March 21, 2021 • 10 mins
On this day in 1963, the maximum-security prison Alcatraz closed. / On this day in 1983, students in Arrabah in West Bank began getting symptoms of an unidentified illness.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, y'all, We're rerunning two episodes today in Troy, the
show Hi there, Welcome to this day in History class,
where we sift through the artifacts of history seven days
a week. The day was March one, nineteen sixty three.
(00:23):
After nearly thirty years of operation, the infamous Alcatraz Prison
closed on its tiny rocky island in San Francisco Bay.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was notorious for its rough conditions, the
big name criminals it held, and the inability to escape it.
Before Alcatraz Island became a federal prison in nineteen thirty four,
(00:47):
it was home to a military prison. President Millard Fillmore
signed in order that the island be set aside for
military use in eighteen fifty, and soon after a fortress
was built on the island. During the Civil War, Confederate sympathizers, privateers,
and people accused of treason were imprisoned in Fort Alcatraz.
(01:09):
The prison also held Native Americans who had resisted the
government and later conscientious objectors. In nineteen o nine, inmates
built a new sale house, hospital, mess hall, and other
buildings on the island, creating a new prison complex that
was completed in nineteen twelve. Alcatraz Island, with its strong
cold currents, was the perfect place for a prison because
(01:32):
nobody could attempt to escape and succeed or make it
out alive. So in nineteen thirty three, the Army handed
Alcatraz over to the US Justice Department, which needed somewhere
to put criminals deemed especially dangerous. San Francisco citizens weren't
thrilled about having a federal prison so close to the city, though,
(01:53):
but the Justice Department ensured people that the island was secure,
and after construction to increase the security of the facility,
Alcatraz opened in July ninety four. There were usually about
two hundred and fifty prisoners in Alcatraz. Each prisoner had
a separate cell about nine by five ft and seven
(02:15):
ft high, and there was about one guard to every
three prisoners. James A. Johnston, the first warden at the
prison who was there until, was strict and ruthless. Radios
and newspapers were off limits, and most of the time
there was silence. In the early years, when prisoners could
(02:35):
only talk with each other during meals and recreational time.
They would even dump the water out of their toilets
to be able to speak to each other through the piping.
Executions were not performed at Alcatraz, but a little over
a couple dozen people did die. Some were murdered, some
committed suicide, and some died from illnesses. At any time,
(02:59):
a few hundred civilians lived on the island. Families of
the guards that lived on the island had a convenience store,
soda shop, and bowling alley, but a boat did run
to the mainland several times a day. Prisoners at Alcatraz
were mostly inmates from other institutions who were violent or
prone to escaping and needed to be transferred to a
(03:19):
maximum security prison. But when you think of Alcatraz, you
probably think of the well known criminals who did time
in the prison. Gangster al Capone was locked up in
Alcatraz from nineteen thirty four to nineteen thirty nine after
he continued to run his criminal operations while incarcerated in Atlanta.
(03:40):
Prohibition era gangster George machine Gun Kelly spent seventeen years
in Alcatraz. Crime boss James Whitey Bulger was in Alcatraz
for three years, and plenty of people also attempted to
escape from the prison, and some got farther than others.
In nineteen forty five, John Gyle worked at the loading
(04:01):
dock and he stole an army uniform and walked onto
an army launch that he thought was headed for San Francisco,
but his destination was Angel Island, and he was caught
when he got there. None of the fourteen attempts for successful,
though five people are considered missing and drowned. The rock,
as Alcatraz was known closed on Thursday March one, nineteen
(04:25):
sixty three. Alcatraz closed mainly because it was so expensive
to operate and the facilities were deteriorating to the point
where it would be unsafe for people in it. It
would take four million dollars in five years to repair,
so prisoners were sent to a new prison built in Marion, Illinois.
(04:46):
Frank Weatherman was the last prisoner to board a boat
to leave Alcatraz. A group of Native Americans occupied the
island in the late nineteen sixties in early seventies, saying
it was their rightful land, until authorities forced them off.
Alcatraz is now a tourist destination. I'm Eve Jeff Coo,
(05:08):
and hopefully you know a little more about history today
than you did yesterday, and if you want to learn
more about Alcatraz, I would highly recommend the movie starring
Nicholas Cage called The Rock. I'm just kidding that doesn't
have anything to do with alcatraz Is history. But you
can still leave us a message at t v I
h C podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If there
(05:33):
are any upcoming days in history that you'd really like
me to cover on the show, give us a shower
on social media. Thanks for showing up. We'll meet here
again tomorrow. Hey y'all, it's Eaves again and welcome to
(05:54):
another episode of This Day in History class. I am
still at home recording from my closet, so if I
sound any different than that is why. But the history
doesn't end, so less, get on with the show. The
day was March one. Night three, the first wave of
(06:17):
cases in the West Bank fainting epidemic began in the
town of Areba. The epidemic lasted until early April. In
the end, researchers determined that it was likely triggered by
psychological factors. On the morning of March one, a seventeen
year old student at a girls school in Areba noted
(06:37):
feeling throat irritation and difficulty breathing. She also felt dizziness
and abdominal pain. Over the next couple of hours, more
students in other classes and a teacher began experiencing similar symptoms.
Some of the students reported smelling rotten eggs. When public
health officials arrived at the school, they figured that toxic
(07:00):
gas was the culprit, but none was found and doctors
could not determine the cause of their symptoms. The school
was closed, but more people fell ill over the next
few days. By March, the illness had spread to the
town of Janine in northern West Bank and surrounding villages.
Though most of the cases occurred among female students, some
(07:23):
also occurred among Israeli Defense Force soldiers. Dozens of people
were admitted to the hospital, with residents reporting seeing a
car that was emitting a thick cloud of smoke. A
third wave of the epidemic occurred on April three, mostly
around the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
(07:44):
This wave spread quickly, with the most students seeing symptoms
within a couple of hours. Students and some soldiers were
affected by headaches and blurred vision. In addition to the
abdominal pains and dizziness. After these outbreaks, schools were closed
and no more people reported being affected by the epidemic.
(08:05):
All in all, there were more than nine and forty
people who fell ill during the epidemic. To figure out
its cause, researchers took air samples from the sites and
analyzed them. They also took soil and dust samples and
analyzed suspicious substances found, such as powders, but they did
not find any consistent patterns of environmental toxins. Throughout the epidemic,
(08:30):
the press reported on all the outbreaks. The media played
a role in escalating fear and suspicion surrounding the epidemic.
Some people suggested that those affected had been poisoned by
some mysterious agent. Rumors circulated among the Arab population regarding
the reasons behind the suspected poisonings. In April four New
(08:51):
York Times articles said that quote Palestinian leaders have accused
Israeli settlers and officials of using chemical warfare and Westbank
schools to drive Arabs out of the area or to
sterilize Arab girls. It also said that it Israeli officials
accused radical Palestinians of using gas or chemicals to stir
(09:13):
up demonstrations, but in the end, researchers concluded that the
cause of the epidemic was psychological, though there may have
been low levels of an environmental toxin present initially, They
said that the effects of the epidemic were heightened by
anxiety and stress. Reports on a toxic gas being the
cause also likely contributed to the epidemics spread. There was
(09:38):
no evidence that reports have symptoms during the epidemic were
made up. I'm Eaves, Jeff Coote, and hopefully you know
a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
If you want to leave us a comment, you can
do so on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter at t d
i HC podcast, and you can also email us at
(10:00):
this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks again
for listening and we'll see you tomorrow MM. For more
podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hey, y'all, We're rerunning two episodes today in Troy, the
show Hi there, Welcome to this day in History class,
where we sift through the artifacts of history seven days
a week. The day was March one, nineteen sixty three.
(00:23):
After nearly thirty years of operation, the infamous Alcatraz Prison
closed on its tiny rocky island in San Francisco Bay.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was notorious for its rough conditions, the
big name criminals it held, and the inability to escape it.
Before Alcatraz Island became a federal prison in nineteen thirty four,
(00:47):
it was home to a military prison. President Millard Fillmore
signed in order that the island be set aside for
military use in eighteen fifty, and soon after a fortress
was built on the island. During the Civil War, Confederate sympathizers, privateers,
and people accused of treason were imprisoned in Fort Alcatraz.
(01:09):
The prison also held Native Americans who had resisted the
government and later conscientious objectors. In nineteen o nine, inmates
built a new sale house, hospital, mess hall, and other
buildings on the island, creating a new prison complex that
was completed in nineteen twelve. Alcatraz Island, with its strong
cold currents, was the perfect place for a prison because
(01:32):
nobody could attempt to escape and succeed or make it
out alive. So in nineteen thirty three, the Army handed
Alcatraz over to the US Justice Department, which needed somewhere
to put criminals deemed especially dangerous. San Francisco citizens weren't
thrilled about having a federal prison so close to the city, though,
(01:53):
but the Justice Department ensured people that the island was secure,
and after construction to increase the security of the facility,
Alcatraz opened in July ninety four. There were usually about
two hundred and fifty prisoners in Alcatraz. Each prisoner had
a separate cell about nine by five ft and seven
(02:15):
ft high, and there was about one guard to every
three prisoners. James A. Johnston, the first warden at the
prison who was there until, was strict and ruthless. Radios
and newspapers were off limits, and most of the time
there was silence. In the early years, when prisoners could
(02:35):
only talk with each other during meals and recreational time.
They would even dump the water out of their toilets
to be able to speak to each other through the piping.
Executions were not performed at Alcatraz, but a little over
a couple dozen people did die. Some were murdered, some
committed suicide, and some died from illnesses. At any time,
(02:59):
a few hundred civilians lived on the island. Families of
the guards that lived on the island had a convenience store,
soda shop, and bowling alley, but a boat did run
to the mainland several times a day. Prisoners at Alcatraz
were mostly inmates from other institutions who were violent or
prone to escaping and needed to be transferred to a
(03:19):
maximum security prison. But when you think of Alcatraz, you
probably think of the well known criminals who did time
in the prison. Gangster al Capone was locked up in
Alcatraz from nineteen thirty four to nineteen thirty nine after
he continued to run his criminal operations while incarcerated in Atlanta.
(03:40):
Prohibition era gangster George machine Gun Kelly spent seventeen years
in Alcatraz. Crime boss James Whitey Bulger was in Alcatraz
for three years, and plenty of people also attempted to
escape from the prison, and some got farther than others.
In nineteen forty five, John Gyle worked at the loading
(04:01):
dock and he stole an army uniform and walked onto
an army launch that he thought was headed for San Francisco,
but his destination was Angel Island, and he was caught
when he got there. None of the fourteen attempts for successful,
though five people are considered missing and drowned. The rock,
as Alcatraz was known closed on Thursday March one, nineteen
(04:25):
sixty three. Alcatraz closed mainly because it was so expensive
to operate and the facilities were deteriorating to the point
where it would be unsafe for people in it. It
would take four million dollars in five years to repair,
so prisoners were sent to a new prison built in Marion, Illinois.
(04:46):
Frank Weatherman was the last prisoner to board a boat
to leave Alcatraz. A group of Native Americans occupied the
island in the late nineteen sixties in early seventies, saying
it was their rightful land, until authorities forced them off.
Alcatraz is now a tourist destination. I'm Eve Jeff Coo,
(05:08):
and hopefully you know a little more about history today
than you did yesterday, and if you want to learn
more about Alcatraz, I would highly recommend the movie starring
Nicholas Cage called The Rock. I'm just kidding that doesn't
have anything to do with alcatraz Is history. But you
can still leave us a message at t v I
h C podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If there
(05:33):
are any upcoming days in history that you'd really like
me to cover on the show, give us a shower
on social media. Thanks for showing up. We'll meet here
again tomorrow. Hey y'all, it's Eaves again and welcome to
(05:54):
another episode of This Day in History class. I am
still at home recording from my closet, so if I
sound any different than that is why. But the history
doesn't end, so less, get on with the show. The
day was March one. Night three, the first wave of
(06:17):
cases in the West Bank fainting epidemic began in the
town of Areba. The epidemic lasted until early April. In
the end, researchers determined that it was likely triggered by
psychological factors. On the morning of March one, a seventeen
year old student at a girls school in Areba noted
(06:37):
feeling throat irritation and difficulty breathing. She also felt dizziness
and abdominal pain. Over the next couple of hours, more
students in other classes and a teacher began experiencing similar symptoms.
Some of the students reported smelling rotten eggs. When public
health officials arrived at the school, they figured that toxic
(07:00):
gas was the culprit, but none was found and doctors
could not determine the cause of their symptoms. The school
was closed, but more people fell ill over the next
few days. By March, the illness had spread to the
town of Janine in northern West Bank and surrounding villages.
Though most of the cases occurred among female students, some
(07:23):
also occurred among Israeli Defense Force soldiers. Dozens of people
were admitted to the hospital, with residents reporting seeing a
car that was emitting a thick cloud of smoke. A
third wave of the epidemic occurred on April three, mostly
around the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
(07:44):
This wave spread quickly, with the most students seeing symptoms
within a couple of hours. Students and some soldiers were
affected by headaches and blurred vision. In addition to the
abdominal pains and dizziness. After these outbreaks, schools were closed
and no more people reported being affected by the epidemic.
(08:05):
All in all, there were more than nine and forty
people who fell ill during the epidemic. To figure out
its cause, researchers took air samples from the sites and
analyzed them. They also took soil and dust samples and
analyzed suspicious substances found, such as powders, but they did
not find any consistent patterns of environmental toxins. Throughout the epidemic,
(08:30):
the press reported on all the outbreaks. The media played
a role in escalating fear and suspicion surrounding the epidemic.
Some people suggested that those affected had been poisoned by
some mysterious agent. Rumors circulated among the Arab population regarding
the reasons behind the suspected poisonings. In April four New
(08:51):
York Times articles said that quote Palestinian leaders have accused
Israeli settlers and officials of using chemical warfare and Westbank
schools to drive Arabs out of the area or to
sterilize Arab girls. It also said that it Israeli officials
accused radical Palestinians of using gas or chemicals to stir
(09:13):
up demonstrations, but in the end, researchers concluded that the
cause of the epidemic was psychological, though there may have
been low levels of an environmental toxin present initially, They
said that the effects of the epidemic were heightened by
anxiety and stress. Reports on a toxic gas being the
cause also likely contributed to the epidemics spread. There was
(09:38):
no evidence that reports have symptoms during the epidemic were
made up. I'm Eaves, Jeff Coote, and hopefully you know
a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
If you want to leave us a comment, you can
do so on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter at t d
i HC podcast, and you can also email us at
(10:00):
this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks again
for listening and we'll see you tomorrow MM. For more
podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
This Day in History Class News
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