On May 8, 1886, Dr. John Pemberton (above) brought his
perfected syrup to Jacobs’ Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta
where the first glass of Coca‑Cola was poured.
Initially, the drink was marketed as a medicinal tonic called
“French Wine Coca.”
Serving about nine drinks per day in its first year, Coca‑Cola
was an exciting new drink in the beginning.
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a 1941 song that was written by
Mack Gordon and composed by Harry Warren. It was originally
recorded as a big band/swing tune by Glenn Miller and His
Orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade
and received a gold record, presented by RCA Victor in 1942
(below) for sales of 1.2 million copies.
(L to R) Paul Douglas, W. Wallace Early and Glenn Miller, February 10, 1942.
Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944)
On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusitania
was torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the
south coast of Ireland. Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into
the Celtic Sea. Of 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people
drowned, including 128 Americans.
The attack aroused considerable indignation in the United States,
but Germany defended the action, noting that it had issued
warnings of its intent to attack all ships, neutral or otherwise,
that entered the war zone around Britain.
It was revealed that the Lusitania was carrying about 173 tons of
war munitions for Britain, which the Germans cited as further justification for the attack.
The United States eventually sent three notes to Berlin protesting
the action, and they apologized and pledged to end unrestricted submarine warfare.
Called the U.S.’s first ambassador to Japan, a 14-year-old
fisherman by the name of Manjiro is considered America’s
first Japanese immigrant, arriving in the country on May 7,
1843, by way of a whaling ship.
According to the National Endowment of the Humanities,
the boy and his crew were caught in a violent storm, with
their ship eventually washing up on a desert island 300
miles away from their coastal Japanese village.
Rescued five months later by an American whaling ship,
Manjiro was adopted by American Capt. William Whitfield,
who renamed him John Mung and brought him back to the
states to his home in Massachusetts.
Nakahama Manjirō (John Mung)
(January 27, 1827 – November 12, 1898)
William H. Whitfield
(November 11, 1804 – 14 February 1886)
