February 5, 2021 • 9 mins
The New Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg opened to the public on this day in 1852. / On this day in 1958, the U.S. Air Force lost a nuclear bomb in the waters near Tybee Island, off the coast of Georgia.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, history enthusiasts, you get not one, but two events
in history today on with the show. Hi, I'm Eves
and welcome to this day in History class a show
that uncovers history one day at a time. The day
(00:25):
was February five, eighteen fifty two. In St. Petersburg, the
new Hermitage Museum open to the public. It was the
first art museum in Russia and probably the first art
gallery in Eastern Europe built specifically to house museum collections.
(00:45):
Emperor Nicholas the First commissioned German neo classicist architect Leo
von Klins to design the public museum in Architects Nikolai
Yefimov and Vassili Stasov over saw its construction. The building
was grand, with this colonnaded entrance and Baroque ornamentation, and
(01:09):
it was home to a lot of impressive art like
Egyptian antiquities and Renaissance works. Catherine the Great founded the
Hermitage in seventeen sixty four when she bought a collection
of art that was supposed to go to King Frederick
the Second of Prussia. She acquired hundreds of paintings, mostly
(01:32):
from Flemish and Dutch artists. They included works by Rembrandt,
Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyke, and a bunch of
other guys who made sought after artworks. But even though
the Hermitage was a marvel of art from all over
the world, it was also a shiny symbol of power
and class. When Catherine the Second started the collection in
(01:56):
seventeen sixty four, it was a private museum. There weren't
many people who were allowed to see the work. Catherine
even called the gallery my Hermitage because of its exclusivity.
The Empress's initial acquisition was an impressive hall of old masters,
(02:18):
but she didn't stop there. She acquired himrich Count von
Rules collection from Saxony, and she bought a collection of
paintings from Pierre Crosat in France, and in seventeen seventy
nine she bought hundreds of pieces from British Prime Minister
Sir Robert Walpole's collection. By the end of the eighteenth century,
(02:45):
Catherine was swimming and painted masterpieces, gems, cameos, sculptures, drawings, books, coins,
and other super important and expensive artifacts. Catherine had to
have somewhere to put all those splendid items, so she
commissioned the construction of the Great Hermitage, a building that
(03:05):
was finished in sev By the time Catherine the Great
died in sevent the Imperial art collection was massive. She
was a dedicated patron of the arts. That said, the
social structure in Russia under her reign was troubled, even
though the hermitage is collection was a showy display of
(03:28):
Russian enlightenment. Over the years, the collection expanded to include
Greek and Scythian relics and other antiquities. So to make
more room for the ever growing collection, Nicholas the First
called for the construction of the new Hermitage, which took
about a decade to be built. After the new Hermitage
(03:51):
opened to the public in eighteen fifty two, the museum
continued to add notable artworks to his collection, including pieces
by da Vinci and at Italian painter Raphael. But change
was coming. After the nineteen seventeen Revolution in Russia, the
Imperial Hermitage and many private art collections became property of
(04:12):
the Soviet state. A lot of that newly acquired art
was sent to the Hermitage, including more works by old masters,
Cubist pieces by Picasso, and works by Matisse and Van Gogh.
At the same time, Stalin carelessly sold a bunch of
valuable masterpieces like The Annunciation by Jan Vannik and Adoration
(04:35):
of the Magi by Botacelli. The Hermitage also suffered some
losses when the building became a target during World War Two,
But when the Second World War ended in nineteen the
Russian government tried to exact a sort of cultural revenge
for their artistic losses. The Hermitage was given dozens of
(04:56):
Impressionists and post Impressionist paintings that the Red Army had
seized from private German collections. These looted artworks were boldly
put on display at the Hermitage in in an exhibition
called Hidden Treasures Revealed. Today, the Hermitage is home to
almost three million items from prehistoric to modern art. I'm Eaves,
(05:23):
Jeff Coote, and hopefully you know a little more about
history today than you did yesterday. You can subscribe to
This Day in History class on Apple Podcasts, the I
Heart Radio app, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune
in tomorrow for another Day in History. Welcome back, everyone.
(05:48):
I'm Eves and you're listening to this Day in History
Class A show where we peel back a new layer
of history every day. The day was February five, nine.
The U. S. Air Force lost a nuclear bomb in
(06:10):
the waters near Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia.
Though fake news stories claiming that the bomb had been
found have emerged, the bomb is considered lost. That day,
a B forty seven bomber under the command of Major
Howard Richardson was flying a simulated combat mission from Homestead
Air Force Base in Florida. The plane was carrying a
(06:32):
Mark fifteen thermonuclear bomb that weighed more than seven thousand
pounds To make the simulation more realistic. The bomb contained
four hundred pounds of high explosives as well as enriched
uranium and other nuclear material. The bomb may have had
a plutonium nuclear core, or it may have had a
demi core installed. If it did have its nuclear capsule,
(06:55):
an explosion could cause serious damage and injury for miles.
Early that morning, before sunrise, and F eighty six fighter
jet out of Charleston accidentally collided with Richardson's B forty seven.
The fighter jets pilot, Lieutenant Clarence Stewart, did not see
the bomber on his radar. The left wing ripped off
(07:16):
of the F eighty six, and the B forty seven's
fuel tanks were badly damaged. Stewart ejected from the fighter
and landed in the Savannah River swamp. Though he survived
the landing, he was severely frost bitten. The F eighty
six landed in a field in Georgia. As Richardson attempted
to regain control of the B forty seven. He requested
(07:38):
an emergency landing at Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah,
but the runway was under repair. Richardson did not want
the bomb to break loose on an emergency landing, and
he wanted the crew to survive, so he decided to
let go of the bomb over the ocean before landing
at Hunter. There was no explosion when the bomb entered
the ocean just off Tybee Island, and they landed safely
(08:01):
at Hunter. For his efforts, Richardson got the Distinguished Flying Cross,
a decoration awarded to officers when they show heroism or
extraordinary achievement during flight. The Navy searched for the lost
bomb for two months but could not find it. Officials
believe it's buried under silk at west All Sound, a
bay off Tybee. In a letter the Assistant Secretary of
(08:24):
Defense wrote to a congressional committee in nineteen sixty six,
the Tybee bomb was identified as a quote complete weapon,
but the Air Force maintained that the bomb did not
have a nuclear capsule and is not considered dangerous. It
also said that starting a search for the bomb would
have unwanted effects on the environment and could be risky
(08:45):
considering the explosives in the bomb. They suggested that it's
best left undisturbed. I'm Eve jeffco and hopefully you know
a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
Keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
t d i h C Podcast, or you can go
(09:05):
to the old fashioned route and send us an email
at this Day. At i heeart Media dot com. We're
here every day, so you know where to find us.
I For more podcasts from I Heeart Radio, visit the
iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Hey, history enthusiasts, you get not one, but two events
in history today on with the show. Hi, I'm Eves
and welcome to this day in History class a show
that uncovers history one day at a time. The day
(00:25):
was February five, eighteen fifty two. In St. Petersburg, the
new Hermitage Museum open to the public. It was the
first art museum in Russia and probably the first art
gallery in Eastern Europe built specifically to house museum collections.
(00:45):
Emperor Nicholas the First commissioned German neo classicist architect Leo
von Klins to design the public museum in Architects Nikolai
Yefimov and Vassili Stasov over saw its construction. The building
was grand, with this colonnaded entrance and Baroque ornamentation, and
(01:09):
it was home to a lot of impressive art like
Egyptian antiquities and Renaissance works. Catherine the Great founded the
Hermitage in seventeen sixty four when she bought a collection
of art that was supposed to go to King Frederick
the Second of Prussia. She acquired hundreds of paintings, mostly
(01:32):
from Flemish and Dutch artists. They included works by Rembrandt,
Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyke, and a bunch of
other guys who made sought after artworks. But even though
the Hermitage was a marvel of art from all over
the world, it was also a shiny symbol of power
and class. When Catherine the Second started the collection in
(01:56):
seventeen sixty four, it was a private museum. There weren't
many people who were allowed to see the work. Catherine
even called the gallery my Hermitage because of its exclusivity.
The Empress's initial acquisition was an impressive hall of old masters,
(02:18):
but she didn't stop there. She acquired himrich Count von
Rules collection from Saxony, and she bought a collection of
paintings from Pierre Crosat in France, and in seventeen seventy
nine she bought hundreds of pieces from British Prime Minister
Sir Robert Walpole's collection. By the end of the eighteenth century,
(02:45):
Catherine was swimming and painted masterpieces, gems, cameos, sculptures, drawings, books, coins,
and other super important and expensive artifacts. Catherine had to
have somewhere to put all those splendid items, so she
commissioned the construction of the Great Hermitage, a building that
(03:05):
was finished in sev By the time Catherine the Great
died in sevent the Imperial art collection was massive. She
was a dedicated patron of the arts. That said, the
social structure in Russia under her reign was troubled, even
though the hermitage is collection was a showy display of
(03:28):
Russian enlightenment. Over the years, the collection expanded to include
Greek and Scythian relics and other antiquities. So to make
more room for the ever growing collection, Nicholas the First
called for the construction of the new Hermitage, which took
about a decade to be built. After the new Hermitage
(03:51):
opened to the public in eighteen fifty two, the museum
continued to add notable artworks to his collection, including pieces
by da Vinci and at Italian painter Raphael. But change
was coming. After the nineteen seventeen Revolution in Russia, the
Imperial Hermitage and many private art collections became property of
(04:12):
the Soviet state. A lot of that newly acquired art
was sent to the Hermitage, including more works by old masters,
Cubist pieces by Picasso, and works by Matisse and Van Gogh.
At the same time, Stalin carelessly sold a bunch of
valuable masterpieces like The Annunciation by Jan Vannik and Adoration
(04:35):
of the Magi by Botacelli. The Hermitage also suffered some
losses when the building became a target during World War Two,
But when the Second World War ended in nineteen the
Russian government tried to exact a sort of cultural revenge
for their artistic losses. The Hermitage was given dozens of
(04:56):
Impressionists and post Impressionist paintings that the Red Army had
seized from private German collections. These looted artworks were boldly
put on display at the Hermitage in in an exhibition
called Hidden Treasures Revealed. Today, the Hermitage is home to
almost three million items from prehistoric to modern art. I'm Eaves,
(05:23):
Jeff Coote, and hopefully you know a little more about
history today than you did yesterday. You can subscribe to
This Day in History class on Apple Podcasts, the I
Heart Radio app, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tune
in tomorrow for another Day in History. Welcome back, everyone.
(05:48):
I'm Eves and you're listening to this Day in History
Class A show where we peel back a new layer
of history every day. The day was February five, nine.
The U. S. Air Force lost a nuclear bomb in
(06:10):
the waters near Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia.
Though fake news stories claiming that the bomb had been
found have emerged, the bomb is considered lost. That day,
a B forty seven bomber under the command of Major
Howard Richardson was flying a simulated combat mission from Homestead
Air Force Base in Florida. The plane was carrying a
(06:32):
Mark fifteen thermonuclear bomb that weighed more than seven thousand
pounds To make the simulation more realistic. The bomb contained
four hundred pounds of high explosives as well as enriched
uranium and other nuclear material. The bomb may have had
a plutonium nuclear core, or it may have had a
demi core installed. If it did have its nuclear capsule,
(06:55):
an explosion could cause serious damage and injury for miles.
Early that morning, before sunrise, and F eighty six fighter
jet out of Charleston accidentally collided with Richardson's B forty seven.
The fighter jets pilot, Lieutenant Clarence Stewart, did not see
the bomber on his radar. The left wing ripped off
(07:16):
of the F eighty six, and the B forty seven's
fuel tanks were badly damaged. Stewart ejected from the fighter
and landed in the Savannah River swamp. Though he survived
the landing, he was severely frost bitten. The F eighty
six landed in a field in Georgia. As Richardson attempted
to regain control of the B forty seven. He requested
(07:38):
an emergency landing at Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah,
but the runway was under repair. Richardson did not want
the bomb to break loose on an emergency landing, and
he wanted the crew to survive, so he decided to
let go of the bomb over the ocean before landing
at Hunter. There was no explosion when the bomb entered
the ocean just off Tybee Island, and they landed safely
(08:01):
at Hunter. For his efforts, Richardson got the Distinguished Flying Cross,
a decoration awarded to officers when they show heroism or
extraordinary achievement during flight. The Navy searched for the lost
bomb for two months but could not find it. Officials
believe it's buried under silk at west All Sound, a
bay off Tybee. In a letter the Assistant Secretary of
(08:24):
Defense wrote to a congressional committee in nineteen sixty six,
the Tybee bomb was identified as a quote complete weapon,
but the Air Force maintained that the bomb did not
have a nuclear capsule and is not considered dangerous. It
also said that starting a search for the bomb would
have unwanted effects on the environment and could be risky
(08:45):
considering the explosives in the bomb. They suggested that it's
best left undisturbed. I'm Eve jeffco and hopefully you know
a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
Keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
t d i h C Podcast, or you can go
(09:05):
to the old fashioned route and send us an email
at this Day. At i heeart Media dot com. We're
here every day, so you know where to find us.
I For more podcasts from I Heeart Radio, visit the
iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
This Day in History Class News
Host
Gabe Luzier
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