Today in History: Striking Out, Yet Making History

General William
T. Sherman helped
the Union capture Atlanta

I had a dream, that I would eventually be back to blogging my Today in History post. That dream began today! Starting school was very busy for me, but it will not stop be from writing my post! I can't believe I missed out writing about the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s
I Have A Dream" post on August 28! However, time has moved on and that was all history, so I digress and will explain the events on this day, August 31st, in history!

Georgia was an important state in the American Civil War. It was a large slave state, but also where General Sherman's March to the Sea, a large advancement for the Union in the war's final months, took place. We can back up a few months before Sherman's March to this day in 1864, where the decisive Battle of Jonesboro begins. Union General William T. Sherman launches this attack that would eventually lead to the capture of Atlanta, Georgia for the Union, forcing Confederate soldiers to flee the area. It did not only influence the battles of the south, but also secured Abraham Lincoln's reelection in the fall of 1864.

Charles Kayser of
the Edison lab pictured
with a Kinetograph

If I asked you what a Kinetograph (or a Kinetoscope) is at the top of your head, what would you say? I honestly did not know what it was honestly, but after researching a little bit, I found out it was a type of movie camera patent by Thomas Edison on this day in 1897. With still-photography principles surfacing society in the late 1890s, Edison used these concepts to create a movie recording device. His new device used celluloid film, a new concept in the camera industry. By 1909, Edison had left the film industry, though the kinetograph had already been another invention in his impressive resume.

Sandy Koufaxin his
historic 18-strikeout
performance

Avoiding any war for the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act on this day in 1935. This was the first of a series of Neutrality Acts, as this act of 1935 was set to expire 6 months after its ratification. Eventually by March of 1941, the end of the neutrality came when the Lend-Lease Act was passed to increase America's military export to Britain, which helped the English when Adolf Hitler's German forces advanced toward England.

To the end the day off with some classical, historical baseball, we must draw our attention to Sandy Koufax's dominating performance against the San Francisco Giants on this day in 1959. With his dominating performance, Koufax lead the Brooklyn Dodgers in a 5-2 win over the San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. With 60,194 in attendance, Koufax allowed 2 earned runs on 7 hits in 9 innings while striking out 18, setting the National League record at that time for must strikeouts in a game. Among the 18 strikeouts, the Giants 3-4-5 hitters Willie McCovey, Willie Mays, and Orlando Cepeda, all future Hall of Famers, struck out 6 times. Koufax himself also struck out 2 times in his 3 at bats of the day.