Dear E-Myth Reader,
September 20th is not a marquee day on the calendar. Though not a holiday and not the autumnal equinox, events notable for leadership and vision have occurred on and near this date. We mention some this week, along with events highlighting problems with direction and business vision. We note particularly in our article that setting up business partnerships requires special planning.
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 September 20, 1519:
Ferdinand Magellan, with 250 men in five vessels, sets sail westward from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain. Magellan thinks a westward passage can be found to the Molucca Islands, around South America. Such a passage will be of great value to his Spanish sponsors, who want a share of the lucrative spice trade. Portugal controls the route eastward around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, and they will not allow Spanish ships to pass. Magellan dies in the Philippines but the expedition proves the route, and 18 of his original crew complete the world's first complete circumnavigation.
 September 20, 1853:
Elisha G. Otis opens a small elevator factory in Yonkers, New York. His original plans are to join the California gold rush, but he stays in Yonkers to fill an order for two freight elevators, equipped with his newly-invented automatic safety device. Otis Elevator is still in business today, now wholly-owned by United Technologies Corporation.
September 20, 1873: Panic closes NYSE
The Panic of 1873 is preceded on May 9 by the crash of the Vienna stock market. The Panic is triggered by the bankruptcy on September 18 of Jay Cooke & Co., the Union's chief financier during the Civil War, and one of the nation's largest banking institutions.  Two days later the New York Stock Exchange closes for ten days to wait out the storm. Overzealous investments in speculative railroad companies are an important element of the economic meltdown. President Ulysses S. Grant's government responds by injecting $26 million in new paper currency into the economy, bringing total circulating paper money to $382 million. The Panic of 1873 begins a depression lasting six years, just one of the downturns in the 'Long Depression' which lasts until 1896. The US economy rebounds with increased money supply from gold mining, and expanding investment in the new technologies of steel production, electricity, organic and synthetic chemistries, and the internal combustion engine.
 September 19, 1900:
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid commit their first robbery together in Winnemucca NV. Theirs is a famous partnership, now deeply-rooted in popular culture, which likely suffered from problems particular to partnerships. Unless core strategic issues can be agreed upon by partners, the potential for conflict increases. Our article Management with a Partner touches on key issues upon which partners should agree if their businesses are to succeed.
September 20, 1973:
Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in 'The Battle of The Sexes'. It is the largest media event in the history of tennis, witnessed by 30,000 in person at Houston's Astrodome, and watched by 50 million on TV. It is a defining moment for modern tennis and for women's sports.
 September 20, 1980:
In the most dramatic moment in Notre Dame football history, with time running out, Harry Oliver, whose longest field goal is 38 yards, kicks a 51-yard field goal that just barely clears the crossbar. Notre Dame Stadium erupts in wild celebration with the 29-27 victory over Michigan.
Rest In Peace, Harry Oliver (d. August 8, 2007)
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The E-Myth Team
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