1/ The history of communication can NOT be told without #Pittsburgh

1786 ~ we have the 1st US newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains 2/ November 2, 1920:

KDKA FM Radio began broadcasting making it the world's 1st commercial radio station.
Bonus points: It was precisely the moment when many US women were able to vote for the 1st time

1/ Today’s entry gushed out of the intertubes - when all I wanted was to quickly fact check some deets about Pgh’s Dunking Stool

It’s one helluva dot connecting expedition that tumbles from the 1700s to the 1940s (that’s when I had to stop, there could be more) 2/ February, 1775 this twit called Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, orders a ducking (dunking) stool to be built for the court at Ft Pitt to handle talkative/troublesome women, aka “scolds”
By November court’s moved - stool’s whereabouts unknown

1/ Evelyn Cunningham (1916-2010) was an editor and reporter for The Pittsburgh Courier. She joined the staff in 1940 & reported largely on the civil rights movement and lynchings in the South. 2/ Cunningham bravely tried to interview "Bull" Connor, racist police commissioner of Birmingham, AL. He called her a racial slur & walked away

Evelyn:"I didn't anticipate he would give me the interview, but as a reporter, I had to give it a shot."

1/Miss Martha J Graham was one of #Pittsburgh’s 1st female principals. She rose thru the ranks at local schools for over 50 yrs & was beloved by 3 generations of students.

While poring thru articles about her something curious kept popping up, more on that later. 2/ Among Martha’s students were Mellons, Magees & Rauhs
Keep in mind these were public schools & ⬆️ came from powerful families.