Born on this day
Saturday, August 3, 1811. : Elisha Otis, inventor of the automatic safety brake for elevators, is born.
Elisha Graves Otis was born in Halifax, Vermont, USA, on 3 August 1811. As a young man, circumstances caused Otis to change jobs many times. It was while he was working for a New York bed factory that he determined there was a need for a safety elevator to move people and equipment safely to the upper floors of the building. Otis built the first modern passenger elevator which used his invention of a safety device which prevented the car from falling if the cables broke.
His invention was demonstrated in front of a large crowd at the Crystal Palace Exposition in New York in 1854. After ascending in his new elevator, Otis called for the elevator’s cable to be cut with an axe. The elevator platform did not fall, but held, secured by a brake using toothed guide rails in the elevator shaft and a spring-loaded bar that automatically caught in the toothed rail of the elevator car if the cable failed. Today, the Otis Elevator Company is the world’s largest company in the manufacture and service of elevators, escalators, moving walks and people-moving equipment.
Born on this day
Sunday, August 3, 1856. : Alfred Deakin, Australia’s second Prime Minister, is born.
Alfred Deakin was born on 3 August 1856 in Fitzroy, Melbourne. In 1879, Deakin gained a seat in the colonial Parliament of Victoria, and after holding office in several ministries, he began to turn his efforts towards the push for Federation. Following Federation in 1901, he was elected to the first federal Parliament as MP for Ballarat, becoming Attorney-General in Prime Minister Edmund Barton’s government.
Deakin succeeded Barton as Prime Minister in 1902 when the latter retired. Deakin’s own Protectionist Party did not hold a majority in either house, and he was unwilling to accept aspects of Labor’s legislation, so he retired in 1904. Watson and Reid succeeded him, but when they proved unable to maintain a stable ministry, Deakin returned to office in 1905. He was pushed out by the Labor Party in 1908, but after forming a coalition with Reid, Deakin again returned as Prime Minister in 1909 heading up a majority government, a position he held until his defeat at the polls in 1910. Deakin retired from politics altogether in 1913, and died in 1919.
World History
Wednesday, August 3, 1492. : Christopher Columbus departs on the voyage that would lead him to discover the Americas.
Christopher Columbus is believed to have been born on or around 30 October 1451: there is some doubt as to his actual country and region of birth, but he was believed to have been born in Genoa, Italy. Like many boys of his time and region, he went to sea at a young age, most likely learning his skills whilst sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.
Up until Columbus’s time, sea traders favoured a route eastwards to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. However, Columbus was determined to pioneer a western sea route. On 3 August 1492 Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Marýa, the Pinta, and the Niña. During his journeys, Columbus explored the West Indies, South America, and Central America. He became the first explorer and trader to cross the Atlantic Ocean and sight the land of the Americas, on 12 October 1492, under the flag of Castile, a former kingdom of modern-day Spain. It is most probable that the land he first sighted was Watling Island in the Bahamas.
Columbus returned to Spain laden with gold and new discoveries from his travels, including the previously unknown tobacco plant and the pineapple fruit. The success of his first expedition prompted his commissioning for a second voyage to the New World, and he set out from Cýdiz in September 1493. He explored Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and various smaller Caribbean islands, and further ensuing explorations yielded discoveries such as Venezuela. Through all this, Columbus believed that he was travelling to parts of Asia. He believed Hispaniola was Japan, and that the peaks of Cuba were the Himalayas of India.
Although passionate about converting the world to Christianity, Columbus fell out with the Spanish King and Queen, as he repeatedly suggested slavery as a way to profit from the new colonies. These suggestions were all rejected by the monarchs, who preferred to view the natives as future members of Christendom. Columbus was stripped of his governorship of Hispaniola for mismanagement and his treatment of rebellious settlers and Indians. Thus, although he became wealthy as a result of his explorations, he was not given the rewards he felt he was due. Columbus died in 1506, still believing that he had found the route to the Asian continent.
World History
Friday, August 3, 1990. : The highest temperature for Britain in the 20th century is recorded … at 37 degrees C.
In mid-1990, England endured a run of unusually hot weather. Firemen battled around the clock to fight blazes in the North Yorkshire countryside, while penguins at Bristol Zoo had to be dosed daily in cold water to prevent dehydration. Coastal areas and the roads leading to them were packed with people hoping to cool down, and even reservoir levels were falling, although there was no immediate likelihood of water restrictions being implemented. The highest temperature recorded in the United Kingdom to that date – 37 degrees Celsius – was reached on 3 August 1990. The overall record was broken twenty-nine years later when 38.7 degrees C was recorded at Cambridge Botanic Garden on 25 July 2019.
In context: the hottest recorded temperature in Australia to that date was 50.7 degrees C at Oodnadatta, South Australia on 2 January 1960. The world heat record goes to Marble Bar in Western Australia, which recorded maximum temperatures equalling or exceeding 37.8°C on 161 consecutive days, between 30 October 1923 and 7 April 1924.
World History
Tuesday, August 3, 2004. : The Statue of Liberty Pedestal in New York City opens for the first time since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
On 11 September 2001, New York City, USA was hit by two of four terrorist strikes carried out across the US. At around 8:45am local time American Airlines Flight 11, which had been hijacked, crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Centre. At 9:03am, United Airlines Flight 175, which was hijacked within minutes of the first plane, was flown into the south tower. The impact of each plane and subsequent explosions killed hundreds immediately and trapped many more people on higher floors.
The south tower of the World Trade Centre collapsed an hour after being hit, and was followed shortly afterwards by the north tower, compounding the loss of life. 365 fire-fighters and police who were assisting with the evacuation were also killed in the collapse. Over three thousand people were killed in the terrorist attacks that day in September. When the organisation called al-Qaeda claimed responsibility, the US declared a War on Terror and invaded Afghanistan where al-Qaeda had been harbouring, in order to depose the Taliban.
Apart from the obvious damage to infrastructure, the destruction of the World Trade Centre had numerous long-term effects, while security was tightened in many key US locations. Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty had stood since 1886, was closed for 100 days. It opened in December of that year, with all visitors being screened before boarding the ferry to the island. The statue itself, however, remained closed to the public.
On 3 August 2004, the Statue of Liberty pedestal reopened to the public for the first time since the 9/11 attacks. It had undergone $20 million worth of improvements to ensure fire safety, security and evacuation routes were compliant with new standards. At the reopening, Governor George Pataki proclaimed, “This beacon of hope and liberty is once again open to the public, sending a reassuring message to the world that freedom is alive in New York and shining brighter than ever before.” Liberty’s crown was finally reopened in 2009.