Ridgefield Allies

Today in “Hidden” History is a daily listing of important but little-known events illustrating the range of innovators, contributors, or incidents excluded from formal history lessons or common knowledge. Hidden history is intended not as an exhaustive review, but merely as an illustration of how popular narratives "hide" many matters of fundamental importance. Bookmark this page and check daily to quickly expand your knowledge. Suggest entries for Today in “Hidden” History by clicking the Contact Us link. Entries for May 09:

Date	Type	Event
1867		Two years after the end of the Civil War, Sojourner Truth delivers a keynote speech at the first anniversary celebration of the American Equal Rights Association in New York City, calling for universal equal rights, in particular the extending of full rights to women. Truth was born into slavery as Isabella Baumfree in 1797, escaped bondage in 1826 with her infant daughter, then went to court to recover her son in 1828, becoming the first Black woman to win a case against a white man. Truth's speech to the American Equal Rights Association, recorded in the published proceedings, acknowledges the success of the anti-slavery cause, but laments that it was achieved through war. She urges that women be given their rights quickly and peacefully. Learn more.
1899		African American inventor John Albert Burr patents an improved rotary blade lawn mower (U.S. patent 624,749). Burr's rotary lawn mower design helped reduce the irritating clogs of clippings that are the bane of manual mowers. It was also more maneuverable and could be used for closer clipping around objects such as posts, walls, and buildings. Burr held over 30 U.S. patents for lawn care and agricultural inventions and received royalties for use of his inventions. Learn more.
1961		On the sixth day of the first Freedom Ride, three Freedom Riders--including 21-year-old Black civil rights activist John Lewis--were severely beaten by a mob at the Rock Hill, South Carolina, Greyhound bus terminal. On May 4, thirteen Freedom Riders—seven Black and six white—had left Washington, D.C., on a Greyhound bus headed to New Orleans. They sat interracially on the bus, planning to test a Supreme Court ruling that made segregation in interstate transportation illegal. The three Freedom Riders were brutally attacked before a white police officer, who had been present the entire time, finally intervened. The Freedom Riders responded with nonviolence and decided not to press charges, continuing their protest ride further south where they experienced continued violence from white mobs in Alabama. Learn more.