major Australian event held annually on Boxing Day. Hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, the race starts in Sydney on Boxing Day and finishes in Hobart, a distance of 1167km. The first race was held on 26 December 1945.
In 1998, the race was marred by tragedy when weather conditions caused five boats to sink, resulting in 6 deaths. Out of 115 boats that started the race, only 44 made it to Hobart. The winning yacht “Sayonara” was five hours outside the race record, finishing in a little over two days and 19 hours. A coronial enquiry criticised race management for taking insufficient safety precautions, given the adverse conditions. Questions were asked as to why race organisers had not delayed the start of the race, knowing the adverse weather conditions. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology was also criticised for not doing more to alert the race organisers of an upgraded forecast on the severe storm offshore near the New South Wales-Victoria border nearly a day before the fleet was due there.
World History
Tuesday, December 29, 1170. : Archbishop of Canterbury and early Christian martyr, Thomas Becket, is assassinated.
Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is believed to have been born around 21 December 1118 at Cheapside, London. Educated at Merton Priory, he entered the service of Archbishop Theobald, who appointed him to the Archdeaconry of Canterbury. In 1155, King Henry II made him Chancellor of England, and in this position, Becket became the King’s confidant and trusted friend and advisor. However, after being elected to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury, Becket began to see the conflict of interest between the King’s authority and that of the Church.
Becket clashed with Henry II over complete exemption of the Church from all civil jurisdiction, with undivided control of the clergy, freedom of appeal, and the acquisition and security of an independent fund of church property. He preferred to accept exile rather than any compromise with Henry II over the rights of the Church. Thus, Becket fled to France to appeal to the Pope, and threatened the King with excommunication. He returned to England, but became embroiled in a six-year conflict during which the King defied Becket and the Pope by causing his eldest son to be crowned by the Archbishop of York. The Pope suspended the Archbishop of York and the other Bishops who had taken part in the ceremony. This issue caused Henry II to utter, “Is there no one who will rid me of this turbulent priest?” Taking this as a blessing from the King to murder Becket, on the night of 29 December 1170, four knights made their way to Canterbury Cathedral, where they assassinated him.
Becket was subsequently recognised as a martyr for the cause of the Church. He was canonised in 1173
World History
Friday, December 29, 1876. : The Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster, the worst rail accident in American history, occurs.
The Ashtabula River Railroad Bridge was the first Howe-type wrought iron truss bridge to be built. Designed by Charles Collins and Amasa Stone and completed in 1865, the bridge crossed the Ashtabula River near Ashtabula, Ohio.
The Ashtabula area had received heavy snow at the time of the disaster. On 29 December 1876, the Pacific Express of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway line departed Erie, Pennsylvania, making its way along the snowed-in railway line. At about 7:00pm, as the Pacific Express crossed a bridge over the Ashtabula River about 91 m from the railroad station at Ashtabula, a loud cracking sound was heard. Suddenly, the bridge fractured and the train plunged 21m onto the frozen river.
Leading locomotive, the “Socrates”, made it across the bridge, but the second locomotive, the “Columbia”, and 11 railcars fell into the ravine below, then exploded into a fireball. The fire melted the ice of the river, and the carriages sank further into the river, making rescue all but impossible. Of 159 passengers and crew aboard the train, 64 people were injured and 92 were killed or died later from injuries sustained in the crash or the ensuing inferno. 48 victims were unable to be identified due to the fire.
Within two years, both bridge designers had committed suicide, although there was some doubt whether Collins’s fatal gunshot wound was actually self-inflicted. Later investigations suggested that the design was not at fault as much as fatigue of the cast iron lug pieces which were used to anchor the wrought iron bars of the truss together.
World History
Sunday, December 29, 1940. : London is bombed during the ‘Blitz’, resulting in almost 3,000 civilian deaths.
The Battle of Britain, or the Blitz, was an intense bombing campaign in England in World War II by the German air force, the Luftwaffe. The Blitz took its name from the German word Blitzkrieg, meaning ‘Lightning War’. Prior to the attacks on England, the German air force had spent a month attempting to decimate the British air force. Failure to achieve this objective had resulted in the Blitz, designed to crush the morale of the British people. Hundreds of civilians were killed and many more injured in the initial attack on London which took place on 7 September 1940. The first raids were concentrated on the heavily populated East End, as about 300 bomber planes attacked the city over a 90-minute period.
There were many more attacks over cities and towns in England in the ensuing months. One of the largest single raids occurred on 29 December 1940, and killed almost 3000 civilians. In all, the Blitz lasted for over 8 months, killed about 43,000 civilians and destroyed over one million homes. During the Blitz, the Luftwaffe lost most of its experienced aircrew and hundreds of aircraft. By drawing the focus away from the British air force, it gave the RAF time to regroup and rebuild. Despite the Luftwaffe’s best attempts, the British people never lost their morale or their fighting spirit.
World History
Friday, December 29, 1967. : Classic Star Trek episode “The Trouble With Tribbles” is aired for the first time.
Star Trek, the science fiction series which went on to spawn many more spinoff series and films, was created by Gene Roddenberry and debuted on 8 September 1966. Set in the 23rd century, Star Trek follows the adventures of the Starship Enterprise and her crew. Initially, the series did not rate well, and only a sustained campaign by its devoted fans kept the series going through two more seasons.
One of Star Trek’s most classic episodes, “The Trouble With Tribbles”, first aired on 29 December 1967. In this episode, the Star Trek crew encountered a previously unknown species – small, cute, furry and voraciously hungry creatures which multiplied at an astronomical rate. The tribble episode was very popular, and the original tribbles became sought-after collectors’ items, with many of the toys disappearing later from the series’ props department. 500 tribbles were used in the episode and the tribble-maker, Jacqueline Cumere, was paid US$350.
Six Star Trek movies based around the characters of the original series were later developed, as well as a number of spin-off series. The first of the spinoff series, ‘Star Trek: the Next Generation’, premiered in 1987. The Tribbles returned in a later spinoff series, ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’, in the episode entitled “Trials and Tribble-ations”, during which the characters actually found themselves back in original Star Trek time. One of the scenes in the original tribble episode involved an avalanche of tribbles which took 8 takes to fall just right: this avalanche was alluded to later as two of the Deep Space Nine characters frantically dug through a pile of tribbles to locate a bomb.