Tuesday, July 4, 1922. Independence Day.

It was, of course, Independence Day, and parades and celebrations took place in communities across the country, such as this one at Takoma Park, Maryland.

Sybil Bauer shattered a series of female swimming records on this day in 1922, swimming at Brighton Beach.

Bauer, who became engaged in college to future television host Ed Sullivan, went on to swim in the 1924 Olympics. The marriage did not take place, however, as she died at age 23 of cancer.

At Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Marines reenacted the pivotal day of the battle.

The last race at the Tacoma Speedway took place.

Monday, July 3, 1922. The Marines at Gettysburg.

The Marine Corps reenacted Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg to an audience including Civil War veterans and President Harding.

Friday, May 8, 1914. Ag Extension comes into being. Dan Sickles passes on.

The Smith Lever Act went into providing for a national Cooperative Extension Service to be established.

This would allow university agriculture departments to offer rural education programs, which his a good thing.

UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING EXTENSION

This is also an example of the American System of economics, which the current GOP detests.  It'd be interesting to see what they'd feel about the introduction of such a program today.

An article about the act from another site in another state:

Maryland 4-H and the Centennial of Smith-Lever

On the same day, the 63d Congress also passed a joint resolution "designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day, and for other purposes"

A small magnitude earthquake, 4.9, hit Giarre, Sicily, and resulted in the destruction of 223 homes and 120 deaths, saying something about the condition in which people lived.

Coincidentally, or perhaps not, Mount Etna erupted.

This demonstrates, of course, how tectonically active Italy is, but also how poor it was.  Since some point in the 1950s, it's been popular to depict Italy as glamorous, but in fact the country was desperately poor to a large extent prior to that time, and was "backward" by the standards of North Americans and northern Europeans.  Living conditions recalled Medieval conditions in much of the country up until a post-war economic revolution in Europe changed things, something that also helps to explain the rise of fascism in the 1920s, the strong Italian communist party in the 20th Century, criminal organizations, and large-scale emigration.

The funeral of Daniel Sickles was held in New York.

Sickles was a controversial Civil War and early Reconstruction era U.S. Army general.  A political figure, he was the only corps commander in the U.S. Army who had not been to West Point, something that didn't make him popular with Regular Army officers at the time, but then he was otherwise an aggressive figure who would have been unpopular no matter what.

Sickles controversially repositioned his command without authorization from Gen. Meade at Gettysburg, a move that proved to be a mistake. When Meade learned about this, he confronted Sickles but did not order him to withdraw, as it was too late to do so. Soon thereafter, Sickles was struck by a cannonball in the leg, which he survived of course, but which caused him to lose the leg and which ended his field career. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg, in spite of his actions in repositioning his command.

A New York state political figure before the war, he'd go on to serve in the House of Representatives, after serving a stint as Minister to Spain, for a single term in 1893-1895.

Sickles was a lawyer by trade, and the son of a patent lawyer.  His pre-war life was far from pacific.  He was admitted to the bar in 1843 and elected to the New York State Assembly in 1847.  In 1852, he married Teresa Bagioli against the wishes of both families, at which time he was 32, and she was about 15 or 16 years old.  While very young, she was reportedly sophisticated for her age, and spoke five languages.

In 1853, he was appointed Secretary of the US Legation in London.  He reportedly took Fanny White, a known prostitute, to London with him, and had already been censured by the New York State Assembly for escorting her into their chambers.  He even presented her to Queen Victoria.  Notably, his wife was home in the U.S. pregnant at the time.

Perhaps not too surprisingly, his wife in turn had an affair with the US Attorney for Washington, DC.  Sickles shot him dead on the street, but was acquitted for the killing in the first use of the temporary insanity defense in the U.S. 

His first wife died in 1867, having never really reconciled after the killing. They had one child.  He remarried to Maria "Cooke", a Spanish woman, in 1871. She also predeceased him. They had three children. As his marriage to an Italian American and a Spanish woman would suggest, he was Catholic, although obviously not the most observant one at points during his lifetime.  His funeral was held at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.  He was 94 at the time of his death.

As a minor observation, because it extended year around at the time, Catholic observers of Sickles death who may have gone to post funeral receptions would have been restricted to meatless options, assuming there was no local dispensation.

While the controversial veteran of an old war was being buried, the Cheyenne paper was worrying about the possibility of a new one.

There was, of course, reason to worry, but that was no reason not to go watch a presentation about the Frontier wars that had followed the Civil War.

Sunkist oranges were already a thing, which surprises me.

As was Pabst Blue Ribbon, which does not surprise me.

Budweiser was continuing with its European wars theme.

And there was a reason for Postum.

Paramount Pictures was formed through a partnership between Famous Players Film Company and the Lasky Feature Play Company. 

The first French shipboard aircraft launch was made by René Caudron from a ramp constructed over the fore-deck of the seaplane tender Foudre.

The Caudron brothers, Gason and René,  would go on to form an early aircraft manufacturing company, Société des Avions Caudron.  Gaston Caudron died in an aircraft accident in 1915, but René carried on in aircraft manufacturing until the fall of France in World War Two.  He died in 1959.

Last prior edition:

Thursday, May 7, 1914. A Colorado murder is reported in Wyoming.

1910s, 1914, Cheyenne Wyoming, Colorado (Denver), Crime, Denver Colorado, Laramie Wyoming, Mexican Revolution, Occupation of Veracruz, Personalities, Wyoming (Cheyenne), Wyoming (Laramie)

Tuesday, February 24, 1914. Villa, Ulster Unionist, the doomed Canadian Arctic Expedition and Joshua Chamberlin.

Pancho Villa refused to delivery the body of William S. Benton to US and British authorities but stated he's allow relatives to visit his burial site, escorted.

The Ulster Unionist Party distributed posters addressing concerns about the Ulster Volunteer Force attempting to assure that it was formed solely due to its disputes with London, which probably wasn't particularly comforting.

Captain Robert Barrett led the last survivors from the Canadian Arctic Expedition's Shipwreck Camp to Wrangel Island, leaving a note on their whereabouts in a copper drum in case the icebound camp drifted into an area where it could be found.

Robert Peary, meanwhile, speculated in the press that the Canadian expedition had set up camp near the Alaskan coastline.

Famous Maine commander Joshua Chamberlain, who won a Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg, died at age 85.

He had gone on to serve as the Governor of Maine.

While famous for his role in the Civil War, he had started off his adult life with the intent of becoming a Congregationalist minister, which was his mother's desire.  His father had hoped for a military career for him.  Marrying in 1855, he took up a career as a teacher before the Civil War.  He of course served notably in the Civil War.  After the war he served four one year terms as Governor of Maine (what a horrific though to have to run a campaign every year), resumed teaching at the university level, practiced law, and engaged in various business activities.