CHARLES LINDBERGH
CHARLES LINDBERGH October 15, 1927 On October 15, 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed The Spirit of St. Louis before a crowd of National Guardsmen, photographers, and thousands of cheering citizens in a field east of Richmond. Only four months earlier, the aviator had completed the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean that electrified the world and made him an instant celebrity. City officials escorted … Continue reading CHARLES LINDBERGH
CALVIN ROBINSON
CALVIN ROBINSON 1922-1926 In 1922, sixteen-year old Calvin Robinson left the small town of Onancock, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, to join Richmond College’s freshman class. On the college’s new campus at the city’s western edge, this son of a Baptist minister threw himself into collegiate life. Robinson wrote for the Collegian, pledged Sigma Phi Epsilon, presided over the Debating Council, and managed the Spiders baseball … Continue reading CALVIN ROBINSON
BUFFALO BILL AND ANNIE OAKLEY
BUFFALO BILL AND ANNIE OAKLEY Various dates, 1888-1913 William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody, a former member of the Union cavalry and civilian scout for the U.S. Army, and Annie Oakley, a woman from humble beginnings who hunted to support her family, became professionally intertwined in 1887. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show was wildly popular across the country and in Europe. The duo appeared repeatedly in … Continue reading BUFFALO BILL AND ANNIE OAKLEY
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
ABRAHAM LINCOLN April 4-5, 1865 On April 4, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad disembarked the USS Malvern at Rocketts Landing in the fallen capital of the Confederacy and were instantly recognized. “No electric wire could have carried the news of the President’s arrival sooner than it was circulated through Richmond…” said Admiral David D. Porter, who landed with Lincoln. Newly freed men … Continue reading ABRAHAM LINCOLN
JENNY LIND
JENNY LIND December 20, 1850 On a wet, foggy day in December 1850, a steamer navigated up the Potomac River bound for Richmond with the “Swedish Nightingale’” onboard. Later that evening the international celebrity Jenny Lind glided across stage into the spotlight. When Lind voiced the enchanting Bird Song, Richmonders welcomed her exquisitely soft voice resembling “the music of pearls in a golden basin.” The … Continue reading JENNY LIND