1.
West Overton, Pennsylvania
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West Overton is located approximately 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, in East Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is on PA819 between the towns of Mount Pleasant and Scottdale and its latitude is 40. 117N and its longitude is -79. 564W. West Overton Village was established in 1800 by German Mennonites from Bucks County, today it operates as a museum complex and is an example of a 19th-century rural industrial village. It is the only pre-American Civil War village still intact in Pennsylvania, the museum has undergone a complete renovation and will focus on the Overholt industries of whiskey distillation, grist milling and coal and coke operations. The museum was scheduled to reopen for tours in August 2012 with the Overholt Homestead to reopen in June 2013, West Overton Historic District is a national historic district located at East Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses 19 contributing buildings in the village of West Overton and they are a collection of mid-19th century buildings in a vernacular Greek Revival style. It includes the Christian S. Overholt Store and House, Abraham Overholt Homestead, the springhouse of the Abraham Overholt Homestead is the birthplace of Henry Clay Frick. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, West Overton Museums website Frick Art & Historical Center website All of the following Historic American Buildings Survey records are filed under West Overton, Westmoreland County, PA, HABS No. PA-5654, West Overton,1 photo,3 measured drawings,43 data pages,1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-5655, Henry S. Overton House,1526 Frick Avenue,4 photos,7 measured drawings,15 data pages,1 photo caption page HABS No, pA-5657, Overholt Company Workers House B,2 photos,12 data pages,1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-5656, Christian S. Overholt Store & House,6 photos,6 measured drawings,13 data pages,1 photo caption page HABS No, pA-5658, Abraham Overholt House,10 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-5658-A, Abraham Overholt House, Springhouse,3 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No, pA-5658-B, Abraham Overholt House, Smokehouse,2 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-5658-C, Abraham Overholt House, Summerhouse & Shed,2 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No, pA-5658-D, Abraham Overholt House, South Stables & Hog Pen,2 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-5659, A. & H. S. Overholt Company Distillery,7 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No, pA-5660, A. & H. S. Overholt Company Coke Over,1 photo,1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-5661-A, Abraham Overholt Farm, Farm House,2 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No, pA-5661-B, Abraham Overholt Farm, Large Barn,4 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-5661-C, Abraham Overholt Farm, Barn,2 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No, pA-5661-D, Abraham Overholt Farm, Stables,2 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-5662, Overholt Company Workers House C,2 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No, pA-5663, Overholt Company Workers House D,2 photos,1 photo caption page HABS No. PA-5664, Overholt Company Workers House F,2 photos,1 photo caption page
2.
Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania /ˌpɛnsᵻlˈveɪnjə/, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, the 5th most populous, and the 9th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The states five most populous cities are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, the state capital, and its ninth-largest city, is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania has 140 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie and the Delaware Estuary. The state is one of the 13 original founding states of the United States, it came into being in 1681 as a result of a land grant to William Penn. Part of Pennsylvania, together with the present State of Delaware, had earlier been organized as the Colony of New Sweden and it was the second state to ratify the United States Constitution, on December 12,1787. Independence Hall, where the United States Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were drafted, is located in the states largest city of Philadelphia, during the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg, was fought in the south central region of the state. Valley Forge near Philadelphia was General Washingtons headquarters during the winter of 1777–78. Pennsylvania is 170 miles north to south and 283 miles east to west, of a total 46,055 square miles,44,817 square miles are land,490 square miles are inland waters, and 749 square miles are waters in Lake Erie. It is the 33rd largest state in the United States, Pennsylvania has 51 miles of coastline along Lake Erie and 57 miles of shoreline along the Delaware Estuary. Cities include Philadelphia, Reading, Lebanon and Lancaster in the southeast, Pittsburgh in the southwest, the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, the northeast includes the former anthracite coal mining communities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston City, and Hazleton. Erie is located in the northwest, the state has 5 regions, namely the Allegheny Plateau, Ridge and Valley, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and the Erie Plain. Straddling two major zones, the majority of the state, with the exception of the corner, has a humid continental climate. The largest city, Philadelphia, has characteristics of the humid subtropical climate that covers much of Delaware. Moving toward the interior of the state, the winter climate becomes colder, the number of cloudy days increase. Western areas of the state, particularly locations near Lake Erie, can receive over 100 inches of snowfall annually, the state may be subject to severe weather from spring through summer into fall. Tornadoes occur annually in the state, sometimes in large numbers, the Tuscarora Nation took up temporary residence in the central portion of Pennsylvania ca. Both the Dutch and the English claimed both sides of the Delaware River as part of their lands in America
3.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
4.
New York (state)
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New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year
5.
Otterbein University
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Otterbein University is a small, highly residential, private, four-year liberal arts college in Westerville, Ohio, United States. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs, featured programs include engineering, business management, education, and music, as well as programs and pre-professional advising that prepare students for study in law and medicine. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, as a result of a division and two mergers involving the church, the university has since 1968 been associated with the United Methodist Church. The university is named for United Brethren founder the Rev. Philip William Otterbein, in 2010, its name reverted from Otterbein College to Otterbein University to reflect the increasing array of graduate and undergraduate programs offered. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with approximately 2,300 undergraduate and 450 graduate students on the campus, Otterbein has over 100 student organizations and a popular Greek presence. The schools mascot is Cardy the Cardinal and the school is a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference in Division III athletics, Otterbein University was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. As a result of a division and two mergers involving the Church, the university has since 1968 been associated with the United Methodist Church, the University is named for United Brethren founder the Rev. Philip William Otterbein. The Otterbein campus is located in Westerville, Ohio and it sits between Alum Creek on the west and State Street on the east. West Home Street, which runs through the center of campus, is the address of most of the homes and student residence halls. The north end of the campus is home to most underclassman housing, overall, the Campus occupies 140 acres Towers Hall is the oldest building on campus and is designated as a national landmark. Towers Hall is a 55,619 square foot structure that was opened in 1871, a gallery of portraits of former Otterbein presidents is located on the second floor. Towers Hall houses the Departments of English, History and Political Science, Religion and Philosophy, Foreign Language, Sociology, the Frank Museum of Art houses Otterbeins collection of art from Africa, Japan and New Guinea. The museum is located in the former Church House of Lillian Frank, upon her death, the structure was given for the purpose of creating a museum for the Universitys collection. The building was built in 1877, opened as a museum in the winter 2004. The Rike Recreation Center is a complex containing a varsity basketball court, an in-door track and practice courts, a weight room. The complex also includes outdoor softball, baseball and soccer fields, the complex was completed in 1975 and has 72,500 square feet. The domed roof encloses an intercollegiate hardwood basketball floor with seating for 3,100, memorial Stadium is Otterbeins football stadium. The stadium contains state-of-the-art locker rooms, a room and an equipment room
6.
Frick Collection
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The Frick Collection is an art museum located in the Henry Clay Frick House on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City at 1 East 70th Street, at the northeast corner with Fifth Avenue. It houses the collection of industrialist Henry Clay Frick, Henry Frick started his substantial art collection as soon as he started amassing his fortunes. A considerable amount of his art collection is located in his former residence Clayton in Pittsburgh, another part was given by his daughter and heiress Helen to the Frick Fine Arts Building, which is on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. The family did not permanently move from Pittsburgh to New York until 1905, Henry Frick initially leased the Vanderbilt house at 640 Fifth Avenue, to which he moved a substantial amount of his collection. He had his permanent residence built between 1912 and 1914 by Thomas Hastings of Carrère and Hastings and he stayed in the house until his death in 1919. He willed the house and all of its contents, including art, furniture and his widow Adelaide Howard Childs Frick, however, retained the right of residence and continued living in the mansion with her daughter Helen. After Adelaide Frick died in 1931, the conversion of the house into a museum started. John Russell Pope altered and enlarged the building in the early 1930s to adapt it to use as a public institution and it opened to the public on December 16,1935. Further expansions of the museum took place in 1977 and in 2011, in 2014, the museum announced further expansion plans, but came up against community opposition because it would result in the loss of a garden. The Frick ultimately dropped those plans and is said to be considering other options, Frick had intended the mansion to eventually become a museum. Many of the paintings are arranged according to Fricks design. Besides its permanent collection, the Frick has always organized small, the collection features some of the best-known paintings by major European artists, as well as numerous works of sculpture and porcelain. It also has 18th century French furniture, Limoges enamel, after Fricks death, his daughter, Helen Clay Frick, expanded the collection, with a third of its artworks acquired since 1919. Although the museum cannot lend the two-thirds that belonged to Frick, as stipulated in his will, the Frick Collection oversees the nearby Frick Art Reference Library. Archival materials augment its research collections, opened in 1920, the library quickly became a prime resource for students. According to The Art Newspaper, the Frick Collection has an annual attendance of 275,000 to 300,000. About 35 percent of the visitors are non-English speaking, in 2011, Ian Wardropper succeeded Anne Poulet, who had run the Frick Collection as director since 2003. Poulet took the position after Samuel Sachs II stepped down after running the institution for six years, Poulet was the first female director of the Frick
7.
Johnstown Flood
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The Johnstown Flood occurred on May 31,1889, after the catastrophic failure of the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River 14 miles upstream of the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The dam broke after several days of heavy rainfall, releasing 14.55 million cubic meters of water from the reservoir known as Lake Conemaugh. With a volumetric flow rate that temporarily equaled that of the Mississippi River, the American Red Cross, led by Clara Barton and with 50 volunteers, undertook a major disaster relief effort. Support for victims came from all over the United States and 18 foreign countries, after the flood, survivors suffered a series of legal defeats in their attempts to recover damages from the dams owners. Public indignation at that failure prompted the development in American law changing a fault-based regime to strict liability, the village of Johnstown was founded in 1800 by the Swiss immigrant Joseph Johns where the Stony Creek and Little Conemaugh rivers joined to form the Conemaugh River. It began to prosper with the building of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal in 1836 and the construction in the 1850s of the Pennsylvania Railroad, by 1889, Johnstowns industries had attracted numerous Welsh and German immigrants. With a population of 30,000, it was an industrial community known for the quality of its steel. The high, steep hills of the narrow Conemaugh Valley and the Allegheny Mountains range to the east kept development close to the riverfront areas, the valley had large amounts of runoff from rain and snowfall. The area surrounding Johnstown is prone to flooding due to its location on the rivers, adding to these factors, slag from the iron furnaces of the steel mills was dumped along the river to create more land for building. Developers artificial narrowing of the riverbed to maximize early industries left the city even more flood-prone, the Conemaugh River immediately downstream of Johnstown is hemmed in by steep mountainsides for about 10 miles. High above the city, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania built the South Fork Dam between 1838 and 1853, as part of a canal system, the Main Line of Public Works. Johnstown was the terminus of the Western Division Canal, supplied with water by Lake Conemaugh. As railroads superseded canal barge transport, the Commonwealth abandoned the canal, the dam and lake were part of the purchase, and the railroad sold them to private interests. Many were connected through business and social links to Carnegie Steel, development included lowering the dam to make its top wide enough to hold a road, and putting a fish screen in the spillway. These alterations are thought to have increased the vulnerability of the dam, the members built cottages and a clubhouse to create the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, an exclusive and private mountain retreat. Membership grew to more than 50 wealthy Pittsburgh steel, coal. Lake Conemaugh at the site was 450 feet in elevation above Johnstown. The lake was about 2 miles long, about 1 mile wide, the dam was 72 feet high and 931 feet long
8.
Helen Clay Frick
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Helen Clay Frick was an American philanthropist and art collector. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the child of the coke and steel magnate Henry Clay Frick. Two of her siblings did not reach adulthood, and her father played favorites with his two surviving children, Childs Frick and Helen, after the reading of their fathers will, which favored Helen, the brother and sister were estranged for the rest of their lives. Nonetheless, Helen developed as a strong, independent and spirited young woman and she was equally interested in art history and philanthropy, making a catalogue of her fathers art collection as a young woman, a collection which became the Frick Collection in New York. The Library houses photographs and archival records that document the history of Western art, many works of which were lost during World Wars I and II. She also established an art library at the University of Pittsburgh and, later in her life, Helens father was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, a partner in business with Andrew Carnegie, together the two men founded United States Steel Corporation. Fricks actions were seen as heroic by men such as Andrew Mellon and J. P. Morgan but earned him a reputation as an enemy of the class, and he became known as Frick. Two days after that assassination attempt Fricks son died, a year earlier his first-born daughter, Martha, died – from swallowing a pin while on a trip in Europe – after an excruciatingly painful illness that lasted several years. Her sisters illness formed Helens earliest memories, after the deaths of her siblings, Helen grew up in a household of obsessive mourning, and she was greatly affected by witnessing her sisters death. She grew up in Pittsburgh on the estate, Clayton. As a child she showed an interest in her fathers art collection, in the 1890s, after the Homestead Strike, Carnegie and Frick became bitter enemies over control of Carnegies holdings. At the end of the 1890s Carnegie moved to New York and he leased the Vanderbilt house at 640 5th Avenue, bought the old Lenox Library and began building the Henry Clay Frick House on 5th Avenue, on which he spent about $5 million. He employed a 27-member staff to cater to himself, his wife, Helen went to finishing school at the Spence School, graduating in 1908. She returned frequently to Pittsburgh, where she had her debut in 1906. Helen traveled frequently and kept detailed diaries and notes about galleries, by age 17, she had been to Europe nine times, visiting the Louvre, Uffizi, Prado, Pinakothek, the National Gallery, as well as visiting churches and cathedrals. Additionally, she gained access to collections with her father on buying expeditions. It was during trips that she became interested in art archives, spending time in the archives at Londons Record Office. In 1908, she went with her family to Europe where they visited London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, in Paris, Helen, her father and brother visited Alphonse James de Rothschilds widow, the Baroness Rothschild, whose art collection was reputedly the most important in Europe
9.
Robber baron (industrialist)
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Robber baron is a derogatory metaphor of social criticism originally applied to certain late 19th-century American businessmen who used unscrupulous methods to get rich. The metaphor appeared as early as February 9,1859, when The New York Times used it to characterize the unethical business practices by Cornelius Vanderbilt, stiles says the metaphor, conjures up visions of titanic monopolists who crushed competitors, rigged markets, and corrupted government. In their greed and power, legend has it, they held sway over a helpless democracy, charles R. Geisst says, in a Darwinist age, Vanderbilt developed a reputation as a plunderer who took no prisoners. The term combines the pejorative senses of criminal and aristocrat, hostile cartoonists might dress the offenders in royal garb to underscore the offense against democracy. This assumption was clearly implicit in almost all of the criticism of the period, American historian Matthew Josephson further popularized the term during the Great Depression in a 1934 book. Josephson alleged that, like the German princes, American big businessmen amassed huge fortunes immorally, unethically, the theme was popular during the 1930s amid public scorn for big business. However a counterattack by academic historians began as the Depression ended, Business historian Allan Nevins challenged this view of American big businessmen by advocating the Industrial Statesman thesis. Nevins, in his John D. Rockefeller, The Heroic Age of American Enterprise and he argued that while Rockefeller may have engaged in some unethical and illegal business practices, this should not overshadow his bringing order to the industrial chaos of the day. Gilded Age capitalists, according to Nevins, sought to order and stability on competitive business. Richard White, historian of the railroads, stated in 2011 he has no use for the concept. He notes that, Much of the history of corporations is a reaction against the Robber Barons and fictions. In the popular culture the metaphor continues, in 1975 the student body of Stanford University voted to use Robber Barons as the nickname for their sports teams. However, school administrators disallowed it, saying it was disrespectful to the schools founder, in academe, the education division of the National Endowment for the Humanities has prepared a lesson plan for schools asking whether robber baron or captain of industry is the better terminology. They state, In this lesson, you and your students will attempt to establish a distinction between robber barons and captains of industry, students will uncover some of the less honorable deeds as well as the shrewd business moves and highly charitable acts of the great industrialists and financiers. It has been argued that only such people were able to amass great amounts of capital could our country become the worlds greatest industrial power. During the Occupy Wall Street protests of 2011, the term was used by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in his attacks on Wall Street. He said We believe in this country, we love this country, the metaphor has also been used to characterize Russian businessmen allied to Vladimir Putin. The people here are listed in Josephson, Robber Barons or in the source, John Jacob Astor – New York Andrew Carnegie – Pittsburgh
10.
Homestead Strike
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The battle was one of the most serious disputes in U. S. labor history, third behind the Ludlow Massacre and the Battle of Blair Mountain. The dispute occurred at the Homestead Steel Works in the Pittsburgh area town of Homestead, Pennsylvania, the final result was a major defeat for the union and a setback for their efforts to unionize steelworkers. Carnegie Steel made major innovations in the 1880s, especially the installation of the open-hearth system at Homestead in 1886. It now became possible to make suitable for structural beams and for armor plate for the United States Navy. In addition, the plant moved increasingly toward the continuous system of production, Carnegie installed vastly improved systems of material-handling, like overhead cranes, hoists, charging machines, and buggies. All of this greatly sped up the process of steelmaking, as the mills expanded, the labor force grew rapidly, especially with less skilled workers. In response, the union members reacted with a strike designed to protect their historic position. The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers was an American labor union formed in 1876 and it was a craft union representing skilled iron and steel workers. The AAs membership was concentrated in ironworks west of the Allegheny Mountains, the union negotiated national uniform wage scales on an annual basis, helped regulate working hours, workload levels and work speeds, and helped improve working conditions. It also acted as a hall, helping employers find scarce puddlers and rollers. The AA organized the independently-owned Pittsburgh Bessemer Steel Works in Homestead in 1881, violence occurred on both sides, and the plant brought in numerous strikebreakers. The strike ended on March 20 in a victory for the union. The AA struck the plant again on July 1,1889. The strikers seized the town and once again made common cause with various immigrant groups, backed by 2,000 townspeople, the strikers drove off a trainload of strikebreakers on July 10. When the sheriff returned with 125 newly deputized agents two days later, the strikers rallied 5,000 townspeople to their cause. Although victorious, the agreed to significant wage cuts that left tonnage rates less than half those at the nearby Jones and Laughlin works. Carnegie officials conceded that the AA essentially ran the Homestead plant after the 1889 strike, the union contract contained 58 pages of footnotes defining work-rules at the plant and strictly limited managements ability to maximize output. For its part, the AA saw substantial $146,000. ambiguous The Homestead union grew belligerent, the Homestead strike was organized and purposeful, a harbinger of the type of strike which marked the modern age of labor relations in the United States
11.
Coke (fuel)
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Coke is a fuel with few impurities and a high carbon content, usually made from coal. It is the carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash. Cokes made from coal are grey, hard, and porous, while coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made. The form known as coke, or pet coke, is derived from oil refinery coker units or other cracking processes. Coke is used in preparation of producer gas which is a mixture of carbon monoxide, producer gas is produced by passing air over red-hot coke. Coke is also used to water gas. Historical sources dating to the 4th century describe the production of coke in ancient China, the Chinese first used coke for heating and cooking no later than the ninth century. By the first decades of the century, Chinese ironworkers in the Yellow River valley began to fuel their furnaces with coke. In 1589 a patent was granted to Thomas Proctor and William Peterson for making iron and steel and melting lead with earth-coal, sea-coal, turf, the patent contains a distinct allusion to the preparation of coal by cooking. In 1590 a patent was granted to the Dean of York to purify pit-coal, in 1620 a patent was granted to a company composed of William St. John, Robert Follensbee and other knights, mentioning the use of coke in smelting ores and manufacturing metals. In 1627 a patent was granted to Sir John Hacket and Octavius de Strada for a method of rendering sea-coal and pit-coal as useful as charcoal for burning in houses, without offense by smell or smoke. In 1603 Hugh Plat suggested that coal might be charred in an analogous to the way charcoal is produced from wood. In 1709 Abraham Darby I established a coke-fired blast furnace to produce cast iron, cokes superior crushing strength allowed blast furnaces to become taller and larger. The ensuing availability of iron was one of the factors leading to the Industrial Revolution. Before this time, iron-making used large quantities of charcoal, produced by burning wood, in the late 18th century, brick beehive ovens were developed, which allowed more control over the burning process. In 1768 John Wilkinson built a more practical oven for converting coal into coke, with greater skill in the firing, covering and quenching of the heaps, yields were increased from about 33 per cent to 65 per cent by the middle of the 19th century. The Scottish iron industry expanded rapidly in the second quarter of the 19th century. In 1802 a battery of beehives was set up near Sheffield, by 1870, there were 14,000 beehive ovens in operation on the West Durham coalfields, capable of producing 4.2 million tons of coke
12.
Carnegie Steel Company
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The subsequent sale made Carnegie one of the richest men in history. Carnegie began the construction of his first steel mill, the Edgar Thomson Steel Works in 1872 at Braddock, the Thomson Steel Works began producing rails in 1874. Carnegie alone estimated that 40% was returned on the investment i. e. a profit of $40,000 from a $100,000 investment in the mill. The profits made by the Edgar Thomson Steel Works were sufficiently great to permit Carnegie and these included the Homestead Steel Works which Carnegie acquired in 1883. The presence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers provided a way to transport the materials associated with the steel-making industry. Each plant was located close to or alongside a river, Carnegie agreed to Fricks subsequent proposal that the various plants and assets be consolidated into one company. This consolidation occurred on July 1,1892 with the formation of the Carnegie Steel Company, the company headquarters were located in the Carnegie Building, an early skyscraper in Downtown Pittsburgh. Built to show its use of steel in its construction, the building was fifteen stories high, the Carnegie Building was demolished in 1952. It was later rebuilt as a memorial in 2012, Carnegie made major technological innovations in the 1880s, especially the installation of the open hearth furnace system at Homestead in 1886. It now became possible to make suitable for structural beams and for armor plate for the US Navy. In addition the plant moved increasingly toward the continuous system of production, Carnegie installed vastly improved systems of material-handling, like overhead cranes, hoists, charging machines, and buggies. All of this greatly sped the process of steelmaking, and allowed the production of far vaster quantities of steel, as the mills expanded the labor force grew rapidly, especially less skilled workers. The more skilled union members reacted with the unsuccessful 1892 Homestead Strike, along with demands for reduced working hours, after the unsuccessful strike the company continued to expand and profits grew year on year, with the company having earned net profits of $21 million in 1899. J&L Steel was the most important competitor to the Carnegie Steel Company, Carnegie Steel Company was sold in 1901 to the United States Steel Corporation, a newly formed organisation, set up by Pierpont Morgan. It sold for $480 million, of which $226 million went to Carnegie himself, U. S. Steel was a conglomerate with subsidiary companies. The name of the company was changed to the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Company in 1936. Changes in the way in which steel is produced had already appeared before the Carnegie Steel Company was sold, Steel manufacturers had begun to abandon the Bessemer converters and install open-hearth furnaces. Open-hearth furnaces were widely employed until the 1980s when the basic oxygen steelmaking, electric arc furnace, history of the steel industry Illinois Steel Co
13.
U.S. Steel
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The United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U. S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company was the worlds 15th largest steel producer in 2014, at one time, U. S. Steel was the largest steel producer and largest corporation in the world. It was capitalized at $1.4 billion, making it the worlds first billion-dollar corporation, the company headquarters was established in 1901 in the Empire Building, purchased from the estate of Orlando B. Potter for $5 million. In 1907 it bought its largest competitor, the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company and this led to Tennessee Coals being replaced in the Dow Jones Industrial Average by the General Electric Company. The federal government attempted to use federal antitrust laws to break up U. S. Steel in 1911, in its first full year of operation, U. S. Steel made 67 percent of all the steel produced in the United States. One hundred years later, its shipments accounted for only about 8 percent of domestic consumption, the Corporation, as it was known on Wall Street, always distinguished itself to investors by virtue of its size, rather than for its efficiency or creativeness during its heyday. In 1901, it controlled two-thirds of steel production, because of heavy debts taken on at the companys formation — Carnegie insisted on being paid in gold bonds for his stake — and fears of antitrust litigation, U. S. Steel moved cautiously. Competitors often innovated faster, especially Bethlehem Steel, run by U. S, Steels former first president, Charles M. Schwab. Steels share of the expanding market slipped to 50 percent by 1911, james A. Farrell was named president in 1911 and served until 1932. U. S. Steel ranked 16th among United States corporations in the value of World War II production contracts, production peaked at more than 35 million tons in 1953. Its employment was greatest in 1943 when it had more than 340,000 employees, by 2000, however, the federal government has also intervened on other occasions to try to control U. S. Steel. President Harry S. Truman attempted to take over its steel mills in 1952 to resolve a crisis with its union, the United Steelworkers of America. The Supreme Court blocked the takeover by ruling that the president did not have the authority to seize the mills (see Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer. President John F. Kennedy was more successful in 1962 when he pressured the industry into reversing price increases that Kennedy considered dangerously inflationary. In the early days of the Reagan Administration, steel firms won substantial tax breaks in order to deal with imported goods, instead of modernizing their mills, steel companies shifted capital out of steel and into more profitable areas. In March 1982, U. S. Steel took its concessions and paid $1.4 billion in cash and $4.7 billion in loans for Marathon Oil, saving approximately $500 million in taxes through the merger. The architect of tax concessions to steel firms, Senator Arlen Specter, complained that we go out on a limb in Congress, the incident is the subject of a song by folk singer Anne Feeney. U. S. Steel finally acquired National Steels assets in 2003 after National Steel went bankrupt, as part of its diversification plan U. S. Steel acquired Marathon Oil on January 7,1982, as well as Texas Oil and Gas several years later
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Pennsylvania Railroad
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The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the Pennsy, the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the PRR was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the U. S. for the first half of the 20th century. Over the years, it acquired, merged with or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies and its only formidable rival was the New York Central, which carried around three-quarters of PRRs ton-miles. At one time, the PRR was the largest publicly traded corporation in the world, with a larger than that of the U. S. government. The corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history, in 1968, PRR merged with rival NYC to form the Penn Central Transportation Company, which filed for bankruptcy within two years. The viable parts were transferred in 1976 to Conrail, which was broken up in 1999, with 58 percent of the system going to the Norfolk Southern Railway. Amtrak received the electrified segment east of Harrisburg, with the opening of the Erie Canal and the beginnings of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Philadelphia business interests became concerned that the port of Philadelphia would lose traffic. The state legislature was pressed to build a canal across Pennsylvania and it soon became evident that a single canal would not be practical and a series of railroads, inclined planes, and canals was proposed. Because freight and passengers had to change several times along the route and canals froze in winter, it soon became apparent that the system was cumbersome. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted a charter to the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1846 to build a rail line that would connect Harrisburg to Pittsburgh. The Directors chose John Edgar Thomson, an engineer from the Georgia Railroad, to survey, the crest of the mountain was penetrated by the 3, 612-foot Gallitzin Tunnels and then descended by a more moderate grade to Johnstown. The western end of the line was built from Pittsburgh east along the banks of the Allegheny. In 1857, the PRR purchased the Main Line of Public Works from the state of Pennsylvania, the line was double track from its inception, and by the end of the century a third and fourth track were added. Over the next 50 years, PRR expanded by gaining control of railroads by stock purchases. This line is still an important cross-state corridor, carrying Amtraks Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line and he served as PRRs first Chief Engineer and third President. Track connection in Philadelphia was made via the PRRs Connecting Railway, the PRRs Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road opened on July 2,1872, between Baltimore and Washington, D. C. This route required transfer via horse car in Baltimore to the lines heading north from the city. On June 29,1873, the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel through Baltimore was completed, the PRR started the misleadingly named Pennsylvania Air Line service via the Northern Central Railway and Columbia, Pennsylvania
15.
Reading Company
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The Reading Company operated an important railroad in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924-1976. Commonly called the Reading Railroad, it was a successor to the Philadelphia, until the decline in anthracite loadings in the Coal Region after World War II, it was one of the most prosperous corporations in the United States. Competition with the highway system and short hauls compounded the companys problems. Its railroad operations were merged into Conrail in 1976, but the corporation lasted into 2000, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was one of the first railroads in the United States. Along with the Little Schuylkill, a railroad in the Schuylkill River Valley. Primarily, the P&R was constructed to haul coal from the mines in northeastern Pennsylvanias Coal Region to Philadelphia. The P&R mainline had the distinction of being, upon its 1843 completion, the P&R became profitable almost immediately. In 1871, the Reading established a subsidiary called the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, the heavy investment in coal paid off quickly. By 1871, the Reading was the largest company in the world, with $170,000,000 in gross value, in 1879, the Reading gained control of the North Pennsylvania Railroad and gained access to the burgeoning steel industry in the Lehigh Valley. Instead of broadening its rail network, the Reading invested its vast wealth in anthracite and this led to financial trouble in the 1870s. In 1890, Reading president Archibald A. McLeod saw that more riches could be earned by expanding its rail network, McLeod went about trying to control neighboring railroads in 1891. He was able to control of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, Central Railroad of New Jersey. The Reading almost achieved its goal of becoming a road, but the deal was scuttled by J. P. Morgan and other rail barons. The Reading was relegated to a railroad for the rest of its history. The Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road was chartered April 4,1833, the portion from Reading to Norristown opened July 16,1838, the full line December 9,1839. An extension northwest from Reading to Mount Carbon, also on the Schuylkill River, opened on January 13,1842, at Mount Carbon, it connected with the earlier Mount Carbon Railroad, continuing through Pottsville to several mines, and would eventually be extended to Williamsport. On May 17 of 1842, a branch from West Falls to Port Richmond on the Delaware River north of downtown Philadelphia opened. Port Richmond later became a large coal terminal
16.
Pittsburgh
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Pittsburgh is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States, and is the county seat of Allegheny County. The city proper has a population of 304,391. The metropolitan population of 2,353,045 is the largest in both the Ohio Valley and Appalachia, the second-largest in Pennsylvania, and the 26th-largest in the U. S. The city features 30 skyscrapers, two inclines, a fortification and the Point State Park at the confluence of the rivers. Aside from steel, Pittsburgh has led in manufacturing of aluminum, glass, shipbuilding, petroleum, foods, sports, transportation, computing, autos, and electronics. For part of the 20th century, Pittsburgh was behind only New York and Chicago in corporate headquarters employment, Americas 1980s deindustrialization laid off area blue-collar workers and thousands of downtown white-collar workers when the longtime Pittsburgh-based world headquarters moved out. The area has served also as the federal agency headquarters for cyber defense, software engineering, robotics, energy research. The area is home to 68 colleges and universities, including research and development leaders Carnegie Mellon University, the region is a hub for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, sustainable energy, and energy extraction. Pittsburgh was named in 1758 by General John Forbes, in honor of British statesman William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham. The current pronunciation, which is unusual in English speaking countries, is almost certainly a result of a printing error in some copies of the City Charter of March 18,1816. The error was repeated commonly enough throughout the rest of the 19th century that the pronunciation was lost. After a public campaign the original spelling was restored by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1911. The area of the Ohio headwaters was long inhabited by the Shawnee, the first known European to enter the region was the French explorer/trader Robert de La Salle from Quebec during his 1669 expedition down the Ohio River. European pioneers, primarily Dutch, followed in the early 18th century, Michael Bezallion was the first to describe the forks of the Ohio in a 1717 manuscript, and later that year European fur traders established area posts and settlements. In 1749, French soldiers from Quebec launched an expedition to the forks to unite Canada with French Louisiana via the rivers, during 1753–54, the British hastily built Fort Prince George before a larger French force drove them off. The French built Fort Duquesne based on LaSalles 1669 claims, the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years War, began with the future Pittsburgh as its center. British General Edward Braddock was dispatched with Major George Washington as his aide to take Fort Duquesne, the British and colonial force were defeated at Braddocks Field. General John Forbes finally took the forks in 1758, Forbes began construction on Fort Pitt, named after William Pitt the Elder while the settlement was named Pittsborough
17.
Neoclassical architecture
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Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century. In its purest form, it is a style derived from the architecture of classical antiquity, the Vitruvian principles. In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall rather than chiaroscuro, Neoclassical architecture is still designed today, but may be labelled New Classical Architecture for contemporary buildings. In Central and Eastern Europe, the style is referred to as Classicism. Many early 19th-century neoclassical architects were influenced by the drawings and projects of Étienne-Louis Boullée, the many graphite drawings of Boullée and his students depict spare geometrical architecture that emulates the eternality of the universe. There are links between Boullées ideas and Edmund Burkes conception of the sublime, the baroque style had never truly been to the English taste. The most popular was the four-volume Vitruvius Britannicus by Colen Campbell, the book contained architectural prints of famous British buildings that had been inspired by the great architects from Vitruvius to Palladio. At first the book featured the work of Inigo Jones. Palladian architecture became well established in 18th-century Britain, at the forefront of the new school of design was the aristocratic architect earl, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, in 1729, he and William Kent, designed Chiswick House. This House was a reinterpretation of Palladios Villa Capra, but purified of 16th century elements and this severe lack of ornamentation was to be a feature of the Palladianism. In 1734 William Kent and Lord Burlington designed one of Englands finest examples of Palladian architecture with Holkham Hall in Norfolk, the main block of this house followed Palladios dictates quite closely, but Palladios low, often detached, wings of farm buildings were elevated in significance. This classicising vein was also detectable, to a degree, in the Late Baroque architecture in Paris. This shift was even visible in Rome at the redesigned façade for S, by the mid 18th century, the movement broadened to incorporate a greater range of Classical influences, including those from Ancient Greece. The shift to neoclassical architecture is conventionally dated to the 1750s, in France, the movement was propelled by a generation of French art students trained in Rome, and was influenced by the writings of Johann Joachim Winckelmann. The style was adopted by progressive circles in other countries such as Sweden. A second neoclassic wave, more severe, more studied and more consciously archaeological, is associated with the height of the Napoleonic Empire, in France, the first phase of neoclassicism was expressed in the Louis XVI style, and the second in the styles called Directoire or Empire. The Scottish architect Charles Cameron created palatial Italianate interiors for the German-born Catherine II the Great in St. Petersburg, indoors, neoclassicism made a discovery of the genuine classic interior, inspired by the rediscoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum. These had begun in the late 1740s, but only achieved an audience in the 1760s
18.
Henry Clay Frick House
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The Henry Clay Frick House was the residence of the industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick in New York City. The mansion is located between 70th and 71st Street and Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side and it was constructed in 1912–1914 by Thomas Hastings of Carrère and Hastings. It was transformed into a museum in the mid-1930s and houses the Frick Collection, after Fricks business partnership with Andrew Carnegie started breaking apart, he began spending less time in Pittsburgh, and soon established additional residences in New York and Massachusetts. In 1905, Frick leased the Vanderbilt house at 640 Fifth Avenue and he and his family stayed there for the next nine years. At that time almost every building on Fifth Avenue above 59th Street was a mansion, with a few private clubs. The Andrew Carnegie Mansion was also located on Fifth Avenue at 91st Street, whether Frick decided to establish himself on the same avenue because of Carnegie is not definitely established. He started looking for a permanent place to set up residence, the building housed the private collection of philanthropist James Lenox and was designed by the New York architect Richard Morris Hunt in the neo-Greek style. The library was suffering financially, which enabled Frick to acquire the plot in the summer of 1906 for $2.47 million, four months later, he added an additional parcel of land running some fifty feet east through the block. The library building was torn down that year. Initially Frick sought designs from Daniel Burnham, who was the architect of the Frick Building in downtown Pittsburgh, Burnham submitted a design for an 18th-century Italian palazzo. Ultimately he commissioned architect Thomas Hastings of the renowned firm Carrère and Hastings to design, Hastings designed a three-story mansion in the Beaux-Arts architecture. Construction took place between 1912 and 1914, the material used for the exterior and parts of the interior of the mansion is Indiana limestone. Frick, along with his wife Adelaide Howard Childs and daughter Helen Clay Frick, the interior was not completed until 1916 and the large art collection moved in. His son Childs Frick had married Frances Shoemaker Dixon in late 1913, at the time of Henry Clay Fricks death in 1919, he willed his house and all of its contents, including art, furniture, and decorative objects, as a museum to the public. His family continued to live in the house until his wife died, some of the earliest photographic documentation of the interior was taken in 1927 by Frick Art Reference Library photographer Ira W. Martin. Four years later after these photographs were taken on the death of Adelaide Frick, the collection opened to the public in 1935. Around one-third of the pictures of the collection have been acquired since the passing of Mr. the building itself has been enlarged three times in 1931–35,1977, and in 2011, which has altered the original appearance of the house. John Russell Pope converted the former exterior courtyard into the enclosed Garden Court, the office of Henry Frick on the ground floor was also demolished to make way for the Oval Room
19.
Manhattan
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Manhattan is the most densely populated borough of New York City, its economic and administrative center, and the citys historical birthplace. The borough is coextensive with New York County, founded on November 1,1683, Manhattan is often described as the cultural and financial capital of the world and hosts the United Nations Headquarters. Many multinational media conglomerates are based in the borough and it is historically documented to have been purchased by Dutch colonists from Native Americans in 1626 for 60 guilders which equals US$1062 today. New York County is the United States second-smallest county by land area, on business days, the influx of commuters increases that number to over 3.9 million, or more than 170,000 people per square mile. Manhattan has the third-largest population of New York Citys five boroughs, after Brooklyn and Queens, the City of New York was founded at the southern tip of Manhattan, and the borough houses New York City Hall, the seat of the citys government. The name Manhattan derives from the word Manna-hata, as written in the 1609 logbook of Robert Juet, a 1610 map depicts the name as Manna-hata, twice, on both the west and east sides of the Mauritius River. The word Manhattan has been translated as island of hills from the Lenape language. The United States Postal Service prefers that mail addressed to Manhattan use New York, NY rather than Manhattan, the area that is now Manhattan was long inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans. In 1524, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano – sailing in service of King Francis I of France – was the first European to visit the area that would become New York City. It was not until the voyage of Henry Hudson, an Englishman who worked for the Dutch East India Company, a permanent European presence in New Netherland began in 1624 with the founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island. In 1625, construction was started on the citadel of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, later called New Amsterdam, the 1625 establishment of Fort Amsterdam at the southern tip of Manhattan Island is recognized as the birth of New York City. In 1846, New York historian John Romeyn Brodhead converted the figure of Fl 60 to US$23, variable-rate myth being a contradiction in terms, the purchase price remains forever frozen at twenty-four dollars, as Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace remarked in their history of New York. Sixty guilders in 1626 was valued at approximately $1,000 in 2006, based on the price of silver, Straight Dope author Cecil Adams calculated an equivalent of $72 in 1992. In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant was appointed as the last Dutch Director General of the colony, New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city on February 2,1653. In 1664, the English conquered New Netherland and renamed it New York after the English Duke of York and Albany, the Dutch Republic regained it in August 1673 with a fleet of 21 ships, renaming the city New Orange. Manhattan was at the heart of the New York Campaign, a series of battles in the early American Revolutionary War. The Continental Army was forced to abandon Manhattan after the Battle of Fort Washington on November 16,1776. The city, greatly damaged by the Great Fire of New York during the campaign, became the British political, British occupation lasted until November 25,1783, when George Washington returned to Manhattan, as the last British forces left the city
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Old Master
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In art history, Old Master refers to any painter of skill who worked in Europe before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An old master print is a print made by an artist in the same period. The term old master drawing is used in the same way, therefore, beyond a certain level of competence, date rather than quality is the criterion for using the term. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as A pre-eminent artist of the period before the modern, a pre-eminent western European painter of the 13th to 18th centuries. The term is used to refer to a painting or sculpture made by an Old Master. Les Maitres dautrefois of 1876 by Eugene Fromentin may have helped to popularize the concept, the collection in the Dresden museum essentially stops at the Baroque period. The end date is necessarily vague – for example, Goya is certainly an Old Master, the term might also be used for John Constable or Eugène Delacroix, but usually is not. The term tends to be avoided by art historians as too vague, especially when discussing paintings, although the terms Old Master Prints and it remains current in the art trade. Auction houses still usually divide their sales between, for example, Old Master Paintings, Nineteenth-century paintings and Modern paintings, christies defines the term as ranging from the 14th to the early 19th century. S. Master of Flémalle, Master of Mary of Burgundy, Master of Latin 757, Master of the Brunswick Diptych or Master of Schloss Lichtenstein
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Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
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Westmoreland County is a county located in the U. S. state of Pennsylvania. At the 2010 census, the population was 365,169, Westmoreland County originally included the present-day counties of Fayette, Washington, Greene, and parts of Beaver, Allegheny, Indiana, and Armstrong counties. It is named for Westmorland, a county of England. Westmoreland County is included in the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, a major coal strike occurred in the county in the winter of 1910–11. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,036 square miles. The population density was 361 per square mile, there were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 96. 58% White,2. 01% Black or African American,0. 09% Native American,0. 52% Asian,0. 02% Pacific Islander,0. 15% from other races, and 0. 64% from two or more races. 0. 51% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 23. 7% were of German,18. 5% Italian,9. 7% Irish,8. 9% Polish,6. 7% English,5. 2% Slovak and 5. 0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 26. 90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13. 30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.93. 22. 00% of the population were under the age of 18,6. 80% from 18 to 24,27. 50% from 25 to 44,25. 40% from 45 to 64, the median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.10 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.70 males. In November 2008, there are 249,147 registered voters in Westmoreland County, in 2000, Republican George W. Bush won 51% and Democrat Al Gore won 45%. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush won 56% and Democrat John Kerry won 43%, in 2008, Republican John McCain won 57% to Democrat Barack Obamas 41%. Governor Ed Rendell lost Westmoreland in both 2002 and 2006, in 2008 Republican Tim Krieger picked up the 57th House district left open by the retirement of Democrat Tom Tangretti. In 2010, both Pat Toomey and Tom Corbett won Westmoreland in their statewide bids, also the GOP gained control of two more State House districts, the 54th with Eli Evankovich and the 56th with George Dunbar. S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data and they are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well, franklin Township - now known as Murrysville, Pennsylvania The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Westmoreland County
22.
Old Overholt
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Old Overholt, said to be Americas oldest continually-maintained brand of whiskey, was founded in West Overton, Pennsylvania in 1810. Old Overholt is a rye whiskey distilled by A. Overholt & Co. currently a subsidiary of Beam Suntory and it is produced at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. It is one of the most commonly available straight rye whiskies in the U. S. where it is available at most liquor stores and it is aged for three years and bottled at 80 proof. Old Overholt has been called a stone of American whiskey because of its long history. Henry Oberholzer, a German Mennonite farmer, moved to West Overton and his family came from the area of Germany which specialized in distilling korn, or rye whiskey, and Henry took up the tradition. In 1810, Henrys son Abraham Overholt took over management of the distillery, by the 1820s, the distillery was putting out 12 to 15 gallons of rye whiskey per day. Abraham grew the company rapidly, by 1843, Baltimore newspapers were advertising Overholts Old Rye, at that time, by 1859, Overholt incorporated his business as A. Overholt & Co. He operated out of a new building that was six stories high,100 feet long. In 1881, Abrahams grandson Henry Clay Frick took over the company, as one of the countrys wealthiest people, the distillery was a sentimental side-business for Frick. Frick took on Andrew Mellon and one Charles W. Mauck as partners, in 1888, Mauck adopted the name Old Overholt as the official name of the company, adding a picture of Abraham as the logo. Around that time, the company started selling its product in bottles instead of barrels, by 1900, Old Overholt became a national brand. In the early years of the 20th Century, Old Overholt became one of the largest and most respected whiskeys in the country, Frick died in December 1919, and left his share to Andrew Mellon. This ended family ownership in the company, the national prohibition of alcohol in 1920 hit most American breweries and distilleries hard, putting many out of business. Perhaps because of its association with Mellon, who was secretary of the treasury under Warren G. Harding. This permit allowed Overholt to sell existing whiskey stocks to druggists for medicinal use, in 1925, under pressure from prohibitionists, Mellon sold his share of the company to a New York grocer, thus ending local ownership. The company was again in 1932 to National Distillers Products Co. which owned more than 200 brands. During World War II, Overholt and other distilleries were ordered by the government to make industrial alcohol. After wars end, whiskey fell out of favor with the American public generally, Rye whiskey especially fell out of favor, and by the 1960s, Old Overholt was the only nationally distributed straight rye whiskey
23.
Beehive oven
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A beehive oven is a type of oven in use since the Middle Ages in Europe. It gets its name from its shape, which resembles that of an old-fashioned beehive. Its apex of popularity occurred in the Americas and Europe all the way until the Industrial Revolution, Beehive ovens were common in households used for baking pies, cakes and meat. These ovens were used in industry, in such applications as making tiles and pots. A fire brick chamber shaped like a dome is used and it is typically 4 metres wide and 2.5 metres high. The roof has a hole for charging the coal or other kindling from the top, the discharging hole is provided in the circumference of the lower part of the wall. In a coke oven battery, a number of ovens are built in a row with common walls between neighboring ovens, a battery consisted of a great many ovens, sometimes hundreds of ovens, in a row. Some mines also employed parallel batteries, with candle wax wrapped in paper, dry kindling, and pine cones, a small fire was made toward the front of the oven. As the fire caught, more kindling was added to produce a thick smoke, the fire was then pushed back into the middle of the oven with a hoe. More wood would be added there was a good, hot fire. After all of these steps were taken, the food would be prepared for baking, the beehive oven typically took two to three hours to heat, occasionally even four hours in the winter. Breads were baked first when the oven was hottest, with other baked items such as cinnamon buns, cakes. As the oven cooled, muffins and biscuits could be baked, along with puddings, after a days baking there was typically sufficient heat to dry apples and other fruits, vegetables, or herbs. Pots of beans were placed in the back of the oven to cook slowly overnight. Coal is introduced from the top to produce a layer of about 60–90 centimetres deep. Air is supplied initially to ignite the coal, carbonization starts and produces volatile matter, which burns inside the partially closed side door. Carbonization proceeds from top to bottom and is completed in two to three days, heat is supplied by the burning volatile matter so no by-products are recovered. The exhaust gases are allowed to escape to the atmosphere, the hot coke is quenched with water and discharged, manually through the side door
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Coal
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Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. Coal is composed primarily of carbon, along with quantities of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen. A fossil fuel, coal forms when plant matter is converted into peat, which in turn is converted into lignite, then sub-bituminous coal, after that bituminous coal. This involves biological and geological processes that take place over time, throughout history, coal has been used as an energy resource, primarily burned for the production of electricity and heat, and is also used for industrial purposes, such as refining metals. Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide, the extraction of coal, its use in energy production and its byproducts are all associated with environmental and health effects including climate change. Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining, since 1983, the worlds top coal producer has been China. In 2015 China produced 3,747 million tonnes of coal –47. 7% of 7,861 million tonnes world coal production, in 2015 other large producers were United States, India, European Union and Australia. The word originally took the col in Old English, from Proto-Germanic *kula. In Old Turkic languages, kül is ash, cinders, öčür is quench, the compound charcoal in Turkic is öčür kül, literally quenched ashes, cinders, coals with elided anlaut ö- and inflection affixes -ülmüş. At various times in the geologic past, the Earth had dense forests in low-lying wetland areas, due to natural processes such as flooding, these forests were buried underneath soil. As more and more soil deposited over them, they were compressed, the temperature also rose as they sank deeper and deeper. As the process continued the plant matter was protected from biodegradation and oxidation and this trapped the carbon in immense peat bogs that were eventually covered and deeply buried by sediments. Under high pressure and high temperature, dead vegetation was slowly converted to coal, as coal contains mainly carbon, the conversion of dead vegetation into coal is called carbonization. The wide, shallow seas of the Carboniferous Period provided ideal conditions for coal formation, the exception is the coal gap in the Permian–Triassic extinction event, where coal is rare. Coal is known from Precambrian strata, which predate land plants — this coal is presumed to have originated from residues of algae, in its dehydrated form, peat is a highly effective absorbent for fuel and oil spills on land and water. It is also used as a conditioner for soil to make it able to retain. Lignite, or brown coal, is the lowest rank of coal, jet, a compact form of lignite, is sometimes polished and has been used as an ornamental stone since the Upper Palaeolithic
25.
Andrew Mellon
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Andrew William Mellon was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pennsylvania, he established a vast business empire before transitioning into politics. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from March 9,1921 to February 12,1932, presiding over the years of the 1920s. Leaving office after the onset of the Great Depression, he served as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. A conservative Republican, Mellon lowered taxes and government spending in the aftermath of World War I, Mellon was born in Pennsylvania on March 24,1855. His name is listed on the 1860 Census as William A. Mellon and his father was Thomas Mellon, a banker and judge who was a Scots-Irish immigrant from County Tyrone, Ireland, his mother was Sarah Jane Negley Mellon. He had three brothers, Thomas A. James R. and Samuel, and he also had a younger brother named Richard B. He was educated at the Western University of Pennsylvania and left before graduating, in 1872 his father set him up in a lumber and coal business, which he soon turned into a profitable enterprise. He joined his fathers banking firm, T, Mellon & Sons, in 1880 and two years later had ownership of the bank transferred to him. In 1889, Mellon helped organize the Union Trust Company and Union Savings Bank of Pittsburgh and he also branched into industrial activities, oil, steel, shipbuilding, and construction. Areas where Mellons backing created giant enterprises included aluminum, industrial abrasives, Mellon financed Charles Martin Hall, whose refinery grew into the Aluminum Company of America. He became the partner of Edward Goodrich Acheson in manufacturing silicon carbide and he created an entire industry through his help to Heinrich Koppers, inventor of coke ovens which transformed industrial waste into usable products such as coal-gas, coal-tar, and sulfur. He also became an investor in the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. Mellon was one of the wealthiest people in the United States, while he served as Secretary of the U. S. Treasury Department his wealth peaked at around $300–$400 million in 1929–1930. Mellon was a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, along with his closest friends Henry Clay Frick and Philander Knox, Mellon served as a director of the Pittsburgh National Bank of Commerce. Mellon also was one-third owner with Frick and one Charles W. Mauck in the Old Overholt whiskey distillery in West Overton, at the time, Old Overholt was one of the largest and most respected whiskey producers in the country. In 1907, as prohibition became more popular across the country, Frick and Mellon removed their names from the distilling license and it is believed that Mellons connections in the Treasury Department are what allowed the company to secure a medicinal permit during Prohibition. This permit allowed Overholt to sell existing whiskey stocks to druggists for medicinal use, when Frick died in December 1919, he left his share to Mellon
26.
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
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Fayette County is a county located in the U. S. state of Pennsylvania. Fayette County is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, adjacent to Maryland, as of the 2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county was created on September 26,1783, from part of Westmoreland County, Fayette County is part of the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The first Europeans in Fayette County were explorers, who had used an ancient American Indian trail that bisected the county on their journey across the Appalachian Mountains. In 1754, when control of the area was still in dispute between France and Great Britain, 22-year-old George Washington fought against the French at Jumonville Glen and Fort Necessity. British forces under Washington and General Edward Braddock improved roads throughout the region, during the American Revolution, Fayette County was plagued by attacks from British-allied Indians and remained isolated as a frontier region. Also retarding settlement was a dispute with Virginia, Virginias District of West Augusta. In 1780 the dispute was settled by the government in favor of Pennsylvania. President George Washington called out the militias to restore order, Fayette County continued to be important to travelers in the early 1800s. The National Road provided a route through the mountains of the county for settlers heading west, the shipyards in Brownsville on the Monongahela River built ships for both the domestic and international trade. As Pittsburgh developed its industries in the century, Fayette County become a center of coal mining. From the 1880s to the early 1900s, the great expansion in steel production became nationally important. Both new European immigrants and African Americans in the Great Migration from the rural South were attracted to the Pittsburgh area for industrial jobs, the historic Scottish and German farming communities established in the earlier 19th century were soon overshadowed by the wave of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. By World War II, Fayette County had a new unionized working class that enjoyed increased prosperity, in the 1950s, however, the coal industry fell into decline. In the 1970s, the restructuring and collapse of American steel resulted in a loss of industrial jobs. The population has declined since the peak in 1940, as residents have had to move elsewhere for work, the loss of union jobs caused many working families to drop out of the middle class. Only a few mines are being worked in the 21st century, the region is slowly transitioning toward the service sector, with an increase in jobs in fields such as telemarketing. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 798 square miles
27.
Andrew Carnegie
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He built a leadership role as a philanthropist for the United States and the British Empire. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away to charities, foundations and his 1889 article proclaiming The Gospel of Wealth called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society, and it stimulated a wave of philanthropy. Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and emigrated in 1848 to the United States with his parents, Carnegie started work as a telegrapher and by the 1860s had investments in railroads, railroad sleeping cars, bridges and oil derricks. He accumulated further wealth as a bond salesman raising money for American enterprise in Europe and he built Pittsburghs Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J. P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million. It became the U. S. Steel Corporation, after selling Carnegie Steel, he surpassed John D. Rockefeller as the richest American for the next couple of years. Carnegie devoted the remainder of his life to philanthropy, with special emphasis on local libraries, world peace, education. Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in a typical weavers cottage with only one main room, the main room served as a living room, dining room and bedroom. He was named after his legal grandfather, in 1836, the family moved to a larger house in Edgar Street, following the demand for more heavy damask from which his father, William Carnegie, benefited. He was educated at the Free School in Dunfermline, which had been a gift to the town by the philanthropist Adam Rolland of Gask, Lauders son, also named George Lauder, grew up with Andrew and would become his business partner. When Carnegie was thirteen, his father had fallen on hard times as a handloom weaver. His mother helped support the family by assisting her brother who was a cobbler and she eventually became the primary breadwinner by the 1840s. Struggling to make ends meet, the Carnegies then decided to move with his family to Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Andrews family had to borrow money from the Lauders in order to migrate. Allegheny was an industrial area that produced many products including wool. The Made in Allegheny label used on these and other diversified products was becoming more and more popular. His first job at age 13 in 1848 was as a bobbin boy and his starting wage was $1.20 per week. Andrews father, William Carnegie, started off working in a cotton mill and his mother, Margaret Morrison Carnegie, earned money by binding shoes. In 1849, Carnegie became a messenger boy in the Pittsburgh Office of the Ohio Telegraph Company, at $2.50 per week. He was a hard worker and would memorize all of the locations of Pittsburghs businesses
28.
Steel mill
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A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. Since the invention of the Bessemer process, steel mills have replaced ironwork, new ways to produce steel appeared later, from scraps melted in an electric arc furnace and, more recently, from direct reduced iron processes. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the worlds largest steel mill was the Barrow Hematite Steel Company steelworks located in Barrow-in-Furness, today, the worlds largest steel mill is in Gwangyang, South Korea. An integrated steel mill has all the functions for primary production, iron making. The principal raw materials for a mill are iron ore, limestone. These materials are charged in batches into a blast furnace where the iron compounds in the ore give up excess oxygen and become liquid iron. At intervals of a few hours, the liquid iron is tapped from the blast furnace. Historically the Bessemer process was an advancement in the production of economical steel. Molten steel is cast into large blocks called blooms, during the casting process various methods are used, such as addition of aluminum, so that impurities in the steel float to the surface where they can be cut off the finished bloom. Even during periods of low demand, it may not be feasible to let the blast furnace grow cold. Integrated mills are large facilities that are only economical to build in 2,000, 000-ton per year annual capacity. Final products made by a plant are usually large structural sections, heavy plate, strip, wire rod, railway rails. Integrated mills may also adopt some of the used in mini-mills, such as arc furnaces and direct casting. World integrated steel production capacity is at or close to world demand, a minimill is traditionally a secondary steel producer, however, Nucor, as well as one of its competitors, Commercial Metals Company use minimills exclusively. Usually it obtains most of its iron from steel, recycled from used automobiles. Direct reduced iron is used with scrap, to help maintain desired chemistry of the steel. Originally the mini mill was adapted to production of bar products only, such as reinforcing bar, flats, angles, channels, pipe. Since the late 1980s, successful introduction of the direct strip casting process has made mini mill production of strip feasible, often a mini mill will be constructed in an area with no other steel production, to take advantage of local markets, resources, or lower-cost labour
29.
South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club
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The club was the owner of the South Fork Dam, which failed during an unprecedented period of heavy rains, resulting in the disastrous Johnstown Flood on May 31,1889. It was the worst disaster event in U. S. history at the time, and relief efforts were among the first major actions of Clara Barton and the newly organized American Red Cross which she led. The death toll from the 1889 flood was approximately 2,209, despite some years of claims and litigation, the club and its members were never found to be liable for monetary damages. The corporation was disbanded in 1904 and the estate assets were sold by the local sheriff at public auction. It was abandoned by the commonwealth, sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad, in 1879, at the suggestion of entrepreneur Benjamin Franklin Ruff, the newly organized club purchased an old dam and abandoned reservoir from Ruff which he had purchased from Congressman John Reilly. Ruff envisioned a summer retreat in the hills above Johnstown, the lake had a perimeter of 7 miles and could hold 20 million tons of water. When the water was up in the spring, the lake covered over 400 acres, the South Fork Dam was 72 feet high and 931 feet long. Between 1881 when the club was opened and 1889, this dam frequently sprang leaks and was patched, mostly with mud, the 3 cast iron discharge pipes had previously allowed a controlled release of water. When the initial renovation was completed under Ruffs oversight, it was now impossible to drain the lake to repair the dam properly. Moreover, in order to provide a carriageway across the dam, to compound the problem, the owners and managers had erected fish screens across the mouth of the spillway, and these became clogged with debris, restricting the outflow of water. Over the years, despite predictions of some, the dam had not failed completely since 1862. Notwithstanding leaks and other warning signs, the dam held the waters of Lake Conemaugh back more or less successfully until disaster struck in May 1889. The president at the time of the flood was Colonel Elias Unger, the founding entrepreneur, Benjamin F. Ruff, had died several years earlier, and Unger had been on the job only a short time. White, E. A. Myers, C. C, hussey, D. R. Ewer, C. A. Carpenter, W. L. Dunn, W. L. McClintock, A. V. Holmes. Brunot - attorney in Pittsburgh John Caldwell, Jr. - treasurer of the Philadelphia Company Andrew Carnegie - Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, entrepreneur and a major philanthropist C. A. Carpenter - freight agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad John Weakley Chalfant - president of Peoples National bank, associated with steel tubing manufacturer Spang, Chalfant, senator from Pennsylvania and was Secretary of State from 1909–1913 Frank B. Sweet Benjamin Thaw - co founder of Heda Coke Company, brother of Harry Kendall Thaw Colonel Elias J. Nephew of Samuel Taggart who served as a US Representative from Massachusetts from 1754 to 1825, white - manufacturer of manganese ore through James B. Yeager - dry goods and trimming wholesaler through C, yeager and Company After several days of unprecedented rainfall in the Alleghenies, the dam gave way on May 31,1889
30.
Philander C. Knox
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Philander Chase Knox was an American lawyer, bank director and politician who served as United States Attorney General, a Senator from Pennsylvania and Secretary of State. He served in the Cabinet under three presidents, active in law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the partnership known as Knox and Reed, Knox was also one of several founders of the city of Monessen in the state, where a street is named for him. With the industrialists Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Mellon, he was a director of the Pittsburgh National Bank of Commerce, philander Chase Knox was born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, one of nine children of Rebecca and David S. Knox. His father was a banker and his mother was active in philanthropic and he went to private primary and secondary schools attended by children of the affluent. Knox attended Mount Union College, where he graduated in 1872 with a bachelor of arts degree, while there, he formed a lifelong friendship with William McKinley, the future U. S. President, who at the time was a local district attorney. Knox attended the West Virginia University College of Law, graduating in 1875, in 1880, Knox married Lillian Lillie Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Darsie Smith. Her father was a partner in a company known as Smith, Sutton. The company eventually became a part of Crucible Steel, Knox and his wife had several children, including Hugh Knox. His extended relatives include a nephew, Billy Knox, Knox was admitted to the bar in 1875 and practiced in Pittsburgh. From 1876-77 he was Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Knox became a leading Pittsburgh attorney in partnership with James Hay Reed, their firm being Knox and Reed. In 1897 Knox became President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, along with Jesse H. Lippencott, a fellow member of an elite hunting club, Knox served as a director of the Fifth National Bank of Pittsburgh. With Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Mellon, he was a director of the Pittsburgh National Bank of Commerce, as counsel for the Carnegie Steel Company, Knox took a prominent part in organizing the United States Steel Corporation in 1901. Knox was a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club and it maintained an earthen dam for a lake by the club, which was stocked for fishing. The dam failed in May 1889, causing the Johnstown Flood and severe losses of life, when word of the dams failure was telegraphed to Pittsburgh, Frick and other members of the South Fork Club gathered to form the Pittsburgh Relief Committee for assistance to the flood victims. They decided together to refrain from speaking publicly about the club or the flood and this strategy was a success, and Knox and Reed were able to fend off all lawsuits that would have placed blame upon the Club’s members. Knox was also a member of the elite Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh, knoxs nickname was “Sleepy Phil, ” as he was said to have dozed off during board meetings, or because he was cross-eyed. In 1901 Knox was appointed as US Attorney General by President William McKinley and was re-appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt, while serving President Roosevelt, Knox worked hard to implement the concept of Dollar Diplomacy. He told President Roosevelt, I think, it would be better to keep your action free from any taint of legality, made in regard to the construction of the Panama Canal
31.
Dam
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A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity, a dam can also be used to collect water or for storage of water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. The word dam can be traced back to Middle English, and before that, from Middle Dutch, the first known appearance of dam occurs in 1165. However, there is one village, Obdam, that is mentioned in 1120. The word seems to be related to the Greek word taphos, so the word should be understood as dike from dug out earth. The names of more than 40 places from the Middle Dutch era such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, early dam building took place in Mesopotamia and the Middle East. Dams were used to control the level, for Mesopotamias weather affected the Tigris. The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan,100 kilometres northeast of the capital Amman and this gravity dam featured an originally 9-metre-high and 1 m-wide stone wall, supported by a 50 m-wide earth rampart. The structure is dated to 3000 BC, the Ancient Egyptian Sadd-el-Kafara Dam at Wadi Al-Garawi, located about 25 km south of Cairo, was 102 m long at its base and 87 m wide. The structure was built around 2800 or 2600 BC as a dam for flood control. During the Twelfth Dynasty in the 19th century BC, the Pharaohs Senosert III, Amenemhat III, two dams called Ha-Uar running east-west were built to retain water during the annual flood and then release it to surrounding lands. The lake called Mer-wer or Lake Moeris covered 1,700 km2 and is today as Berkat Qaroun. One of the wonders of the ancient world was the Great Dam of Marib in Yemen. Repairs were carried out during various periods, most important around 750 BC and these extensive works were not actually finalized until 325 AD and allowed the irrigation of 25,000 acres. By the mid-late 3rd century BC, an intricate water-management system within Dholavira in modern-day India was built, the system included 16 reservoirs, dams and various channels for collecting water and storing it. Eflatun Pınar is a Hittite dam and spring temple near Konya and it is thought to be from the time of the Hittite empire between the 15th and 13th century BC
32.
South Fork Dam
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The South Fork Dam was located on Lake Conemaugh, an artificial body of water located near South Fork, Pennsylvania, United States. On May 31,1889, the South Fork Dam failed catastrophically and 20 million tons of water from Lake Conemaugh burst through and raced 14 miles downstream and it was abandoned by the commonwealth, sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and sold again to private interests. The dam was 72 feet high and 931 feet long, between 1881 when the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was opened, and 1889, the dam frequently sprang leaks. It was patched, mostly with mud and straw, additionally, a previous owner had removed and sold for scrap the three cast iron discharge pipes that previously allowed a controlled release of water. There had been speculation as to the dams integrity. Daniel Johnson Morrell, of the Cambria Iron Works of Johnstown, also became a member, on May 31,1889, after several days of unprecedented rainfall, the dam gave way. A torrent of water raced downstream, destroying several towns, when it reached Johnstown,2,209 people were killed, and there was $17 million in damage. This was the first major relief effort handled by the new American Red Cross. After the flood, victims suffered a series of defeats in their attempt to recover damages from the dams owners. Public indignation at that failure prompted a major development in American law, the Johnstown Flood became a symbol of the havoc,20 million tons of water unleashed from the reservoir. Part of the St. Michael neighborhood, and most of Creslo, of the town St. Michael-Sidman, Johnstown Flood Kelly Barnes Dam Johnstown flood museum This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
33.
Frick Building
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The Frick Building is one of the major distinctive and recognizable features of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The tower was built by and is named for Henry Clay Frick, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tower was directly adjacent to a building owned by his business partner and rival Andrew Carnegie. Frick, who feuded with Carnegie after they split as business associates, had the building designed to be taller than Carnegies in order to encompass it in constant shadow, the Frick Building was opened on March 15,1902 and originally had twenty floors. It was the tallest building in the city at that time, a leveling of the surrounding landscape that was completed in 1912 caused the basement to become the entrance, so some sources credit the building with twenty-one stories. It rises 330 feet above Downtown Pittsburgh and its address is 437 Grant Street, and is also accessible from Forbes and Fifth Avenues. The buildings architect was Daniel H. Burnham of D. H. Burnham & Company, the top floor includes a balcony around the perimeter of the building, a high, handcrafted ceiling, and heavy, elaborate brass door fixtures. Frick used it as his office and as a meeting place. On the 19th floor was Fricks personal shower, at the time, no other shower had been built that high above ground level, because water could not easily be pumped that high with the technology of the time. The shower, non-functioning, still exists on the 19th floor today, the 20th floor is occupied by COTERIE Company. Fittingly for a building created for a man who vowed to be a millionaire by age thirty, the two bronze sentinel lions in the lobby were created by sculptor Alexander Proctor. A bust of Frick by sculptor Malvina Hoffman is displayed in the rear lobby, for a time, the building was home to the headquarters for Fricks family whiskey business, Old Overholt. The headquarters oversaw a network of offices around the United States. Pittsburgh, Chicago, Society of Architectural Historians, Santa Fe, Center for American Places, Charlottesville, glenn A. Walsh History of Industrialist, Art Patron, and Philanthropist Henry Clay Frick Retrieved 2005-09-20. Chris Potter You Had To Ask Archives Retrieved 2005-09-20
34.
Strike action
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Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances, Strikes became common during the Industrial Revolution, when mass labor became important in factories and mines. In most countries, strike actions were made illegal, as factory owners had far more power than workers. Most Western countries partially legalized striking in the late 19th or early 20th centuries, Strikes are sometimes used to pressure governments to change policies. Notable examples are the 1980 Gdańsk Shipyard or 1981 Warning Strike, official publications have typically used the more neutral words work stoppage or industrial dispute. The first historically certain account of action was towards the end of the 20th dynasty. The artisans of the Royal Necropolis at Deir el-Medina walked off their jobs because they had not been paid, the Egyptian authorities raised the wages. An early predecessor of the strike may have been the secessio plebis in ancient Rome. In the Outline Of History, H. G. Wells characterized this event as the strike of the plebeians, the plebeians seem to have invented the strike. The strike action became a feature of the political landscape with the onset of the Industrial Revolution. For the first time in history, large numbers of people were members of the working class, they lived in cities. By the 1830s, when the Chartist movement was at its peak, in 1842 the demands for fairer wages and conditions across many different industries finally exploded into the first modern general strike. Instead of being a spontaneous uprising of the masses, the strike was politically motivated and was driven by an agenda to win concessions. Probably as much as half of the industrial work force were on strike at its peak – over 500,000 men. The local leadership marshalled a growing working class tradition to organize their followers to mount an articulate challenge to the capitalist. Friedrich Engels, an observer in London at the time, wrote, by its numbers, this class has become the most powerful in England, the English proletarian is only just becoming aware of his power, and the fruits of this awareness were the disturbances of last summer. Karl Marx has condemned the theory of Proudhon criminalizing strike action in his work The Poverty of Philosophy, in 1937 there were 4,740 strikes in the United States. This was the greatest strike wave in American labor history, the number of major strikes and lockouts in the U. S. fell by 97% from 381 in 1970 to 187 in 1980 to only 11 in 2010
35.
Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers
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Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers was an American labor union formed in 1876 to represent iron and steel workers. It partnered with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee and CIO, in November 1935, both organizations disbanded May 22,1942, to form a new organization, the United Steelworkers. The Homestead strike was a turning point for the union. Carnegie placed strong anti-unionist Henry Clay Frick in charge of his companys operations in 1881, Frick locked the workers out on June 29. The striking workers ringed the plant and patrolled the Monongahela River to prevent anyone from entering, local sheriffs deputies failed to retake the plant on July 5. Frick then sent 300 Pinkerton National Detective Agency guards to seize the plant, the Pinkerton men were ordered to approach the plant from the river. But the strikers learned of the Pinkertons arrival, the Pinkertons attempted to land about 4 a. m. and the crowd surged onto the Homestead plant grounds. A shot was fired, then both sides opened fire, two workers and two Pinkertons died and dozens were wounded. The Pinkerton tug departed with the agents, leaving the remaining agents stranded. The strikers continued to fire on the stranded barges. When the Pinkertons tried to disembark again at 8,00 a. m. a firefight broke out, the strikers attempted to burn the barges several times during the day, but failed. At 5,00 p. m. the Pinkertons surrendered and were handed over to the sheriff, on July 9, despite union claims that law and order had been restored, Governor Robert E. Pattison ordered the state militia to seize the town. More than 8,000 militia arrived on July 12, Strike leaders were charged with conspiracy, riot, murder and treason. The strike collapsed after an anarchist gained entrance to Fricks office and shot, public support for the strike evaporated, and large numbers of strikers began crossing the picket line. The AA was nearly bankrupted by the job action, and voted to return to work on November 20,1892, in February 1893, the company and the union agreed to drop the charges filed against one another. The Homestead strike affected the AA nationwide, a deepening in 1889 of the Long Depression led most steel companies to seek wage decreases similar to those imposed at Homestead. In 1893, Carnegie defeated an AA union drive at the Duquesne steelworks, in 1885, Carnegie ousted the AA at the Edgar Thomson works. An organizing drive at the Homestead plant in 1896 was crushed by Frick, in May 1899,300 Homestead workers actually formed a lodge, but Frick ordered the Homestead works shut down and the unionization effort collapsed
36.
Pinkerton (detective agency)
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Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired Pinkerton agents for his personal security during the Civil War. Pinkertons agents performed services ranging from security guarding to private military contracting work, Pinkerton was the largest private law enforcement organization in the world at the height of its power. The ensuing battle between Pinkerton agents and striking workers led to the deaths of seven Pinkerton agents and nine steelworkers, the organization was pejoratively called the Pinks by its opponents. The company now operates as Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations, Inc. d. b. a, Pinkerton Corporate Risk Management, a division of the Swedish security company Securitas AB. The former Government Services division, PGS, now operates as Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services, in the 1850s, Allan Pinkerton met Chicago attorney Edward Rucker in a local Masonic Hall and formed the North-Western Police Agency, later known as the Pinkerton Agency. Historian Frank Morn writes, By the mid-1850s a few businessmen saw the need for control over their employees. In February 1855, Allan Pinkerton, after consulting with six midwestern railroads, in 1871, Congress appropriated $50,000 to the new Department of Justice to form a suborganization devoted to the detection and prosecution of those guilty of violating federal law. The amount was insufficient for the DOJ to fashion an integral investigating unit, white, who had been hired as a Special Officer during a strike, was shot and killed. July 19,1919, Hans Rassmuson, Special Officer, was shot, March 12,1924, Frank Miller, Pinkerton Watchman, was shot and killed. Gowen, then president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, hired the agency to investigate the labor unions in the companys mines, the incident inspired Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes novel The Valley of Fear. This resulted in a fight and siege in which 16 men were killed and 23 others were wounded. To restore order, two brigades of the Pennsylvania militia were called out by the Governor, as a legacy of the Pinkertons involvement a bridge connecting the nearby Pittsburgh suburbs of Munhall and Rankin was named Pinkertons Landing Bridge. In 1895, detective Frank Geyer tracked down the murderer of the three Pitezel children, leading to the trial and execution of the United States first known serial killer H. H. Holmes. His story is told in his book, The Holmes-Pitezel Case, Pinkertons had previously apprehended Holmes in 1894 in Boston on an outstanding warrant for insurance fraud perpetrated in Chicago. Harry Orchard was arrested by the Idaho police and confessed to Pinkerton agent James McParland that he assassinated former Governor Frank Steunenberg of Idaho in 1905. Orchard testified, under threat of hanging, against Western Federation of Miners president Big Bill Haywood, with a stirring defense by Clarence Darrow, Haywood and the other defendants of the WFM were acquitted in a nationally publicized trial. Orchard received a sentence, but it was commuted. In 1890, Indiana University hired the Pinkerton Agency to investigate the authorship of a student bogus that had been distributed throughout town, while boguses were not uncommon, this particular one attacked IU faculty and students with such graphic language that Bloomington residents complained
37.
Major general (United States)
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In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general, a major general typically commands division-sized units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy. The United States Code explicitly limits the number of general officers that may be on active duty at any given time. The total number of active duty general officers is capped at 231 for the Army,61 for the Marine Corps, some of these slots are reserved or finitely set by statute. This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank and this list is then sent to the service secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for review before it can be sent to the President, through the Secretary of Defense for consideration. The President nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of the Secretary of Defense, the secretary, and if applicable. The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, the Senate must then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the officer can be promoted. Once confirmed, the nominee is promoted to rank on assuming a position of office that requires an officer to hold the rank. For positions of office that are reserved by statute, the President nominates an officer for appointment to fill that position, since the grade of major general is permanent, the rank does not expire when the officer vacates a two-star position. Tour length varies depending on the position, by statute, and/or when the officer receives a new assignment or a promotion, in the case of the Air National Guard, they may also serve as The Adjutant General for their state, commonwealth or territory. Other than voluntary retirement, statute sets a number of mandates for retirement of general officers, all major generals must retire after five years in grade or 35 years of service, whichever is later, unless appointed for promotion or reappointed to grade to serve longer. Otherwise, all officers must retire the month after their 64th birthday. However, the Secretary of Defense may defer a general officers retirement until the officers 66th birthday, because there are a finite number of General Officer positions, one officer must retire before another can be promoted. As a result, general officers typically retire well in advance of the age and service limits. The rank of general was abolished in the U. S. Army by the Act of March 16,1802. Major general has been a rank in the U. S. Army ever since, to address this anomaly, Washington was posthumously promoted by Congress to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States in 1976. The position of Major General Commanding the Army was entitled to three stars according to General Order No.6 of March 13,1861
38.
George R. Snowden
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George R. Snowden was a Pennsylvania lawyer and military officer who served as commander of the organization now known as the 28th Infantry Division. George Randolph Snowden was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania on February 12,1841 and he was educated locally, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1862. In August 1862 Snowden enlisted in the unit which was later designated Company I and he was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in September, became the company commander in 1863, and took part in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He was a Captain when he was discharged in April 1864, Snowden practiced law in Franklin until relocating to Philadelphia in 1874, and was active in local businesses including the Franklin Gas Company. He also continued his service as a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard. He served as commander of the 3rd Infantry Regiment with the rank of Colonel, in 1878 he was promoted to Brigadier General as commander of the 1st Brigade. Besides practicing law, Snowden also served in offices, including Assistant Customs Appraiser for the Port of Philadelphia. When the federal government began to enact civil service reform, Snowden served on the board of examiners for the Philadelphia Customs office, in 1880 he was an unsuccessful Democratic Party candidate for Congress, and he later served on Philadelphias Select Council. In 1890 he was promoted to Major General as commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard Division, at the time, the division consisted of three brigades and various separate units. Snowden commanded the National Guard during the Homestead Strike in July,1892 and he sided with the Carnegie Steel owners over the striking union workers, saying “Pennsylvanians can hardly appreciate the actual communism of these people. They believe the works are quite as much as Carnegies. The militia’s efforts to curtail the activities of striking workers enabled the owners to reopen with non-union labor, Snowden retired from the military in 1900, and was succeeded as division commander by Charles Miller. In his later years Snowden was one of Philadelphias Real Estate Assessors, Snowden was active in the Grand Army of the Republic and Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He took part in numerous Union Army reunions, as well as the dedication of several monuments and he was also active in fraternal and civic organizations, including the Masons and the Sons of the American Revolution. Snowden wrote on subjects and other topics, and was a popular public speaker. Some of his speeches were republished as articles or pamphlets, in 1971 portions of his Civil War diary were published as Home to Franklin. Excerpts from the Civil War Diary of George Randolph Snowden, Snowden never married, and had no children. Snowden died in Philadelphia on April 21,1932 and he was buried in Franklin Cemetery in the city of Franklin, Section D, Lot 19
39.
Dives and Lazarus
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The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a well-known parable of Jesus appearing in the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke tells of the relationship, during life and after death, the traditional name, Dives, is not actually a name, but instead a word for rich man, dives, in the text of the Latin Bible, the Vulgate. The rich man was given the names Neuēs and Fineas in the 3rd. Luke 16, 19–31, New International Version, There are different views on the historicity and origin of the story of the Rich Man, the story is unique to Luke and is not thought to come from the hypothetical Q document. Some Christians view the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man, not as a parable and this was generally the view of the medieval Church. Supporters of this point to a key detail in the story. By contrast, in all of the other parables Jesus refers to a character by a description, such as a certain man, a sower. Critics of this point out that The soul that sins, it shall die, For dust you are. Paul describes death as sleep until the Day of the Lord, no scripture, other than Philippians 1, 23–25,2 Corinthians 12, 2–4,2 Corinthians 5,8, etc. accounts for a disembodied soul and its comfort or torture. was figurative. The 19th century evangelist Brownlow North inclined to the view that the story described a literal, historical event, other Christians consider that this is a parable created by Jesus and told to his followers. Tom Wright and Joachim Jeremias both treat it as a parable, proponents of this view argue that the story of Lazarus and the rich man has much in common with other stories which are agreed-upon parables, both in language and content. The hell here mentioned cannot be the hell that will begin on the day of judgment. For the corpse of the man is without doubt not in hell, but buried in the earth, it must however be a place where the soul can be and has no peace. From whence it is easy to judge what was the design, E. W. Bullinger in the Companion Bible cited Lightfoots comment, and expanded it to include coincidence to lack of belief in the resurrection of the historical Lazarus. An alternative explanation of the parable is a satirical parable against the Sadducees, one writer to identify the Sadducees as the target was Johann Nepomuk Sepp. This last interpretation had wide circulation in France during the 1860s–1890s as a result of having included in the notes of the pictorial Bible of Abbé Drioux. Simon Perry has argued that the Lazarus of the parable refers to Eliezer of Damascus, in Genesis 15—a foundational covenant text familiar to any 1st century Jew—God says to Abraham this man will not be your heir. Perry argues that this is why Lazarus is outside the gates of Abrahams perceived descendant, by inviting Lazarus to Abrahams bosom, Jesus is redefining the nature of the covenant
40.
Maksimilijan Vanka
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Maksimilijan Maxo Vanka was a Croatian-American artist. Vanka was born in Croatia in 1889 and he was sent to live with peasants, but at the age of eight was discovered by his maternal grandfather and sent to live in a castle. He studied art in Zagreb, Croatia and Brussels, Belgium, during World War I, he served with the Belgian Red Cross, because he was a pacifist and would not serve in the regular army. He taught art in Zagreb, but went to America in the 1930s with his wife, Margaret Stetten Vanka and this was Vankas Mothers offer up their sons for labor theme, a tribute to all those who worked diligently in the mills and mines in and around Pittsburgh. A committed pacifist, the intensity of Vankas beliefs are depicted clearly in post-war murals, one is of the Virgin Mary coming between two warring soldiers. Another depicts two soldiers battling each other, yet this time it is Jesus who attempts to intercede, Vanka was memorialized in Gift to America, a play written in 1981 by Professor David P. Demarest of Carnegie Mellon University. Vanka taught art at a community college in Bucks County, Pennsylvania at the end of his life and he died swimming off the coast of Puerto Vallarta in 1963. He educate and learned Ambroz Testen watercolor painting techniques and he left great influence on his painting later. The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka, founded in 1991 with the mission to preserve and maintain the murals, is leading a campaign to clean, restore, SPMMMV also manages a docent program. Docent-led tours are available at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church on Saturday and Sunday from 1, on Easter Sunday 2012 the Pittsburgh-based band Action Camp released a short film setting one of their live performances of a musical suite against the Maxo Vanka murals that inspired it. This is one of two performances of this work, that was performed in front of the Millvale Murals in the St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church. The band was commissioned to perform this suite in a collaboration called Hi-Rez, rome Away from Home, Masterpiece in Pennsylvania by Elizabeth Lev Off the Wall, The Murals of St
41.
Harper's Weekly
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Harpers Weekly, A Journal of Civilization was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects and it carried extensive coverage of the American Civil War, including many illustrations of events from the war. During its most influential period, it was the forum of the political cartoonist Thomas Nast, along with his brothers James, John, and Wesley, Fletcher Harper began the publishing company Harper & Brothers in 1825. Following the successful example of the Illustrated London News, Harper started publishing Harpers Magazine in 1850, in 1857, his company began publishing Harpers Weekly in New York City. By 1860 the circulation of the Weekly had reached 200,000, among the recurring features were the political cartoons of Thomas Nast, who was recruited in 1862 and worked with the Weekly for more than 20 years. Nast was a feared caricaturist, and is called the father of American political cartooning. He was the first to use an elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party and he also drew the legendary character of Santa Claus, his version became strongly associated with the figure, who was popularized as part of Christmas customs in the late nineteenth century. Harpers Weekly was the most widely read journal in the United States throughout the period of the Civil War, so as not to upset its wide readership in the South, Harpers took a moderate editorial position on the issue of slavery. Publications that supported abolition referred to it as Harpers Weakly, the Weekly had supported the Stephen A. Douglas presidential campaign against Abraham Lincoln, but as the American Civil War broke out, it fully supported Lincoln and the Union. The photograph inspired many free blacks in the North to enlist, some of the most important articles and illustrations of the time were Harpers reporting on the war. Besides renderings by Homer and Nast, the magazine also published illustrations by Theodore R. Davis, Henry Mosler, and the brothers Alfred and William Waud. In 1863, George William Curtis, one of the founders of the Republican Party, became the editor of the magazine. His editorials advocated civil service reform, low tariffs, and adherence to the gold standard, after the war, Harpers Weekly more openly supported the Republican Party in its editorial positions, and contributed to the election of Ulysses S. Grant in 1868 and 1872. It supported the Radical Republican position on Reconstruction, in the 1870s, the cartoonist Thomas Nast began an aggressive campaign in the journal against the corrupt New York political leader William Boss Tweed. Nast turned down a $500,000 bribe to end his attack, Tweed was arrested in 1873 and convicted of fraud. Nast and Harpers also played an important part in securing Rutherford B. Hayes 1876 presidential election, later on Hayes remarked that Nast was the most powerful, single-handed aid had. After the election, Nasts role in the magazine diminished considerably, since the late 1860s, Nast and George W. Curtis had frequently differed on political matters and particularly on the role of cartoons in political discourse. Harpers publisher Fletcher Harper strongly supported Nast in his disputes with Curtis, in 1877, Harper died, and his nephews, Joseph W. Harper Jr. and John Henry Harper, assumed control of the magazine
42.
Alexander Berkman
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Alexander Berkman was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century, famous for both his political activism and his writing. Berkman was born in Vilna in the Russian Empire and emigrated to the United States in 1888 and he lived in New York City, where he became involved in the anarchist movement. He was the lover and lifelong friend of anarchist Emma Goldman. In 1892, undertaking an act of propaganda of the deed, Berkman made an attempt to assassinate businessman Henry Clay Frick. His experience in prison was the basis for his first book, after his release from prison, Berkman served as editor of Goldmans anarchist journal, Mother Earth, and later established his own journal, The Blast. In 1917, Berkman and Goldman were sentenced to two years in jail for conspiracy against the newly instated draft, after their release from prison, they were arrested—along with hundreds of others—and deported to Russia. In 1925, he published a book about his experiences, The Bolshevik Myth, while living in France, Berkman continued his work in support of the anarchist movement, producing the classic exposition of anarchist principles, Now and After, The ABC of Communist Anarchism. Suffering from ill health, Berkman committed suicide in 1936, Berkman was born Ovsei Osipovich Berkman in the Lithuanian city of Vilnius. He was the youngest of four children born into a well-off Jewish family, Berkmans father, Osip Berkman, was a successful leather merchant, and his mother, Yetta Berkman, came from a prosperous family. In 1877, Osip Berkman was granted the right, as a successful businessman, the family moved to Saint Petersburg, a city previously off-limits to Jews. There, Ovsei adopted the more Russian name Alexander, he was known among family and friends as Sasha, the Berkmans lived comfortably, with servants and a summer house. Berkman attended the gymnasium, where he received an education with the youth of Saint Petersburgs elite. As a youth, Berkman was influenced by the growing radicalism that was spreading among workers in the Russian capital, a wave of political assassinations culminated in a bomb blast that killed Tsar Alexander II in 1881. He became very upset when his uncle, his mothers brother Mark Natanson, was sentenced to death for revolutionary activities. Soon after Berkman turned 12, his father died, the business had to be sold, and the family lost the right to live in Saint Petersburg. Yetta moved the family to Kovno, where her brother Nathan lived, Berkman had shown great promise as a student at the gymnasium, but his studies began to falter as he spent his time reading novels. One of the books that interested him was Ivan Turgenevs novel Fathers and Sons, soon, Berkman joined a group at school that was reading and discussing revolutionary literature, which was prohibited under the new tsar, Alexander III. He distributed banned material to students and wrote some radical tracts of his own
43.
Point-blank range
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Point-blank range is any distance over which the trajectory of a given projectile fired from a given weapon remains sufficiently flat that one can strike a target by firing at it directly. Point-blank range will vary by a weapons external ballistics characteristics and target chosen, a weapon with a flatter trajectory will permit a longer maximum point-blank range for a given target size, while a larger target will allow a longer point-blank range for a given weapon. In popular usage, point-blank range has come to mean extremely close cant miss range with a firearm, today, point-blank range denotes the distance a marksman can expect to fire a specific weapon and hit a desired target without adjusting its sights. If a weapon is sighted correctly and ammunition reliable, the spot should be hit every time at point-blank range. The term originated with the used to aim muzzle-loading cannon. Their barrels tapered from breech to muzzle, so that when the top of the cannon was held horizontal its bore actually sat at an elevated angle, during firing, recoil caused the guns muzzle to elevate slightly, resulting in an upward movement of the shot. This caused the projectile to rise above the line of sight shortly after leaving the muzzle. By repeatedly firing a projectile with the same charge, the point where the shot fell below the bottom of the bore could be measured. Various cannon of the 19th century had point-blank ranges from 250 yards to nearly 1,075 yards, small arms are often sighted in so that their sight line and bullet path are within a certain acceptable margin out to the longest possible range, called the maximum point-blank range. Target size determines how far above and below the line of sight a projectiles trajectory may deviate, other considerations include sight height and acceptable drop before a shot is ineffective. A large target, like the area of a deer. Vermin such as prairie dogs require a much smaller deviation, less than an inch, the height of the sights has two effects on point blank range. Higher sights, up to the maximum allowable deviation, push the point blank range further from the gun. Known also as battle zero, maximum range is crucial in the military. Soldiers are instructed to fire at any target within this range by simply placing their weapons sights on the center of mass of the enemy target, any errors in range estimation are tactically irrelevant, as a well-aimed shot will hit the torso of the enemy soldier. Any height correction is not needed at the battle zero or less distance, however, if given, it can result either a headshot, or even a complete miss. The current trend for elevated sights and higher-velocity cartridges in rifles is in part due to a desire to extend the maximum point-blank range. Raising the sight line 48.5 to 63.5 mm over the bore axis, at closer ranges, the shooter must aim high in order to place shots where desired
44.
John George Alexander Leishman
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John George Alexander Leishman was an American businessman and diplomat. He worked in various positions at Carnegie Steel Company and later served as an ambassador for the United States. John George Alexander Leishman was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 28,1857 and his father drowned in the Allegheny River the same year in which he was born. Leishman began a lifetime of work at age ten, as an assistant for a Pittsburgh physician, over the next seventeen years, Leishman would rise to become a trusted confidant of both Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie. Prior to his entry into the Carnegie service, John Leishman had been in the service of Shoenberger Steel Company, as what was termed a mud clerk. Mud clerks were the steel industry’s representatives on the wharf, responsible for tracking the shipping of goods, the arrival of raw materials. To guarantee efficiency and success, mud clerks lived 24 hours a day in small sheds on the riverbank and this work led first to an unsuccessful venture as an independent steel broker and then a successful partnership with his friend and colleague from Shoenberger Steel, William Penn Snyder. As senior partner in Leishman and Snyder, Leishman caught the attention of Andrew Carnegie, Leishman occupied the following positions, Vice Chairman, Carnegie Brothers & Company, Ltd. Vice President and Treasurer, Carnegie Steel Company and President, Carnegie Steel Company, the Leishmans social and business connections provided entrée into an extraordinarily exclusive circle of sixty-odd families, called the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. To create the colony, an abandoned Pennsylvania Railroad earthen dam was rebuilt and increased in size to create a mountaintop reservoir for pleasure boating. Among the Club’s members were Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, the Club’s earthen dam failed on May 31,1889, contributing to the Johnstown Flood disaster. Many of the Pittsburgh members of the Club were hastily assembled in an ad hoc meeting, one was to make immediate, generous and tangible gifts to help the flood relief efforts. The other was a never to speak of the Club or the Flood in public or in private. All litigation was handled by attorneys Philander Knox and his partner James Hay Reed, of the firm Knox and Reed, both of whom were themselves South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club members. On July 23,1892, Alexander Berkman, a self-proclaimed anarchist, sought to destroy Henry Clay Frick, Berkman forced his way into Fricks private office on the heels of a porter who had taken in his card. He opened fire, and Frick fell to the ground with three bullets in his body, Berkman was fended off by Leishman, Frick’s second in command, who was in Frick’s office at the time. Amid the growing rancor between Frick and Carnegie, Leishman attempted to steer a middle course, Frick alerted Carnegie to Leishmans speculation in the stock market, a practice that Carnegie engaged in freely, but abhorred in his subordinates. Frick worked behind the scenes, with Philander Knox to see that Leishman would be offered the post as ambassador to Switzerland
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Presentation by Martha Frick Sanger on Henry Clay Frick: An Intimate Portrait at the National Portrait Gallery, October 29, 1998, C-SPAN
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