Michigan Minute

On this day in 1855, the Soo Canal linking Lake Huron and Lake Superior was opened. And in 1884, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented wheat flakes, revolutionizing breakfast.

On this day in 1848, Abraham Lincoln coined the term "Michigander" to describe Lewis Cass, sparking a lasting debate over the correct term for Michigan residents.

On this day in 2019, the Michigan Society of the Sons of the American Revolution honored Private James Robinson, a Black soldier in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, with a bronze marker for his valor.

On this day in 1861, Franklin Thompson joined the 2nd Michigan Infantry, bravely serving as a spy, field medic, mail carrier, and soldier. Thompson successfully infiltrated Confederate lines 11 times, but the biggest act of disguise was joining the infantry in the first place. Mr. Franklin Thompson was actually Ms. Sarah Emma Edmonds, born in Canada. Disguising herself to enlist, Edmonds was later recognized as a combat soldier of the Civil War by Congress and granted a pension. Her autobiography, Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, was dedicated to the “sick and wounded soldiers of the Army of the Potomac,” with all profits donated to soldier aid societies.

On this day in 1939, the Detroit City Council voted to ban pinball machines from being played outside on the streets, concerned they were being used for gambling. While Los Angeles banned them completely, Detroit opted for a more moderate approach. And today is Gwen Frostic Day in Michigan, as proclaimed by Governor William Milliken in 1978. Born in the Michigan Thumb, Frostic’s art studio near Sleeping Bear Dunes became a nature lover's attraction. She wrote her own epitaph: “Here lies one doubly blessed. She was happy and she knew it.”

On this day in 1892, Ransom E. Olds sold the first American car for export. His steam-powered car, featured in Scientific American, was bought by a company in London, making it the first American car sold overseas. And in 1937, “My Michigan” was adopted as the official state song, chosen for expressing the hopes and pride of Michigan's people. However, it’s rarely sung due to copyright issues, with royalties required until the copyright expires in 2031.

On this day in 1903, Buick, now a division of GM, was incorporated in Detroit. David Dunbar Buick and Walter L. Marr built the first automobile to be called a Buick just before the turn of the century, but the company wasn’t incorporated until three years later. And in 1930, the world’s first recorded identical quadruplets were born at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. Named Edna A., Wilma B., Sarah C., and Helen D., after Edward W. Sparrow Hospital, the sisters became local celebrities. Their father, Carl Morlok, was hired as Lansing city constable and won reelection by a landslide in 1931.

On this day in 1866, Frederick Douglass visited Ypsilanti, Michigan, a hub of the Underground Railroad with a sizable Black community. He spoke about Lincoln’s assassination and shared anecdotes from his meetings with the President during the Civil War. And today in 1881, Julius Ropes discovered gold near Ishpeming, Michigan. Two years later, he opened the only profitable gold mine east of the Mississippi River, which operated until 1991.