On this date Cadwallader Colden Washburn, for whom Washburn County is named, was born in Maine. He moved to Davenport, Iowa, in 1839, where he was employed in the geological survey of that state, and also lived in Illinois before he settled in Mineral Point, Wis., in 1842. A leading attorney and businessman, Washburn founded the Mineral Point Bank in 1852 and was elected as a Republican to Congress, where he served from 1855-1861. He rose from colonel of the Second Cavalry to brigadier general during the Civil War, when he had at least one narrow escape. After again serving in Congress (1867-1871) he was elected governor of Wisconsin from 1872 to 1874. He made a fortune in the lumber and flour milling industries in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Washburn died on May 15, 1882, and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, La Crosse, Wisconsin. [Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]
1862 - (Civil War) Governor calls for more volunteers
Gov. Edward Salomon called for more volunteers. Enough Wisconsin residents responded to make 14 additional regiments.
1903 - Van Hise Chosen UW President
On this date Charles R. Van Hise, born on a farm near Fulton and a graduate of schools in Milton and Evansville, was chosen to be president of the University of Wisconsin. [Source: Wisconsin Electronic Reader]
1926 - Charlotte Rae Born
On this date film and TV actress Charlotte Rae (aka Charlotte Lubotsky) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Rae is best known for her role as Mrs. Edna Garrett, the house mother on the TV sitcom The Facts of Life which aired from 1979 to 1986. She also portrayed Silvia Schnauser on Car 54-Where Are You? and Molly, the mail lady, on Sesame Street.[Source: Internet Movie Database]
1948 - Boxer Dies in Milwaukee Bout
On this date Jackie Darthard, an 18-year old middleweight, died of a brain hemorrhage in a Milwaukee hospital, 10 hours after being savagely beaten by Bart Lytell in a fight at the Auditorium. Lytell won the fight on a TKO in the 7th round. [Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online]
1954 - Army-McCarthy Hearings Begin
On this date the Army-McCarthy hearings began. The hearings were televised live for 36 days to an audience of over 20 million viewers. Kinescopes of these hearings were used by Emile de Antonio to produce the 1964 documentary Point of Order. In the hearings, Senator Joseph McCarthy, chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, charged that the Secretary of the Army, Robert T. Stevens, and Army Counsel, John G. Adams, were hampering the committee's attempts to uncover communists in the military. McCarthy failed to prove his charges. The hearings, given broad television and newspaper coverage, helped to end the anti-Communist witch hunt. In the end, McCarthy was publicly disgraced and condemned by the U.S. Senate. [Source: The Museum of Broadcast Communications]
1970 - First Earth Day Celebrated
On this date the first Earth Day was celebrated. The event was organized by a 33-member committee in Philadelphia. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson advocated Earth Day to focus national attention on ecological issues. [Source: Earth Day Information Center]
1998 - Mining Moratorium Signed into Law
On this date Governor Tommy Thompson signed the Mining Moratorium Bill into law. The law "prohibits DNR from issuing a metallic mining permit for the mining of a sulfide ore body until DNR determines that a mine has operated in a similar sulfide ore body in the United States or Canada for at least 10 years without polluting groundwater or surface water." Act 171 was largely passed and signed in response to public feelings against proposed actions of the Crandon mine. [Source: Wisconsin Legislation]
2003 - Felice Bryant dies
On this day, Nashville songwriter Felice Bryant died. Bryant, who was born in Milwaukee, wrote with her late husband, Boudleaux Bryant, "Bye Bye Love" and other Everly Brothers hits as well as the hand-clapping bluegrass standard "Rocky Top". Bryant and her husband wrote or co-wrote 800 recorded songs by more than 500 vocalists. The Bryants were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1991 and inducted into the National Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986. [Source: BMI]
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