Sure, man has flown, but who were the walking birds?
History is a stern mistress. She lavishes fame and glory upon
those who have successfully courted her but turns a cold visage
upon those who strove for her attention but for one reason or the
other fell short of recognition.
Sure, man has flown, but who were the walking birds?
History is a stern mistress. She lavishes fame and glory upon those who have successfully courted her but turns a cold visage upon those who strove for her attention but for one reason or the other fell short of recognition.
National Also-Ran Week, which begins today and runs through Saturday, takes into account some people whose daring and stamina should be recognized even though they exist today only as footnotes.
One such person, a Native American whose name translates into Running On Empty, became the first to report the existence of UFOs. On the night of Oct. 11, 1492, he awakened the village with the news that he had witnessed three Unidentified Floating Objects off the coast. He was laughed out of the village and his tale has survived only through 24 generations of oral history.
On a cold December night in 1620, George W. Winthrop slipped over the side of The Mayflower, determined to be the first of the Puritans to set foot on Plymouth Rock. There was no moon that night but the second mate, who reported seeing Winthrop swimming far out to sea before the wind blew out his lantern, noted his departure.
Because of the second mate’s propensity for the bottle, neither the crew nor passengers gave credence to his excited narrative. It was only at breakfast the next morning that Winthrop’s absence was confirmed.
Lazarus Howe of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is thought to have been the inventor of electrical light. Exuberant at his discovery and its implications, he took the working model into neighboring Salem in June 1692. Unfortunately, his arrival coincided with the beginning of the Witch Trials. He was hanged three days later and the invention was burned.
For years Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Schultz had been overshadowed militarily by his West Point classmate, George Armstrong Custer. He viewed the order to reinforce Custer’s command at the Little Big Horn on the morning of June 25, 1876 as an opportunity to display his mettle. However, when he and two troops of cavalry arrived at the Big Little Horn, he consulted maps to learn his true destination was 50 miles westward. Schultz and his command then rode off due east and were never heard from again.
Remington Winchester Greer came from a family of noted gunsmiths. He was determined to leave his mark in history and for more than a decade worked on his 180-degree angle pistol until he perfected it. Greer test-fired it on April 4, 1902. His funeral was held on April 8.
Everyone knows of The Wright Brothers, the first men to fly, but who has heard of the Wrong Brothers? Sam and Herb Wrong were a pair of starlings who were flying south for the winter in 1903 when Herb’s wings became exhausted. Sam landed with his brother who was too tired to fly anymore. They came up with the idea of continuing to Florida on foot, and thus became the first birds to walk.
