The French word for “roller coaster” is “montagnes russes” or “Russian mountains.” Since the origin of roller coasters, inventors have been improving the early designs that came from Russia to create astonishing amusement park thrill rides.

Research:

• “Coaster History” by Gil Chandler, from Roller Coasters. Text copyright © 1995 by Capstone Press. Reprinted by permission of Capstone Press. Photograph copyright © 1987 by Tom Maglione. Reprinted by permission of Tom Maglione. https://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/pdf/2010/177365.pdf
• National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives. “History of the Roller Coaster.” 2013. https://rollercoastermuseum.org//wp-content/uploads/2017/11/History_Timeline.pdf
• American Experience. “A Century of Screams: The History of the Roller Coaster.” https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/coney-century-screams/
• Pescovitz, David. "roller coaster". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Feb. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/roller-coaster. Accessed 8 March 2023.
• Levine, Arthur. “Ups and downs: The history of roller coasters.” USA Today. 7/28/2017. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/america/theme-parks/2017/07/28/history-roller-coasters/518356001/
• Lallensack, Rachel. “14 Fun Facts About Roller Coasters.” Smithsonian. 8/16/2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/14-fun-facts-about-roller-coasters-180972920/
• Meares, Joel. “Catherine the Great Put Rollers on the World's First Coaster.” Wired. 12/27/2011. https://www.wired.com/2011/12/pl-prototyperollercoaster/
• Liebrenz-Himes, Marilyn. “The American Amusement Park: Its Inspiration and Evolution.” Vol. 11 (2003): The Romance of Marketing History. https://ojs.library.carleton.ca/index.php/pcharm/article/view/1684
• Pursell, Carroll. “Fun Factories: Inventing American Amusement Parks.” Icon , 2013, Vol. 19, Special Issue Playing with Technology: Sports and Leisure (2013). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23788121
• Mohun, Arwen P. “Amusement Parks for the World: The Export of American Technology and Know-How, 1900-1939.” , 2013, Vol. 19, Special Issue Playing with Technology: Sports and Leisure (2013). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23788122
• Haynes, Christine. “The Battle of the Mountains.” Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques, Winter 2018, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Winter 2018). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/48581519
• Yoon, Richard. “The rise and fall and rise of the amusement park.” International Theme & Amusement Park Journal Vol. 2. No. 4. (2021).
• Mental Floss. “The Roller Coaster's Thrilling History.” 12/16/2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHUAlzwG0r4
• Canfield, Victor. “Roller Coaster History Deduced from U.S. Patents.” 1/26/2012. http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/v/a/vac3/history.html
• Princeton Graphic Arts Collection. “First Roller Coaster.” https://graphicarts.princeton.edu/2018/05/18/first-roller-coaster/
• King, John Glen. “A Letter to the Bishop of Durham, containing some Observations on the Climate of Russia, and the Northern Countries, with a View of the Flying Mountains at Zarsko Sello, near St. Petersburg.” 1780. https://books.google.com/books?id=SB2OxgEACAAJ
• Louis Post Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri · Saturday, September 29, 1883 https://www.newspapers.com/image/137793104
• “Roller Coasting.” Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois · Sunday, September 30, 1883 https://www.newspapers.com/image/349812486

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Augustin Daly is often described as a foundational figure of the U.S. theater. He wrote, adapted, and produced dozens of plays in the 19th century, and he created a theater company that produced many stars of the New York stage.

Research:

• “Augustin Daly Enjoins Dixey.” New York Times. March 22, 1896. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/03/22/105744198.html?pageNumber=3
• “Augustin Daly Recovers From Illness.” New Yor Times. June 6, 1899. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/06/06/118938057.html?pageNumber=7
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Augustin Daly". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Jul. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustin-Daly
• Powell, Wiliam S., ed. “Dictionary of North Carolina Biography.” North Carolina Press. 1979-1996.
• “Dramatic Copyright.” New York Times. Dec, 18, 1868. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1868/12/18/issue.html
• “Augustin Daly’s Victory.” New York Times. July 11, 1885. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1885/07/11/103630354.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• Daly, Augustin. “Divorce: A Play of the Period in Five Acts.” ACTED AT THE FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE FOR THE FIRST TIME, SEPTEMBER 5th, 1871. NEW YORK: PRINTED AS MANUSCRIPT ONLY, FOR THE AUTHOR. 1884. https://archive.org/stream/divorceplayofper00daly/divorceplayofper00daly_djvu.txt
• Brown, Thomas Alston. “A History of the New York Stage From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901.” (Reprint) Legare Street Press. 2022.
• “Mr. Daly’s Opening Play.” New York Times. October 5, 1888. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/10/05/106197330.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• “Mr. Daly’s New Drama.” New York Times. Oct. 25, 1888. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/10/25/106200311.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• “Funeral of Augustin Daly.” New York Times. June 19, 1899. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/06/19/100446037.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• Dithmar, Edward A. “The Career of Augustin Daly.” June 18, 1899. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/06/18/117925544.html?pageNumber=30
• “Intimate Glimpses of Augustin Daly.” New York Times. October 7, 1917. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/10/07/96274408.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• Jaworowski, Ken. “Review: ‘Leah, the Forsaken’ is an 1862 Drama With Modern Resonance.” New York Times. Feb. 21, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/theater/leah-the-forsaken-review.html
• Eytinge, Rose. “The Memories of Rose Eytinge: Being Recollections & Observations of Men, Women, and Events, during Half a Century.” New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1905.
• Daly, Joseph Francis. “Life of Augustin Daly.” Macmillan. 1927.
• “Augustin Daly.” New York Times. June 9, 1899. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/06/09/101231584.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0

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This 2017 episode covers the loss of the U.S.S. Akron -- the biggest single tragedy in aviation history at the time that it happened. But unless you're an aviation or U.S. Navy history buff, you may not know much about this airborne aircraft carrier.

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