

The Lindberghs were inundated by offers of assistance and false clues. Even Al Capone offered his help from prison. For three days, investigators found nothing and there was no further word from the kidnappers. Then, a new letter showed up, this time demanding $70,000.




Still, the evidence and intense public pressure were enough to convict Hauptmann and he was electrocuted in 1935.

In South Africa: 1 March, 1849,The Cape Agulhas lighthouse begins operating
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View from the Cape Agulhas lighthouse |

It took years for the Cape Legislative Council to raise the money to begin building the lighthouse, but construction eventually began on 1 April 1847. On 8 January 1848, the foundation stone was laid in the presence of the governor Sir Harry Smith, Michell and the 90 odd workmen who had laid over 18,000 cubic feet of cut-masonry.

Today, the Agulhas lighthouse is the second oldest working lighthouse in South Africa and was declared a national monument in 1973. The light house is used in combination with a radio transmitter to warn ships not to come to close to shore.
The warm Agulhas Current and the cold Benguela Current meet somewhere between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point. Visitors who climb the narrow ladder to the top of the light house are rewarded with a panoramic view of the Indian Ocean.
History


In 1847 the government agreed to fund the construction at a cost of £15,871; building work began in April of that year and was completed in December 1848, and the light was first lit on 1 March 1849. Originally it was fuelled by the tail-fat of sheep, but in 1905 an oil-burning lantern was installed. In March 1910 the lens was replaced with a first-order Fresnel lens. In 1929 the oil burner was replaced by a petroleum vapour burner, which was in turn replaced in 1936 by a four-kilowatt electric lamp powered by a diesel generator.[2]

In 1968 the lighthouse was taken out of service, and the light moved to an aluminium tower, as it was discovered that the sandstone walls were crumbling due to excessive weathering. The building was declared a national monument in 1973 and is also a Western Cape provincial heritage site.[3] Restoration and reconstruction was performed by the Bredasdorp Shipwreck Museum and the local council, and the lighthouse was recommissioned in 1988.[2][4]

Links:
To read a very detailed history on the creation and design of this lighthouse visit: lagulhas.co.za
Source:
- Seeing the Cape Agulhas lighthouse [online]. Available at: capetown-direct.com [accessed on 25 February 2009]
- History, proposals for a lighthouse at L'Agulhas [online]. Available at: lagu.lhas.co.za [accessed on 25 February 2009]
- ^ a b c "Lighthouse History". L'Agulhas.co.za. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007.
- ^ "Cape LAgulhas Lighthouse Bredasdorp District". Gazetted Heritage Sites database. South African Heritage Resources Agency. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ a b "Cape Agulhas". Transnet National Ports Authority. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
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