Today in History: Planning and Building!

An image of Henry Ford with a Ford Model T
that he had designed after resigning from
Edison's Illumination Company in 1898.

When thinking of the greatest industrialist and inventors in history, Henry Ford should be on that list. When thinking of people who have revolutionized the "modernization" of society, Henry Ford should be on that list. When thinking of events that happened on this day in history, Henry Ford should also be on your mind. Today was not the day that Ford created the Ford Model T, or the day that he received any awards or recognition, but the day that he quits from his position of chief engineer at famed inventor Thomas Edison's company, the Edison Illuminating Company in 1899. At age 16, Ford had left his family farm in Dearborn, Michigan to travel about nine miles to Detroit, Michigan to work in various machine shops. In 1891, Ford began working at Thomas Edison's Illuminating Company, where he became chief engineer in 1893. Ford's main job was to keep the city's electricity flowing, forcing him to be on call 24 hours a day. Ford decided to quit this job to focus more on automobile production, where he became a legendary figure in the industry.

Opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.
The ship pictured it the U.S. vessel, the SS Ancon.

Today was an interesting day in the Panama Canal. Canals are channels of water that are mainly used as waterways to connect bodies of water or aqueducts for water supply. This day was the opening of the famous Canal that helped join the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. To inaugurate the American-built canal, the U.S. vessel Ancon, a cargo and passenger ship, passages through the waterway. With the rush of settlers who wished to venture west in the 19th century (1800s), the United States was prompted to build an artificial waterway across Central America. The right to build this artificial waterway was awarded to Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps. The canal construction began in 1881, but with arising problems such as diseased workers, inadequate planning, and financial issues, Lesseps' company was driven to bankruptcy in 1889. After three years, in 1892, a French chief engineer of canal works, Philippe-Jean Banau-Varilla, acquired Lesseps' defunct company. The United States decided to buy Banu-Varilla's company in 1902 after Congress authorizes the purchase of the company. By 1903, the United States had acquired the company from Columbia, which had administrated a Hay-Banau Varilla Treaty with the French company, exchanging U.S. teritorial usage and cash compensation. Former construction began in 1906, and finally opened to traffic on August 15th, 1914 after a near $400 million budget on the Central American canal.

The Berlin Wall began construction of a solid
concrete on this day in 1961.

On this day in 1945, Emperor Hirohito of Japan broadcasts his news of the Japanese surrender to his people. The day before, a Japanese radio station had already broadcasted about this proclamation to the Japanese public, but the Emperor's words spoke of surrender to his people.

German soldiers lining
cement slabs to
construct the Berlin Wall

The past two days have been about the Berlin Wall, though the past two days were only about the barbed wire that did not allow for people to travel through. Today in 1961 marks the day that the official wall begins its building to close off any access from East Germany to West Germany, or vice versa. More information about the Berlin Wall, check out my post from August 13th, 2013.