On this date economist and social commentator Thorstein Bunde Veblen was born in Cato, although some sources place his birth in Valders. He is best known for his book The Theory of The Leisure Class (1899), a classic of social theory that introduced the concept of "conspicuous consumption."
1864 - (Civil War) Battle of the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia
The Battle of the Crater took place outside Petersburg, Virginia. Union troops set off a tremendous mine underneath a stronghold in the Confederate lines. Among the soldiers charging into the resulting crater were Company K, 37th Wisconsin Infantry (composed partly of Menominee Indians) and Wisconsin's only black unit, Company F, 29th U.S. Colored Troops. Delayed by bungling commanders, they were trapped in the crater, exposed to crossfire from Confederate soldiers, and cut down mercilessly. Read eyewitness accounts in our Civil War digital collection.
1918 - Peter Maas Dies
On this date Peter Mass died while charging a German machine gun nest. The third Madisonian to die in battle during World War I, Maas enlisted in Company G of the Wisconsin National Guard on June 17, 1917. Maas was reputed to be the best swimmer in Madison, having once swam across Lake Mendota and winning awards in several local diving competitions. He was also a messenger for the state legislature and a head-setter for the Madison Democrat. [Source: From Bishops to Bootleggers: A Biographical Guide to Resurrection Cemetery by the Resurrection Cemetery Committee of Historic Madison, Inc, p. 206]
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