Birth of the US Circus

April 3rd, 1793

 

Philadelphia was the birthplace of the first American circus. Beginning in 1793 by John Bill Ricketts, the circus included his acrobatic performances on horseback.¹ 
   Pictured below is the ampitheater that he created on 12th and Market Streets to hold his horse riding school and famous circus, which was expanded to include a "tightrope walker a juggling acrobat.. A month later he added a small band and an equestrian pantomime."²  Ricketts was also a close acquaintance of President George Washington, who attended the circus on April 24th, 1793.³ He brought the circus Boston, New York, and Canada.

1. "Ricketts Circus Historical Marker." Explore PA History: WITF, Inc., 2011. http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-1DB

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

President Quotes

We're Americans. Our ancestors were leaders. Our Founding Fathers were leaders. Our Presidents were leaders. They all knew hardship, they all had financial burdens, they had families, they took risks, they struggled, and they all knew the dangers of government control.  Let's look at quotes from past leaders to become leaders in the present. 

Tribute to USA Coffee

Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Peets, Tim Hortons, and Caribou prove that the world loves its coffee. With coffee houses being both a past and present place for meetings, political discussions, tutoring sessions, and hang out places, coffee plays a tremendous role throughout history. My love of Tim Horton's coffee helped with my all- nighters of studying history and my third cup today inspired this post. Enjoy.

The Tontine Coffee House (1794)

This coffee house, "was the center of commercial activity in New York City... was established as a merchants exchange- a place where merchants and brokers could meet and trade goods with one another."¹ Stockbrokers began to meet at The Tontine Coffee House and would "trade stocks and bonds into the early years of the 19th century."² Thus, this was the original place of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street. 

City Tavern/ Merchant's Coffee House
  This tavern/ coffee house is the historic location that fed, "Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Paul Revere....In 1834, a fire badly damaged the Merchant's Coffee House... Eclipsed as a center of the business world, the Tavern was burned down in 1854."³ This tavern/ coffee house represents the importance of coffee in the lives of the Founding Fathers, business innovation, and political debate. 

The First Dunkin Donuts: 1950 (Quincy, Massachusetts)

The first Starbucks: 1971 (Seattle)

The first Tim Hortons: 1964 (Hamilton, Ontario)

The first US Tim Hortons was in Amherst, NY in 1985.⁴

1. Stephen Wheeler. "The Tontine Coffee House: Early Home of the NYSE". NYSE Euronext, 2012. 
2. Ibid. 
3. "City Tavern". Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia, 1995-2013. http://www.ushistory.org/tour/city-tavern.htm
4. "Tim Hortons US Fast Facts. 2010-2012. http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/about/us-facts.html

Mickey

The Evolution of Mickey Mouse

May 15th, 1928


Mickey's first cartoon: Plane Crazy.1

November 18th, 1928

Although Mickey was in two previous productions, Steamboat Willie, was the first that brought about Mickey's fame and popularity. This production was "the first animation to feature synchronized music and sound effects." <sup>2

1928



January 13th, 1930: comics</sup>

Mickey's first comic strip.3

1930: The Gorilla Mystery



Pie Eye



In the 1920's through early 1940's,  Mickey was sometimes portrayed with "pie eyes", especially in comics. ⁴ 


February 23, 1935: The Band Concert

<sup>(5) 





November 13th, 1940: Fantasia</sup> 



1942 Mickey




  1950's Mickey Mouse Club


1953: The Simple Things 


1960's Mickey



1979: Mickey Mouse Disco


1983: Mickey's Christmas Carol




Notice that Mickey does not have any eyebrows.

1990: The Prince and the Pauper




1999: Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas






2004: The Three Musketeers

1. Alison Schultz. "Mickey Mouse History", <http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/mickey-mouse-history>.

^{2. Claire Suddath. "A Brief History of Mickey Mouse", Time Entertainment, 2008.}       http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1859935,00.html.
3. "Disney History", The Walt Disney Company. <http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history/1930-01-01--1939-12-31>
4, "Pie Eyed". <http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PieEyed>
5. "Disney History", The Walt Disney Company. <http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history/1930-01-01--1939-12-31>

America's Firsts

Currently, the world has millions of ipads that bring information with just one touch, electric cars save money and gas, fast food restaurants are on nearly every corner, and magazine choices could fill a library. If for one day, we had to go back in time before all of these technological advances were invented, we would surely suffer. This post is dedicated to America's firsts and how far we have come since.

America's Firsts

First US College:

Its not a tremendous shock that the first US college is one that represents rigorous Ivy League excellence. Harvard was created in 1636. ¹

One of the World's First Films

 

Created by Louis Le Prince of Great Britain in 1888, this film "Roundhay Garden Scene" was influential in America. ²

First US Zoo

The Philadelphia Zoo was the first US Zoo, established in March, 1959. Those who visited the zoo "arrived to the easily accessible zoo grounds via horse, carriage, steamboat, streetcar, and foot." ³

US Mass Produced Car

In 1901, the US proudly created the first mass produced car that operated with a gasoline engine: the Curved Dash Oldsmobile. ⁴

US Fast Food Restaurant

1921 marked the year that changed food for America. White Castle was opened in Wichita, Kansas and began making the first "fast food" hamburgers. <sup>5

McDonald's</sup>

In 1940, McDonald's opened as a barbecue restaurant in San Bernardino, CA. In 1948, "the menu is reduced to nine items: hamburger, cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and a slice of pie. The staple of the menu is the 15 cent hamburger."¹¹


In 1955, Des Plains, Illinois opened a location with golden arches.^Ibid.  


First US Magazine

Pictured above is "The American Magazine", which was the first published American magazine. Philadelphia was home to this ground breaking publication in February 1741.⁶

First Issues of Current Magazines:

Vogue: September 1916 of Vogue ⁷

Sports Illustrated: August 1951 ⁹

Time Magazine: March 1923  ⁸

Forbes: September 15, 1917 ¹⁰

---

1. "About Harvard". 2013. <http://www.harvard.edu/about-harvard>

2. Sujit Varma. "Roundhay Garden Scene": Imdb. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0392728/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl>

3. "West Philadelphia: The Basic History. Chapter 2: A Streetcar Suburb in the City: West Philadelphia, 1854-1907". 2009. <http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/wphila/history/history2.html>

4. "Curved Dash Olds", Encyclopedia of Oldsmobile. <http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aacarsassemblya.htm>

5. Beccy Tanner. "White Castle marks 90th anniversary with one-day return to Wichita". The Wichita Eagle. May 12th, 2011. <http://www.kansas.com/2011/05/12/1845732/buy-sliders-here-for-a-day.html>

6. Elana Gensler. “First Magazine Published in America,” New and Noteworthy: The West Hempstead Public Library's Weblog, 2011. 

7."September 1916": Vogue Magazine Archive. <http://www.vogue.co.uk/magazine/archive/issue/1916/September>

8. "History of Time", Time Archive. <http://content.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_time_history,00.shtml>

9. "Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary". 2003. <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/features/si50/>

10. "Forbes".


11. "Travel Through Time With Us: McDonald's History". <http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcdonalds_history_timeline.html?DCSext.destination=http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcd_history.html>