Dibblee (Harrison)
Harrison Dibblee was the American Red Cross representative who arrived in Madeira in November 1918 with a shipload of food aid that relieved an island facing famine.
Representative of the American Red Cross (Cruz Vermelha), who arrived in Madeira on 6 November 1918 aboard the transport Lake Forest. The ship brought to this island 1465 sacks of potatoes (Madeiran semilha), 1047 of beans, 3,000 of maize flour and 10,628 of maize grain, sent by that charitable society at the request of Mr Kemper, the American consul in Funchal. This substantial supply of provisions was a great benefit to the Madeiran population, which was already struggling with hunger because the foodstuffs needed for its subsistence were almost exhausted.
In honour of Mr Dibblee and the American consul, a dinner attended by 76 guests was held on 9 November at the São Lourenço Palace (‘St Lawrence’). Two popular demonstrations also took place, one organised by the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal) and the other by the working classes, both intended to thank those two foreign benefactors for having supplied our market with the grain needed for our public consumption.
Mr Dibblee left for Norfolk (Virginia) on 17 November. While in Funchal he stayed at the Palácio de São Lourenço.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 01Place
Places mentioned · 04
Abroad
- Funchal
City where the American consul was based and Dibblee resided.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Norfolk
United States. Destination of Dibblee on leaving Madeira.
Destination of Dibblee on leaving Madeira.
- São Lourenço Palace
Funchal. Palace where a dinner honoured Dibblee and where he resided.
The Palácio de São Lourenço, the governors' palace-fortress in Funchal, was the scene of beija-mão ceremonies, receptions, balls and dinners, and of the 1861 exhibition. The Elucidário records a great fire there in 1699, a natural history museum in 1850, and an attempt by soldiers to enter it in 1829. The Teatro Grande stood opposite it.
People
People mentioned · 02-
American Red Cross representative who brought food aid to Madeira in November 1918 and was honoured by the population.
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American consul in Funchal who requested the Red Cross food shipment of 1918.