1975: The Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior

The ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald sank during its trip from Superior, Wisconsin to Detroit, Michigan. The ship, carrying 26,126 tons of taconite pellets, disappeared off radar screens around 7:30 p.m. while caught in a storm with winds up to 75 miles an hour. The ship carried a crew of 23, all of whom were lost when the ship went down.

The Coast Guard spent 18 hours searching the ship's last known coordinates and found an oil slick, life jackets, lifeboats and oars, but no survivors. "It has sunk. The ship disappeared off the radar scopes in the area and we've searched 18 hours for the vessel. We classify it as sunk," declared Bryan Norris, a spokesman at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, quoted by the Fond du Lac Reporter.

NOTE: The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald was the first major shipping disaster in the Great Lakes in nearly 10 years and although it was not the largest disaster, it became one of the most famous. While the shipwreck did not make national headlines, the recording of the song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Canadian artist Gordon Lightfoot the following year would immortalize the Edmund Fitzgerald in American culture.

Links to the Past
Fitzgerald in good repair when lost on Superior
The Advocate, November 13, 1975

Great Ship No Match for Great Lakes Storm
News Journal, November 24, 1975

No survivors: Sinking of ore carrier remains mystery
Winnipeg Free Press, November 24, 1975

Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy still a mystery
The Chronicle Telegram, November 10, 1993

Tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald remembered
The Capital, November 12, 2000

Jobless rate increases

The U.S. unemployment rate hit a 14-year high at 6.5 percent according to the Labor Department on Friday morning. More than 1.2 million jobs have been lost in 2008 as the nation slides towards recession, with more expected during the remainder of this year and into next year. General Motors Corp and Ford experienced much steeper declines than previously thought, highlighting a growing problem in Detroit that reverberates into the world economy. GM alone lost 13 percent in share value and has set aside the possible acquisition of Chrysler, which it had been considering for some time.

Though the news is grimmer than expected, stock traders seem to have taken the news into account prior to trading on Friday. Following a massive decline on Wednesday and Thursday, the market rose slightly before the weekend. President-elect Barack Obama held his first post-election press conference, taking questions on the economy and what he would do as President to improve the economic condition. Obama stated, “We are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and we are going to have to act swiftly to solve it.” He also discussed Iran’s nuclear weapon program and the transfer into the White House.

Links to the Past
Unemployment
The Gallup Independent, March 16, 1972

Unemployment rate falls…
Alton Telegraph, August 5, 1983

Recession moves rapidly across New Mexico
Las Vegas Optic, April 7, 1975

1982: Soviet Leader Brezhnev dies

"The burly and bushy-browed Brezhnev rose to power out of the triumvirate of leaders that succeeded Nikita S. Khrushchev 18 years ago. He was the most conservative of the Soviet leaders who preceded him. After the fiery Lenin, ruthless Stalin and visionary Khrushchev," reported the Syracuse Herald Journal the day after Brezhnev's death. NOTE: Brezhnez was known best for his negotiation of the SALT I treaty with President Jimmy Carter in 1979, which was only one of many reforms made by him that brought the Soviet Union into parity with the United States.

Links to the Past
Taciturn bureaucrat…
Syracuse Herald Journal, November 11, 1982

Brezhnev Dead
Syracuse Herald Journal, November 11, 1982

Soviet Leader Brezhnev Dies
Marysville Journal-Tribune, November 11, 1982

1928: Emperor Hirohito crowned in Japan

A rainbow graced the coronation of Michinomiya Hirohito as Emperor today while guns roared in salute of the 124th ruler of Japan. "There was a tremendous crowd looking on as Hirohito No Miya and his wife, Nagako, assumed the rule of this great empire in rites that were colorful filled with pageantry and awe inspiring," remarked the Modesto News-Herald on November 10, 1928. NOTE: Hirohito would reign through many changes for Japan, including World War II, before his death from duodenal cancer on January 7, 1989.

Links to the Past
Hirohito Enthroned As 124th Ruler Of Japan
Modesto News-Herald, November 10, 1928

Ancient and Modern Linked In Hirohito’s Enthronement
The Port Arthur News, November 19, 1928

Hirohito Is Enthroned As Japan’s Ruler
Syracuse Herald, November 11, 1928

1871: Dr. Livingstone found in Africa

Long lost African explorer Dr. David Livingstone was finally found after a five year search by Henry Morton Stanley. Livingstone, a Scottish missionary and explorer had been out of contact for over six years when Stanley found him in the town of Ujiji in present day Tanzania. "I noticed in the center of a group of arabs...a pale looking, grey-bearded white man...I inquired 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?' He, smiling, answered yes," was the description of Stanley's discovery in The New York Times on July 2, 1872. NOTE: Livingstone never returned from Africa and died in Zambia two years later.

Links to the Past
Dr. Livingstone
Titusville Morning Herald, February 8, 1870

The Search For Livingston
The New York Times, July 2, 1872

Livingstone
The New York Herald, July 15, 1872