The First Commercial Steam-Powered Railroad

The Salamanca

The Middleton Railway boasts an interesting history. The one mile long railway has been running longer than the United States has existed. Founded in 1758, it has been run by volunteers since 1960 as a heritage site. Located in West Yorkshire, England, the railway was originally made to transport coal to Leeds and was called a Wagon-Way. It was called such because it originally carried wagons pulled by horses on the wooden tracks. The Railway's claim to fame came in 1812, when it changed out the wagon system for a new steam-engine locomotive. The manager of the railway, John Blenkinsop, felt that they would need new rails for the engine to overcome the steep hills. So Blenkinsop designed and patented a railway which had one rail that was toothed like a gear. He then asked Matthew Murray, a successful innovator, to design a locomotive with a pinion, a toothed wheel, to mesh with the track. Murray built the Salamanca, the first steam locomotive to use two cylinders. Murray and Blenkinsop's inventions made this the first successful cog railway in the world! The Salamanca became the first successfully operated commercial steam locomotive in the world in 1812, and with it brought many other first-time world records to Middleton. Unfortunately some of these were terrible and unwanted records, such as the first person to be killed by locomotive in 1813. Another series of misfortune came again in 1818 and 1834 when boiler explosions occurred, killing the first ever regular locomotive driver, James Hewitt. Steam was abandoned after this in favor of horse-drawn wagons, until 1866 when new engines were introduced. The railway continued operating for many years, connecting to other rails and switching hands, until volunteers took over the small section in order to make a living history railway. The fascinating history of the Middleton Railway gives us a brief glimpse into the makings of the incredible machines that have and continue to transport and connect the world.

The Original Restaurant

A Thermopolium in Pompeii

Way back in Ancient Greece and Rome, many people in the urban cities of the time enjoyed eating out. Many lived in housing similar to modern apartment buildings called insulae in Latin. These insulae were everywhere in Rome, similar to modern cities, the buildings were close to each other and housed many people. Just like today quite a few of these apartments didn't have full kitchens to cook and prepare foods. Now, the bottom floor of these apartments were often reserved for tabernae, or shops and markets. The Romans as well as the Greek were very social people and enjoyed going around the city, shopping, visiting friends, and going to the theatre. One of the ways they would socialize was, just like today, eating! The combination of crowded cities, a demand for prepared food, and the desire to hangout with friends gave birth to some of the first restaurants in the world: the thermopolia! These were small L-shaped bars in which they laid large jars of hot and cold food and drinks. Anyone could walk up, order, and pay for a prepared meal to enjoy. These were often located on the corners of large buildings, such as the insulae, to allow the general populous easy access. The popularity of these ancient, possibly original, restaurants can be seen in the ruins of Pompeii, where there are over 150 individual thermopolium!

The Pancho Villa Expedition

Francisco "Pancho" Villa

While the threat of war was looming in Europe, Mexico was already in a state of Turmoil. What started out as a revolt against the dictator Porfirio Diaz in 1910 descended into a civil war with multiple players. Francisco "Pancho" Villa was one of these main combatants. After expelling Diaz's successor, the general-turned-dictator Huerta in 1914, Villa felt that Venustiano Carranza, his one time ally, was turning himself into the next dictator of Mexico. So, Villa turned against Carranza, but his forces were defeated shortly thereafter at the Battle of Celaya in 1915. Now the United States, under Woodrow Wilson, which had been backing the revolutionary forces, including Villa, decided to support the new President Carranza, and so ceased all support previously given to Villa. Villa was extremely upset by this, and saw it as a terrible betrayal. There are a few different reasons for what Villa did next, one is for revenge on the U.S., another is for revenge on an arms dealer who sold him dud weapons and ammunition for the Battle of Celaya, but the other is his need for more weapons to continue his war on Carranza. Anyway, Villa took 100 of his men and ordered a raid on Columbus, New Mexico in March 1916. 80 of Pancho's men and 18 Americans were killed and part of the town was burned down. The U.S. reacted quickly to this raid and organized a force of 5,000 men placed under the command of General John J. Pershing to defeat Pancho Villa. The Mexican government did not like the idea of having U.S. troops stomping around their country side, and so did not allow them the use of their railways. This caused the U.S. to make use of trucks, the first time the army ever had. General Pershing brought with him a Curtiss JN-3 airplane which he sent out on reconnaissance missions. The expedition also gave junior officers such as 1st Lieutenant George S. Patton Jr. practice in the field.  While the expedition had failed to get Villa by the time it ended in February 1917, many of Villa's senior commanders were either captured or killed, along with 190 of his men. After the expedition Pancho returned to guerrilla warfare, since he no longer had a major fighting force. After the assassination of Carranza in 1920, he asked the new president for amnesty and was allowed to retire from his fighting later that year. However, unfortunately for Villa, he himself was assassinated while driving home in 1923. The two major theories for the assassination are for political purposes, or revenge against Villa for his vendetta against the Herrera family. Either way, this era of U.S.-Mexican relations is a very interesting and not highly discussed time in both of our histories.

The Original Brutus and the Founding of the Roman Republic

A Bust of Brutus

The Roman historian Livy tells us that before the republic, Rome was a kingdom, ruled by a tyrant monarch named Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, also known as Tarquin the Proud, around 500 B.C. He is said to have lied, connived, and assassinated his way onto the throne, and when there would often execute his opponents without true legal proceedings. Now Lucius Junius Brutus, or as I like to call him the "original" Brutus, was the nephew of this King, as his mother was the king's sister. He already disliked the king, as one of the important men executed was Brutus' own brother. In order to escape his own death, Brutus apparently pretended to be very stupid and slow, and so allayed any suspicion on himself. Now, there are a few different stories of how this went down, but anyway King Tarquin's son Sextus Tarquinius raped Lucretia, the wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus a relative and friend of Brutus. The next day, she gathered her husband, father, and Brutus and told them what happened and asked them for a vow of vengeance. She then stabbed herself with a concealed knife. Brutus took the dagger and swore an oath to exile the Tarquin family from Rome, he also made everyone present swear the same. Brutus brought the body to the forum and began recruiting for a revolutionary army. He also called many of the leading political members of Rome and began an authoritative legislative assembly. He leveled crimes against the Tarquins such as murder, rape, tyranny, forced labor for citizens. A debate began upon the form of government that would be instituted, and it was decided that a Republic would be formed with two elected officials taking the place of the king. A general election was held among the citizens of Rome, and the Republic was confirmed; the King and family left Rome altogether. Lucius Junius Brutus served as the first of the two Consuls of Rome, and so the Republic was born.