National Coffee Day and Josephus Daniels

This comes from the “did you know” file and is actually pretty interesting…

Thursday is National Coffee Day, and the drink actually has a connection to Raleigh you might not know.

You’ve probably heard coffee referred to as a “Cup of Joe.” The origin of that term dates back to the early part of the 20th century and one of the dominant figures in Raleigh history.

Josephus Daniels, the publisher of The News & Observer, was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913.

Daniels did not drink alcohol – and did not believe sailors should, either. In 1914, he issued General Order 99, which prohibited alcohol on all Navy property. That eliminated the officer’s wine mess and meant the strongest drink on board a ship was coffee.

You can bet that didn’t go over particularly well with hardened Navy vets, and thus the derisive term, “Cup of Joe.”

Among Daniel’s other reforms were inaugurating the practice of making 100 Sailors from the Fleet eligible for entrance into the Naval Academy and the introduction of women into the service.

Now, more than 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed each year. To celebrate National Coffee Day, some area businesses are offering deals.

You can get free coffee at Krispy Kreme all day long. And Kangaroo Express has hidden 29 Roo mugs around Raleigh – if you find one, your first cup of coffee is free.

Shouldn’t we be out having a cup rather than sitting here? Josephus Daniels, no doubt, would be pleased. [SOURCE]

Josephus Daniels – among other things was also connected to the “world’s smallest naval base” – which despite having less notoriety than the phrase “Cup of Joe” is in some ways a lot cooler.

UPDATE: Very cool find by Travis –

WLAC’s first broadcast was on Oct. 16, 1922. Guest speaker for the evening was Josephus Daniels, former secretary of the U.S. Navy and owner of the Raleigh News & Observer. Daniels made the ironic prediction: “Nobody now fears that a Japanese fleet could deal an unexpected blow on our Pacific possessions…radio makes surprises impossible.” [SOURCE]

Not coffee related but Josephus Daniels history.