The REALs of a Dream: Stanford White

Stanford White, famous American architect, was the most imaginative partner in the influential architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White.

White was the son of the essayist, critic, and Shakespearean scholar Richard Grant White. He was carefully trained as an architect by Henry Hobson Richardson. In June 1880 he helped found a new architectural firm that soon became the most popular and prolific one in the country. The firm focused on designing large country and seaside mansions in what was called the Shingle style.

White excelled at designing gracefully proportioned structures set off by exquisite Italian Renaissance ornamentation. White was a versatile artist who designed jewelry, furniture, and a wide range of interior decorations. An enthusiastic and extroverted man, he was noted for his lavish entertainments. He was shot to death at Madison Square Garden by Harry Thaw, the jealous husband of the showgirl Evelyn Nesbit, with whom White had had a love affair.

The REALs of a Dream: Admiral Robert Peary & Matthew Henson

 Peary entered the U.S. Navy in 1881 to pursue a naval career, however, was granted leaves of absence for Arctic exploration. In 1886, with his African American associate, Matthew Henson, he traveled inland from Disko Bay over the Greenland ice sheet for 100 miles, reaching a point 7,500 feet above sea level. During his expedition of 1893–94, he again sledged to northeastern Greenland—this time in his first attempt to reach the North Pole.

By 1909, it was almost universally accepted that Peary and his team became the first explorers to reach the North Pole. However, the 1980s examination of his 1908–09 expedition diary and other newly released documents cast doubt on whether he had actually reached the pole. Through a combination of navigational mistakes and record-keeping errors, Peary may actually have advanced only to a point 30–60 miles short of the pole. The truth remains uncertain.

Matthew Alexander Henson (1866—1955), orphaned as a youth, went to sea at the age of 12 as a cabin boy on the sailing ship Katie Hines. Later, while working in a store in Washington, D.C., he met Peary, who hired him as a valet for his next expedition to Nicaragua (1888). Impressed with his ability and resourcefulness, Peary employed him as an attendant on his seven subsequent expeditions to the Arctic. Henson’s account of the journey, A Negro Explorer at the North Pole, appeared in 1912. The following year, by order of President William Howard Taft, Henson was appointed a clerk in the U.S. Customs House in New York City, a post he held until his retirement in 1936.

The REALs of a Dream: Henry Ford

Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863 and grew up on a prosperous family farm in Michigan. Henry enjoyed a childhood typical of the rural nineteenth century, spending days in a one-room school and doing farm chores. At an early age, he showed an interest in mechanical things and a dislike for farm work.

In 1879, 16 year old Ford left home for the nearby city of Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist.  After several years, Henry divided his time between operating or repairing steam engines and over-hauling his father's farm implements. Upon his marriage in 1888, Henry supported himself by running a sawmill.

Ford became a prominent American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line for  mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. He became one of the richest and best-known people in the world and is credited with "Fordism:":mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace.

The REALs of a Dream: The sinking of the Lusitania

The Lusitania sailed on May 1st 1915 from New York bound for Liverpool. The German Embassy publicized that any ship that sailed into the "European War Zone" was a potential target for German submarines. Some newspapers printed the warning directly next to the Cunard Liner’s list of departure dates. Regardless, the Lusitania was packed with passengers because many thought that a luxury liner was simply not a legitimate target as it had no military value. Off the Irish coast, at 1:40pm on May 7th, the Lusitania was spotted by the Germans. The first torpedo was fired at 2:09pm. The Lusitania took eighteen minutes to sink. 1,153 passengers and crew drowned; 128 of them were Americans. Anger spread throughout America and Great Britain.

The sinking of the Lusitania had a major impact on America and World War I, but it was the not reason America joined the war; that didn’t happen for another two years.

The REALs of a Dream: Evelyn Nesbit & "The Turn of the Century"

Sixteen year old model, actress and Gibson Girl Evelyn Nesbit was newly married to wild Pittsburgh millionaire Harry K. Thaw while having an affair with prominent New York architect, Stanford White. On June 25, 1906, Evelyn’s husband was, enraged and shot White at Madison Square Garden.

The 1906 murder quickly became known as "The Crime of the Century" and Evelyn Nesbit became known as "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing." The shocking story and the lurid details that emerged from Thaw's trial became a modern morality tale which informed the consciousnesses of early 20th Century America.

Stanford White’s respectable reputation was destroyed and Evelyn Nesbit became famous for, among other things, "posing on a bear skin rug."

The REALs of a Dream: Mary Harris "Mother" Jones & The Children's Crusades

Born in Cork, Ireland, Mary Harris “Mother” Jones was a prominent American labor and community organizer, who helped coordinate major strikes and co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World. After her husband and four children died of yellow fever, she began working as an organizer for the Knights of Labor and the United Mine Workers union. In 1902, she was called "the most dangerous woman in America" for her success in organizing mine workers. In 1903, she grew upset about the lax enforcement of the child labor laws in the Pennsylvania mines and silk mills.

Noticing that many children at the union headquarters had missing fingers and other disabilities, Mother Jones tried to get newspaper publicity. However, most of the mill owners also held stocks in the newspapers. When informed of this, she stated, “Well, I’ve got stock in these little children and I’ll arrange a little publicity.”

Mother Jones tried to see President Roosevelt but was denied. She organized a Children’s March from Philadelphia to the home of the President.  Banners exclaimed, “We want to go to School and not the mines!” Although the President never met with her, the incident brought the issue of child labor to the forefront of the public agenda.

The REALs of a Dream: Harry Houdini

Throughout his life, Harry Houdini claimed that he was born April 6, 1874 in Appleton, Wisconsin.  He was actually born on March 12, 1874 in Budpest, Hungary, with the name of Ehrich Weisz. He was one of six children and the son of a rabbi. In 1876, his family immigrated to the United States with the dream of a better life. During his early years, Ehrich sold newspapers and shined shoes to help support his family. On October 28, 1883, 9 year old Ehrich made his first appearance on stage, performing a trapeze act. He billed himself, "Ehrich, the Prince of the Air."

At 12 years old, he pursued magic and adopted the stage name Harry Houdini. At 17, he left his family and by 20, Harry was  performing small acts throughout New York. Through the years, Houdini gained fame after repeatedly escaping from police handcuffs and jails. When he toured Europe, he expanded his repertoire by escaping from straitjackets and coffins.

In the 1920s, Harry became interested in the occult, specifically in debunking mediums and psychics. His training in magic helped him expose frauds that scientists and academics could not. In 1926, at the age of 52, Houdini died as a result of a ruptured appendix, after suffering a blow to the abdomen by university student, J. Gordon Whitehead.