Kittie Knox and the Bike Boom

Kittie Knox and the Bike Boom

Kittie Knox was a cyclist during the bicycle boom of the late 19th century. She was biracial and became known not just for participating in a predominantly white sport, but also for the clothes she wore to do it.

Research:

  • Adams, Dan. “Ceremony honors cyclist who broke barriers: Kittie Knox showed pluck on wheels.” Boston Globe. 9/30/2013. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/09/29/long-forgotten-bicycling-pioneer-who-broke-race-and-gender-barriers-honored/VAtfz0av4PqeHuHLiOw3sI/story.html
  • Bashore, Melvin L. "Astoria: The Starting Point in Long-Distance Cycling." Oregon Historical Quarterly, vol. 123, no. 3, fall 2022, pp. 254+. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A728470987/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=b2fe7364. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.
  • "Bicycle." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 20 Dec. 2021. libraries.state.ma.us/login?eburl=https%3A%2F%2Flibrary.eb.com&ebtarget=%2Flevels%2Freferencecenter%2Farticle%2Fbicycle%2F79113&ebboatid=9265652. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
  • "Bicycles." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, edited by Thomas Riggs, 2nd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2015, pp. 129-132. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3611000095/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=26448255. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
  • "Bicycling." American Eras, vol. 8: Development of the Industrial United States, 1878-1899, Gale, 1997, pp. 401-402. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2536601761/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=53eefb1f. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
  • Boyd, Herb. “Kittie Knox of cycling fame and fashion.” New York Amsterdam News. 11/24/2022-11/30/2022.
  • Cambridge Black History Project. “Katherine T. ‘Kittie’ Knox.” http://cambridgeblackhistoryproject.org/project/kittie-knox/
  • Cycling Authority of America. “The Bearings.” Via Internet Archive. Vol. 7, no. 2 (Feb. 10, 1893) https://archive.org/details/bearings111895cycl/
  • “The Science of Cycling.” https://www.exploratorium.edu/cycling/index.html
  • Finison, Lorenz J. “Boston’s Cycling Craze, 1880-1900: A Story of Race, Sport and Society.” University of Massachusetts Press. 2014.
  • Finison, Lorenz J., "Cycling Historiography, Evidence, and Methods" (2014). Boston’s Cycling Craze, 1880-1900: A Story of Race, Sport, and Society. Paper 1. http://scholarworks.umb.edu/umpress_bostoncycling/1
  • "FIRST CARGO ELECTRIC-ASSIST TRICYCLE ADDED TO CITY FLEET, NAMED AFTER KITTIE KNOX." States News Service, 21 Aug. 2020, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A633136234/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=85ac573a. Accessed 5 Dec. 2022.
  • Friends of Mount Auburn. “A Monument for Kittie Knox.” 9/30/2013. https://www.mountauburn.org/aaht-knox-monument/
  • Friends of Mount Auburn. “Kittie Knox (1874 – 1900).” Mount Auburn Cemetery. https://www.mountauburn.org/kittie-knox-1874-1900/
  • Guroff, Margaret. “American Drivers Have Bicyclists to Thank for a Smooth Ride to Work.” Smithsonian. 9/12/2016. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/american-drivers-thank-bicyclists-180960399/
  • A.W. Bulletin and Good Roads. July 1895. Via HathiTrust. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433109933758&view=1up&seq=148
  • LaFrance, Adrienne. “How the Bicycle Paved the Way for Women's Rights.” 6/26/2014. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/the-technology-craze-of-the-1890s-that-forever-changed-womens-rights/373535/
  • Miller, Grace. “Breaking the Cycle: the Kittie Knox story.” Unbound: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. 5/26/2020. https://blog.library.si.edu/blog/2020/05/26/breaking-the-cycle-the-kittie-knox-story/#.Y4-yfXbMJPZ
  • National Women’s History Museum. “Pedaling the Path to Freedom: American Women on Bicycles.” 6/27/2017. https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/pedaling-path-freedom
  • Neejer, Christine. "A conservative road: the bicycling rhetoric of Mary Sargent Hopkins." Intertexts, vol. 18, no. 1, spring 2014, pp. 93+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A383327852/AONE?u=mlin_oweb&sid=googleScholar&xid=60f8ab60. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
  • Sani, Hamzat. “League Equity History.” League of American Bicyclists. https://www.bikeleague.org/content/mission-and-history
  • Simpson, Clare, and Rob Hess. "Bicycling." Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America, edited by Gary S. Cross, vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004, pp. 95-101. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3434800036/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=b405085c. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
  • Smithsonian Bicycle Collection. “The Development of the Velocipede.” Smithsonian. https://www.si.edu/spotlight/si-bikes/si-bikes-velocipede
  • Stanford Braff, Carolyn. "The Perfect Time to Ride: A History of the League of American Wheelmen" (PDF). American Bicyclist: 18–23. November-December 2007.
  • Szczepanski, Carolyn. “Women’s (Bike) History: Kittie Knox.” League of American Bicyclists. 3/8/2013. https://www.bikeleague.org/content/womens-bike-history-kittie-knox
  • Tolman, Lynne. “League rights a wrong, lifting forgotten racial ban.” Worcester Telegram & Gazette. 5/30/1999. Via Major Taylor Association. https://www.majortaylorassociation.org/LAW.htm
  • “How Bikes Became One of the Best Things to Happen to Feminism.” 8/26/2019. https://transloc.com/blog/how-bikes-became-one-of-the-best-things-to-happen-to-feminism/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(2616)

Géricault and the Raft of the Medusa (Part 2)

Géricault and the Raft of the Medusa (Part 2)

In the aftermath of the shipwreck, France was scandalized by what had happened as the details emerged. And artist Théodore Géricault became obsessed with it. Research: Amigo, Ignacio. “How a biologist turned amateur sleuth to solve a century-old art riddle.” The Guardian. Oct. 23, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/oct/27/how-a-biologist-turned-amateur-sleuth-to-solve-a-century-old-art-riddle Barran, Julian. “Théodore Géricault, Illustrations to Alexandre Corréard’s ‘Le Naufrage de La Méduse.’” The Burlington Magazine, vol. 119, no. 889, 1977, pp. 311–310. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/878824 Baudelaire, Charles. “WHAT IS ROMANTICISM?” The Salon of 1848. https://writing.upenn.edu/library/Baudelaire-Salon-1848.pdf Burgos, Javier S. “A new portrait by Géricault.” The Lancet Neurology, Volume 20, Issue 2, 90 – 91. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(20)30479-8/fulltext Burgos, Javier. S. “In search of Théodore Géricault’s lost monomanias.” Metode. June 3, 2024. https://metode.org/issues/article-revistes/in-search-of-theodore-gericaults-lost-monomanias.html Dard, Charlotte Adelaide Picard. “The sufferings of the Picard family after the shipwreck of the Medusa, in the year 1816.” Constable and Co. Edinburgh, Scotland. 1827. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22792/22792-h/22792-h.htm Dione, Babacar and Mark Banchereau. “France withdraws from Senegal, ending its permanent military presence in West Africa.” AP. July 17, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/senegal-france-military-withdrawal-57d150687e18cd20ac6a6d7194821208 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Treaties of Paris". Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 May. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaties-of-Paris-1814-1815 “The Frigate Medusa … “ The Raleigh Minerva. Nov. 4, 1816. https://www.newspapers.com/image/58081420/?match=1&terms=medusa “Gericault.” The Illustrated Magazine of Art, Vol. 2, No. 11 (1853), pp. 282-283 Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20538136 Géricault, Théodore. “Cuirassier blessé, quittant le feu.” 1814. Louvre. https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010059200 Géricault, Théodore. “Race of the Riderless Horses.” 1817. Getty Museum. https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103RH8 Géricault, Théodore. “Race of the Riderless Horses at Rome, Study.” 1817. The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/665793 Huet, Marie-Hélène. “The Face of Disaster.” Yale French Studies, no. 111, 2007, pp. 7–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20479368 “Loss of the French Frigate Medusa.” Hartford Courant. Oct. 29, 1816. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1105494685/?match=1&terms=medusa Miles, Jonathan. “The Wreck of the Medusa.” Atlantic Monthly Press. 2007. Savigny, Jean Baptiste Henri, and Alexandre Correard. “Narrative of the Voyage to Senegal.” London : Printed for Henry Colburn. 1818. https://archive.org/details/narrativeofvoyag00savirich/page/xiv/mode/2up Smith, Roberta. “Art Review: Oui, Art Tips From Perfidious Albion.” New York Times. Oct. 10, 2003. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/10/arts/art-review-oui-art-tips-from-perfidious-albion.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

24 Syys 202539min

Medusa Shipwreck (Part 1)

Medusa Shipwreck (Part 1)

The first episode of this two-parter covers the French mission to Senegal that the frigate Medusa led in 1816. Soon, the mission fell disastrously apart. Research: Amigo, Ignacio. “How a biologist turned amateur sleuth to solve a century-old art riddle.” The Guardian. Oct. 23, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/oct/27/how-a-biologist-turned-amateur-sleuth-to-solve-a-century-old-art-riddle Barran, Julian. “Théodore Géricault, Illustrations to Alexandre Corréard’s ‘Le Naufrage de La Méduse.’” The Burlington Magazine, vol. 119, no. 889, 1977, pp. 311–310. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/878824 Baudelaire, Charles. “WHAT IS ROMANTICISM?” The Salon of 1848. https://writing.upenn.edu/library/Baudelaire-Salon-1848.pdf Burgos, Javier S. “A new portrait by Géricault.” The Lancet Neurology, Volume 20, Issue 2, 90 – 91. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(20)30479-8/fulltext Burgos, Javier. S. “In search of Théodore Géricault’s lost monomanias.” Metode. June 3, 2024. https://metode.org/issues/article-revistes/in-search-of-theodore-gericaults-lost-monomanias.html Dard, Charlotte Adelaide Picard. “The sufferings of the Picard family after the shipwreck of the Medusa, in the year 1816.” Constable and Co. Edinburgh, Scotland. 1827. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22792/22792-h/22792-h.htm Dione, Babacar and Mark Banchereau. “France withdraws from Senegal, ending its permanent military presence in West Africa.” AP. July 17, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/senegal-france-military-withdrawal-57d150687e18cd20ac6a6d7194821208 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Treaties of Paris". Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 May. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaties-of-Paris-1814-1815 “The Frigate Medusa … “ The Raleigh Minerva. Nov. 4, 1816. https://www.newspapers.com/image/58081420/?match=1&terms=medusa “Gericault.” The Illustrated Magazine of Art, Vol. 2, No. 11 (1853), pp. 282-283 Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20538136 Géricault, Théodore. “Cuirassier blessé, quittant le feu.” 1814. Louvre. https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010059200 Géricault, Théodore. “Race of the Riderless Horses.” 1817. Getty Museum. https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103RH8 Géricault, Théodore. “Race of the Riderless Horses at Rome, Study.” 1817. The Met. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/665793 Huet, Marie-Hélène. “The Face of Disaster.” Yale French Studies, no. 111, 2007, pp. 7–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20479368 “Loss of the French Frigate Medusa.” Hartford Courant. Oct. 29, 1816. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1105494685/?match=1&terms=medusa Miles, Jonathan. “The Wreck of the Medusa.” Atlantic Monthly Press. 2007. Savigny, Jean Baptiste Henri, and Alexandre Correard. “Narrative of the Voyage to Senegal.” London : Printed for Henry Colburn. 1818. https://archive.org/details/narrativeofvoyag00savirich/page/xiv/mode/2up Smith, Roberta. “Art Review: Oui, Art Tips From Perfidious Albion.” New York Times. Oct. 10, 2003. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/10/arts/art-review-oui-art-tips-from-perfidious-albion.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

22 Syys 202536min

SYMHC Classics: Chesapeake Bay Oyster Wars

SYMHC Classics: Chesapeake Bay Oyster Wars

This 2013 episode covers the years after the Industrial Revolution and the Civil War when the oyster supply became so scarce that people turned to oyster piracy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Syys 202525min

Behind the Scenes Minis: Math and Falsehoods

Behind the Scenes Minis: Math and Falsehoods

Holly shares a story about Augustin Fresnel's early career. Tracy discusses an article criticizing the Smithsonian and points out its incorrect contents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Syys 202526min

Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton is known as one of the earliest Mexican-American authors published in English, and her life story is tied closely to the Mexican-American war and the establishment of California as a state. Research: Amero, Richard W. “The Mexican-American War in Baja California.” The Journal of San Diego History. Winter 1984, Volume 30, Number 1. https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1984/january/war/ Annenberg Learner. “Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton (c. 1832-1895).” https://www.learner.org/series/american-passages-a-literary-survey/masculine-heroes/maria-amparo-ruiz-de-burton-c-1832-1895/ Brink, Jean R. “María Amparo Ruiz de Burton.” EBSCO Knowledge Advantage. 2023. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/maria-amparo-ruiz-de-burton Contreras, Alicia . "María Amparo Ruiz de Burton". In Oxford Bibliographies in American Literature. 3 Sep. 2025. https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199827251/obo-9780199827251-0191.xml. Contreras, Alicia. "'I'll publish your cowardice all over California': Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton's the squatter and the don in the age of Howells." American Literary Realism, vol. 49, no. 3, spring 2017, pp. 210+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A491311790/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=97ad48d9. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025. Crawford, Kathleen. “María Amparo Ruiz Burton.” The Journal of San Diego History. Summer 1984, Volume 30, Number 3. https://sandiegohistory.org/journal/1984/july/burton/ Diaz, Ella Maria. "Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton: Critical and Pedagogical Perspectives." Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers, vol. 22, no. 2, June 2005, pp. 202+. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A141999447/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=1c4826f6. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025. Dietrich, Lucas. “A Sensational Job: Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, J.B. Lippincott Co., and Commission Printing.” Bibliographical Society of America. Via YouTube. 4/19/2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb6sfXdUyR8 Hedrick, Joan D. "Who Would Have Thought It?" The Women's Review of Books, vol. 13, no. 7, Apr. 1996, p. 6. Gale OneFile: Business, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A19140252/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=c31ab587. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025. Meylor, Megan. “California Nerves.” Texas Studies in Literature and Language, FALL 2020, Vol. 62, No. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/27117136 Quarstein, John V. “Worden and the Californios.” U.S. Naval Institute. October 2023. https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2023/october/worden-and-californios Raab, Josef. “The Imagined Inter-American Community of María Amparo Ruiz de Burton.” Amerikastudien / American Studies, 2008, Vol. 53, No. 1. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41158358 Sánchez, Rosaura and Beatriz Pita, editors. “Conflicts of Interest: The Letters of María Amparo Ruiz de Burton.” Arte Publico Press. University of Houston. 2001. Spitzzeri, Paul R. “Article Ten of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848.” Homestead Museum Blog. 5/31/2019. https://homesteadmuseum.blog/2019/05/31/article-ten-of-the-treaty-of-guadalupe-hidalgo-1848/ “María Amparo Ruiz, a woman of that century.” Issue 30. 3/8/2017. https://tendenciaelartedeviajar.com/en/2017/03/history/maria-amparo-ruiz-a-woman-of-that-century/ University of Texas Press. “María Amparo Ruiz de Burton and the Conquered Californios: An Interview With Meagan Meylor.” 11/15/2021. https://utpress.utexas.edu/blog/2021/11/15/maria-amparo-ruiz-de-burton-and-the-conquered-californios-an-interview-with-meagan-meylor/ Women & The American Story. “Life Story: María Ruiz de Burton (1832–1895).” The New York Historical Society. https://wams.nyhistory.org/industry-and-empire/expansion-and-empire/maria-ruiz-de-burton/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 Syys 202541min

Augustin Jean Fresnel

Augustin Jean Fresnel

Augustin Fresnel didn’t live a long life, but he contributed significantly to the understanding of light and to the safety of coastlines. Neither of those had anything to do with his career. Research: Anderson, F.L. “Huygens' Principle geometric derivation and elimination of the wake and backward wave.” Sci Rep11, 20257 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99049-7 Aglialoro, Todd. “Jansenism.” Catholic.com. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/jansenism Garcia-Atutxa, Igor, et al. “The epistemological impact of Augustin-Jean Fresnel and his wave theory of light in the 19th century.” History of Science and Technology. Vol. 14, No. 1. 2024. https://www.hst-journal.com/index.php/hst/article/view/616 Clingan, Ian C.. "lighthouse". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Jan. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/technology/lighthouse Crew, Henry. “The wave theory of light; memoirs of Huygens, Young and Fresnel.” New York. Cincinnati American Book Company. 1900. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/wavetheoryofligh00crewrich/page/n3/mode/2up Davidson, Michael W. “Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788-1827).” Molecular Expressions. Florida State University. https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/fresnel.html The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Augustin-Jean Fresnel". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Jul. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustin-Jean-Fresnel The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "François Arago". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francois-Arago “The Genius of Augustin-Jean Fresnel and his Lens.” Ponce Lighthouse & Museum. July 19, 2023. https://www.ponceinlet.org/the-genius-of-augustin-jean-fresnel-and-his-lens/ Herivel, John. "Christiaan Huygens". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Jul. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christiaan-Huygens. “July 1816: Fresnel’s Evidence for the Wave Theory of Light.” Advancing Physics. American Physical Society. https://www.aps.org/archives/publications/apsnews/201607/physicshistory.cfm Linden, Teri Clark. “A Short Bright Flash: Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse.” W.W. Norton. 2013. “May 1801: Thomas Young and the Nature of Light.” Advancing Physics. American Physical Society. https://www.aps.org/archives/publications/apsnews/200805/physicshistory.cfm “Napoleon’s Russian campaign: From the Niemen to Moscow.” Napoleon Foundation. https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/timelines/napoleons-russian-campaign-from-the-niemen-to-moscow/ Rehman, Ayaz Ur, and Muhammad Sabieh Anwar. “Light Is a Transverse Wave.” LUMS Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering. August 21, 2018. https://physlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/LightTransverse-v2.pdf Silliman, Robert H. “Fresnel and the Emergence of Physics as a Discipline.” Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences , 1974, Vol. 4 (1974), pp. 137- University of California Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/27757329.pdf Tag, Thomas. “Lens Use Prior to Fresnel.” United States Lighthouse Society. https://uslhs.org/node/1481 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Syys 202536min

SYMHC Classics: Max von Pettenkofer

SYMHC Classics: Max von Pettenkofer

This 2020 episode talks about how Pettenkofer's ideas about cholera's spread weren’t exactly right, but they still had really beneficial impacts on the way we live.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Syys 202531min

Behind the Scenes Minis: All Things Clean

Behind the Scenes Minis: All Things Clean

Tracy talks about her background writing copy for sanitation and cleaning products. She and Holly also discuss how the implementation of the Wells' recommendations could have prevented a lot of illness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Syys 202529min

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