Born in 1838 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, legendary entertainer Charles Sherwood Stratton, a.k.a. “Tom Thumb,” began touring with internationally famous showman and fellow Connectican P. T. Barnum at the tender age of five. Stratton had first attracted Barnum’s attention because of his unusually small size; he had dwarfism, and never grew taller than 42 inches…
Tag: abraham lincoln
December 8: “The Learned Blacksmith” . . . & Pacifist
Elihu Burritt, a self-educated lecturer who was arguably the most famous pacifist of the 19th century, was born in New Britain, Connecticut today in 1810. As the 10th child of a shoemaker, young Elihu (rhymes with “Tell-a-Few”) was unable to devote much time to schooling; as a teenager, he apprenticed himself to a local…
October 15: From Connecticut Governor to Russian Ambassador
Today in 1853, Thomas H. Seymour, one of Connecticut’s most accomplished — and controversial — 19th century politicians, resigned as Governor to accept nomination by President Franklin Pierce as the United States’ minister to Russia. It was the latest in a long list of prestigious accomplishments for Seymour, whose popularity was at its peak….
August 18: Christopher Spencer Pitches His Repeating Rifle to President Lincoln
It would be easy to hold up Connecticut inventor Christopher Miner Spencer as an archetype of 19th century Yankee ingenuity: Not only was he was a man who spent his whole life tinkering with machinery, filing patents, aggressively marketing his creations, but like so many other Connecticut inventors, his innovations changed the course of…
July 26: The “Wide Awakes” Rally for Abraham Lincoln in Hartford
1860 proved to be one of the most intense election years in American history, with political tensions over slavery and secession reaching a breaking point. Connecticut’s hotly-contested race for the governor’s seat, pitting Democrat Thomas Seymour against Republican William Buckingham, was viewed as a bellwether for the national presidential election that would take place…
March 5: Abraham Lincoln Speaks in Hartford
In early 1860, sectional tensions between the northern and southern regions of the United States were approaching the breaking point over the topic of slavery and its expansion into the western American territories. Even though it was a crucial presidential election year, the two major political parties had yet to select their running candidates,…
February 10: “General Tom Thumb” Marries “The Queen of Beauty”
Born in 1838 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, legendary entertainer Charles Sherwood Stratton, a.k.a. “Tom Thumb,” began touring with the internationally famous showman and fellow Connectican P. T. Barnum at the tender age of five. Stratton had first attracted Barnum’s attention because of his unusually small size — Stratton was a dwarf who never grew taller…
October 15: From Connecticut Governor to Russian Ambassador
On this day in 1853, Thomas H. Seymour, one of Connecticut’s most accomplished — and controversial — 19th century politicians, resigned his role as Governor in order to accept his nomination by President Franklin Pierce to become the United States’ next minister to Russia. It was the latest in a long list of prestigious…
August 18: Christopher Spencer Pitches His Repeating Rifle to President Lincoln
It would be easy to hold up Connecticut inventor Christopher Miner Spencer as an archetype of 19th century Yankee ingenuity: Not only was he was a man who spent his whole life tinkering with machinery, filing patents, aggressively marketing his creations, but like so many other Connecticut inventors, his innovations changed the course of…
July 26: The “Wide Awakes” Rally for Abraham Lincoln in Hartford
1860 proved to be one of the most intense election years in American history, with political tensions over slavery and secession reaching a breaking point. Connecticut’s hotly-contested race for the governor’s seat, pitting Democrat Thomas Seymour against Republican William Buckingham, was viewed as a bellwether for the national presidential election that would take place…