In 1886 Louis Lewin, a German pharmacologist, published the first systematic study of the the cactus from which mescal buttons were obtained (his own name was subsequently given to the plant: Anhalonium lewinii).
The plant was new to science, but not to the Indians of Mexico and the American Southwest. It was (according to Aldous Huxley’s 1954 essay, The Doors of Perception), “a friend of immemorially long standing. Indeed, it was much more than a friend. In the words of one of the early Spanish visitors to the New World, “they eat a root which they call peyote, and which they venerate as though it were a deity.”
November 16 Music et al
Albert Hoffman
November 16, 1938: Albert Hofmann, a chemist working for Sandoz Pharmaceutical in Basel, Switzerland, was the first to synthesize LSD-25. He discovered LSD, a semi-synthetic derivative of ergot alkaloids, while looking for a blood stimulant.
He set it aside for five years, until April 16, 1943, when he decided to take a second look at it. While re-synthesizing LSD, he accidentally absorbed a small amount of the drug through his fingertips and discovered its powerful effects. (see April 16, 1943)
November 16 Music et al
Beatles Christmas Show sold out
The Beatles dressed for a part of their Christmas Show
November 16, 1963: tickets for The Beatles’ Christmas Show sold out. CBS News bureau London – at the suggestion of Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein – sent a news crew to the British seaside resort of Bournemouth where they film a Beatles concert, thousands of screaming fans, and a few Beatles’ comments on camera. This film clip is later sent to New York. (see Nov 21)
“Deep Purple”
November 16 – 22, 1963: “Deep Purple” by Nino Tempo and April Stevens #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. [In 1968 Richie Blackmore suggested the title as the name for his new band named after his grandmother’s favorite song.]
November 16 Music et al
Jimi Hendrix
November 16 – 29, 1968: Electric Ladyland the Billboard #1 album. (Rolling Stone review) (see June 20, 1969)
November 16 Music et al
John Lennon’s Mind Games
November 16, 1973: US release of Lennon’s fourth album, Mind Games. I’ve posted this video before, but it’s so beautiful and worth watching again. Take a Central Park walk with John. (see Nov 24)
November 16 Music et al
Bob Dylan
November 16, 2016: the Nobel Academy said on its website that it had received a letter from Dylan explaining that due to “pre-existing commitments” he was unable to travel to Stockholm in December. “We look forward to Bob Dylan’s Nobel Lecture, which he must give ― it is the only requirement ― within six months counting from December 10.” (see Dec 10)
In 1886 Louis Lewin, a German pharmacologist, published the first systematic study of the the cactus from which mescal buttons were obtained (his own name was subsequently given to the plant: Anhalonium lewinii).
The plant was new to science, but not to the Indians of Mexico and the American Southwest. It was (according to Aldous Huxley’s 1954 essay, The Doors of Perception), “a friend of immemorially long standing. Indeed, it was much more than a friend. In the words of one of the early Spanish visitors to the New World, “they eat a root which they call peyote, and which they venerate as though it were a deity.”
Albert Hoffman
November 16, 1938: Albert Hofmann, a chemist working for Sandoz Pharmaceutical in Basel, Switzerland, was the first to synthesize LSD-25. He discovered LSD, a semi-synthetic derivative of ergot alkaloids, while looking for a blood stimulant.
He set it aside for five years, until April 16, 1943, when he decided to take a second look at it. While re-synthesizing LSD, he accidentally absorbed a small amount of the drug through his fingertips and discovered its powerful effects.(see April 16, 1943)
November 16 Peace Love Art Activism
BLACK HISTORY
John Porter lynched
November 16, 1900: early in 1900 a black family, Preston Porter, Sr and his two sons, “John” and Arthur, moved to the Limon, Colorado area to work on the railroad.
On November 8, a white girl named Louise Frost was found dead in Limon. Newspapers reported that the Porters had left Limon for Denver a few days after the girl was found dead. White authorities focused suspicions on them.
On November 12th, authorities arrested all three and took them to the Denver jail. After four days, newspapers reported that sixteen-year-old Preston “John” Porter Jr had confessed to the crime “in order to save his father and brother from sharing the fate that he believes awaits him.”
Despite the Governor’s order that the risk of lynching was to great to return John to Limon, the Denver sheriff transported John there by train.
John was said to have been reading a Bible and was allowed to pray before his lynching. When the flames reached his body, reports documented his screams for help as he writhed in pain, crying, “Oh my God, let me go men!…Please let me go. Oh, my God, my God!” When the ropes binding John to the stake had burned through, such that his body had fallen partially out of the fire, members of the mob threw additional kerosene oil over him and added wood to the fire. It was reported that John’s last words were “Oh, God, have mercy on these men, on the little girl and her father!”
No investigation into the lynching was conducted and the coroner concluded John died “at the hands of parties unknown.” [EJI article] (next BH & next Lynching, see March 15, 1901; for for expanded chronology, see American Lynching 2)
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing
November 16, 1977: reported in the New York Times: The state rested its case in the Birmingham church bombing trial today after presenting a witness who said that she saw packages of what appeared to be dynamite at the home of Robert E. Chambliss two weeks before the explosion in September 1963 that took the lives of four black children. (see Nov 18)
Colin Kaepernick
November 16, 2019: 30 minutes before its scheduled start, Colin Kaepernick changed the location of his planned NFL workout, moving the event to Drew High School in Riverdale, Georgia, roughly 60 miles away. In a statement after the workout, the free agent quarterback slammed the NFL for a lack of transparency.
Kaepernick’s agent Jeff Nalley told reporters that representatives from eight teams attended the event.
The NFL responded with a statement saying they are “disappointed that Colin did not appear for his workout.” According to the NFL’s statement, 25 teams had sent representatives to the original location. [CBS News article] (next BH & CK, see Nov 23 or see CK for expanded story0
November 16 Peace Love Art Activism
Cold War
November 16, 1945: in a move that stirred up some controversy, the US shipped 88 German scientists to America to assist the nation in its production of rocket technology. Most of the men had served under the Nazi regime and critics questioned the morality of placing them in the service of America. Nevertheless, the U.S. government, desperate to acquire the scientific know-how that had produced the terrifying and destructive V-1 and V-2 rockets for Germany during WWII, and fearful that the Russians were also utilizing captured German scientists for the same end, welcomed the men with open arms. (see January 31, 1946)
November 16 Peace Love Art Activism
Religion and Public Education
November 16, 1947: in support of Vashti McCollum’s case, a Baptist group said that programs of religious instruction in public school buildings were “an invasion of the time-honored doctrine of the separation of church and state.” (see Nov 20)
November 16 Peace Love Art Activism
Vietnam
Kennedy to…
“President Kennedy has decided on the measures that the United States is prepared to take to strengthen South Vietnam against attack by Communists.”
November 16, 1961: President Kennedy decided to increase military aid to South Vietnam without committing U.S. combat troops. (NYT Article) (see Nov 18)
…Clinton
November 16, 2000: Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. President to visit Vietnam. [NYT article] (see March 2, 2003)
November 16, 1963: tickets for The Beatles’ Christmas Show sold out. CBS News bureau London – at the suggestion of Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein – sent a news crew to the British seaside resort of Bournemouth where they film a Beatles concert, thousands of screaming fans, and a few Beatles’ comments on camera. This film clip is later sent to New York. (see Nov 21)
“Deep Purple”
November 16 – 22, 1963, “Deep Purple” by Nino Tempo and April Stevens #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. [In 1968 Richie Blackmore suggested the title as the name for his new band named after his grandmother’s favorite song.]
Jimi Hendrix
November 16 – 29, 1968: Electric Ladyland the Billboard #1 album. (see June 20, 1969)
Mind Games
November 16, 1973: US release of Lennon’s fourth album, Mind Games. (see Nov 24)
Bob Dylan
November 16, 2016: the Nobel Academy said on its website that it had received a letter from Dylan explaining that due to “pre-existing commitments” he was unable to travel to Stockholm in December. “We look forward to Bob Dylan’s Nobel Lecture, which he must give ― it is the only requirement ― within six months counting from December 10.” (see Dec 10)
November 16 Peace Love Art Activism
US Labor History
NFL Strike Ends
November 16, 1982, the National Football League Players Association ended a 57-day strike that shortened the season to nine games. The players wanted, but failed to win until many years later, a higher share of gross team revenues. [NYDN article] (see December 19, 1984)
“persuader rule”
November 16, 2016: U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings issued a permanent injunction blocking an Obama administration “persuader rule” requiring law firms to publicly disclose any work they do for employers surrounding union organization efforts. The rule drew fierce resistance from employers and lawyers, who said it violated their duty to protect client confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege. (USLH, see March 1, 2017; Persader rule, see July 18, 2018)
November 16 Peace Love Art Activism
Native Americans
Susquehannock artifacts on display at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in 2007
November 16, 1990: TheNative American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act required federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to return Native American “cultural items” to lineal descendants and culturally affiliated Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. Cultural items include human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony. A program of federal grants assists in the repatriation process and the Secretary of the Interior could assess civil penalties on museums that failed to comply.
In 1992, the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas prompted protests from many Native American tribes and supporters, prompting cities including Denver and San Francisco to stop their quincentenary celebrations. (see Feb 11 – July 15, 1994)
November 16 Peace Love Art Activism
Environmental Issues
Powering Past Coal Alliance
November 16, 2017: one of the biggest announcements at the United Nations climate talks came when Canada and Britainbegan a new global alliance aimed at phasing out the use of coal power by 2030. But to this point the countries, states and provinces that joined the “Powering Past Coal Alliance” accounted for less than 3 percent of coal use worldwide.
Keystone Pipeline spill
November 16, 2017: about 5,000 barrels of oil, or about 210,000 gallons, gushed out of the Keystone Pipeline in South Dakota, blackening a grassy field in the remote northeast part of the state and sending cleanup crews and emergency workers scrambling to the site.
“This is not a little spill from any perspective,” said Kim McIntosh, an environmental scientist with the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources. No livestock or drinking water sources appeared to be threatened, Ms. McIntosh said, and no farm buildings or houses are within a mile.
The spill, near Amherst, S.D., came just days before regulators in neighboring Nebraska were to decide whether to grant the final permit needed to begin construction on a different pipeline proposal, the Keystone XL, which would be operated by the same company. [Reuters article] (see Nov 20)
November 16 Peace Love Art Activism
FREE SPEECH
November 16, 2018: Judge Timothy J. Kelly of Federal District Court in Washington directed the White House to restore the press credentials of Jim Acosta of CNN, a win for media advocates and news organizations in a major legal test of press rights under President Trump.
Kelly ruled that the Trump administration had most likely violated Mr. Acosta’s due process rights when it revoked his press badge after a testy exchange with the president at a news conference last week.
The ruling was a significant but narrow victory for CNN. Judge Kelly, who was appointed by Mr. Trump, declined to weigh in on the First Amendment issues cited by the network, and the White House had the right to appeal. For now, Mr. Acosta can resume working on the White House grounds. [NYT report] (see February 15, 2019)
November 15, 1830: North Carolina passed two laws designed to limit the influence of an anti-slavery pamphlet and discourage its dissemination, mandating the punishment of death for those who twice violated the law.
Titled “An Act to Prevent the Circulation of Seditious Publications,” North Carolina’s first law banned bringing into the state any publication with the tendency to inspire revolution or resistance among enslaved or free Black people; a first violation of the law was punishable by whipping and one-year imprisonment, while those convicted of a second offense would “suffer death without benefit of clergy.”
The second law forbade all persons in the state from teaching the enslaved to read and write. A white person convicted of violating the law would be subject to a $100-200 fine or imprisonment; a free Black person would face a fine, imprisonment, or between 20 and 39 lashes; and an enslaved Black person convicted of teaching other enslaved people to read or write would receive 39 lashes. [EJI article] (next BH, see February 1831)
Jimmie Lee Jackson
Jimmie Lee Jackson (December 16, 1938 – February 26, 1965) was a civil rights activist in Marion, Alabama, and a deacon in the Baptist church. On February 18, 1965, while participating in a peaceful voting rights march in his city, he was beaten by troopers and shot by Alabama State Trooper James Bonard Fowler.
On February 18, 1965, during a protest near the Perry County Jail in Perry, Alabama, twenty-six-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson, his mother Viola Jackson, and his 82-year-old grandfather, Cager Lee, ran into a cafe pursued by Alabama State Troopers. Police clubbed Cager Lee to the floor in the kitchen. His daughter Viola attempted to pull the police off, she was also beaten.
When Jimmie Lee attempted to protect his mother, one trooper threw him against a cigarette machine. A second trooper shot Jimmie Lee twice in the abdomen. Jimmie Lee Jackson died 8 days later.
A grand jury will not indict James Fowler, the trooper who shot Jackson, but on May 10, 2007, 42 years after the homicide, an Alabama grand jury did indict the former state trooper for the February 18, 1965 murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson.
On this date, November 15, 2010, James Fowler apologized for his shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson, but insisted that he had acted in self-defense, believing that Mr. Jackson was trying to grab his gun. Fowler was sentenced to six months in prison. Perry County commissioner, Albert Turner Jr, called the agreement “a slap in the face of the people of this county.” Fowler served 5 of the 6 months. [BH, see June 26, 2011; Fowler, see July 5, 2015]
BLACK & SHOT
November 15, 2015: white Minneapolis police officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze fatally shot Jamar Clark, 24, an unarmed black man. (B & S, seeNov 19; Minneapolis, see Nov 23)
Rheta Louise Childe Dorr , first editor of the Suffragist newspaper. In 1914 she told how she “…tried to get work on a newspaper, but they said I could only write such stuff as ‘Advice to the Lovelorn.’ I wouldn’t. Finally, in three years, I got a $25 a week job; and I never tot a raise in four years thereafter. That’s what I mean when I say women haven’t got the same right as men to work for promotion.”
November 15, 1917: “Night of Terror” pickets (arrested Nov 10) transferred to Occoquan Workhouse, where Superintendent Raymond Whittaker, just back from White House meeting of district commissioners, set in motion a brutal reception for newly arrived prisoners. Whittaker summarily dismissed demands for political prisoner status and watched guards hurl Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smash her head against an iron bed, and knock her. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head, and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. Julia Emory showed support and sympathy by assuming same position. The next day, 16 women went on hunger strike. (San Francisco site full story) (see Nov 18)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Calvin Graham
Battle of Guadalcanal
November 15, 1942: during the battle of Guadalcanal, the South Dakota was hit forty-seven times by enemy fire. One explosion threw Calvin down three decks of stairs. He was seriously wounded by shrapnel that tore through his jaw and mouth. In spite of his injuries, he helped pull fellow sailors from danger. Half the ship’s crew of 3,300 were killed or wounded. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Navy Unit Commendation medal.
36 years later…
November 15, 1978: the General Accounting Office received Graham’s claim from back-pay due him from his World War II service. (see Calvin Graham for full sad story)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
The Cold War
Nikita Khrushchev
November 15, 1957: in a long and rambling interview with an American reporter, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev claims that the Soviet Union has missile superiority over the United States and challenges America to a missile “shooting match” to prove his assertion. The interview further fueled fears in the United States that the nation was falling perilously behind the Soviets in the arms race. (NYT article) (see December 9, 1958)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
November 15 Music et al
Beatles before their US appearance
November 15, 1959: Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison auditioned for a British talent program called TV Star Search at the Hippodrome Theatre in Lancashire. They had been known as The Quarrymen but for this audition, they took the name “Johnny and the Moondogs.” They played two Buddy Holly songs: “Think It Over” and “It’s So Easy.” They must have been good as they were invited back for the next round of audition the next day. They returned to Liverpool the same night, having no money to rent a hotel room, and therefore missing out on the next round of auditions. (see April 23 & 24, 1960)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Vietnam
Brown University
President Johnson with Gen. Earle Wheeler in the center. From the NYT: A dozen students clashed with policemen tonight in a Pembroke College auditorium after a speech on Vietnam by Gen. Earle G. Wheeler, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
November 15, 1966: Gen. Earle Wheeler, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addressed a gathering at Brown University and approximately 60 students walk out to protest his defense of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Some of those who remained shouted and heckled Wheeler, while others attempted to storm the stage. Outside, over 100 students continued the protest. (Wheeler article) (see Dec 12)
March for Peace in Washington, DC
From the NYT article: “A vast throng of Americans, predominantly youthful and constituting the largest mass march in the nation’s capital, demonstrated peacefully in the heart of the city today, demanding a rapid withdrawal of United States troops from Vietnam.”
November 15, 1969: 500,000 people marched for peace in Washington, DC . It was the largest antiwar rally in U.S. history. Some of the speakers: McCarthy, McGovern, Coretta King, Dick Gregory, Leonard Bernstein. Singers: Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul, & Mary, John Denver, Mitch Miller, touring cast of Hair . (NYT article) (see Nov 20)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Irish Troubles
November 15, 1985: Britain and Ireland signed an accord giving Dublin an official consultative role in governing Northern Ireland. (see Troubles for expanded story)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Sexual Abuse of Children
Bankruptcy filing
November 15, 2004: US Roman Catholic bishops elected Bishop William Skylstad as their new president. His Washington diocese faced bankruptcy due to the volume of compensation claims made by alleged victims of child abuse. [SFG article] (see Dec 3)
Boy Scouts
November 15, 2020: the New York Times reported that more than 81,000 people had come forward with sex-abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America, describing a decades-long accumulation of assaults at the hands of scout leaders across the nation who had been trusted as role models.
The claims, which lawyers said far eclipsed the number of abuse accusations filed in Catholic Church cases, continued to mount ahead of a November 16 deadline established in bankruptcy court in Delaware, where the Boy Scouts had sought refuge this year in a bid to survive.
Paul Mones, a lawyer who had been working on Boy Scouts cases for nearly two decades, said the prevalence of abuse detailed in the filings was breathtaking and might reflect only a fraction of victims. (next SA of C, & next BSA, see January 28, 2021)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
ADA
November 15, 2006: the Road-to-Freedom tour kicked off. The 50-state bus tour and photographic exhibit chronicles the history of the grassroots “people’s movement” that led to passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (see October 22, 2012)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Native Americans
The Code Talkers
November 15, 2008: President George W. Bush signed The Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008 into law. The Act recognized every Native American code talker who served in the US military during WWI or WWII with a Congressional Gold Medal for his tribe (to be retained by the Smithsonian Institution) and a silver medal duplicate to each code talker. (see February 14, 2011)
Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape
November 15, 2018: New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced a settlement with the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation under which the State acknowledged it had officially recognized the 3,000-member Tribe as an American Indian Tribe since 1982.
In addition to affirming its historic recognition of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Nation, the State would pay the Tribe a total of $2.4 million under the settlement agreement.
The State also agreed to formally notify all relevant state and federal agencies of the Tribe’s official recognition status. [State of NJ report] (next NA, see January 19, 2019)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Occupy Wall Street
Zuccotti Park
November 15, 2011: day 60 of Occupy Wall Street. NYPD began to clear Zuccotti Park. Mayor Bloomberg released the following statement: “At one o’clock this morning, the New York City Police Department and the owners of Zuccotti Park notified protesters in the park that they had to immediately remove tents, sleeping bags and other belongings, and must follow the park rules if they wished to continue to use it to protest. Many protesters peacefully complied and left. At Brookfield’s request, members of the NYPD and Sanitation Department assisted in removing any remaining tents and sleeping bags. This action was taken at this time of day to reduce the risk of confrontation in the park, and to minimize disruption to the surrounding neighborhood.” (NYT article) (see Nov 18)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
LGBT
Gay marriage
November 15, 2013, LGBT: Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed legislation into law, making Hawaii the 15th state to legalize gay marriage. (NYT article) (see Nov 18)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Immigration History
November 15, 2017: after the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency had rejected nearly 100 applications to renew permits that let immigrants stay and work in the United States legally because the applications had been delayed in the mail.
Last week the Agency had said nothing could be done; the decisions were final.
On November 15, the agency reversed its position. In light of the delays, it agreed to allow those rejected because of mail delays to resubmit their renewals for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. [NYT article] (see Nov 20)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Consumer Protection
November 15, 2018: the Food and Drug Administration announced a series of restrictions aimed at combating a growing public health menace — flavored e-cigarettes and tobacco products that have lured young people into vaping and smoking.
And in a bold regulatory move, the agency said it would move to outlaw two traditional tobacco products that disproportionately harm African-Americans: menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
The proposed menthol ban would be the most aggressive action the F.D.A. had taken against the tobacco industry in nearly a decade, and it was notable given the Trump administration’s business-friendly approach to regulatory issues. But the proposal is likely to face a protracted legal battle, so it could be years in the making. [NYT report] (see July 8, 2019)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
DEATH PENALTY
November 15, 2019: Rodney Reed had long claimed his innocence in the murder of a woman 23 years earlier and was days away from his execution when an appeals court stepped in to suspend his death sentence indefinitely.
The dramatic decision by the Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas halted the execution of Reed and ordered the court where he was originally tried to consider new evidence in the case, including testimony from eyewitnesses who have come forward in recent months pointing toward the victim’s fiancé as another suspect.
The court’s ruling came just hours after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had also supported halting the execution and recommended that Gov. Greg Abbott grant a 120-day reprieve for Mr. Reed, 51, one of 215 prisoners on Texas’ death row. [NYT story] (next DP, see February 13, 2020)
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
Trump Impeachment Inquiry
David Holmes
November 15, 2019: David Holmes confirmed to House impeachment investigators that he had overheard a call between President Trump and a top American diplomat in July in which the president asked whether Ukraine was going to move forward with an investigation he wanted.
Holmes, testified privately that he was at a restaurant in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, when he overheard Trump on a cellphone call loudly asking Gordon D. Sondland, the American ambassador to the European Union, if Ukraine’s president had agreed to conduct an investigation into one of his leading political rivals. Mr. Sondland, who had just come from a meeting with top Ukrainian officials and the country’s president, replied in the affirmative.
“So, he’s going to do the investigation?” Trump asked, according to a copy of Mr. Holmes’s opening statement posted by CNN and confirmed by The New York Times. (see TII for expanded coverage of whole inquiry)
Trump Impeachment Inquiry/Public
Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch
November 15, 2019: Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch appeared at the Democrats’ second open impeachment hearing to discuss her career and the circumstances under which her posting to Kyiv was prematurely halted earlier this year.
She told Congress that she was recalled after a smear campaign led by President Trump’s allies.
Trump criticized her on Twitter even as she testified live on television.
Trump posted two tweets about Yovanovitch during the session that linked her to problems in the troubled countries in which she had been posted and restated the president’s power to appoint and remove diplomats as he wishes. [NPR story]
November 15 Peace Love Art Activism
What's so funny about peace, love, art, and activism?
