By Richard T. Cartwright, PE, CHMM, (IHMM, AHMP and APICS) Fellow. Richard died April 21, 2025; honoring the work he did with hazmat history is one small way to keep his memory alive.
The saying, “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it” is more than a cliché. It is a reminder that we must constantly be learning from the past. Here’s a look back at major historical events that happened today in the world of hazardous materials.
July 4, 1911
A deadly heat wave struck the northeastern United States, where 380 people died. A record temperature of 106 F was set in Nashua, New Hampshire. Heat stroke is a typical cause of heat-related deaths. Extremely hot and humid weather or vigorous activity in the sun can cause the body’s temperature-regulation mechanisms to fail. Symptoms of heat stroke include a headache, dizziness, confusion, and hot, dry, flushed skin, as well as a rapid heartbeat and hallucinations.
July 4, 1906
Vincent Schaefer, American chemist, was born. His meteorology and weather control research led to cloud seeding. After producing a snowstorm under laboratory conditions, he proved the experiment was also feasible outdoors. Flying over Mount Greylock in Massachusetts, he successfully seeded clouds with pellets of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) to produce the first snowstorm initiated by scientists.
July 4, 1883
Rube Goldberg, American cartoonist, was born. He satirized our American preoccupation with technology. His name became synonymous with any simple process made outlandishly complicated because of his series of “invention” cartoons, which use a string of outlandish tools, people, plants and steps to accomplish everyday simple tasks in the most complicated way. Goldberg applied his training as a graduate engineer and used his engineering, story-telling, and drawing skills to make sure that the “inventions” could work, even though dozens of arms, wheels, gears, handles, cups, and rods were put in motion by balls, canary cages, pails, boots, bathtubs, paddles and even live animals for simple tasks like squeezing an orange for juice or closing a window in case it should start to rain.
July 4, 1845
Henry David Thoreau, American author and naturalist, began two years of simple and sustainable living. After building a cabin on shore of Walden Pond in Massachusetts, spent the next two years, two months and two days there observing nature, reading and writing. He kept a journal from which his masterpiece, Walden, or Life in the Woods was written.
July 4, 1838
A mining pit in Silkstone, England flooded during a rainstorm, where 26 children drowned. This disaster resulted in banning female and child labor underground.
July 4, 1817
Erie Canal construction began in upstate New York. When the first significant American transportation canal was completed, it quickly transformed New York State into the “Empire State.”
Historical hazardous materials management events are posted 365 days a year at this LinkedIn discussion group.
