May 1, 1851: The Great Exhibition opens in London. The building housing this first World's Fair would come to be known as the Crystal Palace, and the fair itself would be the model for many others throughout the world.
Read about it here: http://www.bl.uk/victorian-britain/articles/the-great-exhibition
Image courtesy: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O8820/the-opening-of-the-great-oil-painting-selous-henry-courtney/
May 1, 1873: An International Exhibition (another world's fair) opens in Vienna.
A digital archive of World's Fair Art & Architecture from the University of Maryland: <https://digital.lib.umd.edu/worldsfairs/about>
Image source:http://www.museumoflondonprints.com/image/65686/souvenir-portrait-of-queen-victoria-as-empress-of-india
May 1, 1876: Britain's Queen Victoria declared Empress of India. (She began officially using the title on January 1, 1877.)<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/victorianbritain_timeline_noflash.shtml>
May 1, 1893: World Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago. Take a virtual tour: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma96/wce/title.html
More about the fair: https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/worldsChicago.html
Image source: http://www.austinweeklynews.com/News/Articles/5-7-2013/On-this-day-in-Black-History/
May 3, 1845: 1st African American lawyer (Macon B Allen) admitted to the bar in the U.S.
Image source: http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/about/
May 4, 1852: Alice Liddell born. Liddell would be the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
May 6, 1889: Exposition Universelle opens in Paris
May 8, 1886: Coca Cola invented.
Historical Soda articles:The American Drink (1897) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-american-drink.html
Evils of Encouraging the Ice Cream Soda Trade (1897) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/evils-of-encouraging-the-ice-cream-soda-trade.html
How to Draw A Glass of Ice Cream Soda (1893) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/how-to-draw-a-glass-of-ice-cream-soda.html
Origin of Ice-Cream Soda Water (1892) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/origin-of-ice-cream-soda-water.html
Serving Ice Cream Soda (1901) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/serving-ice-cream-soda.html
Soda Water (1896) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/soda-water.html
Read about the history of Coca Cola advertising and the iconic hobble-skirt glass bottle: http://www.amexessentials.com/message-in-a-bottle/
A history of the Coca Cola Company: http://assets.coca-colacompany.com/7b/46/e5be4e7d43488c2ef43ca1120a15/T
Image source: https://www.recreation.gov/recreationalAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&recAreaId=13936
May 10, 1869: Railroads plant the Golden Spike, celebrating the completion of the first Transcontinental railroad.
May 10, 1876: The Centennial Exposition opens in Philadelphia
<https://www.assemblymag.com/articles/83790-then-now-the-1876-centennial-exposition>
May 11, 1858: Minnesota becomes a state
May 12: Happy birthday, Florence Nightingale! Read about how Nightingale completely changed the public's view of nursing:
Florence Nightingale, Shifting Attitudes Towards Nurses, and The Origins of Nurse McCoy: <http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/florence-nightingale-shifting-attitudes-towards-nurses-and-the-origins-of-nurse-mccoy>
Image scanned from our private archive. To see more like this, go to http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/food.html
May 15, 1850: The American Vegetarian Society established at a meeting in New York. This meeting was introduced by William Alcott, whose cousin Bronson was Louisa May Alcott's father. Source: <https://ivu.org/history/societies/americanvs.html> The Introduction by William Alcott: <https://ivu.org/congress/1850/history.html>
A full account of the meeting: <https://ivu.org/congress/1850/index.html>
May 19, 1884: One thousand bicycle riders convene at Ford's Opera House in Washington D.C. for the League of American Wheelman's fifth annual meeting. The National Republican newspaper reported on its front page the next day, "The opera house was decorated with flags and filled with good-looking young men, with an unusual development of the lower part of the leg. This distinguishing characteristic was made more apparent by the knee breeches and long stockings which they wore." <chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86053573/1884-05-20/ed-1/seq-1/>
May 20, 1884: The League of American Wheelmen, still in Washington, D.C. for their meet, hold championship races (watched by ladies who took a keen interest in the calves of the shapely riders), then had a grand feast at Willard's Hotel. The following account of their merriments was printed in the National Republican the next day:
THE WHEELMEN EAT,
AND THEN MAKE PLEASANT SPEECHES BEFORE THEY PART FOR A YEAR
The lobby of Willard's was adorned last night by stacks of bicycles, and flitting among them were their owners. In the long dining room on the first floor was heard the clatter of dishes and cutlery, while occasionally the head of a… waiter peeped out of the door at the crowd. The wheelmen began to assemble at 8:30, and by 9 o'clock the long parlor was filled with them.
Mr. Pelouza, of the Washington Cycle club, stood up at 9:30 and told the members that all was ready. The doors were thrown open and the assemblage, which numbered about 250, filed into the room and took seats. There were three long tables, two running the length of the room, while the third (a smaller one) was in the center. Candelabra and flowers adorned the snowy white tables, and a souvenir menu card was placed in front of each guest's plate. President Beckwith felt his mustache, and then informed the guests that they were welcome, and invited them to begin operations. A flourish and clatter of cutlery followed this announcement, and neatly attired waiters were soon busy serving the guests.
This is what they ate and drank:
Soups
Chicken with rice. Consomme a la royal.
Fish
Boiled striped bass, lobster sauce.
Sliced cucumbers. Potatoes Saratoga. Lettuce.
Removes.
Roast spring lamb, mint sauce.
Roast ducks, English dressing.
Roast ribs of beef, dish gravy.
Entrees.
Fricandeau of veal, tomato sauce.
Chicken croquettes on petit pois.
Soft shell crabs fried in crumbs.
Roman punch.
Vegetables.
Mashed potatoes. Stewed tomatoes.
Green peas. Bermuda potatoes.
Mayonnaise.
Chicken. Lobster.
Dessert.
Champagne jelly. Assorted cake.
Vanilla ice cream. Macaroons.
Strawberries, with cream.
Fruits. Nuts. Raisins.
Coffee
After the cloth had been removed, Mr. Beckwith introduced Mr. Charles E. Pratt, the toast master. He said that Mr. Pratt was one of the founders of the league, and was at present a city councilman of Boston.
Mr. Pratt made an eloquent speech, telling what the bicyclers had done and what they expected to do. At the conclusion of his address an enthusiastic wheelman sang in a cracked voice, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," in which he was assisted by the whole assemblage.
"The City of Washington" was happily responded to by the Rev. L.H. Schneider, chief consul of the district. He described the streets and the many advantages Washington offered to bicyclists, and hoped that the league would again meet here. During his speech he referred to Judge Snell, who was present, as the first judge who had ever rendered a decision in favor of the bicycle. There was loud cheering at the mention of Judge Snell's name, and the magistrate was greeted with a burst of enthusiasm when he arose to speak. His speech was a short but a witty one, and he was cheered as he sat down.
Hon. De B. R. Keim said in response to the toast, "The Press," that the press had always upheld the bicyclists, and invited them to come again.
President Beckwith anticipated a brilliant future for the "League," and was loudly applauded when he responded to that toast.
"Our hosts," by Mr. Wein, of the Washington cycle club, was a clever speech, and our "Sister Leagues" was happily responded to by H.S. Livingston, of Ohio. W.B. Everett, of Boston, and H.E. Ducker, of Springfield, treated the "Cycle Clubs," in a pleasant manner. Mr. Abbott Barrett responded to the toast, "The Cycling Press."
The other speakers were B.B. Ayres, of Chicago; J.O. Monroe, of Buffalo; Joseph Pennell, of Philadelphia; Rev. Mr. Evans, of Columbia, Pa,; Rev. S. Stall, of Lancaster, Pa., and others.
Between 3:30 and 4 o'clock this afternoon, Mr. D.J. Canary, the champion one wheel bicycler, who attended the races and convention of the league in this city, will attempt a daring feat. He will ride down the steep steps leading to the house of representatives, east capitol front, on a single wheel. A large crowd will doubtless be attracted by the remarkable feat.
Source: <chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86053573/1884-05-21/ed-1/seq-2.pdf>
May 21, 1885: Workers at the stone quarry near Victoria, B.C. go on strike for higher wages. Instead of negotiating with the workers, to break the strike the quarry owners bring in Chinese laborers (the victims of human trafficking) who are used by the quarry owners as virtual slaves. The actions of the quarry owners heighten racial tensions in the city, and an Anti-Chinese rally of over one thousand men nearly mobs Victoria's Chinatown. Source: The Daily British Colonist, May 22, 1885. <http://archive.org/stream/dailycolonist18850522uvic/18850522#page/n0/mode/1up>
May 22, 1882: The United States and Korea sign the Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce and Navigation.
Among other things, this treaty allowed Koreans to immigrate to the U.S.
<http://seoul.usembassy.gov/ack_sp_052212.html>
May 24: Happy birthday, Queen Victoria! Born May 24, 1819.
May 24, 1844: First telegraphic message sent. [Source: Suggestive Programs for Special Day Exercises p.96.) To learn more about the telegraph and its massive significance in Victorian history, be sure to read Tom Standage's book The Victorian Internet, an excellent overview of the revolutionary nature of the telegraph and the parallels between communication in the nineteenth-century and today.
19th-century images of technology and tools, scanned from our private archive: www.thisvictorianlife.com/technology-and-tools-images.html
Image source: https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/may-24-1883-brooklyn-bridge-opens/
Brooklyn Bridge illustration from "Scientific American", August 11, 1877.
Brooklyn Bridge illustration from "Scientific American", August 11, 1877.
May 24, 1883: Brooklyn Bridge opens. Read about the woman who helped make it possible here: <http://roeblingmuseum.org/about-us/emily-warren-roebling/>
More about the bridge: <https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/may-24-1883-brooklyn-bridge-opens/>
Image courtesy https://www.thewheelmen.com/sections/americanjourneys/shiningsea/nellis.php
May 24th, 1887: Cycling journalist George W. Nellis Jr. departs Herkimer, New York, for a cross-continental ride via bicycle to San Francisco on a 52" Columbia Expert high wheel. Source: Hayes, Kevin J. An American Cycling Odyssey, 1887. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002. pp. 23-25.
 Image source: http://www.lancastercandy.com/home |  Image source: http://www.mhskids.org/news-feed/catherine-hershey-shortened-life-remembered-1872-1915/ |
May 28th: Happy anniversary, Milton Hershey and Catherine Sweeney Hershey! Married May 28, 1898.
The Hersheys, who couldn't have children of their own, established a school for orphans that has continued to help underprivileged children ever since. To this day, the Milton Hershey School remains the controlling stockholder and main beneficiary of the Hershey Chocolate company. Read about the school's history: http://www.mhskids.org/about/school-history/
Before he made his fortune in chocolate, Milton got his start manufacturing caramels. The Hershey company recently reinstated his original caramels as a regular product: Lancaster caramels (named for the city where Milton started his business.) If anyone out there hasn't tried Lancaster caramels yet, I highly recommend them! They're delicious—and remember, more than half the profits go to help underprivileged kids!
The Lancaster Caramel website: http://www.lancastercandy.com/home
More info: https://hersheystory.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Milton-Hershey-The-Man-Behind-The-Chocolate.pdf
Hershey Community archives: http://blog.hersheyarchives.org
May 29, 1848: Wisconsin becomes a state
May, 29, 1879: Karl Kron's first ride on an Ordinary bicycle. He would go on to become one of the most famous Wheelmen of the 19th-century. His book about his experiences, "Ten Thousand Miles On A Bicycle" can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/h2pljur Karl Kron preferred riding alone to cycling in groups, and he had a quirky sense of humor: he dedicated his book to his bulldog Curl, "The best bulldog ever".
May 30th, 1880: The League of American Wheelman (LAW) founded.
Image source https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/12/why-walt-whitman-called-the-america-the-greatest-poem/510932/
May 31st: Happy birthday, Walt Whitman! Born May 31, 1819.
Special days in May:
May 1st: Happy May Day!
"May-day is one of the many holidays still celebrated, that originated among the pagans ages ago, and it is said that the practice of choosing a May-queen and crowning her with flowers is a remnant of the ceremonies in honor of Flora, the goddess of flowers, which were held in Rome the last four days of April and the first of May.
There was, at one time, a very pretty custom observed in Merrie England of fastening bunches of flowering shrubs and branches of sycamore and hawthorn upon the doors of those neighbors whose good lives and kindly habits were thus recognized by their friends.
The maids and matrons of England formerly had a way of their own of observing the day. On the first of May they would all go trooping out with the earliest rays of the morning sun, to bathe their faces in the magic dew, which glistened upon the grass once a year only, and was supposed to render the features moistened with it beautiful for the next twelve months.
When the writer was a wee little girl there lived next door to her home two old maiden ladies, who always kept a bottle of May-dew among their treasures. Although the ladies in question had long since passed that period when maidens are supposed to be lovely, superstitious persons might have found confirmation of a belief in the power of the dew, when they looked upon the sweet and kindly faces of these old maids…" —From How To Amuse Yourself and Others: The American Girls' Handy Book by Lina and Adelia Beard (1887). <https://tinyurl.com/y6uy3klz>
Victorian Language and Sentiment of Flowers:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/language-and-sentiment-of-flowers-1891.html
May 5: Happy Children's Day to all our Korean friends, and our Japanese friends, too!
http://www.incultureparent.com/2013/04/korean-childrens-day-may-5/
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/calendar/may/children.html
A piece from 1888 about home life in Japan, seen through Western eyes: <http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-japanese-home-1888.html>
May 8, 2018: Teacher Appreciation Day —please enjoy sharing the educational worksheets from our website! http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/worksheets-for-k-12-students.html
May 12th: International Nurses' Day. (It's not an accident that this is on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birthday!
A Nurse
A nurse, a simple nurse; to the unthinking
Only a nurse, and nothing but a name;
A patient woman in her round of duty,
Living and dying all unknown to fame.
Only a nurse, a messenger of mercy,
An angel sent unto our suffering race,
With quiet step, and tender hand of healing,
Divinest pity on her gentle face.
When all the world lies wrapt in quiet slumber,
Save the poor sufferer moaning on his bed,
Whose watchful eye with Christian love keeps vigil
Through the long night with silent softened tread?
Only a nurse, in duty all unshrinking;
Before such scenes, man's stouter heart would quail;
See there! That sweet, fair girl, in sorest trial
Is at her post, nor will her courage fail.
The fever we but terror-struck encounter,
Or fly before with selfish, coward dread;
While nurse and doctor hasten to the rescue,
And stand unflinching by the stricken bed.
Hark! That weird bell —an accident at midnight;
The nurse and doctor, wakeful, close at hand,
The minister to suffering or dying,
The hospital's heroic little band!
There you or I may in our need find refuge,
With kindly help and loving tender care;
Respect we'll give those brave, unselfish women,
And night and day remember them in prayer.
—E.M.C., Good Housekeeping, December 11, 1886.
Nineteenth-century photographs of nurses scanned from our private ephemera collection: <www.thisvictorianlife.com/photos-of-nurses.html>
May 14—18, 2018: National Bike to Work Week. This is a perfect time to read my historical fiction cycling club series!
The Tales of Chetzemoka
On Amazon
In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing. In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into. Join their adventures in
The Wheelman's Joy
Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels
There is something inherently romantic about cycling, and there has been since the first riders set their wheels to the road. This collection of nineteenth-century poetry, prose quotes and bon-mots about cycling reflects both the ardent passion and the innocent affection cycling inspires. From the glory days of high-wheel cycling through the boom of the safety bicycle, riders were falling in love with their wheels, with new-found freedoms, and above all with each other. This delightful little collection tells of those days in their own words, and evokes sentiments which every cyclist will find timeless. Compiled edited and introduced by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of the charming Tales of Chetzemoka cycling club series, This Victorian Life, Victorian Secrets, and others.
19th-century cycling articles:
A Burglar, A Bicycle, and A Storm (Fiction—1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-burglar-a-bicycle-and-a-storm.html
A Cycle of the Seasons: A Bicycle Romance in Four Meets (Fiction—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-cycle-of-the-seasons-a-bicycle-romance-in-four-meets.html
A Cycle Show in Little (1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-cycle-show-in-little.html
A Song of the Wheel (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-song-of-the-wheel-poem-mdashoctober-1883.html
A Header (?) (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-header--poem-1883.html
A Midwinter-Night's Dream (1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-midwinter-nights-dream-1883.html
A Modern Love Sung in Ancient Fashion (Poem—1884) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-modern-love-sung-in-ancient-fashion.html
Bicycle Riding In The United States (1881) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/bicycle-riding-in-the-united-states-1881.html
Bicycler's Song (1882) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/bicyclers-song-poemmdash1882.html
Bicycling and Tricycling (1884) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/bicycling-and-tricycling.html
Bikes on Trains (1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/bikes-on-trains-1883.html
Cycling's Value As An Exercise (1879) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/cyclings-value-as-an-exercise-1879.html
Cycling for Women (1888) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/cycling-for-women.html
Is Bicycling Harmful? (1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/is-bicycling-harmful.html
An Early Morning Ride (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/an-early-morning-ridemdashpoem-1883.html
The Evolution of a Sport (1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-evolution-of-a-sport.html
Foreign [Bicycling News] (1884) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/foreign-bicycling-news.html
My Wheel (Poem —1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/my-wheel-poem-1883.html
'Neath the Magnolias (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/neath-the-magnolias-poemmdash1883.html
On Wings of Love (Poem—1884) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/on-wings-of-love.html
Rosalind A Wheel (Fiction—1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/rosalind-a-wheel.html
Snakes in his Wheel (1895) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/snakes-in-his-wheel.html
Wheelman's Song (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/wheelmans-song.html
The Wheelman's Joy (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-wheelmans-joy-poem-mdash1883.html
The Work of Wheelmen for Better Roads (1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-work-of-wheelmen-for-better-roads.html
Woman's Cycle (1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/womans-cycle.html
May 28, 2018: Memorial Day
"Memorial Day", 1890: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/memorial-day-poem-1890.html
"The Blue and the Grey", 1887: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-blue-and-the-grey-poemmdash1887.html
"In Decoration", 1890: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/in-decoration-poem-1890.html
PROVISIONS IN SEASON IN MAY
From Isabella Beeton's The Book of Household Management, 1893 edition
Vegetables. - Asparagus, beans, early cabbages, foreign carrots, cauliflowers, cresses, cucumbers, lettuces, peas, early potatoes, salads, sea-kale - various herbs.
Fruit. - Apples, green apricots, cherries, currants for tarts, gooseberries, melons, pears, rhubarb, strawberries.
More on Victorian foods and when things are in season: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/victorian-food.html
Image: "Little Greedy", scanned from an 1877 Peterson's Magazine in our collection. For more images scanned from our collection, see these pages:
Images of animals: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/animals.html
Images of children: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/children.html
Images of food: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/food.html
***
In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing. In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into. Join their adventures in
The Tales of Chetzemoka
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***
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