1890 : Yosemite National Park established
On this day in 1890, an act of Congress creates Yosemite National
Park, home of such natural wonders as Half Dome and the giant sequoia
trees. Environmental trailblazer John Muir (1838-1914) and his
colleagues campaigned for the congressional action, which was signed
into law by President Benjamin Harrison and paved the way for
generations of hikers, campers and nature lovers, along with countless
"Don't Feed the Bears" signs.
Native Americans were the main residents of the Yosemite Valley,
located in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, until the 1849
gold rush brought thousands of non-Indian miners and settlers to the
region. Tourists and damage to Yosemite Valley's ecosystem followed.
In 1864, to ward off further commercial exploitation, conservationists
convinced President Abraham Lincoln to declare Yosemite Valley and the
Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias a public trust of California. This
marked the first time the U.S. government protected land for public
enjoyment and it laid the foundation for the establishment of the
national and state park systems. Yellowstone became America's first
national park in 1872.
In 1889, John Muir discovered that the vast meadows surrounding
Yosemite Valley, which lacked government protection, were being
overrun and destroyed by domestic sheep grazing. Muir and Robert
Underwood Johnson, a fellow environmentalist and influential magazine
editor, lobbied for national park status for the large wilderness area
around Yosemite Valley. On October 1 of the following year, Congress
set aside over 1,500 square miles of land (about the size of Rhode
Island) for what would become Yosemite National Park, America's third
national park. In 1906, the state-controlled Yosemite Valley and
Mariposa Grove came under federal jurisdiction with the rest of the
park.
Yosemite's natural beauty is immortalized in the black-and-white
landscape photographs of Ansel Adams (1902-1984), who at one point
lived in the park and spent years photographing it. Today, over 3
million people get back to nature annually at Yosemite and check out
such stunning landmarks as the 2,425-foot-high Yosemite Falls, one of
the world's tallest waterfalls; rock formations Half Dome and El
Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the U.S.; and the three
groves of giant sequoias, the world's biggest trees.
history.com/tdih.do
1918 : Lawrence of Arabia captures Damascus
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5388
1936 : Franco heads Spain
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7037
1946 : Nazi war criminals sentenced at Nuremberg
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5389
1965 : Suharto crushes Indonesian coup
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5390
2005 : Terrorists strike again in Bali
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5391
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On this day in 1890, an act of Congress creates Yosemite National
Park, home of such natural wonders as Half Dome and the giant sequoia
trees. Environmental trailblazer John Muir (1838-1914) and his
colleagues campaigned for the congressional action, which was signed
into law by President Benjamin Harrison and paved the way for
generations of hikers, campers and nature lovers, along with countless
"Don't Feed the Bears" signs.
Native Americans were the main residents of the Yosemite Valley,
located in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, until the 1849
gold rush brought thousands of non-Indian miners and settlers to the
region. Tourists and damage to Yosemite Valley's ecosystem followed.
In 1864, to ward off further commercial exploitation, conservationists
convinced President Abraham Lincoln to declare Yosemite Valley and the
Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias a public trust of California. This
marked the first time the U.S. government protected land for public
enjoyment and it laid the foundation for the establishment of the
national and state park systems. Yellowstone became America's first
national park in 1872.
In 1889, John Muir discovered that the vast meadows surrounding
Yosemite Valley, which lacked government protection, were being
overrun and destroyed by domestic sheep grazing. Muir and Robert
Underwood Johnson, a fellow environmentalist and influential magazine
editor, lobbied for national park status for the large wilderness area
around Yosemite Valley. On October 1 of the following year, Congress
set aside over 1,500 square miles of land (about the size of Rhode
Island) for what would become Yosemite National Park, America's third
national park. In 1906, the state-controlled Yosemite Valley and
Mariposa Grove came under federal jurisdiction with the rest of the
park.
Yosemite's natural beauty is immortalized in the black-and-white
landscape photographs of Ansel Adams (1902-1984), who at one point
lived in the park and spent years photographing it. Today, over 3
million people get back to nature annually at Yosemite and check out
such stunning landmarks as the 2,425-foot-high Yosemite Falls, one of
the world's tallest waterfalls; rock formations Half Dome and El
Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the U.S.; and the three
groves of giant sequoias, the world's biggest trees.
history.com/tdih.do
1918 : Lawrence of Arabia captures Damascus
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5388
1936 : Franco heads Spain
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7037
1946 : Nazi war criminals sentenced at Nuremberg
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5389
1965 : Suharto crushes Indonesian coup
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5390
2005 : Terrorists strike again in Bali
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5391
#########################################
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