When Harry met Conan in Denver

In the spring of 1923, Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle met by coincidence in Denver, Colorado. They were one-time friends turned antagonists over the issue of spiritualism and contacting the dead. The two men and their wives seemed friendly as they met in Denver, but the animosity remained. My history column from The Daily Sentinel is linked below.

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When Harry met Conan in Denver

35 minutes ago1 min read

Historian tracks history of Western Slope travel

David Bailey has been researching and writing about the history of western Colorado for decades. His latest book, just released in August, continues that effort by examining the evolving story of travel on the Western Slope. The drawing on this page is from one of the mid-19th century expeditions across western Colorado to the Pacific. My history column about Bailey's book is linked below.

Sep 21 min read

Cavalry to the rescue at Yellowstone National Park

One hundred forty years ago this month, Troop M of the United States Cavalry Members of U.S. Cavalry display bison heads recovered from a poacher in Yellowstone marched into Yellowstone National Park to assume administration and protection of the park. It may have saved both Yellowstone and the entire National Park system. My column from The Daily Sentinel is linked below.

Aug 171 min read

Path to Colorado statehood was rocky

There was plenty of opposition to allowing Colorado Territory to become a state in the 1870s. But after numerous attempts the Colorado Statehood proclamation was signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on August 1, 1876. My Daily Sentinel column about that effort is linked below.

Aug 61 min read

Tractors began to supplant horses in 1920

There were more domestic horses in the United States in 1920 than at any time in our history, but there were also more tractors. And more than 100 companies were selling tractors in the U.S. in 1920. My column about tractors versus horses in 1920 is linked below.

Jul 211 min read

Finding longitude a long, hard job

This column is a about a subject that has fascinated me for a long time: the historic efforts to find the best ways to compute longitude, both on land and sea. Determining latitude has always been much easier. There's a link below to my column June 6 in The Daily Sentinel.

Jun 71 min read

Memorial Day train wreck was not unusal during early 20th century

A train derailment near Grand Junction on Memorial Day weekend, 1920, This photo shows a 1918 train wreck in Tennessee that is believed to be the deadliest in U.S. history, killing more than 170 people. took the lives of the train's engineer and fireman. Such accidents weren't unusual in the early decades of the 20th century, but railroad safety was beginning to improve. Below is a link to my history column in The Daily Sentinel.

May 281 min read

This book is hardly a Sherlock Holmes mystery, but it is a well-written account of Arthur Conan Doyle's second trip across the United States with his wife, Jean, in 1923. It was on this trip that the Conan Doyles bumped into Harry Houdini and his wife, Bess, and went to one of Houdini's escape performances.

I didn't read the entire book, just the sections about their time in Colorado and in Salt Lake City, which were fascinating.

I found the book for free online through an organization called The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia. However, if you just Google the title, you should be able to find it.

ABOUT ME

I retired as editorial page editor of The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado in 2014. Since then, I've continued to write a twice-a-month history column for the Sentinel, while seizing every opportunity I can, with my wife Judy or my horses, to enjoy the beautiful outdoors of the Colorado Plateau.

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When Harry met Conan in Denver

FEATURED POST

Never Miss a New Post.

TRAIN OF THOUGHT

When Harry met Conan in Denver

Historian tracks history of Western Slope travel

Cavalry to the rescue at Yellowstone National Park

Path to Colorado statehood was rocky

Tractors began to supplant horses in 1920

Finding longitude a long, hard job

Memorial Day train wreck was not unusal during early 20th century

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When Harry met Conan in Denver

FEATURED POST

Never Miss a New Post.

TRAIN OF THOUGHT

When Harry met Conan in Denver

Historian tracks history of Western Slope travel

Cavalry to the rescue at Yellowstone National Park

Path to Colorado statehood was rocky

Tractors began to supplant horses in 1920

Finding longitude a long, hard job

Memorial Day train wreck was not unusal during early 20th century

BOB's Book Picks

ABOUT ME

SUBSCRIBE

BOB's
Book
Picks