Tag: January 23

Lindbergh Testified Before Congress

Today in History, January 23, 1941:

American hero Charles Lindbergh, who in 1927 was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic, sits before the US Congress and encourages the US to remain neutral with Nazi Germany.

After his son was kidnapped and subsequently murdered, Lindbergh and his wife moved to Europe to avoid attention.

While there he became enamored with the German air superiority (at least warning America about that) and their “advancements”.

When he returned, son of a US Congressman, he sat before congress and denounced FDR’s administration, Jews, and the British, encouraging neutrality.

A fool on a fool’s errand? Perhaps.

Only history can determine whether he can be forgiven for his poor judgement after he flew 50 combat missions in the Pacific against the Japanese once the war began. He would die in Hawaii in 1974. Hero or traitor? We all make poor choices at some point in our lives, but can we obtain redemption?

Tossing Around the…Pluto Platter

Today in History, January 23, 1957:

Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights for an invention to the Wham-O Toy Company.

He and his wife had begun on the invention by selling “Flying Cake Pans” in 1937.

Nearly a decade later, after having learned more about aerodynamics while flying combat missions over Italy in a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter (shot down, spent time as a POW), Morrison began working on the invention again after WWII.

He and an investor began working with plastics, and he eventually came up with what he called the “Pluto Platter”, which is what he sold to Wham-O. Once college students began referring to it as a “Frisbee”, Wham-O changed the name.

24th Amendment

Today in History, January 23: 1963 –

The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting the use of poll taxes during voting.

In the 1890’s Southern Democrats, seeing their power slipping with the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment (power of citizens to vote shall not be abridged based on race, color or previous status of servitude), had instituted poll taxes to make it more difficult for poor black and white southerners to vote. The 24th Amendment took a two decade long fight to pass.