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Highlights for December 30
1862 U.S.S. Monitor sinks
The U.S.S. Monitor sinks in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Just nine months earlier, the ship had been part of a revolution in naval warfare when the ironclad dueled to a standstill with the C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimack) off Hampton Roads, Virginia, in one of the most famous naval battles in history--the first time two ironclads faced each other in a naval engagement.
After the famous duel, the Monitor provided gun support on the James River for George B. McClellan's Peninsular Campaign. By December 1862, it was clear the Monitor was no longer needed in Virginia, so she was sent to Beaufort, North Carolina, to join a fleet being assembled for an attack on Charleston. The Monitor served well in the sheltered waters of Chesapeake Bay, but the heavy, low-slung ship was a poor craft for the open sea. The U.S.S. Rhode Island towed the ironclad around the rough waters of Cape Hatteras. Since December is a treacherous time for any ship off North Carolina, the decision to move the Monitor seems highly questionable. As the Monitor pitched and swayed in the rough seas, the caulking around the gun turret loosened and water began to leak into the hull. More leaks developed as the journey continued. High seas tossed the craft, causing the ship's flat armor bottom to slap the water. Each roll opened more seams, and by nightfall on December 30, the Monitor was in dire straits.
At 8:00 p.m., the Monitor's commander, J.P. Bankhead, signaled the Rhode Island that he wished to abandon ship. The wooden side-wheeler pulled as close as safety allowed to the stricken ironclad, and two lifeboats were lowered to retrieve the crew. Many of the sailors were rescued, but some men were terrified to venture onto the deck in such rough seas. The ironclad's pumps stopped working and the ship sank before 16 crew members could be rescued.
Although the Monitor's service was brief, it signaled a new era in naval combat. The Virginia's arrival off Hampton Road terrified the U.S. Navy, but the Monitor leveled the playing field. Both sides had ironclads, and the advantage would go to the side that could build more of them. Northern industry would win that battle for the Union.
Other highlights from the American Civil War
1916 Rasputin's Legendary Death
Grigori Rasputin, a self-fashioned Russian holy man and favorite of Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna, is murdered at Yusupovsky Palace by a group of nobles critical of his influence in the Russian court and eager to end his sway over the royal family.
Born in Siberia as a peasant, Rasputin was an important member of the Flagellants religious sect. After coming to St. Petersburg, Rasputin was introduced into the royal household of Czar Nicholas II, and soon gained immense favor with the czarina because of his ability to control through hypnosis the bleeding of the hemophiliac heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexey. Rasputin also became a notorious courtier, famous for his lechery and drunkenness.
By 1911, his political influence over the czar and his wife was great, and his unscrupulous appointees began to fill high posts in the Russian government. In 1915, Czar Nicholas traveled to the front of World War I to take command of the Russian army, and Czarina Alexandra and thus Rasputin were left in control of the government. Amid suspicions that Rasputin and the czarina were plotting to make peace with Germany, a group of nobles led by Prince Felix Yusupov plotted Rasputin's death.
On December 30, 1916, the nobles lured him to the Yusupovsky Palace, and Rasputin was murdered. The legendary details of Rasputin's death are that after being unaffected by poisoned food and wine he was shot at close range and collapsed on the floor, apparently dead. Minutes later, he regained consciousness, beat one of his assailants, and attempted to escape from the palace grounds, where he was shot again and beaten. Rasputin was reportedly still living at this point, so he was bound and tossed into a freezing river. When his body was later found it was finally without life, although the binds were broken, indicating that Rasputin may have attempted one last escape before drowning.
In the next year, the czarist government was overthrown in the Russian Revolution, and in 1918, Czar Nicholas and his entire family were shot to death at Yekaterinburg Palace to prevent them from falling into the hands of counterrevolutionary forces.
1985 Rick Nelson dies in plane crashRock musician Rick Nelson is killed in a plane crash. Nelson got his start by starring in his parents' TV series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
Nelson was born in 1940 to famous parents: His father, Ozzie Nelson, was a bandleader, and his mother, Harriet, was a singer and actress. When Ricky was four years old, his parents launched their radio series, playing themselves, with actors playing their young sons. Five years later, Ricky and his older brother, David, suggested that they, like their parents, play themselves on the series. In 1952, the series moved to TV.
Nelson attended Hollywood High School and showed little interest in music until his girlfriend raved to him about Elvis. He boasted that he was about to cut a record himself. His father let him cut a demo with his orchestra; Nelson claimed he chose to cover Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'" because it relied heavily on the two guitar chords Nelson knew how to play.
When Nelson played the song on the TV series, he became an overnight sensation. His first album, released in November 1957, topped the Billboard charts, and Nelson became one of the best-selling male singers of the 1950s, with 53 Hot 100 hits, 17 in the Top 10. Nelson later changed his name from Ricky to Rick. He also appeared in several movies, including Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin in 1959 and The Wackiest Ship in the Army in 1960.
After Ozzie and Harriet went off the air in 1966, Nelson's music career fizzled until he discovered the emerging style of country rock. On two albums, he covered country material and scored a few hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although he would never be a superstar again, he continued touring aggressively, performing more than 200 nights a year. He put together a new band in 1985 and signed a new record deal, but on December 31, en route to a concert in Texas, he died in a plane crash at age 45. The last song he performed live was a cover of "Rave On" by Buddy Holly, who also died in a plane crash.
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