George Duke wrote on Mon, Mar 17, 2008 04:46 PM UTC:
Maelzel had performed the Turk at New Orleans for months 1837 before
embarking to Havana, Cuba, his final destination. Born at New Orleans the
same year 1837, Paul Morphy(1837-1884) won matches with all the leading
English masters. At Cafe de la Regence, Morphy defeated Daniel Harrwitz.
Also at Paris Morphy defeated German Adolph Anderssen and so became
accepted world Chess champion by 1859. With his French background, Morphy was, after all, returning home. According to Tom Standage's 'The Turk'
(2002), Silas Mitchell witnessed the fire broken out July 5, 1854, at the
National Theatre, Philadelphia, spread to the Chinese Museum, housing the
Turk. Mitchell, ''standing helpless amid the fire's crackling wood and
shattering glass'' would hear the Turk's last words -- ''Echec!
Echec!'' The Automaton Turk (1769-1854, 85 years: 17x5). Seventeen more
years later, the USA most notable conventionally-recognized fire ever, the Chicago fire October 8, 1871, destoyed many square kilometres -- surpassing even Napoleon's seige of Moscow 1812 -- the common comparison made at the time.
