November 7 – big day in history

Lots of anniversaries today:

1805	The Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at the Pacific Ocean.
1874	The first cartoon depicting the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party was printed in Harper’s Weekly. [Thomas Nast was the artist.]
1916	Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
1917	The Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian government in St. Petersburg.
1940	Only four months after its completion, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state, the third longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, collapsed. No one was injured.

Video of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster:

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Update:  Blue Ollie has more information on the bridge collapse — and is generally worth a visit.

Stanton Sharp history teaching symposium at SMU, February 9

Tired of odd speakers trying to tell you about how boys learn differently from girls because of the size of the Crockus in their brain?

How about serious material to beef up your teaching: Vietnam, the Russian Revolution, Mexicans in U.S. history, Native Americans in the 20th century, use of the internet in history classes — three sessions, each with three classes to choose from.

• Poster for session, The Russian Revolution and Its Legacies, with Prof. Daniel Orlovsky. One of nine different courses offered.

The history department at Southern Methodist University in Dallas offers solid education in serious history issues for teachers in colleges and secondary schools. The Stanton Sharp Teaching Symposium on Saturday, February 9 offers great material in nine different areas. Several of these topics seem to be pulled from the Texas Education Agency’s list of subjects that students need to do better on, for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS).

Invitation below the fold. The $15 fee includes lunch; you may earn up to 7 hours of Continuing Education Units (CEU) credits.

(I plan to be there, and if you’re really interested in the Crockus and its scholars, I happen to have a photo of the elusive Crosley Shelvador on my cell phone — he appeared to have used one of those spray-on tanning solutions, but is otherwise real, as the photos show.)