This Day in History October 27, 1728

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Captain-James-Cook.jpg

It just so happens that this day in history is a monumental one for Hawaii (as well as other areas of the world).  On this date in 1728, Captain James Cook was born.  He was a British explorer who sailed around the world twice and led three exploratory expedition for Great Britain.  Part of that exploration led to Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and almost Antartica.  (You'll have to read about why he didn't discover that continent).  He also searched for the Northwest Passage, but of course, this mythical waterway did not exist.  It is sad to note how he met his untimely death.  On his third and final trip, he was stabbed to death by a Hawaiian native due to a dispute over a stolen boat.

If you would like to read more about him, check out these sites:
http://geography.about.com/cs/captaincook/a/jamescook.htm
http://www.discoverhawaiitours.com/info/captain-james-cook.html
http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95oct/jcook.html
http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/captain-cook.html

This Day in History August 7, 1898

I had no idea that today's feature happened, and it really doesn't sound like it was a very nice thing that the U.S. did to Hawaii.  It was on this date that President McKinley signed the joint resolution called the " Newlands Resolution" (named after the Congressman who wrote this resolution (who was a noted racist!).  This resolution annexed Hawaii to the U.S., and that ended Hawaii's freedom and monarchy.  The picture above depicts what Hawaiians did when this happened--they mourned their freedom.

But a few days later on July 12, the flag of the Hawaii was lowered so that the U.S. flag could be raised.  I am not too familiar with everything surrounding this issue, but it somehow does not seem very nice.  It seems like we tended to think that we had the right to do such things to other peoples.  We did things like this to the Native Americans, African Americans, and so many more.  It seems to me that we forgot why we came to this country originally.  We came here for freedom from tyranny.  So why did we go around and subject other peoples to the kind of tyranny we tried to escape?

I will admit that I don't know everything about our history, but when I read about some of the things that the U.S. did (especially white Americans), I feel very ashamed of my heritage.  I would love to say that racism and prejudice are over, but I know that unfortunately, these things still exist in our country.  The best thing we can do is teach our young people about what really happened so that things like this never happen again.

For more information, please check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii#Annexation.E2.80.94the_Territory_of_Hawaii_.281898.E2.80.931959.29
http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/Newlands_Resolution
http://hookele.com/non-hawaiians/newlands.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territory_of_Hawaii
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_G._Newlands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_of_Hawaii

This Day in History November 29, 1975

Crack in Hilina Pali road, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Peter Lipman, U.S. Geological Survey

This is really a scary picture for me.  On this date in 1975, the largest local earthquake to hit Hawaii since 1868--aptly called Kalapana Earthquake of 1975(since this was the area in which the quake was located--Hawaii's southeastern coast). At 3:35 A.M. a 5.57 magnitude quake hit.  Aftershocks continued for several months afterwards.  A second, more powerful shock occurred about and hour later and measure 7.2.

Shortly after the earthquake, a tsunami reached 14.6 meters in height. Two campers died as a result.  Amazingly, these were the only two fatalities, and 28 other people were injured.  Because population density was so low in the area where it hit, damage was relatively minimal--about $4 million worth of damages (at least $13 million by today's standards, probably more).

The major disruption from the earthquakes/tsunami came due to displacement of the earth's crust, as evidenced by the opening picture.  I won't go into all the details--check out the links below.  It is actually that picture that looks scary to me.  Whenever I look at a significant crack in the earth's surface, I always think of the dissenters in Moses' time who were swallowed by the earth. It must be quite frightening to see the earth open up like that!  I am surprised at the low casualty rate.  I am also quite grateful for that because it seems like whenever a natural disaster occurs, there is a large number of deaths and property damage.  But it must have been scary all the same!

For more information, check out the following links:
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/earthquakes/content/cat_490/bt00eh03.htm#Kalapana, Island of Hawaii, 1975
http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami1975Hawaii.html
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/earthquakes/destruct/1975Nov29/
http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/web_tsus/19751129/19751129.htm