May 12

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
Race car driver A.J. Foyt gets first pro victory, 1957
American Revolution
Americans suffer worst defeat of revolution at Charleston, 1780
Automotive
Fourth-generation NASCAR driver Adam Petty dies in crash, 2000
Civil War
North and South see bloody day at the Bloody Angle, 1864
Cold War
American ship Mayaguez seized, 1975
Crime
Body of Lindbergh baby found, 1932
Disaster
Forest fire sweeps across China, 1987
General Interest
George VI crowned at Westminster, 1937
Berlin blockade lifted, 1949
Blackmun confirmed to Supreme Court, 1970
Hollywood
Katharine Hepburn born, 1907
Literary
Poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti is born, 1828
Music
Bob Dylan walks out on The Ed Sullivan Show, 1963
Old West
Fur trader William Sublette heads west, 1832
Presidential
Teddy Roosevelt's trip to San Francisco is captured on film, 1903
Sports
Ernie Banks hits 500th home run, 1970
Vietnam War
Lyndon B. Johnson visits South Vietnam, 1961
Heavy fighting erupts in A Shau Valley, 1971
World War I
Germany and Austria-Hungary sign pact to exploit Ukraine, 1918
World War II
Hitler backs Rashid Ali in his fight against Britain, 1941

Presidential

May 12, 1903:

Teddy Roosevelt's trip to San Francisco is captured on film

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On this day in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt's trip to San Francisco is captured on moving-picture film, making him the first president to have an official activity recorded in that medium.

A cameraman named H.J. Miles filmed the president while riding in a parade in his honor. The resulting short move was titled The President's Carriage and was later played on "nickelodeons" in arcades across America. The film showed Roosevelt riding in a carriage and escorted by the Ninth U.S. Cavalry Regiment, which was unusual for the time, according to the Library of Congress and contemporary newspapers, because it was an all-black company.

Roosevelt was the first president to take advantage of the impact motion pictures could have on the presidency. The photogenic president encouraged filmmakers to document his official duties and post-presidential personal activities until his death in 1919. He purposely played directly to the camera with huge gestures and thundering speeches. The Library of Congress holds much of the original film footage, including that of his second inaugural ceremony in 1905, a visit to Panama in 1906 and an African safari in 1909. Roosevelt appeared on camera with many notable people of his time, including European kings and queens, as well as Hopi Indians and Masai warriors in Africa. In 1912, Roosevelt's unsuccessful campaign for president on the Progressive ticket was also captured on film. Later that year, Roosevelt again made two presidential "firsts." On October 11, 1910, he became the first (former) president to not only fly in an airplane but also to be filmed while flying in an airplane.

Even Roosevelt's funeral in Oyster Bay, New York, in 1919 was memorialized on camera. The filmmaker documented the procession and memorial service, and included shots of Roosevelt's successor, William Howard Taft.

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This Week in History, May 12 - May 18

May 12, 1903
Teddy Roosevelt's trip to San Francisco is captured on film
May 13, 1958
Nixon attacked by angry Venezuelans
May 14, 1999
Clinton apologizes to Chinese leader for embassy bombing
May 15, 1800
President John Adams orders federal government to Washington, D.C.
May 15, 1942
Ronald Reagan applies for transfer to Army Air Force
May 16, 1868
Senate acquits Johnson of high crimes and misdemeanors
May 17, 1827
Andrew Johnson marries Eliza McCardle
May 18, 1861
Newspaper report criticizes Mrs. Lincoln

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