Grand Old Partisan

Machu Picchu was discovered by a Republican U.S. Senator

On this day in 1911, Yale University historian Hiram Bingham discovered in Peru the ruins of Machu Picchu, one of the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world.  Machu Picchu turned out to be a 15th century residence of the Incan emperor.  Today, tourists arrive at the site via the Hiram Bingham Highway or the Hiram Bingham train.

Bingham's discovery made him world famous, and decades later he would be a model for the Indiana Jones movie character.  He was born in the Kingdom of Hawaii to the children of missionaries.  Bingham moved to the United States in order to attend prep school, followed by Yale, the University of California, and Harvard.  A captain in Connecticut National Guard at the outbreak of World War I, he rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel while commanding a flight school in France.

Hiram Bingham was an alternate delegate to the 1916 and 1920 Republican National Conventions.  In 1922, he won election as Lt. Governor of Connecticut.  Two years after that, he was elected Governor.  Just a month later, he was elected to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate.  He served as Governor for one day before resigning to take his Senate seat.  Bingham was re-elected in 1926.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, showing office-holders, candidates and activists how they would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP from the Republican point of view.  Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.

John Hyman, African-American Republican pioneer

Grand Old Partisan honors John Hyman (R-NC), born into slavery on this day in 1840.  For the "crime" of having learned to read, Hyman was sold away to Alabama as a field hand.  He would be sold seven more times before being emancipated.  At the end of the Civil War, Hyman returned to North Carolina and entered politics.

He was present at an 1866 equal rights convention and then was a delegate to the 1868 state constitutional convention.  In 1874, he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.  After failing to win re-nomination, he was appointed to a U.S. Treasury post by President Rutherford Hayes (R-OH).

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, showing office-holders, candidates and activists how they would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP from the Republican point of view.  Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.

Cassius Clay, Republican hero

Grand Old Partisan salutes Cassius Clay, who died on this in 1903 at the age of ninety-two.  A native of Kentucky, he was second cousin to Henry Clay. Though born into a slave-holding family, Cassius Clay freed his own slaves and was a strident abolitionist.  He published the only anti-slavery newspaper in the South and met future president Abraham Lincoln while on a speaking tour.

Clay was considered for the 1860 Republican vice presidential nomination, and he campaigned hard for Lincoln.  He was appointed ambassador to Russia but soon returned to become a major general in the U.S. Army.  General Clay soon resigned in protest of the President's refusal to declare immediate emancipation.  Lincoln then re-named him ambassador to Russia, where years later he would be instrumental in the purchase of Alaska.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, showing office-holders, candidates and activists how they would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP from the Republican point of view.  Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.

the law establishing Central Park was written by a Chairman of the Republican National Committee

On this day in 1853, state senator Edwin Morgan introduced into the New York legislature the bill establishing Central Park.

When the Grand Old Party was founded later, Morgan would be the first Chairman of the Republican National Committee.  He would also serve as Governor and U.S. Senator.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, showing office-holders, candidates and activists how they would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP from the Republican point of view.  Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog -- http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com -- celebrates 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.  See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.