“President William Henry Harrison” and “Daylight Saving Time” - This Day in History – Feb 9th

Future President Harrison is born

Back in 1773, the future ninth President of the U.S, William Henry Harrison was born on this day in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia.  He was the son of a three-term governor of Virginia.  

Mr. Harrison holds two Presidential records: he served the shortest term in Presidential history (32 days) and the longest inaugural address in history (one hour and 45 minutes). 

The long inaugural address and the bitter temperatures gave Harrison a cold and later a fatal case of pneumonia.  According to history.com, “Some historical records indicate that doctor-prescribed remedies for the pneumonia also gave Harrison a deadly case of hepatitis. He died on April 4, 1841, leaving behind his widow Anna and three surviving children. His grandson, Benjamin, followed in Harrison's political footsteps, serving a full term as president from 1889 to 1893.” 

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Alice Walker is born

Back in 1944, Alice Walker, the future literary great, and prize-winning novelist of, “The Color Purple,” was born on this day.  Ms. Walker who was born in Eatonton, GA was the youngest of eight children born to a family of sharecroppers.  When Ms. Walker was 8 years old, she was blinded in her left eye due to a shooting accident.  

History.com stated that, “She attended Spelman College in Atlanta on a scholarship for the disabled and traveled to the Soviet Union and Africa as part of study programs. She transferred to Sarah Lawrence College inNew York and graduated in 1965. She moved to Mississippi, became a civil rights activist, and wrote poetry. Her first collection was published in 1968. She married a fellow activist, Mel Leventhal, but the marriage dissolved. In 1970, she published her first novel, The Third Life of Grange Copeland, about emotional dynamics through three generations of an African-American family. Her second novel, Meridian(1976), follows a young woman in the civil rights movement. 

Ms. Walker wrote, “The Color Purple,” in the mid 1982s – an Oscar nominated film version was produced in 1985.  Additionally, a successful Tony Award - winning Broadway play was created as well. 

YahooMovies depict this story as, “Epic drama of an African-American woman's struggle to overcome poverty, adversity, and a marriage to brutal husband and eventually find her dignity in a period that spans over forty years from the turn-of-the-century.” 

Ms. Walker is also the author of, “The Temple of My Familiar (1989) and Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992).”

“War Time” devised with “Daylight Saving Time”

Back in 1942, President Roosevelt proposed a daylight saving time, which would push ahead standard time in the U.S. called, “War Time.”  This proclamation was determined due to a European model during WWI as a way to conserve fuel and other 

History.com stated that, “The 1918 Standard Time Act was meant to be in effect for only seven months of the year--and was discontinued nationally after the war. But individual states continued to turn clocks ahead one hour in spring and back one hour in fall. The World War II legislation imposed daylight saving time for the entire nation for the entire year. It was repealed Sept. 30, 1945, when individual states once again imposed their own "standard" time. It was not until 1966 that Congress passed legislation setting a standard time that permanently superceded local habits.”

All History facts provided from the link below:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/joanne-woodward-earns-first-star-on-the-hollywood-walk-of-fame?catId=12