On This Day

[Kestra]

On Feb. 8, 1996, in a ceremony at the Library of Congress, President Clinton signed legislation revamping the telecommunications industry, saying it would "bring the future to our doorstep." (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0208.html#article))

On February 8, 1890, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the New York World's Fair. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0208.html)


1587
Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at FotheringhayCastle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.


1693
A charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

1837
The Senate selected Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky as vice president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.


1904
The Russo-Japanese War began.


1910
The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.


1915
D.W. Griffith's silent movie epic about the Civil War, "The Birth of a Nation," premiered in Los Angeles.


1922
President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed in the White House.


1924
The first execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City.


1968
Three college students died in a confrontation with highway patrolmen in Orangeburg, S.C., during a civil rights protest against a whites-only bowling alley.


1978
Senate deliberations were broadcast on radio for the first time as members opened debate on the Panama Canal treaties.


1993
General Motors sued NBC, alleging that the program "Dateline NBC" had rigged two crashes to show that GM pickups were prone to fires. (NBC settled the lawsuit the following day.)


1999
The Senate heard closing arguments in President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.


2004
Beyonce won five Grammy Awards, tying the record for female performers held by Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keyes and Norah Jones. (Beyonce broke the record by winning six Grammys in 2010.)


2005
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced a cease-fire at a summit in Egypt.


2007
Model and tabloid sensation Anna Nicole Smith died at age 39 of an accidental drug overdose.

[kallen-bortas]

February 7, 2010 The New Orleans Saints not only go to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history...they defeat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. Saints QB Drew Brees is Super Bowl MVP.

And the Who Dat Nation is getting the recognition it deserves!!!

[Kestra]

who dat? :D

On Feb. 12, 1973, the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0212.html#article))

On February 12, 1870, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about American Indian policy. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0212.html)


1554
Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the throne of England for nine days, was beheaded after being charged with treason.


1733
English colonists led by James Oglethorpe founded Savannah, Ga.

1809
Naturalist Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England.


1809
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in present-day Larue County, Ky.

1870
Women in the UtahTerritory gained the right to vote.


1909
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in New York.


1912
Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, abdicated, marking the end of the Qing Dynasty.


1915
The cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C.

1924
George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" premiered in New York City.


1999
The Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.


2000
Charles M. Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, died at age 77.


2000
Hall of Fame football coach Tom Landry died at age 75.


2001
The NEAR spacecraft touched down on Eros, completing the first landing on an asteroid.


2002
The war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic began in The Hague.


2002
Pakistan charged three men in connection with the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi.


2004
Defying a California law, San Francisco officials began performing weddings for same-sex couples.


2009
Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrew his nomination as President Barack Obama's Commerce Secretary.


2009
A commuter plane crashed into a suburban Buffalo, N.Y., home, killing all 49 aboard and a person in the house.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 13, 1935, a jury in Flemington, N.J., found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the kidnap-death of the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. Hauptmann was later executed. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0213.html#article))

On February 13, 1886, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a federal government scandal. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0213.html)


1542
The fifth wife of England's King Henry VIII, Catherine Howard, was executed for adultery.


1635
The BostonPublicLatinSchool was founded. (It is now the oldest public school in the United States.)


1914
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers was founded in New York City.


1920
The League of Nations recognized the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland.


1945
The Soviets captured Budapest, Hungary, from the Germans during World War II.


1945
Allied planes began bombing the German city of Dresden.


1960
France exploded its first atomic bomb.


1984
Konstantin Chernenko was chosen to be general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding the late Yuri Andropov.


1991
Hundreds of Iraqi civilians were killed when a pair of laser-guided U.S. bombs destroyed an underground facility in Baghdad identified by U.S. officials as a military installation, but which Iraqi officials said was a bomb shelter.


1997
The Dow Jones industrial average broke through the 7,000 barrier for the first time, closing at 7,022.44.


2000
Charles Schulz's final "Peanuts" comic strip ran in Sunday newspapers, the day after the cartoonist died at age 77.


2005
Final results showed clergy-backed Shiites and independence-minded Kurds had swept to victory in Iraq's landmark elections.


2005
Ray Charles won eight posthumous Grammy awards for his final album, "Genius Loves Company."


2008
Seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens denied having taken performance-enhancing drugs in testimony before Congress.


2008
Hollywood writers ended a 100-day strike.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 21, 1965, former Black Muslim leader Malcolm X was shot and killed by assassins identified as Black Muslims as he was about to address a rally in New York City; he was 39. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0221.html#article))

On February 21, 1885, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Washington Memorial. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0221.html)

1848 Former President John Quincy Adams suffered a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. He died two days later.

1878 The first telephone directory was issued, by the District Telephone Co. of New Haven, Conn.

1885 The WashingtonMonument was dedicated.

1907 Poet W.H. Auden was born in York, England.

1916 The World War I Battle of Verdun began in France.

1925 The New Yorker magazine made its debut.

1947 Edwin H. Land publicly demonstrated his PolaroidLand camera, which could produce a black-and-white photograph in 60 seconds.

1972 President Richard M. Nixon began his historic visit to China.

1973 Israeli fighter planes shot down a Libyan Airlines jet over the SinaiDesert, killing more than 100 people.

1975 Former Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up.

1988 TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart tearfully confessed to his congregation in Baton Rouge, La., that he was guilty of an unspecified sin, and said he was leaving the pulpit temporarily. Reports linked Swaggart to a prostitute.

1989 President George H.W. Bush called Ayatollah Khomeini's death warrant against "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie "deeply offensive to the norms of civilized behavior."

1995Chicago stockbroker Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, landing in Canada.

2002 The State Department declared Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl dead a month after he'd been abducted by Islamic extremists in Pakistan.

2006 President George W. Bush endorsed the takeover of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, and pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement
that’s right kiddies :king: giggles advocated terrorists take over of our shipping operations. who’s soft on terror again?

[Kestra]

On Feb. 26, 1993, a bomb exploded in the garage of New York's World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0226.html#article))

On February 26, 1859, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about New York Almshouse orphans. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0226.html)

1802 Author Victor Hugo was born in Besancon, France.

1815 Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba to begin his second conquest of France.

1846 Frontiersman-turned-showman William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody was born in Scott County, Iowa.

1848 The Second French Republic was proclaimed.

1870 New York City's first pneumatic-powered subway line was opened to the public. (The tunnel was only a block long.)

1919 Congress established Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

1932 Country musician Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Ark.

1952 Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Britain had developed its own atomic bomb.

1987 The Tower Commission issued its report on the Iran-Contra affair, rebuking President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.

1991 Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced on Baghdad Radio that he had ordered his forces to withdraw from Kuwait.

1995 Barings PLC, Britain's oldest investment banking firm, collapsed after a securities dealer lost more than $1.4 billion by gambling on Tokyo stock prices.

2000 Pope John Paul II visited Mount Sinai in Egypt, revered as the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments.

2001 A U.N. tribunal convicted Bosnian Croat political leader Dario Kordic and military commander Mario Cerkez of war crimes for ordering the systematic murder and persecution of Muslim civilians during the Bosnian war.

2008 The New York Philharmonic performed a historic concert in North Korea before the communist nation's elite.

2009 The Pentagon, reversing an 18-year-old policy, said it would allow some media coverage of returning war dead, with family approval.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 27, 1991, President George H.W. Bush declared that "Kuwait is liberated, Iraq's army is defeated," and announced that the allies would suspend combat operations at midnight. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0227.html#article))
even pappy Bush had the good sense not to try to occupy Iraq because he knew it would destabilize Middle East.

On February 27, 1875, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Congress. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0227.html)

1801 The District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction of Congress.

1807 Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine.

1902 Author John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, Calif.

1922 The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing the right of women to vote.

1933Germany's parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, caught fire. The Nazis, blaming the Communists, used the fire as a pretext to suspend civil liberties.

1939 The Supreme Court outlawed sit-down strikes.

1951 The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, limiting a president to two terms of office, was ratified.

1973 Members of the American Indian Movement occupied Wounded Knee, S.D., the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children. The occupation lasted until May.

1982 Wayne B. Williams was found guilty of murdering two of the 28 young blacks whose bodies were found in the Atlanta area over a 22-month period.

1986 The U.S. Senate approved telecasts of its debates on a trial basis.

1997 Divorce became legal in Ireland.

1997 Legislation banning most handguns in Britain went into effect.

1998Britain's House of Lords agreed to end 1,000 years of male preference by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as a first-born son.

2002 Alicia Keys won five Grammy Awards for her debut album, "Songs in A Minor," tying a record for female artists that has since been broken by Beyonce.

2002 A mob of Muslims set fire to a train carrying hundreds of Hindu nationalists in Godhra, India; some 60 people died.

2003 Fred Rogers, the host of TV's "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" died at age 74.

2008 Author and conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. died at age 82.

2009 President Barack Obama said he would end combat operations in Iraq within 18 months.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 28, 1993, a gun battle erupted near Waco, Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to serve warrants on the Branch Davidians; four agents and six Davidians were killed as a 51-day standoff began. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0228.html#article))

On February 28, 1880, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about famine relief for Ireland. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0228.html)

1827 The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. was incorporated.

1854 About 50 slavery opponents met in Ripon, Wis., to call for creation of a new political group that became the Republican Party.
that explains a lot


1861 The Territory of Colorado was organized.

1940 College basketball was televised for the first time as station W2XBS aired the Pittsburgh-Fordham and Georgetown-NYU games from Madison Square Garden in New York.

1953 Scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that contains the human genes, at Cambridge University.

1960 The U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold medal, defeating Czechoslovakia 9-4 at Squaw Valley, Calif.

1972 President Richard M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai issued the Shanghai Communique at the conclusion of Nixon's historic visit to China, a step toward the eventual normalization of relations between the two countries.

1974 The United States and Egypt re-established diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.

1975 A subway train smashed into the end of a tunnel in London's Underground, killing more than 40 people.

1983 The album "War" by U2 was released.

1986 Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot to death in central Stockholm.

1991 Allied and Iraqi forces suspended their attacks as Iraq pledged to accept all United Nations resolutions concerning Kuwait.

2002 A body found outside San Diego was identified as that of Danielle van Dam, 7, who'd disappeared from her bedroom about a month earlier; a neighbor was later convicted of her murder and sentenced to death.

2005 Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigned amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.

2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. died at age 89.

2009 Radio news commentator Paul Harvey died at age 90.

[Kestra]

On March 1, 1932, the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was kidnapped from the family home near Hopewell, N.J. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0301.html#article))

On March 1, 1873, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about St. Patrick's Cathedral. (See the cartoon and read an explanation. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0301.html)

1781 The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation.

1790 Congress authorized the first U.S. census.

1845 President John Tyler signed a congressional resolution to annex the Republic of Texas.

1867 Nebraska became the 37th state.

1872 Congress authorized creation of Yellowstone National Park.

1922 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem.

1940 The novel "Native Son" by Richard Wright was published.

1954 Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives, wounding five congressmen.

1961 President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps.

1968 Country musicians Johnny Cash and June Carter were married.

1974 Former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman and former Attorney General John Mitchell were indicted on obstruction of justice charges related to the Watergate break-in.

1981 Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands began a hunger strike at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland. (He died 65 days later.)

1990 The Seabrook, N.H., nuclear power plant won federal permission to go on line after two decades of protests and legal struggles.

2003 Suspected Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was captured by CIA and Pakistani agents near Islamabad.

2005 Dennis Rader, the churchgoing family man accused of leading a double life as the BTK serial killer, was charged in Wichita, Kan., with 10 counts of first-degree murder. (Rader later pleaded guilty and received multiple life sentences.)

2005 A closely divided Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for juvenile criminals

[Kestra]

On March 6, 1857, in its Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court held that Scott, a slave, could not sue for his freedom in a federal court. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0306.html#article))On

March 6, 1875, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about federal government scandal. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0306.html)

1806 Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in Durham, England.

1834 The city of Toronto was incorporated.

1836 The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, fell to Mexican forces after a 13-day siege.

1853 Verdi's opera "La Traviata" premiered in Venice, Italy.

1933 A nationwide bank holiday declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt went into effect.

1935 Retired Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. died two days shy of his 94th birthday.

1944 Heavy bombers staged the first American raid on Berlin during World War II.

1957 The former British African colonies of the Gold Coast and Togoland became the independent nation of Ghana.

1981 Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time as anchorman of "The CBS Evening News."

1997Britain's Queen Elizabeth II launched the first official royal Web site.

2006 Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation banning most abortions in South Dakota. (The ban was later rejected by the state's voters).

2006 Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett died at age 45.

2007 Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted of lying and obstructing an investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. *Darth Vader voice* “You’ve served me well Scooter, don’t worry we won’t let you serve a nano-second of time.

2008 A Palestinian killed eight students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem before he was slain.

[Kestra]

On March 11, 1941, President Roosevelt signed into law the Lend-Lease Bill, providing war supplies to countries fighting the Axis. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0311.html#article))

On March 11, 1882, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Chinese Americans and dime novels. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0311.html)


1810
Emperor Napoleon of France was married by proxy to Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria.


1888
A blizzard struck the northeastern United States, resulting in some 400 deaths.


1942
As Japanese forces continued to advance in the Pacific during World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines for Australia. He subsequently vowed: "I shall return."


1970
The album "Deja Vu" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young was released.


1977
More than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims were freed.


1978
Palestinian guerrillas went on a rampage on the Tel Aviv-Haifa highway, killing 34 Israelis.


1985
Mikhail S. Gorbachev was chosen to succeed the late Soviet President Konstantin Chernenko.


1990
The Lithuanian parliament voted to break away from the Soviet Union and restore its independence.


1993
Janet Reno was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to be the nation's first female attorney general.


1993
North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

1997
Rock musician Paul McCartney of the Beatles was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
:shield:

2002
Two columns of light soared skyward from ground zero in New York as a temporary memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.


2004
Ten bombs hidden in backpacks exploded in quick succession across the commuter rail network in Madrid, Spain, killing 191 people and wounding about 1,800. Muslim militants who said they were avenging the presence of Spanish peacekeepers in Iraq and Afghanistan claimed responsibility.


2005
A man being escorted to court for trial in Atlanta took a gun from a sheriff's deputy and went on a deadly rampage, killing four people, including a judge. (Brian Nichols was later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole).


2006
Former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic was found dead of a heart attack in his cell during his war crimes trial in The Hague.

[Kestra]

On March 13, 1868, the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson began in the United States Senate. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0313.html#article))

On March 13, 1869, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about President Andrew Johnson. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0313.html)

1781 The planet Uranus was discovered by Sir William Herschel.

1852 "Uncle Sam" made his debut as a cartoon character in the New York Lantern.

1884 Standard Time was adopted throughout the United States.

1901 Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States, died in Indianaoplis at age 67.

1906 Suffragist Susan B. Anthony died at age 86.

1925 A law went into effect in Tennessee prohibiting the teaching of evolution.

1933 Banks began to re-open after a holiday declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1938 Defense attorney Clarence S. Darrow died at age 80.

1947 The Lerner and Loewe musical "Brigadoon" opened on Broadway.

1964 Kitty Genovese, 28, was stabbed to death near her Queens, New York, home. The case came to be a symbol of urban apathy, though initial reports that 38 neighbors ignored Genovese's calls for help have since been disputed.

1969 Apollo 9 returned to Earth after a mission to test the lunar module that was used in the moon landings.

1980 A jury in Winamac, Ind., found Ford Motor Co. innocent of reckless homicide in the fiery deaths of three young women riding in a Ford Pinto.

1996 A gunman opened fire on a class of kindergarteners at an elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland, killing 16 children and one teacher before killing himself.

2005 Robert Iger was named to succeed Michael Eisner as chief executive of Walt Disney Co.

[Kestra]

On March 14, 1900, Congress ratified the Gold Standard Act. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0314.html#article))

On March 14, 1885, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Britain and Russia. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0314.html)

1743 The first recorded town meeting in America was held, at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

1794 Eli Whitney received a patent for the cotton gin.

1883 Political philosopher Karl Marx died at age 64.

1939 The Republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation.

1951 United Nations forces recaptured Seoul during the Korean War.

1964 A jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy.

1967 President John F. Kennedy's body was moved from a temporary grave to a permanent memorial site at Arlington National Cemetery.

2004 Opposition Socialists scored a dramatic upset win in Spain's general election, unseating conservatives stung by charges they'd provoked the Madrid terror bombings by supporting the U.S.-led war in Iraq. :hmm: indeed

2004 Russian President Vladimir Putin captured more than 70 percent of the vote to win a second term in an election that European observers said fell short of democratic standards.

2005 A judge in San Francisco ruled that California's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.

2005 About one million people rallied in Beirut, Lebanon, demanding Syrian withdrawal and the arrest of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's killers.

2008 Protests led by Buddhist monks in Tibet turned violent, leading to an extensive crackdown by China's military.

[Kestra]

On March 15, 1965, addressing a joint session of Congress, President Johnson called for new legislation to guarantee every American's right to vote. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0315.html#article))

On March 15, 1873, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a federal government scandal. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0315.html)

44 B.C. Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of nobles that included Brutus and Cassius.

1493 Christopher Columbus returned to Spain, concluding his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere.

1767 Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, was born in Waxhaw, S.C.

1820 Maine became the 23rd state.

1875 The Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York City, John McCloskey, was named the first American cardinal by Pope Pius IX.

1913 President Woodrow Wilson held the first open presidential news conference.

1919 The American Legion was founded in Paris.

1956 The Lerner and Loewe musical "My Fair Lady" opened on Broadway.

1964 Actress Elizabeth Taylor and actor Richard Burton were married.

1975 Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, the husband of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, died at age 69.

2003 Hu Jintao was chosen to replace Jiang Zemin as the president of China.

2003 The World Health Organization issued a worldwide health alert for the respiratory illness SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

2004 Martha Stewart resigned from the board of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia 10 days after she was convicted in a stock scandal.

2005 Former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers was convicted of engineering an $11 billion accounting fraud that toppled his company. (He was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.)

[Kestra]

On March 22, 1972, Congress sent the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution to the states for ratification. It fell short of the three-fourths approval needed. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0322.html#article))

On March 22, 1890, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the American theater. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0322.html)

1765 Britain enacted the Stamp Act to raise money from the American colonies.

1882 Congress outlawed polygamy.

1894 Hockey's first Stanley Cup championship game was played in Montreal. That city's Amateur Athletic Association beat the Ottawa Capitals 3-1.

1895 In what is generally regarded as the first public display of a movie projected onto a screen, Auguste and Louis Lumiere showed their first movie to an invited audience in Paris.

1933 During Prohibition, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure to make wine and beer containing up to 3.2 percent alcohol legal. prohibition that was sponsored by the oil cartel in order to eliminate the competition of cars that ran on alcohol.

1941 The Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state went into operation. my dad helped build that.

1945 The Arab League was formed with the adoption of a charter in Cairo, Egypt.

1946 The British mandate in Transjordan came to an end.

1963 The Beatles' first album, "Please Please Me," was released in Great Britain.

1965 Bob Dylan's album "Bringing It All Back Home," his first featuring electric guitar, was released.

1987 A barge carrying 3,200 tons of garbage left Islip, N.Y., on a six-month journey in search of a place to unload. The barge was turned away by several states and three countries before space was found back in Islip.

1990 A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, found former tanker captain Joseph Hazelwood innocent of three major charges in connection with the Exxon Valdez oil spill, but convicted him of a minor charge of negligent discharge of oil.

1991 High school instructor Pamela Smart, accused of manipulating her student-lover into killing her husband, was convicted in Exeter, N.H., of murder-conspiracy.

1995 Colin Ferguson was sentenced to life in prison for killing six people on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train in 1993.

1997 Tara Lipinski of the United States became the youngest women's world figure skating champion at age 14 years, 10 months.

2004 Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.

2006 The Basque separatist group ETA announced a permanent cease-fire with Spain.

[Kestra]

On March 26, 1979, the Camp David peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at the White House. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0326.html#article))

On March 26, 1881, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about industrial pollution. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0326.html)

1827Composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna, Austria, at age 56.

1874Poet Robert Frost was born in San Francisco.

1885The Eastman Dry Plate and Film Co. of Rochester, N.Y., manufactured the first commercial motion picture film.

1892Poet Walt Whitman died at age 72.

1911Playwright Tennessee Williams was born in Columbus, Miss.

1917The Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens.

1964The musical "Funny Girl," starring Barbra Streisand, opened on Broadway.

1971East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh.

1992A judge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a Miss Black America contestant.

1997The bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate techno-religious cult who had committed suicide were found inside a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

1999Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder for giving a lethal injection to an ailing man whose death was shown on "60 Minutes."

2000Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia.

2002Arthur Andersen chief executive Joseph Berardino resigned, bowing to mounting pressure as a result of the accounting firm's role in the Enron scandal.

2003Former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., died at age 76.

[Kestra]

On March 27, 1958, Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet premier in addition to First Secretary of the Communist Party. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0327.html#article)) all together now... bang the heal of your shoe on the table.

On March 27, 1886, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about anti-Chinese violence. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0327.html)

1513Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted Florida.

1625Charles I ascended the English throne upon the death of James I.

1794President George Washington and Congress authorized creation of the U.S. Navy.

1836The first Mormon temple was dedicated, in Kirtland, Ohio.

1939Oregon won the first NCAA men's basketball tournament with a 46-33 victory over Ohio State in Evanston, Ill.

1945During World War II, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower told reporters in Paris that German defenses on the Western Front had been broken.

1964Alaska was rocked by a powerful earthquake that killed 114 people.

1977A KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on the Canary Island of Tenerife, killing 582 people.

1996An Israeli court convicted Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's confessed assassin of murder, then sentenced former law student Yigal Amir to life in prison.

1997Dexter King, son of Martin Luther King Jr., met with James Earl Ray, the man in prison for the assassination of the civil rights leader. Ray denied having anything to do with the shooting, to which King replied, "I believe you."

1998The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Viagra, made by Pfizer, to fight male impotence.

2001California regulators approved electricity rate hikes of up to 46 percent.

2002A suicide bomber killed 29 Israelis during a Passover Seder in Netanya, Israel.

2002Comedian Milton Berle died at age 93.

2006Al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui testified at his federal trial that he was supposed to hijack a fifth airplane on Sept. 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House. how interesting all this current hubbub about how 'dangerous it is' to try a terrorist in US federal court system. do you know that 300+ terrorists have been tried on US soil in federal court system. no one died, there were no terrorists attacks on US soil, nothing was bombed during those trials. and now, all are serving life in prison and not one has ever escaped. imagine that.

ftr:
(Emphasis supplied.) As for who released the "hard-core al Qaeda trained terrorists" behind this particular terrorist attack, Dick Cheney has nothing to say. Let's remind him (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/men-believed-northwest-airlines-plot-set-free/story?id=9434065):

Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. [Emphasis supplied.].

2007NFL owners voted to make instant replay a permanent officiating tool.

2009President Barack Obama launched a fresh effort to defeat al-Qaida terrorists in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, ordering in 4,000 more troops.

[Kestra]

On March 28, 1979, America's worst commercial nuclear accident occurred inside the Unit Two reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pa. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0328.html#article))

On March 28, 1863 Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0328.html)

1797 Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire patented a washing machine.

1834 The U.S. Senate voted to censure President Andrew Jackson for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States.

1854 Britain and France declared war on Russia during the Crimean War.

1930 The names of the Turkish cities of Constantinople and Angora were changed to Istanbul and Ankara, respectively.

1939 The Spanish Civil War ended as Madrid fell to the forces of Francisco Franco.

1941 Novelist and critic Virginia Woolf drowned herself near her home in England at age 59.

1943 Composer Sergei Rachmaninoff died at age 70.

1969 Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, died in Washington, D.C., at age 78.

1987 Maria von Trapp, whose life inspired the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music," died at age 82.

2000 In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court sharply curtailed police power to rely on tips to stop and search people.

2001 President George W. Bush publicly rejected the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate, a pact never ratified by the Senate.

2002 The Arab League agreed on a peace plan that offered Israel normal relations in exchange for a full withdrawal from war-won lands and a Palestinian state.

2006 More than 1 million people poured into streets across France and strikers disrupted air, rail and bus travel in the largest nationwide protest over a youth labor law.

[Kestra]

On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0510.html#article))

On May 10, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the sport of horse racing. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0510.html)

1774 Louis XVI ascended the throne of France.

1775 Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, N.Y.

1865 Union forces captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Irwinville, Ga.

1869 A golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.

1899 Actor-dancer Fred Astaire was born in Omaha, Neb.

1908 The first Mother's Day observance took place during church services in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia.

1924 J. Edgar Hoover was appointed director of the federal Bureau of Investigation - the forerunner of the FBI - a job he held until his death in 1972.

1940 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.

1941 Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuted into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission.

1968 Preliminary Vietnam peace talks began in Paris.

1994 The state of Illinois executed convicted serial killer John Wayne Gacy for the murders of 33 young men and boys.

1997 An earthquake in northeastern Iran killed at least 2,400 people.

2002 A 39-day standoff between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem ended with 13 suspected militants flown into European exile and 26 released into the Gaza Strip.

2003 The New York Times announced that one of its reporters, Jayson Blair, had "committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud."

2005 Germany dedicated a national Holocaust memorial.

2008 Jenna Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush, married Henry Hager at the Bush family ranch in Crawford, Texas.

[Kestra]

On June 18, 1948, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0618.html#article))

On June 18, 1881, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the resignation of New York two U.S. senators. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0618.html)


1812
The United States declared war against Britain.
1815
British and Prussian troops defeated the French under Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo in Belgium.
1873
Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
1928
Aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as she completed a flight from Newfoundland to Wales in about 21 hours.
1940
With the World War II Battle of Britain looming, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves so that future generations would say, "this was their finest hour."
1948
Columbia Records unveiled its new long-playing, 33 1/3 rpm phonograph record.
1979
President Jimmy Carter and Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev signed the SALT II strategic arms limitation treaty in Vienna.
1983
Astronaut Sally K. Ride became America's first woman in space as she and four colleagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
2002
A Palestinian detonated a nail-studded bomb in a Jerusalem bus, killing 19 passengers and himself.
2004
European Union leaders agreed on the first constitution for the bloc's 25 members.
2006
Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected the first female presiding bishop for the Episcopal Church, the U.S. arm of the global Anglican Communion.

[Kestra]

On June 21, 1964, three civil rights workers disappeared in Philadelphia, Miss. Their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later. Eight members of the Ku Klux Klan went to prison on federal conspiracy charges; none served more than six years. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0621.html#article))

On June 21, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential election of 1880. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0621.html)

1788The U.S. Constitution went into effect as New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.

1834Cyrus Hall McCormick received a patent for his reaping machine.

1905Philosopher, author and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre was born in Paris.

1963Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was chosen to succeed the late Pope John XXIII as head of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Paul VI.

1964Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a perfect game in a 6-0 victory over the New York Mets.

1973The Supreme Court ruled that states may ban materials found to be obscene according to local standards.

1977Menachem Begin became Israel's sixth prime minister.

1982John Hinckley Jr. was found innocent by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Ronald Reagan and three others.

1985Scientists announced that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were those of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.

1989The Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag as a form of political protest is protected by the First Amendment.

1997The Women's National Basketball Association made its debut.

2005Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, was found guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Miss., 41 years to the day earlier.

[Kestra]

On June 22, 1940, during World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0622.html#article))

On June 22, 1901, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the American steel industry. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0622.html)

1815Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for the second time.

1868Arkansas was re-admitted to the Union.

1870Congress created the Department of Justice.

1911Britain's King George V was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

1938Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling of Germany in the first round of their rematch in New York City's Yankee Stadium.

1941Germany invaded the Soviet Union during World War II.

1944President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the GI Bill of Rights, authorizing a broad package of benefits for World War II veterans.

1945The World War II battle for Okinawa ended; 12,520 Americans and 110,000 Japanese were killed in the 83-day campaign.

1969Singer-actress Judy Garland died at age 47.

1970President Richard Nixon signed a measure lowering the voting age to 18.

1986Diego Maradona scored both goals in Argentina's 2-1 World Cup quarterfinal victory over England in Mexico City - including one that he punched in, unseen by the referee. When asked about the play later, Maradona said, "It was the hand of God."

1992The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that hate-crime laws that ban cross-burning and similar expressions of racial bias violate free-speech rights.

1993Former first lady Pat Nixon died at age 81.

2008Comedian George Carlin died at age 71.

2009Jon and Kate Gosselin, stars of the reality TV series "Jon & Kate Plus 8," announced plans to divorce.

[Kestra]

On June 23, 1947, the Senate joined the House in overriding President Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0623.html#article))

On June 23, 1877, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about political repression during a government crisis in France. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0623.html)

1868 Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called the "Type-Writer."

1892 The Democratic convention in Chicago nominated former President Grover Cleveland on the first ballot.

1923 Choreographer-director Bob Fosse was born in Chicago.

1931 Aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from New York on the first round-the-world flight in a single-engine plane.

1956 Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt.

1969 Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States.

1972 President Richard Nixon and White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman discussed a plan to use the CIA to obstruct the FBI's Watergate investigation.

1992 John Gotti, convicted of racketeering charges, was sentenced in New York to life in prison.

1993 Lorena Bobbitt of Prince William County, Va., sexually mutilated her husband, John, after he allegedly raped her.

2005 Former Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the 1964 Mississippi slayings of three civil rights workers.

2009 "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon died at 86.

[Kestra]

On June 24, 1997, the Air Force released a report on the so-called "Roswell Incident," suggesting the alien bodies witnesses reported seeing in 1947 were actually life-sized dummies. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0624.html#article))

On June 24, 1905, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about President Theodore Roosevelt's mediation to end the Russo-Japanese War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0624.html)

1314The forces of Scotland's King Robert I defeated the English in the Battle of Bannockburn.

1497The first recorded sighting of North America by a European took place as explorer John Cabot, on a voyage for England, spotted land, probably in present-day Canada.

1509Henry VIII was crowned king of England.

1793The first republican constitution in France was adopted.

1908Former President Grover Cleveland died in Princeton, N.J., at age 71.

1940France signed an armistice with Italy during World War II.

1948Communist forces cut off all land and water routes between West Germany and West Berlin, prompting the United States to organize a massive airlift.

1975An Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 crashed while attempting to land during a thunderstorm at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 113 people.

1987Actor Jackie Gleason died at age 71.

1998AT&T Corp. struck a deal to buy cable television giant Tele-Communications Inc. for $31.7 billion.

2004Federal investigators questioned President George W. Bush for more than an hour in connection with the news leak of a CIA operative's name.

2009After going AWOL for seven days, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted that he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit his mistress.

[Kestra]

On June 25, 1876, Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of Little Big Horn in Montana. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0625.html#article))

On June 25, 1887, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the influential veterans' organization, the Grand Army of the Republic. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0625.html)

1788Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.

1868Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union.

1950War broke out on the Korean peninsula as forces from the communist North invaded the South.

1951The first commercial color telecast took place as CBS transmitted a one-hour special from New York to four other cities.

1962The Supreme Court ruled that the use of an unofficial, nondenominational prayer in New York public schools was unconstitutional.

1967The Beatles performed a new song, "All You Need Is Love," during a live international telecast.

1973Former White House Counsel John Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee.

1991The Yugoslav republics of Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence.

1995Warren E. Burger, the 15th chief justice of the United States, died at age 87.

1996A truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.

1997Oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau died at age 87.

1997An unmanned cargo ship crashed into Russia's Mir space station, knocking out half of the station's power and rupturing a pressurized laboratory.

1998The Supreme Court rejected a line-item veto law as unconstitutional.

2005Hardline Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Iran's presidential runoff election.

2009Michael Jackson died from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol. (The 50-year-old singer's doctor, Conrad Murray, has pleaded innocent to involuntary manslaughter.)

[Kestra]

On June 26, 1963, President Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he made his famous declaration: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner). (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0626.html#article))

On June 26, 1909, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the battle of the sexes over a game of golf. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0626.html)

1894The American Railway Union, led by Eugene Debs, called a general strike in sympathy with Pullman workers.

1917The first troops of the American Expeditionary Force arrived in France during World War I.

1919The New York Daily News was first published.

1925Charlie Chaplin's comedy "The Gold Rush" premiered in Hollywood.

1945The charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.

1948The Berlin Airlift began in earnest as the United States, Britain and France began ferrying supplies to the isolated western sector of Berlin after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes.

1950President Harry S. Truman authorized the Air Force and Navy to enter the Korean conflict.

1973Former White House counsel John W. Dean told the Senate Watergate Committee about an "enemies list" kept by the Nixon White House.

1990President George H.W. Bush, who had campaigned for office on a pledge of "no new taxes," conceded that tax increases would have to be included in any deficit-reduction package. guess the Grand Obstructionist Party has forgotten about that little tidbit.... and that Jr. ran up the largest deficit in US history.

1996The Supreme Court ordered the Virginia Military Institute to admit women or forgo state support.

2000Rival scientific teams completed the first rough map of the human genetic code.

2003The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down state bans on gay :Razz2::Razz2::Razz2:.

2003Strom Thurmond, the second longest-serving senator in U.S. history, died in Edgefield, S.C., at age 100.

2008The Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, an individual right to gun ownership.

[Kestra]

On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending World War I. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0628.html#article))

On June 28, 1884, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential election of 1884. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0628.html)

1836James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, died in Montpelier, Va., at age 85.

1838Britain's Queen Victoria was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

1894Labor Day was established as a holiday for federal employees.

1902Broadway composer Richard Rodgers was born in New York City.

1914Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Sofia, were assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serb nationalist. The event triggered World War I.

1919Harry S. Truman married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace in Independence, Mo.

1950North Korean forces captured Seoul, South Korea.

1967Israel declared Jerusalem reunified under its sovereignty following its capture of the Arab sector in the Six-Day War.

1997Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield's ear during their WBA heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas.

2000Elian Gonzalez was returned to his native Cuba seven months after he was cast adrift in the Florida Straits.

2000The Supreme Court ruled the Boy Scouts can bar homosexuals from serving as troop leaders. court ordered discrimination.


2003The movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" had its premiere.

2004The U.S.-led coalition transferred sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government two days ahead of schedule.

2004The Supreme Court ruled that enemy combatants can challenge their detention in U.S. courts.

2007The American bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list.

[Mod_Bob]

wow everything is so clean and freshly painted

[Kestra]

pritty pritty.

On June 30, 1997, in Hong Kong, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time over Government House as Britain prepared to hand the colony back to China after ruling it for 156 years. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0630.html#article))

On June 30, 1883, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about pollution in New York Harbor. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0630.html)

1859 French acrobat Blondin crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope as 5,000 spectators watched.

1908 An asteroid exploded above Tunguska in Siberia, leaving 800 square miles of scorched or blown-down trees.

1917 Jazz singer Lena Horne was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.

1921 President Warren G. Harding appointed former President William Howard Taft chief justice of the United States.

1934 Adolf Hitler began his "blood purge" of political and military leaders in Germany in what came to be known as "The Night of the Long Knives." seems a little reminisant of what happen during the last admin.

1936 The novel "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell was published.

1952 The radio soap opera "The Guiding Light" made its TV debut on CBS.

1963 Pope Paul VI was crowned the 262nd head of the Roman Catholic Church.

1971 The 26th Amendment to the Constitution, lowering the minimum voting age to 18, was ratified as Ohio became the 38th state to approve it.

1994 The U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya Harding of the national championship and banned her from the organization for life for an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan. :scream:H'WHYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEE!

2001 Doctors implanted a dual-purpose pacemaker in Vice President Dick Cheney's chest. doubles as a Cappicinno maker.

2002 Brazil won the World Cup for a record fifth time with a 2-0 victory over Germany in Yokohama, Japan.

2004 The international Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit after a nearly seven-year journey.

2005 Spain legalized gay marriage.

[Kestra]

On July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0705.html#article))

On July 5, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0705.html)


1810 Sowman and promoter Phineas T. Barnum was born in Bethel, Conn.

1811 Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.

1830 The French occupied the North African city of Algiers.

1865 William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London.

1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, which allowed labor to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining.

1946 The bikini made its debut during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris.

1948 Britain's National Health Service Act went into effect, providing government-financed medical and dental care. :hmm: Britain is way ahead of US. they did this to rebuild their society after WWII. they have the best health care system in the world.

1954 Elvis Presley's first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn.

1975 The Cape Verde Islands became independent after 500 years of Portuguese rule.

1991 Regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, charging it with fraud, drug money laundering and illegal infiltration into the U.S. banking system.

1997 Martina Hingis, 16, became the youngest Wimbledom singles champion in 110 years. :tennis:

2002 Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams died at age 83.

2005 Roger Federer of Switzerland won Wimbledon for his record 15th Grand Slam tennis title.

2006 North Korea test-fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, including at least one believed capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. good work giggles, ya did a heckuv a job.

2006 Enron founder Kenneth Lay, facing decades in prison, died of heart disease at age 64.

2009 The worst ethnic violence in decades in China erupted in the far western Xinjiang region. Some 200 people were killed.

[Kestra]

On July 26, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act, creating the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0726.html#article))

On July 26, 1884, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential election of 1884. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0726.html)


1788 New York became the 11th state to ratify the Constitution.

1856 Playwright George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland.

1945 Winston Churchill resigned as Britain's prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labor Party.He was succeeded by Clement Attlee.

1948 President Harry S. Truman signed executive orders prohibiting discrimination in the U.S. armed forces and federal employment. :hmm: and then came Clintons' DADO.

1952 Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

1953 Fidel Castro began a revolt against Fulgencio Batista with an unsuccessful attack on an army barracks in eastern Cuba.

1956 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.

1964 Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa and six others were convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the handling of a union pension fund.

1971 Apollo 15 was launched on a manned mission to the moon.

1990 The House of Representatives reprimanded Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., for ethics violations.

1990 President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act.

1990 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a young woman later identified as Kimberly Bergalis had been infected with the AIDS virus, apparently by her dentist.

2000 A federal judge approved a $1.25 billion settlement between Swiss banks and more than a half million plaintiffs who alleged the banks had hoarded money deposited by Holocaust victims.

2006 A jury in Houston found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning of her children in a bathtub in the second trial she faced on the charges; she was committed to a state mental hospital.

[Kestra]

On August 1, 1936, 100,000 saluted Adolf Hitler on his entrance at the opening of the Berlin Olympics. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0801.html#article))

On August 1, 1863, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Draft Riot in New York City. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0801.html)

1790 The first U.S. census was completed, showing a population of nearly 4 million people.

1876 Colorado was admitted to the union as the 38th state.

1914 Germany declared war on Russia at the onset of World War I.

1942 Rock musician Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead was born in San Francisco.

1943 Race-related rioting erupted in New York City's Harlem section, resulting in several deaths.

1944 An uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation.

1966 Charles Joseph Whitman shot and killed 14 people at the University of Texas before he was gunned down by police.

1981 The music video cable channel MTV made its debut.

1988 Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh began broadcasting his nationally syndicated radio program.

1995 Westinghouse Electric Corp. struck a deal to buy CBS for $5.4 billion.

2005 King Fahd of Saudi Arabia died. Crown Prince Abdullah, the king's half-brother, became the country's new monarch.

2005 Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days following a positive test for steroids.

2007 The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.

2009 Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, the democracy icon who had swept away a dictator, died in Manila at age 76.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 3, 1958, the nuclear-powered submarine Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0803.html#article))

On August 3, 1878, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about famed agnostic Robert Ingersoll. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0803.html)

1492 Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on a voyage that would take him to the present-day Americas.

1778 The opera house La Scala opened in Milan, Italy, with a performance of Antonio Salieri's "Europa riconosciuta."

1914 At the outbreak of World War I, British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey remarked: "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime."

1914 Germany declared war on France.

1923 Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th president of the United States, one day after President Warren G. Harding died of a heart attack.

1943 Gen. George S. Patton slapped a private at an army hospital in Sicily, accusing him of cowardice.

1948 Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist, publicly accused former State Department official Alger Hiss of having been part of a Communist underground, a charge Hiss denied.

1949 The National Basketball Association was formed.

1981 U.S. air traffic controllers went on strike, despite a warning from President Ronald Reagan that they would be fired.

1994 Stephen G. Breyer was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice.

2003 Golfer Annika Sorenstam completed a career Grand Slam by winning the Women's British Open.

2008 Nobel Prize-winning Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn died at age 89.

2009 Iran's supreme leader formally endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a second term as president.

[Kestra]

On August 5, 1963 the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0805.html#article))

On August 5, 1882, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the gubernatorial campaign of Alexander Stephens, the former Confederate vice president. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0805.html)

1861 The federal government levied an income tax for the first time.

1884 The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

1924 The comic strip "Little Orphan Annie" by Harold Gray made its debut.

1957 "American Bandstand," hosted by Dick Clark, made its network TV debut on ABC.

1962 Actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home at age 36. (Her death was ruled a probable suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills.)

1966 The album "Revolver" by the Beatles was released.

1969 The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars, sending back photographs and scientific data.

1981 The federal government began firing striking air traffic controllers.

2001 Afghanistan's ruling Taliban jailed eight foreign aid workers, including two Americans, for allegedly preaching Christianity.

2009 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term as Iran's president.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0806.html#article))

On August 6, 1904, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the 1904 presidential campaign. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0806.html)

1825 Bolivia declared its independence from Peru.

1890 The electric chair was used for the first time, to execute a convicted murderer at Auburn State Prison in New York.

1890 Hall of fame pitcher Cy Young made his major league debut with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League.

1914 Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia, and Serbia declared war against Germany at the outbreak of World War I.

1926 Gertrude Ederle of New York became the first American woman to swim the English Channel.

1962 Jamaica became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.

1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.

1965 The album "Help!" by the Beatles was released.

1978 Pope Paul VI died at age 80.

1998 Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky testified before a grand jury about her relationship with President Bill Clinton.

2001 President George W. Bush received a memo entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S." as part of his daily intelligence briefing. :huh: gee, i wonder what that means?... oh yeah... go read "My Pet Goat" then; bomb, invade, occupy Iraq.

2007 The Crandall Canyon Mine in central Utah collapsed, trapping six coal miners. (All six miners died, along with three rescuers.)

2008 The government declared that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was solely responsible for the anthrax attacks that killed five in 2001. (Ivins had committed suicide on July 29.)

2008 A U.S. military jury convicted Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, of supporting terrorism in the first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay.

2009 Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice by a Senate vote of 68-31.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 13, 1961, Berlin was divided as East Germany sealed off the border between the city's eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0813.html#article))

On August 13, 1898, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about disease and the Spanish-American War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0813.html)

1521 Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured present-day Mexico City from the Aztecs.

1704 The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.

1899 Movie director Alfred Hitchcock was born in London.

1932 Adolf Hitler rejected the post of vice-chancellor of Germany, saying he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing."

1934 The comic strip "Li'l Abner" by Al Capp made its debut.

1942 Walt Disney's animated feature "Bambi" premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

1960 The first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1, a balloon satellite.

1981 President Ronald Reagan signed a historic package of tax and budget reductions.

1995 Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle died of liver cancer at age 63.

2003 Libya agreed to set up a $2.7 billion fund for families of 270 people killed in the 1988 Pan Am bombing.

2004 The 28th summer Olympic games opened in Athens.

2008 American Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals.

2009 Guitar virtuoso Les Paul died at age 94.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 20, 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the ''Prague Spring'' liberalization drive of Alexander Dubcek's regime. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0820.html#article))

On August 20, 1904, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential election of 1904. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0820.html)

1833 Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States, was born in North Bend, Ohio.

1914 German forces occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War I.

1918 Britain opened an offensive on the Western front during World War I.

1940 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill paid tribute to the Royal Air Force, saying, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

1953 The Soviet Union publicly acknowledged it had tested a hydrogen bomb.

1955 Hundreds of people were killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.

1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a nearly $1 billion anti-poverty measure.

1977 The United States launched Voyager 2, an unmanned spacecraft carrying a 12-inch copper phonograph record containing greetings in dozens of languages, samples of music and sounds of nature.

1992 The Republican National Convention in Houston nominated President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for a second term.

1998 Retaliating for deadly embassy bombings in East Africa, the United States launched cruise missile strikes against al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan and what was described as a chemical plant in Sudan.

2009 Voting in Afghanistan's presidential election was marred by rampant ballot-box stuffing. (Hamid Karzai was declared the winner in November.)

2009 The only man convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 returned home to Libya after his release from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 21, 1959, President Eisenhower signed an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0821.html#article))

On August 21, 1880, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential election of 1880. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0821.html)

1831 Nat Turner launched a short-lived, violent slave rebellion in Virginia.

1858 The first of seven debates between U.S. Senate candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas took place in Ottawa, Ill.

1878 The American Bar Association was founded in Saratoga, N.Y.

1904 Jazz musician and bandleader William "Count" Basie was born in Red Bank, N.J.

1940 Exiled Russian Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky died in Mexico City from wounds inflicted by an assassin.

1983 Philippine opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., ending a self-imposed exile in the United States, was shot dead moments after stepping off a plane at Manila International Airport. guess that wasn't such a wise choice.

1987 Sgt. Clayton Lonetree, the first Marine ever court-martialed for spying, was convicted in Quantico, Va., of passing secrets to the KGB.

1991 A hard-line coup against Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev collapsed in the face of a popular uprising led by Russian federation President Boris Yeltsin.

2000 Rescue efforts to reach the sunken Russian nuclear submarine Kursk ended with divers announcing that none of the 118 sailors had survived.

2002 A jury in San Diego convicted David Westerfield of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. (He was later sentenced to death.)

2006 British prosecutors announced that 11 people had been charged in an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic jetliners bound for the United States.

2009 Leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to lift a ban that prohibited sexually active gays and lesbians from serving as ministers.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 29, 1991, the Supreme Soviet, the parliament of the U.S.S.R., suspended all activities of the Communist Party, bringing an end to the institution. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0829.html#article)) ya'd never know tho hear the rightee tightees sceech about communism.

On August 29, 1908, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the phonograph and the presidential election of 1908. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0829.html)


1533 The last Incan king, Atahualpa, was murdered on orders from Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro.

1632 English philosopher John Locke was born in Somerset.

1877 Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon Church, died in Salt Lake City at age 76.

1944 American troops marched down the Champs Elysees in Paris as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis.

1957 Sen. Strom Thurmond, D-S.C., ended the longest filibuster in Senate history after talking for 24 hours, 18 minutes against a civil rights bill. that was back in the day when they really had to filibustered and not just say it.

1958 Pop singer Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Ind.

1965 Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles "Pete" Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic after eight days in space.

1966 The Beatles performed their last concert, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

1996 President Bill Clinton's chief political strategist, Dick Morris, resigned amid a scandal over his relationship with a prostitute.

2000 Pope John Paul II endorsed organ donation and adult stem cell study but condemned human cloning and embryo experiments.

2008 Republican John McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his vice-presidential running mate. yeah, they figured since Hillary was running they needed a woman, any woman didn't matter as vp.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 30, 1963, the hot-line communications link between Washington, D.C., and Moscow went into operation. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0830.html#article))

On August 30, 1884, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential election of 1884. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0830.html)

1797 "Frankenstein" author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in London.

1862 Union forces were defeated by the Confederates at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Va.

1893 Huey P. Long, the "Kingfish" of Louisiana politics, was born in Winn Parish, La.

1905 Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb made his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers.

1918 Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams was born in San Diego.

1941 Nazi forces began a siege of Leningrad during World War II that lasted nearly two and a half years.

1945 Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan and set up Allied occupation headquarters.

1965 The album "Highway 61 Revisited" by Bob Dylan was released.

1967 The Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first African-American justice on the Supreme Court.

1983 Guion S. Bluford Jr. became the first African-American astronaut to travel in space when he blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

1989 A federal jury in New York found "hotel queen" Leona Helmsley guilty of income tax evasion but acquitted her of extortion. only peons pay taxes.

1990 President George H.W. Bush told a news conference that a "new world order" could emerge from the Persian Gulf crisis.

1993 "The Late Show with David Letterman" premiered on CBS.

1999 Residents of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a U.N.-sponsored ballot.

2005 A day after Hurricane Katrina hit, floodwaters covered 80 percent of New Orleans, looting continued to spread and rescuers in helicopters and boats picked up hundreds of stranded people. it was a black eye for the past Admin

[Kestra]

On Sept. 3, 1976, the unmanned U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the planet's surface. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0903.html#article))

On September 3, 1864, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential campaign of 1864. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0903.html)

1189 England's King Richard I (the Lion-Hearted) was crowned in Westminster.

1658 Oliver Cromwell, England's lord protector, died.

1783 The Treaty of Paris officially ended America's Revolutionary War.

1929 The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 381.17, it's pre-crash high.

1939 Britain and France declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland.

1970 Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi died at age 57.

1978 Pope John Paul I was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

2004 A three-day hostage siege at a school in Beslan, Russia, ended in bloody chaos after Chechen militants set off bombs and Russian commandos stormed the building; more than 330 people were killed, most of them children.

2005 President George W. Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

2005 Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died at age 80.

2007 Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, 63, vanished after taking off in a single-engine plane in western Nevada. (His remains were discovered in October 2008 in California's Sierra Nevada mountains.)

2009 A private funeral service was held in Glendale, Calif. for singer Michael Jackson, whose body was entombed in a mausoleum. yeah, a "private funeral service" that was paid for by tax payers of Calif.

[Kestra]

On Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0904.html#article))

On September 4, 1869, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about possible United States intervention in Cuba's first war of independence. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0904.html)


1781 Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers. do tell.

1888 George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film camera and registered his trademark: Kodak.

1917 The American expeditionary force in France suffered its first fatalities in World War I.

1951 In the first live coast-to-coast TV broadcast, President Harry S. Truman addressed the nation from the Japanese peace treaty conference in San Francisco.

1957 Ford Motor Co. began selling its ill-fated Edsel line.

1972 Swimmer Mark Spitz became the first person to win seven gold medals at a single Olympic Games when the United States won the 400-meter relay in Munich.

2002 Singer Kelly Clarkson was voted the first "American Idol" on the Fox TV series.

2006 "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, 44, died after a stingray's barb pierced his chest. :(

2007 Toy maker Mattel Inc. recalled 800,000 lead-tainted, Chinese-made toys worldwide, a third major recall in just over a month. god bless Outsourcing.

2008 Sen. John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination at the party's convention in St. Paul, Minn.

2008 Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a sex scandal, forcing the Democrat out of office.

[Kestra]

On Sept. 6, 1901, President William B. McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0906.html#article))

On September 6, 1902, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about William Devery, the corrupt police chief of New York City. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0906.html)


1916 The first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, was opened in Memphis, Tenn., by Clarence Saunders.

1941 Jews over the age of 6 in German-occupied areas were ordered to wear yellow Stars of David. and now we're emulating this same ideology with American Muslims.

1970 Palestinian guerrillas seized control of three jetliners, which were later blown up on the ground in Jordan after the passengers and crews were evacuated.

1975 Czechoslovakian tennis player Martina Navratilova, in New York for the U.S. Open, requested political asylum.

1996 Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles hit his 500th career home run during a game against the Detroit Tigers.

1997 Britain bade farewell to Princess Diana with a funeral service at Westminster Abbey.

2004 Former President Bill Clinton underwent successful heart bypass surgery.

2005 The California Legislature became the first legislative body in the nation to approve same-sex marriages. (Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger later vetoed the bill.) what! he upheld the Constitutional rights of US citizens?!

2006 President George W. Bush acknowledged previously secret CIA prisons around the world and said 14 high-value terrorism suspects had been transferred from the system to Guantanamo Bay for trials.

2007 Opera singer Luciano Pavarotti died at age 71.

[Kestra]

On Sept. 13, 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0913.html#article))

On September 13, 1862, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Dakota (Indian) War of 1862. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0913.html)

1788 The Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election and declared New York City the temporary national capital.

1943 Chiang Kai-shek became president of China.

1948 Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.

1949 The Ladies Professional Golf Association of America was formed in New York City.

1971 A four-day inmates' rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed 43 lives.

1990 "Law & Order" premiered on NBC.

1996 Rapper Tupac Shakur, 25, died at a Las Vegas hospital six days after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting.

1998 NBC's "Frasier" won a record fifth consecutive Emmy as TV's best comedy series.

1999 A bomb blamed by authorities on Chechen rebels devastated an eight-story apartment building in Moscow, killing at least 124 people.

2000 Former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee pleaded guilty in Albuquerque, N.M., to one count of mishandling nuclear secrets. Lee, who had been held in solitary confinement for nine months, was set free with an apology from U.S. District Judge James Parker.

2000 Chase Manhattan agreed to buy J.P. Morgan for more than $35 billion, creating the third largest financial company in the U.S.

2001 Secretary of State Colin Powell named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the terror attacks on the United States; limited commercial flights resumed for the first time in two days. yeah! let’s bomb invade and occupy Iraq without Congressional and UN support! don’t worry about paying for it.

2007 The NFL fined New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 for spying on the New York Jets during a game.

2009 Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for best female video at the MTV Video Awards, taking the microphone to say Beyonce should have won the award instead.

[Kestra]

On Sept. 17, 1862, Union forces hurled back a Confederate invasion of Maryland in the Civil War battle of Antietam. With 23,100 killed, wounded or captured, it remains the bloodiest day in U.S. military history. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0917.html#article))

On September 17, 1859, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the conscription of naturalized American citizens into military service in their countries of origin. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0917.html)

1787 The U.S. Constitution was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

1907 Warren Burger, the 15th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was born in St. Paul, Minn.

1920 The American Professional Football Association - a precursor of the National Football League - was formed in Canton, Ohio.

1939 The Soviet Union invaded Poland during World War II.

1947 James V. Forrestal was sworn in as the first U.S. secretary of defense.

1972 The comedy series "M.A.S.H." premiered on CBS.

1976 NASA unveiled the space shuttle Enterprise.

1980 Former Nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza was assassinated in Paraguay.

1986 The Senate confirmed the nomination of William H. Rehnquist as the 16th chief justice of the United States.

1994 Heather Whitestone of Alabama became the first deaf woman to be crowned Miss America.

1996 Former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew died at age 77.

1997 Northern Ireland's main Protestant party joined peace talks, bringing the major players together for first time.

1999 President Bill Clinton lifted restrictions on trade, travel and banking imposed on North Korea a half-century earlier.

2001 Wall Street trading resumed for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - its longest shutdown since the Depression; the Dow lost 684.81 points, its worst one-day point drop to date.

2001 Pro sporting events resumed after a six-day hiatus following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

2003 New York Stock Exchange chairman Dick Grasso resigned amid a furor over his $139.5 million pay package.

2004 Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for the recent school siege in Beslan and other terrorist attacks in Russia that claimed more than 430 lives.

2004 San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds hit his 700th career home run, joining Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755) as the only players to reach the milestone.

[Kestra]

On Sept. 18, 1947, the National Security Act, which unified the Army, Navy and newly formed Air Force, went into effect. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0918.html#article))

On September 18, 1880, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Southern Democratic influence and the presidential election of 1880. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0918.html)

1759 The French surrendered Quebec to the British.

1793 President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.

1810 Chile declared its independence from Spain.

1850 Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed slaveowners to reclaim slaves who had escaped to other states. this is the America Tea Partyers want to "take back America" to. won't that be fun.

1851 The first edition of The New York Times was published.

1905 Actress Greta Garbo was born in Stockholm, Sweden. i vwant to be alooone.

1927 The Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (later CBS) debuted with a network of 16 radio stations.

1961 United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was killed in a plane crash in northern Rhodesia.

1970 Rock musician Jimi Hendrix died of a drug overdose at age 27.

1975 Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

1997 Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse agreed to merge to create the world's biggest accounting firm.

1997 Media mogul Ted Turner pledged $1 billion to the United Nations.

1999 Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs became the first player in major league baseball history to hit 60 home runs in a season twice.

2003 Hurricane Isabel plowed into North Carolina's Outer Banks with 100-mph winds and pushed its way up the Eastern Seaboard; the storm claimed 40 lives.

2004 Pop singer Britney Spears married dancer Kevin Federline. (The couple divorced in 2007.) oh no! i'm no longer a virgin, how will i market myself now!?... i know... don't wear underwear.

[Kestra]

On Sept. 19, 1881, the 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield, died of wounds inflicted by an assassin. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0919.html#article))

On September 19, 1903, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a major Post Office scandal during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0919.html)


1777 American soldiers won the first Battle of Saratoga during the Revolutionary War.

1934 Bruno Hauptmann was arrested in New York and charged with the kidnap-murder of the Lindbergh baby.

1955 President Juan Peron of Argentina was ousted after a revolt by the military.

1957 The United States conducted its first underground nuclear test, in the Nevada desert.

1970 "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" debuted on CBS.

1982 Emoticons were born when Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman proposed punctuating humorous or sarcastic computer messages with a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis ; ) : - ) to depict a horizontal smiley face.

1985 The Mexico City area was struck by the first of two devastating earthquakes that claimed some 6,000 lives.

1994 U.S. troops entered Haiti to enforce the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

1995 The New York Times and The Washington Post published the Unabomber's manifesto.

2001 The Pentagon ordered combat aircraft to the Persian Gulf in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. naw, giggles had no initial intention of bombing, invading, and occupying a country that had absolutly nothing to do with 9\11. but their oil fields were ssssooo abundant.
:golf:

2002 President George W. Bush asked Congress for authority to use military force if necessary to disarm and overthrow Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein if he did not quickly meet United Nations demands to abandon weapons of mass destruction. we all know it didn't matter. giggles mind (and i use that term loosely) was made up...by Chinny chin chin.

2004 Hu Jintao became the undisputed leader of China with the departure of former President Jiang Zemin from his top military post.

2005 Former Tyco CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski and former finance chief Mark Swartz were each sentenced to up to 25 years in prison for looting the company of hundreds of millions of dollars. aw, who needs regulations?

2005 Al-Qaida deputy Ayman al-Zawahri said his terror network had carried out the July 7 London bombings that killed 52 people.

2008 Struggling to stave off financial catastrophe, the Bush administration asked Congress for $700 billion to buy up troubled mortgage-related assets from U.S. financial institutions. regulations schmegulations, who needs em when there's tax payer money to be had? yes, the Bush admin gave a $700b parting gift to "To Big To Fail" corporations. here ya go boys, and thanks for all the fish.
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg132/Kestra_R/freemoney.gif

2008 AMC's "Mad Men" became the first basic-cable show to win a top series Emmy award.

[Kestra]

On Sept. 20, 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in a $100,000 winner-take-all tennis match. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0920.html#article))


On September 20, 1902, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a leading reform mayor and potential Democratic presidential nominee. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0920.html)


1519 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain on a voyage to find a western passage to the Spice Islands in Indonesia.

1870 Italian troops took control of the Papal States, leading to the unification of Italy.

1873 Panic swept the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of railroad bond defaults and bank failures.

1881 Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st president of the United States, succeeding James A. Garfield, who had been assassinated.

1962 James Meredith, a black man, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Gov. Ross R. Barnett. and now we have a black president. we've come a long way baby.

1973 Singer-songwriter Jim Croce, 30, died in a plane crash in Louisiana.

1977 The first wave of Southeast Asian "boat people" arrived in San Francisco under a U.S. resettlement program.

1984 A suicide car bomber attacked the U.S. Embassy annex in north Beirut, killing a dozen people.

1998 After playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games over 16 seasons, Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles sat out a game against the New York Yankees.

1999 Lawrence Russell Brewer was convicted in the dragging death of an African-American man, James Byrd Jr., in Jasper, Texas.

2005 Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal died at age 96

[Kestra]

On Sept. 24, 1996, the United States and the world's other major nuclear powers signed a treaty to end all testing and development of nuclear weapons. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0924.html#article))

On September 24, 1881, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the status of Native Americans within the American legal system. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0924.html)

1755 John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the United States, was born in Germantown, Virginia.

1789 Congress passed the First Judiciary Act, which provided for an attorney general and a Supreme Court.

1869 Financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the gold market, sending Wall Street into a panic and leaving thousands of investors in financial ruin.

1896 Author F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minn.

1957 The Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets Field before moving to Los Angeles for the next season.

1960 The USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was launched at Newport News, Va.

1968 "60 Minutes" premiered on CBS.

1969 A trial began for the "Chicago Eight," who were accused of inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic national convention.

1976 Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was sentenced to seven years in prison for her part in a 1974 bank robbery.

1991 The album "Nevermind" by Nirvana was released.

1996 The world's major nuclear powers signed a treaty to end all testing and development of nuclear weapons. and then came giggles who undid all that.

1998 Redesigned $20 bills meant to be harder to counterfeit went into circulation.

2007 United Auto Workers walked off the job at GM plants in the first nationwide strike during auto contract negotiations since 1976. (A tentative pact ended the walkout two days later.)

[Kestra]

On Sept. 25, 1957, with 300 United States Army troops standing guard, nine black children were escorted to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, days after unruly white crowds had forced them to withdraw. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0925.html#article))

On September 25, 1880, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Samuel J. Randall, the Democratic speaker of the house, and the presidential election of 1880. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0925.html)

1493 Christopher Columbus set sail from Cadiz, Spain, with a flotilla of 17 ships on his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere.

1513 Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama to reach the Pacific Ocean.

1775 American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen was captured by the British as he led an attack on Montreal.

1789 The first United States Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. (Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.)

1890 Mormon president Wilford Woodruff issued a manifesto formally renouncing the practice of polygamy.

1897 Author William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Miss.

1919 President Woodrow Wilson collapsed after a speech in Pueblo, Colo., during a tour in support of the Treaty of Versailles.

1956 The first trans-Atlantic telephone cable went into service.

1980 Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, 32, choked to death on his own vomit after a drinking binge.

1981 Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

2001 Saudi Arabia cut its relations with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban.

2001 Michael Jordan announced he was returning to basketball with the NBA's Washington Wizards.

2003 France reported a death toll of 14,802 from a heat wave.

2006 The Louisiana Superdome, a symbol of misery during Hurricane Katrina, reopened for a New Orleans Saints football game. and they kicked ass and took numbers. Who Dat!

[Kestra]

On Sept. 26, 1960, the first televised debate between presidential candidates took place in Chicago as Republican Richard M. Nixon and Democrat John F. Kennedy squared off. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0926.html#article))

On September 26, 1885, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the America's Cup yacht race. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0926.html)

1789 Thomas Jefferson was appointed America's first secretary of state and John Jay the first chief justice.

1888 Poet T.S. Eliot was born in St. Louis, Mo.

1898 Composer George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York.

1914 The Federal Trade Commission was established.

1950 United Nations troops recaptured the South Korean capital of Seoul from the North Koreans.

1957 The musical "West Side Story" opened on Broadway.

1969 The album "Abbey Road" by the Beatles was released.

1980 The Cuban government closed Mariel Harbor, ending the freedom flotilla of Cuban refugees that began the previous April.

1986 William H. Rehnquist was sworn in as the 16th chief justice of the United States, while Antonin Scalia joined the Supreme Court as an associate justice.

1990 The Motion Picture Association of America announced it had created a new rating, NC-17, designed to bar moviegoers under age 17 from certain films without the commercial stigma of the old X rating.

1991 Four men and four women began a two-year stay inside a sealed-off structure known as Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Ariz.

1996 Richard Allen Davis, the killer of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, was sentenced to death in San Jose, Calif.

2000 Slobodan Milosevic conceded that his challenger, Vojislav Kostunica, had finished first in Yugoslavia's presidential election. Milosevic declared a runoff, a move that prompted mass protests leading to his ouster.

2005 Army Pfc. Lynndie England was convicted by a military jury on six counts stemming from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. the sacrifical lamb so the architechs could go free.

2005 International weapons inspectors announced the Irish Republican Army's full disarmament.

2006 Former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the fallen energy company's bankruptcy. aw yes, the beginning of the fall that led to the $708b bail out (just code word for fleecing tax payers), thanks Bush\Cheney ya did "a heckuva job". gotta love deregulation.

2008 Actor Paul Newman died at age 83.

2009 Director Roman Polanski was arrested in Zurich on an international warrant stemming from his flight from justice in the U.S. in 1978 on charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. (The Swiss government eventually decided against extraditing him.)

[Kestra]

On Sept. 27, 1964, the Warren Commission issued a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0927.html#article))

On September 27, 1902, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about college football. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0927.html)


1540 Pope Paul III issued a papal bull establishing the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, as a religious order.

1779 John Adams was named to negotiate the Revolutionary War's peace terms with Britain.

1825 The first locomotive to haul a passenger train was operated by George Stephenson in England.

1928 The United States said it was recognizing the Nationalist Chinese government.

1939 Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.

1954 "Tonight!" hosted by Steve Allen, made its debut on NBC-TV.

1959 A typhoon battered the main Japanese island of Honshu, killing nearly 5,000 people.

1990 The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Supreme Court nomination of David H. Souter.

1991 The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked, 7-7, on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.

1994 More than 350 Republican congressional candidates signed the "Contract with America," a 10-point platform they pledged to enact if voters sent a GOP majority to the U.S. House. yeah, that worked out well. 16 years later US teetered on the verge of bankruptcy. two illegal unpaid for wars. tax wellfare for the weathiest amoungst us. a majority of jobs outsouced. housing bubble, 401k's down the tube because it was invested in the stock market. and as a going away present, Corporat America was given $708b parting gift. and now, we're left to dig our way out of this nifty hole GOP dug and crashed the car in.

1996 The Taliban, a band of former seminary students, drove the government of Afghani President Burhanuddin Rabbani out of Kabul, captured the capital and executed former leader Najibullah.

1998 Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his record-setting 69th and 70th home runs in the last game of the season.

1999 Tiger Stadium closed after 87 years as home of baseball's Detroit Tigers.

2005 Army reservist Lynndie England was sentenced to three years behind bars for her role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. god forbid the real architecs of torture are punished.

2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist and former Nixon speechwriter William Safire died at age 79.

[Alienrock]

Kestra, I remember that contract with America which was the brainchild of Newt Gingrich. It didn't work out wll for the GOP. Will the current 'contract' work out any better? Stay tuned.

[Kestra]

not so different from the last one. only this time they're actually telling us what all they'll take away if we vote them back in. and they plan to shut down gov, just like Newty did. and if given the opportunity they'll issue sapena after sapena and keep pres. Obama busy giving testimony after testimony to "prove" he's an American citizen, not a Muslim etc. and We The Tax payer will be paying for it.

On October 1, 1961, Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run of the season, breaking Babe Ruth's record of 60 set in 1927. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1001.html#article))

On October 1, 1887, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a dispute between President Grover Cleveland and Governor Joseph Foraker of Ohio. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1001.html)

1903 The visiting Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Americans 7-3 in the first World Series game.

1908 Henry Ford introduced the Model T automobile to the market; each car cost $825. which ran on alcohol, which led to prohibition that was influenced by an oil cartel because he wanted them to run on gas only.

1924 William Rehnquist, the 16th chief justice of the United States, was born in Milwaukee, Wis.

1936 General Francisco Franco was proclaimed the head of an insurgent Spanish state.

1939 Winston Churchill described the Soviet Union as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" during a radio broadcast.

1949 Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China during a ceremony in Beijing.

1962 Johnny Carson debuted as regular host of NBC's "Tonight" show.

1964 The Free Speech Movement was launched at the University of California at Berkeley. California dreamin.

1971 Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Fla.

1993 Polly Klaas, 12, was abducted from her Petaluma, Calif., home during a slumber party and murdered. (Her case inspired California's three-strikes law.)

2001 The world's first third-generation (3G) high-speed cellular phone service was launched in Japan..

2007 The summer melt of Arctic sea ice in 2007 was the greatest on record, the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported. :hmm: naw, there's no climate change.

2008 A $700 billion financial industry bailout won lopsided passage in the Senate, 74-25, after it was loaded with tax breaks and other sweeteners. a tidy going away present from giggles to the top 2% of this country.

2009 "Late Show" host David Letterman acknowledged having sexual relationships with some female staffers as a former CBS producer was charged in a blackmail plot.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first black to serve on the high court. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1002.html#article))

On October 2, 1909, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about President William Howard Taft and the Payne-Aldrich Tariff. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1002.html)

1869 Political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India.

1890 Comedian Groucho Marx was born in New York.

1919 President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.

1944 Nazi troops crushed the two-month-old Warsaw Uprising, during which 250,000 people were killed.

1950 The comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz was first published.

1958 The former French colony of Guinea in West Africa proclaimed its independence.

1959 "The Twilight Zone" debuted on CBS.

1985 Actor Rock Hudson died at age 59 after a battle with AIDS.

1990 The Senate voted 90-9 to confirm Supreme Court nominee David H. Souter.

2000 The International Space Station got its first residents as an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts arrived aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule for a four-month stay.

2002 A man was shot and killed in a grocery store parking lot in Wheaton, Md., the first victim in a series of sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. area, that left 10 dead.

2006 A man took a group of girls hostage in an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa., killing five and wounding five others before committing suicide.

2008 Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden faced off in a vice presidental debate. "i'm not answering any of your stupid gotcha questions.", "say it ain't so, Joe.", "you betcha!" :wgrin:

2008 Searchers found the wreckage of millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett's plane more than a year after he disappeared on a solo flight over California's Sierra Nevada mountains

[Kestra]

On Oct. 3, 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a new unified country. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1003.html#article))

On October 3, 1874, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the controversial suggestion that Francis Bacon wrote the plays attributed to William Shakespeare. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1003.html)


1863President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day.

1929The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes changed its name to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

1941Adolf Hitler declared in a speech in Berlin that Russia had been "broken" and would "never rise again."

1951 Bobby Thomson hit the "shot heard 'round the world" a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of a playoff game at the Polo Grounds to send the New York Giants into the World Series.

1955"Captain Kangaroo" premiered on CBS and "The Mickey Mouse Club" premiered on ABC. meeska, mooska, mousecateer...

1960"The Andy Griffith Show" premiered on CBS.

1974The Cleveland Indians hired Frank Robinson as major league baseball's first black manager.

1981 Irish nationalists at the Maze Prison near Belfast, Northern Ireland, ended seven months of hunger strikes that had claimed 10 lives.

1995 A jury found ex-football player O.J. Simpson innocent of murder in the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. yeah right.

2002 Five people were killed in random shootings in the Washington, D.C., area within a 14-hour period. Authorities began to search for the "Beltway Sniper."

2003 A tiger attacked magician Roy Horn of the duo "Siegfried & Roy" during a performance in Las Vegas, leaving him partially paralyzed.

2005 President George W. Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. (Miers withdrew three weeks later.) :drool:

2009 Maine voters voted to repeal a state law that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry. yeah, "we demand the civil right to take away and deny constitutional and civil rights to other US citizens, because we personally don't like thier lifestyle and we're homophobs."

2008 The House gave final Congressional approval to a revised $700 billion bailout of the financial industry. yeah, a crisis perpetraited by giggles and darth.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1004.html#article))

On October 4, 1862, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about General George B. McClellan and the Battle of Antietam. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1004.html)


1822 Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, was born in Delaware, Ohio.

1895 The first U.S. Open golf tournament was held, at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island.

1923 Actor Charlton Heston was born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Ill.

1931 The comic strip "Dick Tracy" by Chester Gould made its debut.

1957 Jimmy Hoffa was elected president of the Teamsters Union.

1957 "Leave It to Beaver" premiered on CBS.

1970 Rock singer Janis Joplin, 27, was found dead of an accidental heroin overdose.

1990 German lawmakers held the first meeting of the reunified country's parliament in the Reichstag in Berlin.

1993 Dozens of cheering, dancing Somalis dragged the body of an American soldier through the streets of Mogadishu.

2001 Authorities said a man in Boca Raton, Fla., had contracted the inhaled form of anthrax; he died the following day.

2002 John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban," was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a federal judge in Alexandria, Va. hmm, interesting how giggles admin could try terrorist on American soil without a bunch of terrified screamers "no! it's too dangerous!" like they do when Obama Admin wants to try terrorists on American soil.

2002 Richard Reid pleaded guilty in a federal court to trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 8, 1982, all labor organizations in Poland, including Solidarity, were banned. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1008.html#article))

On October 8, 1864, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential election of 1864. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1008.html)


1869Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, died in Concord, N.H., at age 64.

1918American Army Sgt. Alvin York almost single-handedly killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 in the Argonne Forest in France.

1944"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" debuted on CBS Radio.

1945President Harry S. Truman announced that the secret of the atomic bomb would be shared only with Britain and Canada.

1956Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series as the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 in Game 5.

1959Margaret Thatcher was first elected to the British Parliament as a Conservative representing the north London suburb of Finchley.

1970Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was named winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.

1871The Great Chicago Fire erupted. The blaze destroyed four square miles of the city, killing about 250 people and leaving some 90,000 homeless.

1985The hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro killed American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and dumped his body and wheelchair overboard.

2001Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was sworn in as director of the new Office of Homeland Security.

2004Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart reported to prison to begin serving a sentence for lying about a stock sale. amazing, and all those Wallstreet CEO's walked away with billions after tanking the economy.

2005A major earthquake flattened villages on the Pakistan-India border, killing an estimated 86,000 people.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 9, 1967, Latin American guerrilla leader Che Guevara was executed in Bolivia while attempting to incite revolution. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1009.html#article))

On October 9, 1897, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Senator Thomas Platt, longtime political boss of the New York State Republican Party. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1009.html)


1635Religious dissident Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1701The Collegiate School of Connecticut "later Yale University“ was chartered in New Haven.

1776A group of Spanish missionaries settled in present-day San Francisco.

1888The public was first admitted to the Washington Monument.

1930Laura Ingalls became the first woman to fly across the United States as she completed a nine-stop journey from Roosevelt Field in New York to Glendale, Calif. :Plane:

1936The first generator at Boulder (later Hoover) Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles.

1940Rock musician and songwriter John Lennon of the Beatles was born in Liverpool, England. :bgirl:

1946The Eugene O'Neill drama "The Iceman Cometh" opened on Broadway.

1958Pope Pius XII died.

1975Soviet scientist Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1985The hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise liner surrendered after the ship arrived in Port Said, Egypt.

1990David Souter was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

2001Letters postmarked in Trenton, N.J., that later tested positive for anthrax spores were mailed to Sens. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. interesting how it was only Dems.

2006North Korea announced that it had conducted its first nuclear weapons test.

2006Google Inc. announced it was snapping up YouTube Inc. for $1.65 billion in a stock deal.

2007The Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high of 14,164.53. you know what they say about 'the bigger they are'.

2008The Dow Jones industrials fell below 9,000 “ to 8,579.19“ for the first time in five years. god bless deregulation. reps and giggle admin were 'banking' on this crash to happen "after" he left office so the new admin could take the fall.

2009President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew pleaded no contest to one count of federal income tax evasion and resigned his office. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1010.html#article))

On October 10, 1891, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about China's rejection of the new U.S. minister to that country. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1010.html)


1813Composer Giuseppe Verdi was born in Le Roncole, Italy.

1845The U.S. Naval Academy opened in Annapolis, Md.

1886The tuxedo dinner jacket made its American debut at the autumn ball in Tuxedo Park, N.Y.

1911Revolutionaries under Sun Yat-sen overthrew China's Manchu dynasty.

1935George Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess" opened on Broadway.

1943Chiang Kai-shek took the oath of office as president of China.

1964The 18th Summer Olympic Games opened in Tokyo.

1966The Beach Boys released the single "Good Vibrations." :boogie:

1970Fiji became independent after nearly a century of British rule.

1979Hall-of-Famer Wayne Gretzky made his National Hockey League debut as the visiting Edmonton Oilers took on the Chicago Blackhawks.

1985U.S. fighter jets forced an Egyptian plane carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro to land in Italy, where the gunmen were taken into custody.

1985Actor-director Orson Welles died at age 70.

2002The House voted 296-133 to give President George W. Bush broad authority to use military force against Iraq. (The Senate followed suit the next day.) of course they weren't allowed to read all the details first. same with the Patriot Act.

2003Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh announced during his syndicated radio show that he was addicted to painkillers and was checking into a rehab center. and Viagra.

2004Actor Christopher Reeve, who became a quadriplegic after a May 1995 horse riding accident, died at age 52.

2005Angela Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor and its first leader from the former Communist east. and giggles gave her a neck rub. yeah that's showing respect to other world leaders.

2008Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled that gay couples have the right to marry. and the fright right went crazy, "they're legislating from the bench!"

[Kestra]

On Oct. 11, 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1011.html#article))

On October 11, 1873, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the response of the Grant administration to the economic panic of 1873. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1011.html)

1811The first steam-powered ferryboat was put into operation between New York City and Hoboken, N.J.

1884First lady Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City.

1958The lunar probe Pioneer 1 was launched; it failed to go as far as planned, fell back to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.

1962Pope John XXIII convened the first session of the Roman Catholic Church's 21st Ecumenical Council, better known as Vatican II.

1975"Saturday Night Live" debuted on NBC.

1986President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened two days of talks on arms control and human rights in Reykjavik, Iceland.

1991Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, law professor Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her; Thomas reappeared before the panel to denounce the proceedings as a "high-tech lynching."

1998Pope John Paul II canonized the first Jewish-born saint of the modern era: Edith Stein, a Catholic nun killed at Auschwitz.

2002The Senate joined the House in approving the use of America's military might against Iraq. yeah, let's go after a leader and ppl who had absolutly nothing to do with 9\11. and whose leader was actually an enemy of Osama. buttt why confuse anyone with the facts. gotta get that oil.

2002Former President Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize for his 1970s Middle East diplomacy.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 12, 1870, Gen. Robert E. Lee died in Lexington, Va., at age 63. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1012.html#article))

On October 12, 1861, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Senator John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky and the Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1012.html)

1810The German festival Oktoberfest was first held in Munich to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

1935Opera singer Luciano Pavarotti was born in Modena, Italy.

1960Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev disrupted a U.N. General Assembly session by pounding a shoe on his desk.

1971"Jesus Christ Superstar," a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, opened on Broadway.

1973President Richard Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford, R-Mich., to succeed Spiro T. Agnew as vice president.

1984British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher escaped an attempt on her life when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at a hotel in Brighton, England, killing five people.

1986Superpower talks between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev in Reykjavik, Iceland, ended in stalemate.

1998Matthew Shepard, a gay student at University of Wyoming, died five days after he was beaten, robbed and left tied to a wooden fence post outside of Laramie.

1999Pakistan's military overthrew the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

2000Two al-Qaida suicide bombers in an explosives-laden boat rammed into the destroyer the USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 sailors.

2002A bomb destroyed a nightclub on the Indonesian island of Bali, killing 202 people. Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida were blamed.

2007Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the Nobel Peace Prize for sounding the alarm over global warming.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 13, 1943, Italy declared war on Germany, its one-time Axis partner. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1013.html#article))

On October 13, 1894, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about David B. Hill's campaign for governor as a stepping-stone to the White House. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1013.html)

1775The Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.

1792The cornerstone of the White House was laid during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.

1843The Jewish organization B'nai B'rith was founded in New York City.

1845Texas ratified a state constitution.

1903The Boston Americans beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 to win the first World Series five games to three.

1960Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy participated in the third televised debate of the presidential campaign, with Nixon in Hollywood, Calif., and Kennedy in New York.

1960The World Series ended with a home run for the first time as Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit a round-tripper in the ninth inning of Game 7 against the New York Yankees.

1962"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" by Edward Albee opened on Broadway.

1974TV host Ed Sullivan died at age 72.

1981Egyptians voted in a referendum to elect Vice President Hosni Mubarak the new president, one week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

1998The NBA canceled the first two weeks of its regular season because of a lockout.

1999The JonBenet Ramsey grand jury was dismissed after 13 months; prosecutors said there wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone in the 6-year-old's strangulation.

2000South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

2005British playwright Harold Pinter won the Nobel Prize in literature.

2008The Dow Jones industrial average soared 936.42 points - its largest one-day increase - ending eight consecutive days of stock market declines.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 14, 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1014.html#article))

On October 14, 1905, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the New York City mayoral election of 1905. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1014.html)

1066Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.

1890Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, was born in Denison, Texas.

1910Hall of Fame UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was born near Martinsville, Ind.

1933Nazi Germany announced it was withdrawing from the League of Nations.

1944German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide rather than face execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.

1947Air Force test pilot Charles E. Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier when he flew the experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane over Edwards Air Force Base in California.

1960Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy suggested formation of a Peace Corps during a talk at the University of Michigan.

1968The first live telecast from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.

1977Singer Bing Crosby died at age 73.

1979Hockey Hall-of-Famer Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scored the first of his record 894 goals in a home game against the Vancouver Cancucks.

1986Holocaust survivor and human rights advocate Elie Wiesel was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

1990Composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein died at age 72.

1991Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

2006The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose punishing sanctions on North Korea for carrying out a nuclear test.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 15, 1964, it was announced that Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev had been removed from office. He was succeeded as premier by Alexei N. Kosygin and as Communist Party secretary by Leonid I. Brezhnev. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1015.html#article))

On October 15, 1881, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the elevation of Chester Arthur to the presidency following the assassination of James Garfield. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1015.html)


1860Eleven-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, N.Y., wrote a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he could improve his appearance by growing a beard.

1946Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering fatally poisoned himself hours before he was to have been executed.

1951The situation comedy "I Love Lucy" premiered on CBS. "Lucy... you cawn't do the show!"

1969Peace demonstrators staged activities across the country, including a candlelight march around the White House, as part of a moratorium against the Vietnam War. hell no we won't go!!!

1976Democrat Walter F. Mondale and Republican Bob Dole faced off in the first debate between vice-presidential nominees.

1990Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

1990South Africa's Separate Amenities Act, which had barred blacks from public facilities for decades, was scrapped.

1991The Senate narrowly confirmed the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, 52-48. so now we have a confirmed sexual preditor\harrasser sitting on the Supreme court.

1993Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end apartheid in South Africa.

2002ImClone Systems founder Sam Waksal pleaded guilty in New York in the biotech company's insider trading scandal.

2005Iraqis voted to approve a constitution.

2007The New York Yankees and third baseman Alex Rodriguez agreed on a record 10-year, $275 million contract, the richest in sports history.

2009A false report that a 6-year-old boy was aboard a runaway balloon in Colorado captivated a global TV audience. (The boy's parents later pleaded guilty to charges they made up the story.) i saw that.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 17, 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was released in 1939. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1017.html#article))

On October 17, 1857, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a British and Indian military conflict in India. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1017.html)

1610 French King Louis XIII, age 9, was crowned at Reims, five months after the assassination of his father, Henry IV.

1777 British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, N.Y., in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.

1915 Playwright Arthur Miller was born in New York City.

1919 The Radio Corporation of America was created.

1933 Physicist Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

1945 Col. Juan Peron staged a coup, becoming absolute ruler of Argentina.

1957 French author Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.

1973 Arab oil-producing nations announced they would cut back oil exports to Western nations and Japan; the result was a total embargo that lasted until March 1974.

1979 Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on behalf of the destitute in Calcutta.

1987 First lady Nancy Reagan underwent a modified radical mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

1989 An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck northern California, killing 67 people and causing $7 billion worth of damage.

1990 The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) was created.

2005 "The Colbert Report" premiered on Comedy Central.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 18, 1968, the United States Olympic Committee suspended two black athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, for giving a "black power" salute as a protest during a victory ceremony in Mexico City. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1018.html#article))

On October 18, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the New York state elections of 1879. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1018.html)

1685 King Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had established the legal toleration the Protestant Huguenots.

1867 The United States took possession of Alaska from Russia.

1892 The first long distance telephone line between Chicago and New York was opened.

1898 The American flag was raised in Puerto Rico shortly before Spain formally relinquished control of the island to the United States.

1931 Inventor Thomas Alva Edison died at age 84.

1962 Dr. James D. Watson of the United States and Dr. Francis Crick and Dr. Maurice Wilkins of Britain were named winners of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for their work in determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.

1977 Reggie Jackson of the New York Yankees hit three home runs to lead New York to an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the deciding Game 6 of the World Series.

1982 Former first lady Bess Truman died in Independence, Mo., at age 97.

1989 Erich Honecker was ousted as leader of East Germany.

2001 Four defendants were convicted in New York for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

2007 Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan, ending eight years of self-imposed exile.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 19, 1987, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value - its second biggest percentage drop. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1019.html#article))

On October 19, 1901, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the New York City mayoral election of 1901. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1019.html)


1765 The Stamp Act Congress, meeting in New York, drew up a declaration of rights and liberties.

1781 British troops under Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Va., as the American Revolution neared its end.

1812 French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte began a retreat from Moscow.

1944 The Navy announced that black women would be allowed into the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).

1950 United Nations forces entered the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

1960 The United States imposed an embargo on exports to Cuba.

1969 Vice President Spiro T. Agnew referred to anti-Vietnam War protesters "an effete corps of impudent snobs."

2003 Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa during a ceremony in St. Peter's Square.

2004 Insurgents in Iraq abducted Margaret Hassan, the local director of CARE International, from her car in Baghdad. (Hassan was later slain by her captors.)

2005 A defiant Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent to charges of premeditated murder and torture at his trial in Baghdad. see what happens to US allys when US oil is found under their ground.

2006 The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 12,000 for the first time, finishing the day at 12,011.73.

2008 Retired Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican who was President George W. Bush's first secretary of state, broke with the party and endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 21, 1879, Thomas Edison invented a workable electric light at his laboratory in Menlo Park, N.J. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1021.html#article))

On October 21, 1876, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Charles Francis Adams and the Massachusetts gubernatorial election of 1876. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1021.html)


1797 The U.S. Navy frigate Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, was launched in Boston Harbor.

1805 A British fleet commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated a French and Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar; Nelson was killed in the battle.

1917 American soldiers first saw action in World War I on the front lines in France.

1967 Tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters marched in Washington, D.C.

1971 President Richard M. Nixon nominated Lewis F. Powell and William H. Rehnquist to the U.S. Supreme Court.

1975 Boston Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk hit a ball that struck the left field foul pole in Boston's Fenway Park for a home run, giving the Red Sox a 7-6 victory in 12 innings over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 6 of the World Series.

1988 Former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, were indicted in New York on charges of fraud and racketeering.

2002 A car packed with explosives blew up next to a bus in northern Israel during rush hour; 14 people were killed in addition to two suicide attackers.

2003 Invoking a hastily-passed law, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush ordered a feeding tube reinserted into Terry Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman at the center of a bitter right-to-die battle. funny how some ppl don't mind "big Government" interferring with ppl's personal life choices. yet don't want "Government guaranteed" healthcare. you know like... Medicade, Medicare.

2003 The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution demanding that Israel tear down a barrier jutting into the West Bank.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1022.html#article))

On October 22, 1870, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Russia's attempt to remilitarize the Black Sea, and its consequent threat to Turkey. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1022.html)

1746 Princeton University received its charter.

1797 French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute descent, landing safely from a height of about 3,000 feet.

1844 Actress Sarah Bernhardt was born in Paris.

1934 Bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd was shot to death by federal agents at a farm in East Liverpool, Ohio.

1954 West Germany joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

1968 Apollo 7, with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard, returned to Earth.

1979 The U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment.

1981 The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.

2002 A bus driver was shot to death in Aspen Hill, Md., in the 13th and final attack by the Washington-area sniper.

2007 China's Communist Party gave President Hu Jintao a second five-year term.

2009 Microsoft released its Windows 7 operating system for the PC.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 23, 1983, a suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon killed 220 U.S. Marines, 18 sailors and 3 Army soldiers; a near-simultaneous attack on French forces killed 58 paratroopers. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1023.html#article))

On October 23, 1886, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Henry George and the New York mayoral race of 1886. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1023.html)

1707 The Parliament of Great Britain, created by the Acts of Union between England and Scotland, held its first meeting.

1925 Comedian and talk show host Johnny Carson was born in Corning, Iowa.

1942 Britain launched a major offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein in Egypt during World War II.

1956 An anti-Stalinist revolt began in Hungary.

1973 President Richard M. Nixon agreed to turn White House tape recordings requested by the Watergate special prosecutor over to Judge John J. Sirica.

1987 The U.S. Senate rejected the Supreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork, 58-42.

1993 Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Joe Carter became the second player to end a World Series with a home run in an 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6.

1998 Dr. Barnett Slepian, a doctor who performed abortions, was killed at his home in suburban Buffalo, N.Y., when a sniper fired through his kitchen window.

1998 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed a land-for-peace agreement at the White House, following nine days of talks at Wye River, Md.

2001 Apple Computer Inc. introduced the iPod portable digital music player.

2002 Gunmen seized a crowded Moscow theater, taking hundreds hostage and threatening to kill them unless the Russian army pulled out of Chechnya.

2003 Madame Chiang Kai-shek, widow of the Chinese nationalist leader, died in New York at age 105.

2006 Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for his role in the company's collapse.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 25, 1971, the United Nations General Assembly voted to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1025.html#article))

On October 25, 1884, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about prohibition and the presidential election of 1884. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1025.html)

1400 Author Geoffrey Chaucer died in London.

1760 Britain's King George III succeeded his late grandfather, George II.

1854 The English suffered heavy losses against Russia in the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. The battle inspired Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Charge of the Light Brigade."

1962 Author John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.

1962 U.S. ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson presented photographic evidence of Soviet missile bases in Cuba to the U.N. Security Council.

1983 A U.S.-led force invaded Grenada at the order of President Ronald Reagan, who said the action was needed to protect U.S. citizens there.

1986 The New York Mets won Game 6 of the World Series in the 10th inning when a routine ground ball went through Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner's legs.

1994 Susan Smith of Union, S.C., claimed that a black carjacker had driven off with her two sons. She later confessed to drowning the children and was convicted of murder.

2001 Microsoft released the Windows XP operating system.

2002 Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., 58, was killed in a plane crash in northern Minnesota.

2003 Florida State's Bobby Bowden became the winningest coach in major college football history with his 339th victory as the Seminoles beat Wake Forest 48-24.

2005 U.S. military deaths in Iraq reached 2,000. and today, more American citizens have died in that illegal war than those who died 9\11.

2009 A pair of suicide car bombings devastated the heart of Iraq's capital, Baghdad, killing 155 people, including 24 children.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 26, 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan signed a peace treaty in a ceremony attended by President Clinton. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1026.html#article))

On October 26, 1872, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the relationship between state and national elections. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1026.html)

1774 The First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.

1825 The Erie Canal opened, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River in upstate New York.

1881 Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and "Doc" Holliday confronted Ike Clanton's gang in a gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Ariz. Three members of Clanton's gang were killed; Earp's brothers were wounded.

1962 In one of the most dramatic verbal confrontations of the Cold War, American U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson asked his Soviet counterpart during a Security Council debate whether the USSR had placed missiles in Cuba.

1972 National security adviser Henry Kissinger declared "peace is at hand" in Vietnam.

1984 A newborn with a severe heart defect was given the heart of a baboon in an experimental transplant in Loma Linda, Calif. She lived for 21 more days.

2001 President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act, giving authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists. yes, and he refused to allow any debate or Congress time to read the entire act. he forced it thru.

2002 A hostage siege by Chechen rebels at a Moscow theater ended with 129 of the 800-plus captives dead, most from a knockout gas used by Russian special forces who stormed the theater.

2004 The final vote count in the Afghan presidential election gave a resounding victory to interim leader Hamid Karzai.

2005 The Chicago White Sox won their first World Series since 1917 by defeating the Houston Astros 1-0 in Game 4.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 27, 1904, the first rapid transit subway, the IRT, opened in New York City. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1027.html#article))

On October 27, 1877, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about General George B. McClellan's candidacy for governor of New Jersey. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1027.html)

1787 The first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays calling for ratification of the U.S. Constitution, was published in a New York newspaper.

1858 Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was born in New York City.

1880 Theodore Roosevelt married Alice Lee.

1914 Author-poet Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales.

1947 "You Bet Your Life," starring Groucho Marx, premiered on ABC Radio.

1978 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin won the Nobel Peace Prize.

1997 The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 554.26 points, forcing the stock market to shut down for the first time since the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

2002 Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith broke the NFL career rushing yardage record of 16,726 held by Walter Payton.

2002 Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was elected president of Brazil in a runoff, becoming the country's first elected leftist leader.

2004 The Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 in Game 4.

2005 White House counsel Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to the Supreme Court after three weeks of criticism from fellow conservatives. it's pretty bad when your own party says you're under qualified.

2005 Surgeons in France performed the world's first partial face transplant on a woman who was mauled by a dog.

2008 Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was convicted of seven corruption charges for lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. (A judge later dismissed the case, saying prosecutors had withheld evidence.)

[Kestra]

On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1028.html#article)) what with giggles tantrums and vindictivness against anyone wise enough to tell him "no, we won't get involved in an illegal war." that on top of him renaming French Fries to "Freedom Fries" (i never called them that) i find it somewhat 'surprising' that he didn't order SoL returned to France. of course, he would have had to had a better grasp on history to realize that SOL was a gift from France first.

On October 28, 1865, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about outdoor advertisements marring the beauty of the landscape. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1028.html)

1636 Harvard College was founded.

1793 Eli Whitney applied for a patent for the cotton gin.

1919 Congress enacted the Volstead Act, which provided for enforcement of Prohibition, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto.

1922 Fascism came to Italy as Benito Mussolini took control of the government.

1958 The Roman Catholic patriarch of Venice, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was elected pope, taking the name John XXIII.

1962 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States that he had ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.

1965 Pope Paul VI issued a decree absolving Jews of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. that was mighty white of him, considering it was the Romans who crucified Jesus.

1980 Republican nominee Ronald Reagan asked voters during a debate with President Jimmy Carter in Cleveland "are you better off than you were four years ago?"

2005 Vice President Dick Cheney's top adviser, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, resigned after he was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements in the CIA leak investigation. (Libby was convicted and sentenced to 30 months in prison. President George W. Bush commuted his sentence.) he didn't even bother to wait until Libby was in jail.

2007 Cristina Fernandez was elected Argentina's first woman president.

2009 Angela Merkel was sworn in for a second term as German chancellor..

[Kestra]

On Oct. 29, 1929, stock prices collapsed on the New York Stock Exchange amid panic selling. Thousands of investors were wiped out. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1029.html#article))

On October 29, 1904, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper and the presidential election of 1904. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1029.html)

1682 The founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, landed at what is now Chester, Pa.

1618 Sir Walter Raleigh, the English courtier, military adventurer and poet, was executed in London.

1891 Broadway star Fanny Brice was born Fanny Borach in Newark, N.J.

1901 President William McKinley's assassin, Leon Czolgosz, was electrocuted.

1923 The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed.

1940 The United States America began its first peacetime military draft.

1947 Frances Cleveland Preston, the widow of President Grover Cleveland, died at age 83.

1956 Israel invaded Egypt's Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Canal crisis.

1956 "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" premiered as NBC's nightly TV newscast.

1962 The Beach Boys' debut album, "Surfin' Safari," was released. :surf:

1966 The National Organization for Women was founded.

1967 The musical "Hair" opened off-Broadway.

1969 the Internet had its beginnings when the first host-to-host connection was made on the Arpanet, an experimental military computer network, between UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, Calif.

2004 Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped statement, directly admitted for the first time that he had ordered the Sept. 11 attacks.

2004 European Union leaders signed the EU's first constitution.

[Kestra]

On Oct. 31, 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated near her residence by two Sikh security guards. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1031.html#article))

On October 31, 1863, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the controversial campaign of Clement Vallandignham, a leading Peace Democrat ("Copperhead"), for governor of Ohio. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1031.html)

1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace church, marking the start of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.

1795 Poet John Keats was born in London.

1864 Nevada became the 36th state.

1926 Magician Harry Houdini died of complications from a ruptured appendix.

1938 The day after his "War of the Worlds" broadcast had panicked radio listeners, Orson Welles expressed "deep regret" but also bewilderment that anyone had thought the show was real.

1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a halt to all U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, saying he hoped for fruitful peace negotiations.

1992 It was announced that five American nuns in Liberia had been shot to death near the capital Monrovia; the killings were blamed on rebels loyal to Charles Taylor.

1999 EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed off the Massachusetts coast, killing all 217 people aboard.

2001 A 61-year-old New York hospital worker died from inhalation anthrax.

2001 Microsoft and the Justice Department reached a tentative agreement to settle the historic antitrust case against the software giant.

2005 President George W. Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

2007 Three lead defendants in the 2004 Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people were found guilty of mass murder and other charges.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 1, 1952, the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb, in a test at Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1101.html#article))

On November 1, 1862, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Great Britain's neutrality during the American Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1101.html)

1512 Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were first exhibited to the public.

1604 William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" was first performed, at Whitehall Palace in London.

1765 The Stamp Act went into effect, prompting stiff resistance from American colonists.

1861 Gen. George B. McClellan was made general-in-chief of the Union armies.

1936 In a speech in Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an "axis" running between Rome and Berlin.

1946 Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was ordained as a priest in Poland.

1950 Two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington to assassinate President Harry S. Truman. One of the assailants was killed.

1954 The west African nation of Algeria began a rebellion against French rule.

1979 Former first lady Mamie Eisenhower died in Washington, D.C., at age 82.

1991 Clarence Thomas took his place as a justice on the Supreme Court. yes, the sexual preditor who annointed GW to the whitehouse.

1995 Bosnia peace talks opened in Dayton, Ohio.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 2, 1976, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter defeated Republican incumbent Gerald R. Ford, becoming the first U.S. president from the Deep South since the Civil War. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1102.html#article))

On November 2, 1878, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a Congressional investigation of vote fraud in the Electoral College Controversy of 1876-1877. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1102.html)

1783 Gen. George Washington issued his farewell address to the Army near Princeton, N.J.

1795 James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, was born in Mecklenburg County, N.C.

1865 Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States, was born near Corsica, Ohio.

1889 North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states.

1917 British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour expressed support for a national home for the Jews of Palestine in what became known as the Balfour Declaration.

1947 Howard Hughes piloted his huge wooden airplane, the Spruce Goose, on its only flight, which lasted about a minute over Long Beach Harbor in California.

1948 President Harry S. Truman narrowly won re-election over Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey.

1959 Charles Van Doren admitted to a House subcommittee that he had the questions and answers in advance of his appearances on the TV game show "Twenty-One."

1963 South Vietnamese President Ngo Dihn Diem was assassinated in a military coup.

1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill establishing a federal holiday on the third Monday of January in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

2004 President George W. Bush was elected to a second term. after he was appointed to his first term... Ohio.

2006 The Rev. Ted Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after a man said they had had sexual trysts together. aw, the poster child of family values.

2009 Afghanistan's election commission proclaimed President Hamid Karzai the victor of the country's tumultuous ballot, canceling a planned runoff.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 3, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected in a landslide over Republican Alfred M. ''Alf'' Landon. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1103.html#article))

On November 3, 1866, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about President Andrew Johnson controversial "swing around the circle" campaign tour. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1103.html)

1839 The first Opium War between China and Britain broke out.

1868 Republican Ulysses S. Grant won the presidential election over Democrat Horatio Seymour.

1903 Panama proclaimed its independence from Colombia.

1908 Republican William Howard Taft was elected president, outpolling William Jennings Bryan.

1957 The Soviet Union launched into orbit Sputnik 2, the second manmade satellite; a dog on board named Laika was sacrificed in the experiment.

1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson soundly defeated Republican challenger Barry Goldwater to win a White House term in his own right.

1970 Salvador Allende was inaugurated as president of Chile.

1986 A Lebanese magazine broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran, a revelation that escalated into the Iran-Contra affair.

1992 Democrat Bill Clinton was elected the 42nd president of the United States, defeating President George H.W. Bush.

1992 Illinois Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun became the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

1994 Susan Smith of Union, S.C., was arrested for drowning her two young sons, nine days after claiming the children had been abducted by a black man. (Smith is serving life in prison.)

2004 Hamid Karzai was declared the winner of Afghanistan's first-ever presidential election.

2005 Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, pleaded not guilty to a five-count felony indictment in the CIA leak case. (Libby was convicted, but President George W. Bush commuted his 30-month prison sentence.) who cares that he outed one of our most clandestine undercover terrorist spy.

2009 Maine residents narrowly voted down a same-sex marriage law. yeah, they use their civil rights to deny others their civil rights.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 4, 2008, Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States, as the country chose him as its first black chief executive. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1104.html#article))

On November 4, 1871, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Chicago's Great Fire of 1871. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1104.html)

1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in Springfield, Ill.

1879 Humorist Will Rogers was born in Oologah, Okla.

1880 The first cash register was patented by James and John Ritty of Dayton, Ohio.

1922 The entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered in Egypt.

1924 Nellie T. Ross of Wyoming was elected the nation's first woman governor.

1939 The United States modified its neutrality stance in World War II to allow "cash and carry" purchases of arms by belligerents, a policy favoring Britain and France.

1942 During World War II, Axis forces retreated from El Alamein in North Africa in a major victory for British forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Bernard Montgomery.

1952 Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, defeating Democrat Adlai Stevenson.

1955 Baseball Hall of Famer Cy Young died at age 88.

1956 Soviet troops moved in to crush a revolt in Hungary.

1979 The Iranian hostage crisis began as militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

1980 Ronald Reagan won the White House, defeating President Jimmy Carter.

1995 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist after speaking at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.

2001 The first movie based on the best-selling "Harry Potter" books by J.K. Rowling has its world premiere in London.

2008 California voters approved Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage. maybe they otta vote to take away their voting rights as well while they're at it. :eyeroll:

[Kestra]

On Nov. 5, 1968, Republican Richard M. Nixon won the presidency, defeating Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1105.html#article))

On November 5, 1864, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the proposed arming and emancipation of black slaves by the Confederate government. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1105.html)

1605 The Gunpowder Plot failed when Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament.

1872 Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote in a presidential election. this is where Tea Party\Republicorp wants to "take America Back" to.

1912 Woodrow Wilson was elected president, defeating incumbent William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt.

1935 Parker Brothers began marketing the board game "Monopoly."

1940 President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office, beating Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie.

1956 Britain and France landed troops in Egypt during fighting between Egyptian and Israeli forces around the Suez Canal.

1974 Ella Grasso of Connecticut became the first woman elected governor in the United States without succeeding her husband.

1994 Former President Ronald Reagan disclosed he had Alzheimer's disease.

1994 George Foreman became boxing's oldest heavyweight champion at age 45 by knocking out Michael Moorer in the 10th round of their WBA fight in Las Vegas.

1996 President Bill Clinton won a second term over former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.

1999 A federal judge declared Microsoft Corp. a monopoly.

2006 Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced by the Iraqi High Tribunal to hang for crimes against humanity. one Americas ally, until he became 'inconveinent'.

2009 A shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas left 13 people dead; Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was charged in the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 6, 1860, former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates for the U.S. presidency. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1106.html#article))

On November 6, 1869, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the political campaign of Franz Sigel, a popular Civil War general and leader of the German-American community. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1106.html)

1854 John Philip Sousa, the king of American march music, was born in Washington, D.C.

1861 Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederacy.

1861 James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, was born in Ontario, Canada.

1887 Baseball Hall of Famer Walter Johnson was born in Humboldt, Kansas.

1888 Republican Benjamin Harrison was elected president, beating incumbent Grover Cleveland in the Electoral College, even though Cleveland led in the popular vote.

1893 Composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in St. Petersburg, Russia.

1900 President William B. McKinley was returned to office, defeating Democrat William Jennings Bryan.

1913 Mohandas K. Gandhi was arrested as he led a march of Indian miners in South Africa.

1928 Republican Herbert Hoover was elected president over Democrat Alfred E. Smith.

1956 President Dwight D. Eisenhower won a second term by besting Democrat Adlai E. Stevenson at the polls.

1995 Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell announced plans to move the team to Baltimore.

2001 Billionaire Republican Michael Bloomberg was elected New York City mayor.

2009 The government reported that unemployment rose to 10.2 percent in the U.S. in October, the first time the jobless rate had hit double digits since 1983.

[Kestra]

On November 8, 1960, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1108.html#article))

On November 8, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the National Liberal League, an organization which defended civil liberties and promoted the complete separation of church and state. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1108.html)

1889 Montana became the 41st state.

1892 Former President Grover Cleveland beat incumbent Benjamin Harrison, becoming the only president to win non-consecutive terms in the White House.

1923 Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt to seize power with a failed coup in Munich, Germany.

1932 New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president over incumbent Herbert Hoover.

1966 Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California.

1971 The album "Led Zeppelin IV," which included the song "Stairway to Heaven," was released.

1987 A bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded as crowds gathered in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, for a ceremony honoring Britain's war dead, killing 11 people.

1988 Vice President George H.W. Bush won the presidential election, beating Democrat Michael Dukakis.

1994 Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.
deregulate, deregulate, deregulate. "the deficit doesn't matter."

1997 Chinese engineers diverted the Yangtze River to make way for the Three Gorges Dam.

2000 A statewide recount of presidential election ballots began in Florida. what a joke that was. America watched Election Fraud play out right before their eyes. and all was well. for some at least.

2004 Thousands of U.S. troops attacked strongholds of Sunni insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 9, 1965, the great Northeast blackout occurred as several states and parts of Canada were hit by a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1109.html#article))

On November 9, 1901, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the automobile. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1109.html)

1918 Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II announced that he would abdicate.

1935 United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and other labor leaders formed the Committee for Industrial Organization.

1938 Nazis looted and burned synagogues and Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria on Kristallnacht, the "night of broken glass."

1970 Former French president Charles De Gaulle died at age 79.

1976 The United Nations General Assembly approved 10 resolutions condemning apartheid in South Africa.

1989 Communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West. Joyous Germans danced atop the Berlin Wall. interesting how the fright right here in America desire to build a wall around America. and amazingly enough ppl are going along with it.

2001 The northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif fell to the northern alliance in the first major territorial advance for the rebels against the ruling Taliban.

2004 Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens won his record seventh Cy Young award.

2005 Three suicide bombers carried out nearly simultaneous attacks on three U.S.-based hotels in Amman, Jordan, killing 60 victims and wounding hundreds.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 10, 1982, the newly finished Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington, D.C. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1110.html#article))

On November 10, 1906, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a school segregation order that sparked a diplomatic crisis between Japan and the United States. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1110.html)

1483 Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, was born in Eisleben, Germany.

1775 The U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress.

1871 Journalist-explorer Henry M. Stanley found missing Scottish missionary David Livingstone in central Africa and delivered his famous greeting: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

1928 Hirohito was enthroned as Emperor of Japan.

1938 Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on network radio. and what a voice she had.

1942 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, discussing the recent victory over Rommel at El Alamein, Egypt, said "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

1951 Direct-dial, coast-to-coast telephone service began as Mayor M. Leslie Denning of Englewood, N.J., called his counterpart in Alameda, Calif. vwe are lookink for nuuclear wessels, can you tell where to find nuuclear wessels?

1954 The U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, depicting the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, was dedicated in Arlington, Va.

1969 "Sesame Street" debuted on PBS.

1975 The U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution equating Zionism with racism.

1975 The ore-hauling ship Edmund Fitzgerald sank during a storm in Lake Superior. All 29 crew members died.

1982 Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev died at age 75.

1997 A judge in Cambridge, Mass., reduced Louise Woodward's murder conviction to manslaughter and sentenced the English au pair to time served in the death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen.

1997 WorldCom Inc. and MCI Communications Corp. agreed to a $37 billion merger.

2001 The World Trade Organization approved China's membership.

2007 Author Norman Mailer died at age 84.

2009 John Allen Muhammad, mastermind of the 2002 sniper attacks that killed 10 in the Washington, D.C. region, was executed.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 11, 1918, fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1111.html#article))

On November 11, 1882, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about noted sociologist Herbert Spencer. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1111.html)

1620 Forty-one Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a "body politick."

1831 Former slave Nat Turner, who had led a violent insurrection, was executed in Jerusalem, Va.

1889 Washington became the 42nd state.

1921 President Warren G. Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

1965 Rhodesia proclaimed its independence from Britain.

1972 The U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Binh to the South Vietnamese army, symbolizing the end of direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.

1992 The Church of England voted to ordain women as priests.

1998 Israel's Cabinet narrowly ratified a land-for-peace agreement with the Palestinians.

2000 Republicans went to court seeking an order to block manual recounts from continuing in Florida's presidential election. my brother Jeb promised me i'd win in Florida. couldn't allow the recount to continue because Gore would have one.

2000 A cable car crammed with skiers and snowboarders caught fire while being pulled through an Alpine tunnel in Austria, killing 155 people.

2004 Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died in Paris at age 75.

2008 Country singer Taylor Swift's album "Fearless" was released.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 12, 1942, the World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. The Americans eventually won a major victory over the Japanese. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1112.html#article))

On November 12, 1870, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Manton Marble, the publisher of the New York World. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1112.html)

1920 Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was elected baseball's first commissioner.

1927 Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

1948 Former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal.
Japanese imperial forces employed widespread use of torture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture) on prisoners, usually in an effort to gather military intelligence quickly.[50] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes#cite_note-49) sound familiar? Tortured prisoners were often later executed. A former Japanese Army officer who served in China, Uno Shintaro, stated:
The major means of getting intelligence was to extract information by interrogating prisoners. Torture was an unavoidable necessity. sound familiar? Murdering and burying them follows naturally. You do it so you won't be found out. I believed and acted this way because I was convinced of what I was doing. sound familiar? We carried out our duty as instructed by our masters. We did it for the sake of our country. sound familiar? From our filial obligation to our ancestors. On the battlefield, we never really considered the Chinese humans. When you're winning, the losers look really miserable. We concluded that the Yamato [i.e., Japanese] race (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_people) was superior.[51] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes#cite_note-50)

1954 Ellis Island closed after processing more than 20 million immigrants since opening in New York Harbor in 1892.

1982 Yuri V. Andropov was elected to succeed the late Leonid I. Brezhnev as general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee.

1985 Xavier Suarez was elected Miami's first Cuban-American mayor.

1990 Japanese Emperor Akihito formally assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne.

1997 Ramzi Yousef was found guilty of masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

1999 President Bill Clinton signed a sweeping measure knocking down Depression-era barriers and allowing banks, investment firms and insurance companies to sell each other's products.

2001 An American Airlines flight crashed near New York's Kennedy airport, killing 265 people.

2004 A jury in Redwood City, Calif., convicted Scott Peterson of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay. (Peterson was later sentenced to death.)

2006 Gerald R. Ford surpassed Ronald Reagan as the longest-lived U.S. president at 93 years and 121 days. (Ford died the following month.)

2008 Same-sex marriages began in Connecticut, a month after the state Supreme Court ruled that gays had the right to wed.

2009 Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder in the Fort Hood, Texas, massacre.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 13, 1956, the Supreme Court struck down laws calling for racial segregation on public buses. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1113.html#article))

On November 13, 1880, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Charles A. Dana, editor of the New York Sun. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1113.html)1775 U.S. forces captured Montreal during the American Revolution.

1856 Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis was born in Louisville, Ky.

1927 The Holland Tunnel linking New York City and New Jersey beneath the Hudson River opened to the public.

1974 Karen Silkwood, a technician and union activist at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron plutonium plant near Crescent, Okla., was killed in a car crash.

1979 Former California Gov. Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.

1982 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C.

1985 A mudslide triggered by the Nevado del Ruiz volcano buried the city of Armero, Colombia, killing some 23,000 people.

1998 President Bill Clinton agreed to pay Paula Jones $850,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit.

2001 Afghanistan's ruling Taliban abandoned the capital Kabul without a fight, allowing U.S.-backed northern alliance fighters to take over the city. so why did we stay in Afghanistan?

2002 Saddam Hussein's government agreed to the return of international weapons inspectors to Iraq. :hmm: and here Giggles admin claimed the opposite.

2003 Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who had refused to remove a granite Ten Commandments monument from the state courthouse, was thrown off the bench by a judicial ethics panel.

2009 Attorney General Eric Holder announced plans to try professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others detained at Guantanamo Bay in civilian court in New York City. (The Obama administration later backed off the plan.) apparently, only Giggles Admin was allowed to try terrorists on American soil.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 15, 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington, D.C., against the Vietnam War. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1115.html#article))

On November 15, 1873, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the lyceum, the important cultural institution of public lecturing. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1115.html)

1777 The Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, a precursor to the Constitution of the United States.

1926 The National Broadcasting Co. debuted with a radio network of 24 stations.

1939 The cornerstone for the Jefferson Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C.

1940 The first 75,000 men were called to armed forces duty under peacetime conscription.

1959 A farmer, his wife and two of their children were found murdered in their home in Holcomb, Kansas - a crime that was the subject of Truman Capote's non-fiction novel "In Cold Blood."

1984 An infant who had received a baboon's heart to replace her own congenitally deformed one died at a California medical center three weeks after the transplant.

1985 Britain and Ireland signed an accord giving Dublin an official consultative role in governing Northern Ireland.

1988 The Palestine National Council, the legislative body of the PLO, proclaimed the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

1993 A judge in Mineola, N.Y., sentenced Joey Buttafuoco to six months in jail for the statutory rape of Amy Fisher, who shot and wounded Buttafuoco's wife, Mary Jo.

2002 Hu Jintao replaced Jiang Zemin as China's Communist Party leader.

2005 Baseball players and owners agreed on a tougher steroids-testing policy.

2007 Baseball home run king Barry Bonds was indicted on charges related to grand jury testimony during which he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. (Bonds has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.)

[Kestra]

On Nov. 17, 1973, President Nixon told an Associated Press managing editors meeting in Orlando, Fla., that "people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook.'' (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1117.html#article))

On November 17, 1860, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about local militia on training day. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1117.html)

1558 Elizabeth I ascended to the English throne upon the death of Queen Mary.

1800 Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C., in the partially completed Capitol building.

1869 The Suez Canal opened in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean and the Red seas.

1934 Lyndon B. Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor, better known as "Lady Bird."

1962 Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., was dedicated.

1968 NBC outraged football fans by cutting away from the final minutes of a game to air a TV special, "Heidi," on schedule.

1970 The Soviet Union landed an unmanned, remote-controlled vehicle on the moon.

1997 Six militants opened fire at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, Egypt, killing 62 people, most of them foreign tourists. The attackers were killed by police.

1998 Israel's parliament overwhelmingly approved the Wye River land-for-peace accord with the Palestinians.

2000 The Florida Supreme Court froze the state's presidential tally, forbidding Secretary of State Katherine Harris to certify results of the marathon vote count. myeah election fraud, they couldn't allow Gore to win.

2003 John Allen Muhammad was convicted of two counts of capital murder in the Washington-area sniper shootings. (He was later sentenced to death and executed.)

2003 Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as governor of California.

2005 A jury in Sarasota, Fla., convicted mechanic Joseph Smith of kidnapping, raping and strangling 11-year-old Carlie Brucia, whose abduction had been captured by a car-wash security camera.

2008 The vampire romance movie "Twilight" premiered in Los Angeles.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 18, 1976, Spain's parliament approved a bill to establish a democracy after 37 years of dictatorship. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1118.html#article))

On November 18, 1899, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Open Door policy towards China. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1118.html)

1883 The United States and Canada adopted a system of standard time zones.

1886 Chester A. Arthur, the 21st president of the United States, died in New York at age 56.

1923 Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., the first American in space, was born in East Derry, N.H.

1928 The first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon, Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie" starring Mickey Mouse, premiered in New York.

1936 Germany and Italy recognized the Spanish government of Francisco Franco.

1966 U.S. Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays.

1969 Financier and diplomat Joseph P. Kennedy died in Hyannis Port, Mass., at age 81.

1978 More than 900 people died in Jonestown, Guyana, after Peoples Temple cult leader Jim Jones urged them to kill themselves by drinking cyanide-laced grape punch. Jones died of a bullet wound to the head; whether it was self-inflicted is unknown.

1987 The congressional Iran-Contra committees issued their final report, saying President Ronald Reagan bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrongdoing by his aides.

1988 President Ronald Reagan signed legislation creating a Cabinet-level drug czar and providing the death penalty for drug traffickers who kill.

2002 U.N. arms inspectors returned to Iraq after a four-year hiatus, calling on Saddam Hussein's government to cooperate with their search for weapons of mass destruction. which they found none, didn't stop giggles from starting an illegal war: bombing, invading, occupying.

2003 The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 4-3 that the state constitution guarantees gay couples the right to marry.

2006 Actor Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes were married in Italy.

2008 Big Three automakers pleaded with Congress for a $25 billion lifeline, warning of a national economic catastrophe should they collapse.

2009 Two days before turning 92, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., became the longest-serving lawmaker in congressional history, at 56 years, 320 days.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1119.html#article))

On November 19, 1859, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about John Brown's raid at the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1119.html)


1919The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.

1942Russian forces launched a winter offensive against the Germans along the Don front during World War II.

1959Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel.

1969Apollo 12 astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad and Alan Bean made man's second landing on the moon.

1977Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel.

1985President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev met for the first time as they began a summit in Geneva.

1990The pop duo Milli Vanilli was stripped of its Grammy Award after it was revealed that neither performer sang on the group's records.

1998Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr laid out his evidence against President Bill Clinton during a daylong appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.

2001President George W. Bush signed legislation to put airport baggage screeners on the federal payroll. and now anyone who flies gets to be seen naked, groped, poked and prodded.

2001Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants became the first baseball player to win four Most Valuable Player awards.

2006The Wii, the Nintendo Co.'s game console, first went on sale.

2007Amazon.com Inc. introduced the Kindle, an electronic book-reading device.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 20, 1945, 24 Nazi leaders went on trial before an international war crimes tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1120.html#article))

On November 20, 1909, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidency of William Howard Taft. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1120.html)

1620Peregrine White was born aboard the Mayflower in Massachusetts Bay - the first child born of English parents in present-day New England.

1789New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.

1910Revolution broke out in Mexico.

1917Robert C. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, was born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr. in North Wilkesboro, N.C. (Before he was 1, his mother died and his father sent him to Stotesbury, W.Va., to live with an aunt and uncle who renamed him.)

1925Robert F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Mass.

1947Britain's future queen, Princess Elizabeth, married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, in Westminster Abbey in London.

1966The musical "Cabaret," with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, opened on Broadway.

1969The Nixon administration announced a halt to residential use of the pesticide DDT as part of a total phase-out.

1975Spain's Gen. Francisco Franco died after nearly four decades of absolute rule.

1977Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to address Israel's parliament.

1985The first version of Microsoft's Windows operating system, Windows 1.0, was released.

1995Princess Diana admitted during an interview broadcast on BBC TV that she had been unfaithful to Prince Charles.

2001Federal health officials approved sale of the world's first contraceptive patch, Ortho-Evra.

2003Singer Michael Jackson was booked on suspicion of child molestation in Santa Barbara, Calif. (He was later acquited.)

2009Oprah Winfrey announced she would end her TV talk show after its 25th season in September 2011.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 21, 1964 New York's Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1121.html#article))

On November 21, 1903, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about President Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1121.html)

1789North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1877Inventor Thomas A. Edison unveiled the phonograph.

1922Rebecca L. Felton of Georgia was sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.

1969The Senate voted down the Supreme Court nomination of Clement F. Haynsworth.

1973President Richard Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the existence of an 18 1/2-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate.

1980A fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas killed 87 people.

1985Former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Jay Pollard was arrested, accused of spying for Israel. (He later pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence.)

1989The proceedings of Britain's House of Commons were televised live for the first time.

1991The U.N. Security Council chose Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt to be secretary-general.

1995The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 5,000 for the first time.

2000The Florida Supreme Court granted Democrat Al Gore's request to keep the presidential election recount going. but only in certain districts.

2001A 94-year-old Connecticut woman died of inhalation anthrax, the last of five people killed in the anthrax attacks.

2002NATO invited seven former communist countries to join the alliance: Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria.

2004The NBA suspended Indiana's Ron Artest for the rest of the season following a brawl in the stands during a game against the Detroit Pistons.

2005Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon broke away from the hardline Likud with the intention of forming a new party.

2007Officials announced the recall of more than a half-million pieces of Chinese-made children's jewelry contaminated with lead. god bless outsourcing.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. Suspected gunman Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president of the United States. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1122.html#article))

On November 22, 1869, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Thanksgiving Day. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1122.html)

1718English pirate Edward Teach - better known as "Blackbeard" - was killed during a battle off the Virginia coast.

1890Charles de Gaulle was born in Lille, France.

1906The SOS distress signal was adopted at the International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin.

1928"Bolero" by Maurice Ravel debuted in Paris.

1967The U.N. Security Council approved Resolution 242, which called for Israel to withdraw from territories it captured in 1967, and implicitly called on adversaries to recognize Israel's right to exist.

1968The Beatles' "White Album" was released.

1975Juan Carlos was proclaimed king of Spain.

1990British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, having failed to win re-election to the Conservative Party leadership on the first ballot, announced her resignation.

1998"60 Minutes" aired video of Dr. Jack Kevorkian administering lethal drugs to a terminally ill patient.

2004Tens of thousands of demonstrators jammed downtown Kiev, denouncing Ukraine's presidential runoff election as fraudulent and chanting the name of reform candidate Viktor Yushchenko.

2005Jose Padilla, an American once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb," was charged with supporting terrorism.

2005Ted Koppel hosted his final edition of ABC News' "Nightline."

2005The Microsoft video game console Xbox 360 went on sale.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 23, 1943, during World War II, United States forces seized control of the Tarawa and Makin atolls from the Japanese. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1123.html#article))

On November 23, 1861, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Trent Affair, a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Britain during the American Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1123.html)

1804 Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, was born in Hillsboro, N.H.

1889 The jukebox made its debut, at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.

1903 Singer Enrico Caruso made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, appearing in "Rigoletto."

1936 Life magazine was first published.

1954 The Dow Jones industrial average finally surpassed it's pre-crash high - 25 years after Black Tuesday - when it closed at 382.74.

1971 The People's Republic of China was seated in the U.N. Security Council.

1980 A series of earthquakes devastated southern Italy, killing some 2,600 people.

2001 An Israeli helicopter fired two missiles at a van in the West Bank, killing Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a leading member of the Islamic militant Hamas group.

2003 Eduard Shevardnadze resigned as president of Georgia in the face of protests.

2004 Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko declared himself the winner of Ukraine's disputed presidential election and took a symbolic oath of office.

2006 Former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko died in London from radiation poisoning after making a deathbed statement blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 24, 1963, Jack Ruby shot and mortally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President Kennedy. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1124.html#article))

On November 24, 1883, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the new Brooklyn Bridge. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1124.html)

1784Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, was born in Orange County, Va.

1859British naturalist Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species," which explained his theory of evolution.

1871The National Rifle Association was incorporated.

1947A group of writers, producers and directors that became known as the "Hollywood 10" was cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about alleged Communist influence in the movie industry. aw, the McCarthy years.

1950The musical "Guys and Dolls" opened on Broadway.

1969Apollo 12 returned to Earth after the second manned mission to the moon.

1971Hijacker D.B. Cooper parachuted from a Northwest Airlines 727 over Washington state with $200,000 in ransom. His fate remains unknown.

1987The United States and the Soviet Union agreed to scrap shorter- and medium-range missiles in the first superpower treaty to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons.

1989Czechoslovakia's hard-line party leadership resigned after more than a week of protests against its policies.

2000The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider George W. Bush's appeal against the hand recounting of presidential ballots in Florida. not to worry giggles, we'll make sure you get to be president.

2003A jury in Virginia Beach, Va., sentenced John Allen Muhammad to death for the Washington-area sniper shootings. (Muhammad was executed in 2009.)

[Kestra]

On Nov. 25, 1986, the Iran-Contra affair erupted as President Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Meese revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaraguan rebels. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1125.html#article))

On November 25, 1905, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about President Theodore Roosevelt's attempt to pass federal railroad regulation. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1125.html)

1783The British evacuated New York, their last military position in the United States, during the Revolutionary War.

1914Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio was born in Martinez, Calif.

1947Movie studio executives agreed to blacklist the Hollywood 10, who were jailed a day earlier for contempt of Congress for failing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee.

1963The body of slain President John F. Kennedy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

1973Greek President George Papadopoulos was ousted in a bloodless military coup.

1987Chicago Mayor Harold Washington died after suffering a heart attack in his City Hall office.

1999Six-year-old Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez was rescued by a pair of sport fishermen off the coast of Florida.

2002President George W. Bush signed legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security and appointed Tom Ridge to be its head.

2003The Senate gave final congressional approval to Medicare legislation combining a new prescription drug benefit with measures to control costs before the baby boom generation reaches retirement age. yes, it was written and implemented by drug and healthcare insurance corporations. and it wasn't paid for.

2003Yemen arrested Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, a top al-Qaida member suspected of masterminding the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker off Yemen's coast.

2008Football player Michael Vick pleaded guilty to a Virginia dogfighting charge and received a three-year suspended sentence.

2009Toyota said it would replace the gas pedals on 4 million vehicles in the United States because the pedals could get stuck in the floor mats and cause sudden acceleration.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 26, 1942, President Roosevelt ordered nationwide gasoline rationing, beginning December 1. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1126.html#article))

On November 26, 1904, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Liberal Party politics in Great Britain. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1126.html)

1789A day of thanksgiving was set aside by President George Washington to observe the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

1825The first college social fraternity, Kappa Alpha, was formed at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.

1832Public streetcar service began in New York City.

1940The half million Jews of Warsaw, Poland, were forced by the Nazis to live within a walled ghetto.

1942"Casablanca," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, had its world premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York.

1949India adopted a constitution as a republic within the British Commonwealth.

1950China entered the Korean War, launching a counter-offensive against soldiers from the United Nations, the United States and South Korea.

1973President Richard Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she'd accidentally caused part of the 18 1/2-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.

1975A federal jury found Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, guilty of trying to assassinate President Gerald R. Ford.

1992Britain announced that Queen Elizabeth II had volunteered to start paying taxes on her personal income, and would take her children off the public payroll.

2000Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified Republican George W. Bush the winner over Democrat Al Gore in the state's presidential balloting by 537 votes. and she was rewarded handsomely by BA.

2008Terrorists launched commando-style attacks on two luxury hotels, a Jewish center and a crowded train station in Mumbai, India, killing 166 people.

2009An investigation ordered by Ireland's government found that Roman Catholic Church leaders in Dublin had spent decades sheltering child-abusing priests from the law and that most fellow clerics turned a blind eye.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 27, 1973, the Senate voted 92-3 to confirm Gerald R. Ford as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew, who'd resigned. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1127.html#article))

On November 27, 1869, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the doctrine of papal infallibility. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1127.html)

1901The Army War College was established in Washington, D.C.

1910New York's Pennsylvania Station opened.

1942The French navy at Toulon scuttled its ships and submarines to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis.

1953Playwright Eugene O'Neill died at age 65.

1970Pope Paul VI, visiting the Philippines, was slightly wounded at the Manila airport by a dagger-wielding Bolivian painter disguised as a priest.

1978San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk were shot to death inside City Hall by Dan White, a former supervisor.

1985The British House of Commons approved the Anglo-Irish accord, giving Dublin a consultative role in the governing of British-ruled Northern Ireland.

2002U.N. specialists began a new round of weapons inspections in Iraq. and they never found any evidence of WMD, nor any "ingredients" for such weapons. and surprise, surprise, giggles bombed, invaded and occupied Iraq anyway under threat of "a mushroom cloud" and surprise, surprise... not... no WMD were ever found.

2008Iraq's parliament approved a pact requiring all U.S. troops to be out of the country by Jan. 1, 2012.

2009Golfer Tiger Woods crashed his SUV outside his Florida mansion, sparking widespread attention to reports of marital infidelity.

2009Former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced daughter Chelsea's engagement to longtime boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 28, 1943, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin met in Tehran during World War II. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1128.html#article))

On November 28, 1857, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a dispute between the federal government and Utah Mormons called the "Mormon War" or "Utah War." (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1128.html)

1520Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.

1895The first automobile race took place, between Chicago and Waukegan, Ill.

1925The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville made its debut on radio station WSM.

1942Fire destroyed the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston, killing nearly 500 people.

1958The African nation of Chad became an autonomous republic within the French community.

1975President Gerald R. Ford nominated federal Judge John Paul Stevens to the U.S. Supreme Court seat vacated by William O. Douglas.

1990Margaret Thatcher resigned after more than 11 years as prime minister of Britain.

1994Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was killed in a Wisconsin prison by a fellow inmate.

1995President Bill Clinton signed a bill that ended the federal 55 mph speed limit.

1999Hsing-Hsing, a giant panda who arrived at the National Zoo in 1972 as a symbol of U.S.-China detente, was euthanized at age 28 because of deteriorating health.

2000Lawyers for Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore argued the Florida recount before the U.S. Supreme Court.
election fraud, illegitimate prez, gotta love it.

2001Enron Corp., once the world's largest energy trader, collapsed after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backed out of an $8.4 billion deal to take it over.

2008New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the right thigh with a gun tucked into his waistband at a New York City nightclub. he's lucky that's all he shot... moron.

[Kestra]

On Nov. 29, 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for Palestine to be partitioned between Arabs and Jews. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1129.html#article))

On November 29, 1862, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about former president James Buchanan's defense of his presidential policies on the eve of the Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1129.html)

1890Navy won the first Army-Navy football game 24-0 at West Point, N.Y.

1924Italian composer Giacomo Puccini died in Brussels.

1929Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd radioed that he'd made the first airplane flight over the South Pole.

1952President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower kept his campaign promise to visit Korea to assess the conflict.

1961Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited Earth twice before returning.

1963President Lyndon B. Johnson named a commission headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

1967Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced he was leaving the Johnson administration to become president of the World Bank.

1981Actress Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident at age 43.

1986Actor Cary Grant died at age 82.

1989In response to a growing pro-democracy movement in Czechoslovakia, the Communist-run parliament ended the party's 40-year monopoly on power.

1990The U.N. Security Council voted 12-2 to authorize military action if Iraq did not withdraw its troops from Kuwait and release all foreign hostages by Jan. 15, 1991.
unlike "the decider" giggles who decided to "go it alone".

1996A U.N. court sentenced Bosnian Serb army soldier Drazen Erdemovic to 10 years in prison for his role in the massacre of 1,200 Muslims - the first international war crimes sentence since World War II.

1999Protestant and Catholic adversaries formed a Northern Ireland government.

2001Rock musician George Harrison of the Beatles died at age 58 following a battle with cancer.

2009Iran approved plans to build 10 industrial scale uranium enrichment facilities in defiance of U.N. demands it halt enrichment.

2009Swiss voters approved a constitutional ban on minarets, barring construction of the iconic mosque towers.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 3, 1984, more than 4,000 people died after a cloud of gas escaped from a pesticide plant operated by a Union Carbide subsidiary in Bhopal, India. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1203.html#article))

On December 3, 1887, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Speaker of the House John Carlisle. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1203.html)

1818Illinois was admitted to the union as the 21st state.

1828Andrew Jackson was elected the seventh president of the United States.

1947"A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway. :scream: SSSTELLAAAAA!!!

1948The House Un-American Activities Committee announced that former Communist spy Whittaker Chambers had produced microfilm of secret documents hidden inside a pumpkin on his Maryland farm.

1964Police arrested some 800 students at the University of California at Berkeley who had stormed the administration building the previous day and staged a massive sit-in. "HELL NO! WE WON'T GO!"

1965The album "Rubber Soul" by the Beatles was released.

1967Surgeons in Cape Town, South Africa, led by Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant.

1967The 20th Century Limited, the famed luxury train, completed its final run from New York City to Chicago.

1979Eleven people were killed in a crush of fans at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum before a rock concert by the Who.

1989East German Communist leader Egon Krenz, the ruling Politburo and the party's Central Committee resigned.

1997South Korea struck a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a $55 billion bailout of its foundering economy.

1999Scientists failed to make contact with the Mars Polar Lander after it began its fiery descent toward the red planet; the spacecraft was presumed destroyed.

2009Comcast and GE announced joint venture plans, with Comcast owning a 51 percent controlling stake in NBC Universal.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 4, 1945, the Senate approved U.S. participation in the United Nations. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1204.html#article))

On December 4, 1880, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about New York Congressman Abram Hewitt and the presidential election of 1880. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1204.html)

1783Gen. George Washington said farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.

1816James Monroe of Virginia was elected the fifth president of the United States.

1918President Woodrow Wilson set sail for France to attend the Versailles peace conference.

1942U.S. bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time in World War II.

1978Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco's first woman mayor when she was named to replace George Moscone, who had been assassinated.

1980The rock group Led Zeppelin announced it was disbanding after the death in September of drummer John Bonham.

1980The bodies of four American nuns slain in El Salvador two days earlier were unearthed. (Five national guardsmen were later convicted of murder.)

1991Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson, the longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon, was released after nearly seven years in captivity.

1992President George H.W. Bush ordered American troops to lead a mercy mission to Somalia, threatening military action against warlords and gangs who were blocking food for starving millions.

1995The first NATO troops landed in the Balkans to begin setting up a peace mission.

2000A Florida state judge refused to overturn Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush's certified victory in Florida, and the U.S. Supreme Court set aside a ruling that had allowed manual recounts. election fraud at its finest.

2001The United States froze the financial assets of organizations allegedly linked to the terrorist group Hamas.

2006Lacking the Senate votes to keep his job, embattled U.N. Ambassador John Bolton offered his resignation to President George W. Bush, who accepted it. good-bye to bad rubbish.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 5, 1933, national Prohibition came to an end as Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing the 18th Amendment. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/1205.html#article))

On December 5, 1903, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Senator Mark Hanna, the influential leader of pro-business Republicans. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1205.html)

1776 The first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

1782 Martin Van Buren, the eighth U.S. president and the first to be born after the country was formed, was born in Kinderhook, N.Y.

1791 Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna at age 35.

1792 George Washington was re-elected president and John Adams was re-elected vice president.

1831 Former President John Quincy Adams took his seat as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

1848 President James K. Polk triggered the Gold Rush of '49 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California.

1901 Movie producer Walt Disney was born in Chicago.

1955 The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.

1994 Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades. yeah, he thought it was a good idea to close down the government so Republicorps could take over. that worked well. things haven't changed much between then and now.

1996 Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan questioned whether the stock market was overvalued, saying in a speech in Washington, "How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly inflated asset values?"

2002 Senate Republican leader Trent Lott praised Strom Thurmond's pro-segregation 1948 presidential campaign. The ensuing uproar led to Lott's resignation from the Senate leadership. aw, the glorified "good ole days" when white men were in charge, and all else was chattel.

2006 New York became the first city in the nation to ban artery-clogging trans fats at restaurants.

2008 A judge in Las Vegas sentenced O.J. Simpson to 33 years in prison (with eligibility for parole after nine) for an armed robbery at a hotel room. 7 years from now.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 6, 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Calvin Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1206.html#article))

On December 6, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the White River massacre in Colorado (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1206.html)

1790Congress moved from New York City to Philadelphia.

1907The worst mining disaster in U.S. history occurred as 362 men and boys died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, W.Va.

1947Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated.

1957The AFL-CIO expelled the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

1957America's first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit blew up on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla.

1969A free concert by the Rolling Stones at Altamont Speedway in Livermore, Calif., was marred by the deaths of four people, including a man who was stabbed by a Hell's Angel.

1973House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew, who had resigned after pleading no contest to income tax evasion.

1992Thousands of Hindu extremists destroyed a mosque in India, setting off two months of Hindu-Muslim rioting that claimed at least 2,000 lives.

1994Orange County, Calif., filed for bankruptcy protection due to investment losses of about $2 billion.

1998Hugo Chavez, who had staged a bloody coup attempt against the Venezuelan government six years earlier, was elected president.

2003Army became the first team to finish 0-13 in major college football history after a 34-6 loss to Navy.

2004Al-Qaida struck the U.S. Consulate in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, with explosives and machine guns, killing nine people. do tell, and giggles didn't send in the troops.

2006The bipartisan Iraq Study Group concluded that President George W. Bush's war policies had failed in almost every regard, and said the situation in Iraq was "grave and deteriorating." eyup, the illegal occupation went well. guess that's what happens when someone who went awol is in charge.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 10, 1948, the U.N. General Assembly adopted its Universal Declaration on Human Rights. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/1210.html#article))

On December 10, 1881, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the trial of the assassin of President James Garfield, Charles Guiteau, who pled not guilty due to temporary insanity. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1210.html)

1520 Martin Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant or face excommunication.

1817 Mississippi was admitted to the union as the 20th state.

1964 The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize during ceremonies in Oslo, Norway.

1965 The Grateful Dead played their first concert, at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco.

1967 Singer Otis Redding died at age 26 in the crash of his private plane in Wisconsin.

1980 Rep. John W. Jenrette, D-S.C., resigned to avoid being expelled from the House following his conviction on charges related to the FBI's Abscam investigation.

1984 South African Bishop Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize.

1994 Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin received the Nobel Peace Prize.

1998 Six astronauts opened the doors to the new international space station.

1998 The Palestinian leadership scrapped constitutional clauses rejecting Israel's right to exist.

2001 "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," the first in a three-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy, premiered in London.

2002 Former President Jimmy Carter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomacy in the Middle East in the 1970s.

2007 Former Vice President Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a call for humanity to rise up against a looming climate crisis.

2007 NFL star Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for bankrolling a dogfighting operation and killing dogs that underperformed.

2007 Cristina Fernandez was sworn in as Argentina's first elected female president.

2009 President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a humble acknowledgment of his scant accomplishments and a robust defense of the U.S. at war.

2009 James Cameron's 3-D film epic "Avatar" had its world premiere in London.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 11, 1941, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States; the U.S. responded in kind. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1211.html#article))

On December 11, 1909, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Settlement Houses, establishments with programs designed to assist the urban poor. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1211.html)

1816 Indiana became the 19th state.

1936 Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson.

1946 UNICEF (the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) was established.

1961 A U.S. aircraft carrier carrying Army helicopters arrived in Saigon - the first direct American military support for South Vietnam's battle against Communist guerrillas.

1972 Man landed on the moon for the last time during the Apollo 17 mission.

1981 The U.N. Security Council chose Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru to be its fifth secretary-general.

1994 Russian troops rolled into breakaway republic of Chechnya in a failed bid to restore Moscow's control over the region.

1997 More than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to take steps to control greenhouse gas emissions. and then came the Bush years.

1998 The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. this is what we have to look forward to with the new House. wasting tax dollars going after Obama instead of focusing on what needs to be done in this country.

2000 Shortstop Alex Rodriguez agreed to a $252 million 10-year deal with the Texas Rangers, the most lucrative sports contract in history to date.

2002 A congressional report found that intelligence agencies before Sept. 11, 2001, were poorly organized, poorly equipped and slow to pursue clues that might have prevented that day's terrorist attacks.

2008 Financial manager Bernard Madoff was arrested, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that destroyed thousands of people's life savings and wrecked charities. (Madoff later pleaded guilty and is serving150 years in federal prison.) god bless deregulation.

2009 Tiger Woods announced on his website that he was taking an indefinite leave from golf to try to save his marriage to Elin Nordegren. (The couple divorced in August 2010.)

[Kestra]

On Dec. 13, 1981, authorities in Poland imposed martial law in a crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. Martial law formally ended in 1983.

On December 13, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about John Sherman, the treasury secretary and former (and future) U.S. senator. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1213.html)

1642 Dutch navigator Abel Tasman arrived in present-day New Zealand.

1769 Dartmouth College in New Hampshire received its charter.

1862 Confederate forces dealt Union troops a major defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia.

1918 President Woodrow Wilson arrived in France to attend the post-World War I peace conference at Versailles, becoming the first chief executive to visit Europe while in office.

1988 PLO chairman Yasser Arafat addressed the U.N. General Assembly in Geneva, where it had reconvened after the United States refused to grant Arafat a visa to visit New York.

1989 South African President F.W. de Klerk met for the first time with imprisoned African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, at de Klerk's office in Cape Town.

1996 The U.N. Security Council chose Kofi Annan of Ghana to be the world body's seventh secretary-general.

2000 Republican George W. Bush claimed stole the election via election fraud and his 'freinds' on the Supreme Court. the presidency 36 days after Election Day.

2001 The Pentagon released a captured videotape of Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader said the deaths and destruction achieved by the Sept. 11 attacks exceeded his "most optimistic" expectations. he'd been waiting for a prez stupid enough to take the bait and distroy America internally. he found it in giggles.

2001 Five suspected Islamic militants killed nine people in an attack on India's parliament before being killed themselves.

2001 President George W. Bush served formal notice that the United States was pulling out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia. yeah, when you're an arms dealer those pesky anti-Ballistic treaties get in the way of making big bucks.

2002 Cardinal Bernard Law resigned as Boston archbishop because of the priest sex abuse scandal.

2003 Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole under a farmhouse in Adwar, near his hometown of Tikrit. yeah, after giggles bombed, invaded and occupied his country. oh yeah, he never paid for the occupation.

2007 Shareholders of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, approved a takeover by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. mmm yes, a foreign take over.

2007 The Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball was released, implicating seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 15, 1916, the French defeated the Germans in the World War I Battle of Verdun. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/1215.html#article))

On December 15, 1888, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about speculation concerning the cabinet appointments of President-elect Benjamin Harrison. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1215.html)

1791 The Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, took effect following ratification by Virginia.

1890 Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, S.D., during a clash with Indian police.

1938 Ground was broken for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

1939 The movie "Gone With the Wind" had its world premiere in Atlanta. "quite frankly my dear, i don't give a damn."

1944 Bandleader Glenn Miller's U.S. Army plane disappeared over the English Channel.

1961 Former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by an Israeli court.

1966 Movie producer Walt Disney died at age 65.

1989 A popular uprising that led to the downfall of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu began in Romania.

2003 The late Sen. Strom Thurmond's family acknowledged Essie Mae Washington-Williams' claim that she was Thurmond's illegitimate mixed-race daughter.

2004 American telecommunications giants Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications Inc. announced they would merge in a $35 billion deal.

2005 Millions of Iraqis turned out to choose a parliament in a mostly peaceful election.

2009 The Washington, D.C. City Council voted to legalize same-sex marriage.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first successful man-powered airplane flight, near Kitty Hawk, N.C. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1217.html#article))

On December 17, 1898, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1217.html)

1933 In the first NFL championship game, the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants 23-21 at Wrigley Field.

1944 The U.S. Army announced the end of its policy of excluding Japanese-Americans from the West Coast.

1957 The United States successfully test-fired the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.

1969 The U.S. Air Force closed its Project "Blue Book" by concluding there was no evidence of extraterrestrial spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings.
:3aliens: :aship:

1969 An estimated 50 million viewers watched singer Tiny Tim marry Miss Vicky on NBC's "Tonight Show."

1975 Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald R. Ford. (She was released in August 2009.)

1989 The animated TV series "The Simpsons" premiered on Fox. aye karumba!

1992 President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in separate ceremonies.

1996 Kofi Annan of Ghana became United Nations secretary-general.

2004 President George W. Bush signed into law the largest overhaul of U.S. intelligence-gathering in 50 years. yeah, and look how well that went.

2005 President George W. Bush acknowledged he'd personally authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. following Sept. 11. of course, they were eavesdropping on Quakers, and other peaceful organizations and the like. and those same things are still going on today.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 18, 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first civilian nuclear facility to generate electricity in the United States, went online. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/1218.html#article))

On December 18, 1909, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about airplane travel. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1218.html)

1787 New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1865 Slavery ended in the United States as the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was declared in effect. according to BeckyBoo there was no such thing as slavery until the "liberal government" created it.

1886 Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb was born in Narrows, Ga.

1892 Peter Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite" premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia.

1915 President Woodrow Wilson, widowed the year before, married Edith Bolling Galt.

1944 The Supreme Court upheld the wartime relocation of Japanese-Americans.

1958 The world's first communications satellite was launched by the United States aboard an Atlas rocket.

1969 Britain's Parliament abolished the death penalty for murder.

1972 The United States began the heaviest bombing of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

1987 Ivan F. Boesky was sentenced to three years in prison for plotting Wall Street's biggest insider-trading scandal.

2003 A judge in Seattle sentenced confessed Green River killer Gary Ridgeway to 48 consecutive life terms.

2003 A jury in Chesapeake, Va., convicted teenager Lee Boyd Malvo of two counts of murder in the Washington-area sniper shootings. (He was later sentenced to life in prison without parole.)

2008 A U.N. court in Tanzania convicted former Rwandan army Col. Theoneste Bagosora of genocide and crimes against humanity for masterminding the killings of more than half a million people in a 100-day slaughter in 1994.

2009 Reality TV stars Jon and Kate Gosselin, parents of eight children, divorced.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 19, 1984, Britain and China signed an accord returning Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/1219.html#article))

On December 19, 1863, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about a Union drummer boy during the Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1219.html)

1732 Benjamin Franklin began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac."

1776 Thomas Paine published his first "American Crisis" essay, writing: "These are the times that try men's souls."

1777 Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.

1843 Charles Dickens' Yuletide tale, "A Christmas Carol," was first published in Britain. up until then, celebrating Christmas was actually banned by religious groups and not.

1907 A coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pa., killed 239 workers.

1946 War broke out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French.

1972 Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, ending the Apollo program of manned lunar landings.

1974 Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as vice president, replacing Gerald R. Ford, who became president when Richard M. Nixon resigned.

1986 The Soviet Union announced it had freed dissident Andrei Sakharov from internal exile and pardoned his wife, Yelena Bonner.

1997 "Titanic," the second highest-grossing movie of all time, opened in American theaters.

1998 President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice. (He was later acquitted by the Senate.)

2000 The U.N. Security Council voted to impose broad sanctions on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless they closed terrorist training camps and surrendered U.S. embassy bombing suspect Osama bin Laden. not only that, they knew where to find him. and offered to turn him over to giggles admin. which giggles turned down, because, as he put it; 'thanks but no thanks,' "we're gonna bomb, invade, and occupy Afghanistan and Iraq instead."

2003 Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi agreed to halt his nation's drive to develop nuclear and chemical weapons.

2005 Afghanistan's first democratically elected parliament in more than three decades convened.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 20, 1989, the United States launched Operation Just Cause, sending troops into Panama to topple the government of General Manuel Noriega. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/1220.html#article))

On December 20, 1902, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about cartoonist Thomas Nast, who had recently died. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1220.html)

1790 The first successful cotton mill in the United States began operating at Pawtucket, R.I.

1803 The Louisiana Purchase was completed as the territory was formally transferred from France to the United States during ceremonies in New Orleans.

1860 South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.

1864 Confederate forces evacuated Savannah, Ga., as Union Gen. William T. Sherman continued his "March to the Sea."

1879 Thomas Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light at Menlo Park, N.J.

1946 The Frank Capra film "It's A Wonderful Life" had a preview showing for charity at New York City's Globe Theatre, a day before its official premiere.

1963 The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time to West Berliners, who were allowed one-day visits to relatives in the Eastern sector for the holidays.

1976 Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley died at age 74.

1999 The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples are entitled to the same benefits and protections as wedded couples.

2002 Trent Lott resigned as Senate Republican leader two weeks after igniting a political firestorm with racially charged remarks.

2005 New York City transit workers began a three-day strike.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 24, 1992, President Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1224.html#article))

On December 24, 1859, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about congressional debates over slavery, William Henry Seward's famous "Irrepressible Conflict" speech, and the presidential election of 1860. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1224.html) according to BeckyBoo, there was no such thing as slavery until the American goverment was formed. :hmm: someone needs to tell Moses.

1814 The War of 1812 officially ended as the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium.

1851 Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes.

1865 The Ku Klux Klan was founded as a private social club by several Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, Tenn. aw yes, the "real Americans".

1871 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida" had its world premiere in Cairo, Egypt, to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal.

1906 Canadian physicist Reginald A. Fessenden became the first person to broadcast a music program over radio, from Brant Rock, Mass.

1920 Enrico Caruso gave his last public performance, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces during World War II.

1968 The Apollo 8 astronauts, orbiting the moon, read passages from the Old Testament Book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve TV broadcast. i remember that. i was watching it with my family.

2002 Laci Peterson was reported missing from her Modesto, Calif., home, by her husband, Scott, who was later convicted of murdering her and their unborn son.

2009 The Senate passed health care legislation, 60-39, in the chamber's first Christmas Eve vote since 1895. yeah, the Grumpy Old Pouters wanted to go home for Christmas.

2009 A woman jumped barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he was walking down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass; the pope was unhurt.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 25, 1991, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on TV to announce his resignation as the eighth and final leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1225.html#article))

On December 25, 1866, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Santa Claus and Christmas. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1225.html)

1066 William the Conqueror was crowned king of England. :king:

1776 Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, N.J.

1818 "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.

1821 Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, was born in Oxford, Mass.

1868 President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to everyone involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War.

1926 Hirohito became emperor of Japan, succeeding his father, Emperor Yoshihito.

1977 Comedian Charlie Chaplin died at age 88.

1989 Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed.

1989 Former New York Yankees player and manager Billy Martin, 61, died when the pickup truck he was riding in crashed.

1990 The World Wide Web was born as computer scientists Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau created the world's first hyperlinked Web page.

1995 Singer Dean Martin died at age 78. every body loves some body sometime.

2002 Katie Hnida became the first woman to play in a Division I football game when she attempted an extra point for New Mexico against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl.

2006 Soul singer James Brown died at age 73.

2009 Passengers aboard a Northwest Airlines flight foiled an attempt to blow up the plane as it was landing in Detroit by seizing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian accused of trying to set off explosives in his underwear. quite frankly i think he was just a patsy set up by terrorist who knew Farouk would fail. so they could laugh at how America over reacts. and now everyone gets to be viewed naked and have their junk touched at airports. it's amazing how much liberty ppl are willing to give up on the rouse of feeling (not being) "safe".

[Kestra]

On Dec. 26, 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1226.html#article))

On December 26, 1868, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Reverdy Johnson, the U.S. minister to Great Britain. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1226.html)

1799 George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

1865 James H. Nason of Franklin, Mass., received a patent for a coffee percolator.

1893 Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong was born in Hunan province.

1908 Jack Johhnson became the first black heavyweight boxing champion when he knocked out Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.

1917 The U.S. government took over operation of the nation's railroads.

1944 Tennessee Williams' play "The Glass Menagerie" premiered at the Civic Theatre in Chicago.

1947 Heavy snow blanketed the Northeast, burying New York City under 25.8 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather was blamed for some 80 deaths.

1972 Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, died in Kansas City, Mo., at age 88.

1996 Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colo. The slaying remains unsolved.

2004 A tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean left more than 216,000 people dead or missing, mostly in southern Asia.

2004 Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts broke Dan Marino's single-season touchdown pass record when he threw his 48th and 49th of the season in a victory over San Diego.

2006 Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States, died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at age 93.

[Kestra]

On Dec. 27, 1979, Soviet forces seized control of Afghanistan. President Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed, was replaced by Babrak Karmal. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1227.html#article))

On December 27, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Senator Thomas Bayard of Delaware, a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1880. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1227.html)

1831 British naturalist Charles Darwin set out on a voyage to the Pacific Ocean aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin's discoveries during the nearly five-year journey helped form the basis of his theories on evolution.

1927 The musical "Show Boat," with music by Jerome Kern and libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II, opened at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City.

1932 Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City.

1945 The World Bank was created with an agreement signed by 28 nations.

1947 The children's TV program "Howdy Doody" debuted on NBC.

1949 Queen Juliana of the Netherlands granted sovereignty to Indonesia after more than 300 years of Dutch rule.

1968 Apollo 8, the first spaceflight to orbit the moon, returned to Earth.

1970 "Hello, Dolly!" closed on Broadway after a run of 2,844 performances.

1985 Naturalist Dian Fossey, who had studied gorillas in the wild, was found hacked to death at a research station in Rwanda.

2001 U.S. officials announced that Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners would be held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

2004 Viktor Yushchenko won a runoff in Ukraine's presidential election, completing the country's "Orange Revolution."

2005 Indonesia's Aceh rebels formally abolished their 30-year armed struggle for independence under a peace deal born out of the 2004 tsunami.

2007 Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a bomb and shooting attack as she left an election rally in Rawalpindi.

[Kestra]

President Harry S. Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/1231.html#article))

On December 31, 1864, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about President Abraham Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction of the Union. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/1231.html)

1857 Britain's Queen Victoria decided to make Ottawa the capital of Canada.

1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed an act admitting West Virginia to the Union.

1879 Thomas Edison first publicly demonstrated his electric incandescent light in Menlo Park, N.J.

1974 Private U.S. citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years.

1985 Rock singer Rick Nelson, 45, and six other people were killed when fire broke out aboard a DC-3 that was taking the group to a New Year's Eve performance in Dallas.

1993 Entertainer Barbra Streisand performed her first paid concert in 22 years, singing to a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

1997 Michael Kennedy, 39-year-old son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado.

2006 The death toll for Americans killed in the Iraq war reached 3,000. in an unnessisary, illegal occupation (that we were lied to about) of a country that had absolutly nothing to do with 9\11.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 1, 1959, Fidel Castro led Cuban revolutionaries to victory over Fulgencio Batista. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0101.html#article))

On January 1, 1859, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about New Year's Day. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0101.html)

1808 A law prohibiting the importation of slaves into the United States went into effect. according to BeckyBoo, "this is what caused slavery."

1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states were free. 55 years after the 1808 law.

1892 The Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York opened.

1898 New York City was consolidated into five buroughs.

1901 The Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed.

1919 J.D. Salinger, author of "The Catcher in the Rye," was born in New York City.

1953 Country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, died of a drug and alcohol overdose.

1958 Treaties establishing the European Economic Community went into effect.

1979 The United States and China established diplomatic relations.

1984 AT&T was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement.

1990 David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City's first African-American mayor.

1993 Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

1994 The North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect. yes "Free Trade" where businesses (corporations) get paid to outsource, and don't have to pay any taxes.

1999 The euro became the official currency of 11 European countries.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 2, 1905, Japanese Gen. Nogi received from Russian Gen. Stoessel at 9 o'clock P.M. a letter formally offering to surrender, ending the Russo-Japanese War. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0102.html#article))

On January 2, 1864, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0102.html)

1492 The leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain surrendered to Spanish forces loyal to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I.

1788 Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1900 Secretary of State John Hay announced the Open Door Policy to prompt trade with China.

1935 Bruno Hauptmann went on trial in Flemington, N.J., on charges of kidnapping and murdering the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (He was found guilty and executed.)

1960 Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

1965 The New York Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath for a reported $400,000.

1974 President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph.

1991 Sharon Pratt Dixon was sworn in as mayor of Washington, D.C., becoming the first African-American woman to head a city of Washington's size and prominence.

2006 A methane gas explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia trapped 13 miners underground for more than 40 hours; only one survived.

2008 Oil prices soared to $100 a barrel for the first time.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 3, 1959, President Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Alaska to the Union as the 49th state. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0103.html#article))

On January 3, 1874, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about women's rights. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0103.html)

1521 Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

1777 Gen. George Washington's army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, N.J.

1868 The Meiji Restoration re-established the authority of Japan's emperor and heralded the fall of the military rulers known as shoguns.

1892 J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

1938 The March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was organized.

1961 The United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba.

1967 Jack Ruby, the man who fatally shot accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, died in a Dallas hospital.

1990 Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission in Panama City.

2000 The last new daily "Peanuts" comic strip by Charles Schulz ran in 2,600 newspapers.

2004 NASA's Mars rover, Spirit, touched down on the red planet.

2006 Lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion and agreed to cooperate in investigations of corruption in Congress.

2009 After seven days of pummeling the Gaza Strip from the air, Israel launched a ground offensive.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 7, 1979, Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0107.html#article))

On January 7, 1871, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the German empire. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0107.html)

1789 The first U.S. presidential election was held. Americans voted for electors who, a month later, chose George Washington to be the nation's first president.

1800 Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States, was born in Summerhill, N.Y.

1927 Commercial transatlantic telephone service was inaugurated between New York and London.

1942 The World War II siege of Bataan began.

1953 President Harry S. Truman announced in his State of the Union address that the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb.

1955 Singer Marian Anderson made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, becoming the first black person to perform there as a member.

1959 The United States recognized Fidel Castro's new government in Cuba.

1972 Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William H. Rehnquist were sworn in as the 99th and 100th members of the Supreme Court.

1989 Japanese Emperor Hirohito died at age 87.

1996 A major blizzard paralyzed the eastern United States, claiming more than 100 lives.

1997 Newt Gingrich became the first Republican re-elected House speaker in 68 years.

1999 President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial began in the Senate.

2005 Actor Brad Pitt and actress Jennifer Aniston announced they were separating after four years of marriage.

2006 American journalist Jill Carroll was abducted in Iraq and a translator was killed. (Carroll was released unharmed after 82 days.)

2006 Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, facing corruption charges, stepped down as House majority leader.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson outlined his 14 points for peace after World War I. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0108.html#article))

1867, Emily Greene Balch, a leader of the women's movement for peace during and after World War I and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, was born. Following her death on Jan. 9, 1961, her obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0108.html) |Other Birthdays (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20110108.html?th=&emc=tha213&nl=todaysheadlines#birthdays))

On January 8, 1876, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Congress. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0108.html)


1642 Astronomer Galileo Galilei died in Arcetri, Italy.

1815 U.S. forces led by Gen. Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

1935 Rock 'n' roll singer Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Miss.

1959 Charles De Gaulle was inaugurated as president of France's Fifth Republic.

1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a war on poverty.

1973 Secret peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam resumed near Paris.

1976 Chinese premier Chou En-lai died at age 78.

1982 AT&T settled the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies.

1987 The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,000 for the first time, ending the day at 2,002.25.

1996 Former French president Francois Mitterrand died at age 79.

1998 Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was sentenced in New York to life in prison. you see, terrorist can be successfully tried and convicted on American soil. and he's still in prison.

2007 A Moroccan man convicted of aiding three of the four pilots who committed the 9/11 attacks was sentenced by a German court to the maximum 15 years in prison.

2008 U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, the only officer charged in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing. i find it egregious, and abhorrent how US sees itself as above the law. where is the out rage?

[Kestra]

On Jan. 9, 1968, the Surveyor 7 space probe made a soft landing on the moon, marking the end of the American series of unmanned explorations of the lunar surface. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0109.html#article))

1913, Richard Milhous Nixon, the first American president to resign from office following his involvement in the Watergate scandal, was born. Following his death on April 22, 1994, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0109.html) |Other Birthdays (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20110109.html?th=&emc=tha213&nl=todaysheadlines#birthdays))

On January 9, 1875, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about monetary policy. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0109.html)

1788 Connecticut became the fifth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1861 Mississippi seceded from the Union.

1913 Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, was born in Yorba Linda, Calif. "i am not a crook!" :woot:

1972 Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes said a purported authorized biography of him by Clifford Irving was a fake.

1987 The White House released a memorandum prepared for President Ronald Reagan in January 1986 that showed a definite link between U.S. arms sales to Iran and the release of American hostages in Lebanon. nothing criminal going on here... move along now.

2001 Apple Computer Inc. introduced its iTunes music management software at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco.

2005 Mahmoud Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority president by a landslide.

2006 "The Phantom of the Opera" became the longest-running show in Broadway history, surpassing "Cats," which ran for 7,485 performances.

2007 Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone.

2009 The Illinois House voted to impeach Gov. Rod Blagojevich. (The Democratic governor was removed from office by the state Senate later in the month.) what did i do!?

2009 A Saudi supertanker, the Sirius Star, and its crew of 25 were released, ending a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden after pirates were reportedly paid $3 million in ransom.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 10, 1946, the first General Assembly of the United Nations convened in London. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0110.html#article))

1910, Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova, one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century, was born. Following her death on Mar. 21, 1998, her obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0110.html) |Other Birthdays (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20110110.html?th=&emc=tha213&nl=todaysheadlines#birthdays))

On January 10, 1874, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about foreign policy. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0110.html)


1776 Thomas Paine published the pamphlet "Common Sense."

1861 Florida seceded from the Union.

1863 London's Metropolitan, the world's first underground passenger railway, opened to the public.

1870 John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.

1920 The League of Nations was established as the Treaty of Versailles went into effect.

1957 Harold Macmillan became prime minister of Great Britain following the resignation of Anthony Eden.

1964 The Beatles' first album in the United States, "Introducing the Beatles," was released.

1967 Republican Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts, the first black elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, took his seat.

1971 "Masterpiece Theatre" premiered on PBS.

1984 The United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations.

2000 America Online agreed to buy Time-Warner for $162 billion. (Time-Warner decided to spin off AOL in 2009.)

2003 North Korea withdrew from a global treaty barring it from making nuclear weapons.

2005 CBS issued a damning independent review of mistakes related to a "60 Minutes Wednesday" report on President George W. Bush's National Guard service. yes, showing that he went awol.

2007 President George W. Bush announced he would send a "surge" of 21,500 U.S. forces to Iraq.

2010 NBC announced a plan to move "The Jay Leno Show" from prime time to 11:35 p.m. Eastern time and push "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" back to 12:05 a.m. (O'Brien ended up leaving NBC, and Leno resumed hosting "Tonight.")

[Kestra]

On Jan. 16, 1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0116.html#article)) and now FAUX's Hannity thinks "we should go in to Kuwait and frankly, take their oil, because without us, Kuwait wouldn't exist." :eyeroll:

1908, Ethel Merman , the musical-comedy star whose belting voice and brassy style entertained Broadway and movie audiences for 50 years , was born. Following her death on Feb. 15 , 1984, her obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0116.html) |Other Birthdays (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20110116.html?th=&emc=tha213&nl=todaysheadlines#birthdays)) i loved Ethel Merman... "there's no business like show business"

On January 16, 1869, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Indian policy. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0116.html)

1547 Ivan the Terrible was crowned Czar of Russia.

1920 Prohibition began as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect.

1944 Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied invasion force in London.

1964 The musical "Hello, Dolly!" starring Carol Channing opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,844 performances.

1969 Two manned Soviet Soyuz spaceships became the first vehicles to dock in space and transfer personnel.

1973 The final first-run episode of the long-running western "Bonanza" aired on NBC.

1989 Three days of rioting erupted in Miami when a police officer fatally shot a black motorcyclist, causing a crash that also claimed the life of a passenger.

1992 The government of El Salvador and rebel leaders signed a pact in Mexico City ending 12 years of civil war that had killed at least 75,000 people.

2003 The space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven blasted off from Cape Canaveral. (The shuttle broke up during its return descent on Feb. 1, killing everyone on board.)

2004 Pop star Michael Jackson pleaded innocent to child molestation charges in Santa Maria, Calif. (Charges were later re-filed and Jackson was acquitted.)

2006 Africa's first elected female head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was sworn in as Liberia's president.

2007 Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., launched his successful bid for the White House. and he won by a landslide. yes we can.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 17, 1893, Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0117.html#article)) and here we are today with corporations controlling the world market.

1899, Al Capone , the American gangster and prohibition era crime leader , was born. Following his death on Jan. 25 , 1947, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0117.html) |Other Birthdays (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20110117.html?th=&emc=tha213&nl=todaysheadlines#birthdays))

On January 17, 1863, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Civil War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0117.html)

1562 French Protestants were recognized under the Edict of St. Germain.

1706 Statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston.

1806 Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House.

1893 Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown.

1893 Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, died in Fremont, Ohio, at age 70.

1899 Gangster Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.

1945 Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II.

1945 Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, was taken into Soviet custody in Budapest, Hungary. (His fate has never been determined.)

1946 The United Nations Security Council held its first meeting.

1977 Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.

1994 A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 61 people and causing $20 billion worth of damage.

1995 A magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastated the city of Kobe, Japan; more than 6,000 people were killed.

1997 A court in Ireland granted the first divorce in the Roman Catholic country's history.

1998 President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to testify as a defendant in a criminal or civil suit when he answered questions from lawyers for Paula Jones, who had accused Clinton of sexual harassment.

2001 Faced with an electricity crisis, California used rolling blackouts to cut off power to hundreds of thousands of people.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 21, 1924, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Lenin died at age 54. (Go to article. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0121.html#article))

1905, Christian Dior , French fashion designer and creator of the ''New Look'' in 1947 , was born. Following his death on Oct. 24 , 1957, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0121.html) |Other Birthdays (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/index.html#birthdays))

On January 21, 1865, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about public safety. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0121.html)


1793 France's King Louis XVI, condemned for treason, was executed on the guillotine.

1861 Five Southerners resigned from the U.S. Senate, including Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, the future president of the Confederacy.

1915 The first Kiwanis Club was founded, in Detroit.

1950 A federal jury in New York City found former State Department official Alger Hiss guilty of perjury.

1954 The first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched at Groton, Conn.

1976 The supersonic Concorde jet was put into service by Britain and France.

1977 President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.

1994 A jury in Manassas, Va., acquitted Lorena Bobbitt by reason of temporary insanity of maliciously wounding her husband, John, whom she'd accused of sexually assaulting her.

1997 Speaker Newt Gingrich was fined as the House voted for first time in history to discipline its leader for ethical misconduct.

1998 Pope John Paul II began his first visit to Cuba.

2003 The Census Bureau announced that Hispanics had surpassed blacks as America's largest minority group.

2004 The recording industry sued 532 computer users it said were illegally distributing songs over the Internet.

2010 A bitterly divided U.S. Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, vastly increased the power of big business and labor unions to influence government decisions by freeing them to spend their millions directly to sway elections for president and Congress. yes, they declared corporations such as: Wall-Mart, AIG, etc. to be 'people'. so now, foreign powers can donate to GOP.

2010 Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards finally admitted fathering a child during an affair before his second White House bid thank goawd that Obama didn't choose him as vp.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 22, 1973, the Supreme Court handed down its Roe vs. Wade decision, which legalized abortion. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0122.html#article))

On Jan. 22 , 1890, Fred M. Vinson , 13th Chief Justice of the United States , was born. Following his death on Sept. 8 , 1953, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0122.html) | Other Birthdays (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/#birthdays))

On January 22, 1887, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about New York City's government. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0122.html)

1905 Russian troops opened fired on marching workers in St. Petersburg, killing more than 100 in what became known as "Bloody Sunday."

1922 Pope Benedict XV died.

1938 Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town" premiered in Princeton, N.J.

1944 Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy, during World War II.

1953 The Arthur Miller drama "The Crucible" opened on Broadway.

1968 "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premiered on NBC.

1970 The Boeing 747 went on its first regularly scheduled commercial flight, from New York to London.

1973 Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, died at his ranch in Johnson City, Texas, at age 64.

1995 Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, the mother of President John F. Kennedy, died in Hyannis Port, Mass., at age 104.

1997 The Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the nation's first female secretary of state.

1998 Theodore Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, Calif., to being the Unabomber in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

2006 Evo Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president, took office.

2008 Actor Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead of an accidental prescription drug overdose. :(

2008 Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to blow up a radioactive "dirty bomb," was sentenced by a U.S. federal judge in Miami to more than 17 years in prison on terrorism conspiracy charges. wow, a terrorist was successfully tried and convicted on American soil. not only that, he's still in prison.

2009 President Barack Obama ordered the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay closed within a year and banned harsh interrogation of terror suspects.

2010 Conan O'Brien ended his brief tenure on "The Tonight Show" after accepting a $45 million buyout from NBC to leave the show after only seven months.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 25, 1915, the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, inaugurated U.S. transcontinental telephone service. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0125.html#article))

On Jan. 25 , 1882, Virginia Woolf , the British novelist , was born. Following her death on March 28 , 1941, her obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0125.html) | Other Birthdays (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/#birthdays))

On January 25, 1879, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about military spending by Congress. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0125.html)

1533 England's King Henry VIII secretly married Anne Boleyn, his second wife.

1759 Scottish poet Robert Burns was born in Alloway.

1787 Shays' Rebellion suffered a setback when debt-ridden farmers led by Capt. Daniel Shays failed to capture an arsenal at Springfield, Mass.
:homer:
1890 The United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, Ohio.
:hmm: according to BeckyBoo and co. that would make 'The United Mine Workers' a communist organization.

1947 Gangster Al Capone died at age 48.

1959 American Airlines opened the jet age in the United States with the first scheduled transcontinental flight of a Boeing 707.

1961 President John F. Kennedy held the first presidential news conference carried live on radio and TV.

1971 Charles Manson and three female followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate.

1988 Vice President George Bush and Dan Rather clashed on "The CBS Evening News" as the anchorman attempted to question the Republican presidential candidate about his role in the Iran-Contra affair. :argue:

1994 Singer Michael Jackson settled a child molestation lawsuit against him.

1995 The defense gave its opening statement in the O.J. Simpson trial in Los Angeles, saying Simpson was the victim of a "rush to judgment" by authorities.
:eyeroll:

2006 The Islamic militant group Hamas won a large majority of seats in Palestinian parliamentary elections.
yes, they won via democratic process which :king:giggles ordained; "illegal, terrorist regime". because the election didn't go the way he wanted.

2007 Ford Motor Co. said it had lost a staggering $12.7 billion in 2006, the worst loss in the company's 103-year history.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 26, 1950, India proclaimed itself a republic. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0126.html#article))

On Jan. 26 , 1880, Douglas MacArthur , the American general who achieved acclaim as a grand strategist in World War II and in Korea , was born. Following his death on April 5 , 1964, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0126.html) | Other Birthdays (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/#birthdays))

On January 26, 1884, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about civil service reform. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0126.html)

1788 The first European settlers in Australia landed in present-day Sydney.

1802 Congress passed an act calling for a library to be established within the U.S. Capitol.

1837 Michigan became the 26th state.

1861 Louisiana seceded from the Union.

1870 Virginia rejoined the Union.

1925 Actor Paul Newman was born in Cleveland, Ohio.

1979 Former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller died at age 70.

1988 The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Phantom of the Opera," the longest-running show in Broadway history, opened at the Majestic Theater in New York.

1993 Former Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel was elected president of the new Czech Republic.

1996 First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton testified before a grand jury connected to the Whitewater probe.

1998 President Bill Clinton denied having an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, telling reporters, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

2001 An earthquake hit the Indian subcontinent, killing more than 13,000 people.

2005 Condoleezza Rice was sworn in as secretary of state.

2006 Confronted by Oprah Winfrey on her syndicated talk show, author James Frey acknowledged lies in his addiction memoir "A Million Little Pieces."

2009 "Octomom" Nadya Suleman of Whittier, Calif., gave birth to octuplets conceived by in vitro fertilization. Suleman was already a mother of six. :thud:

[Kestra]

, even soOn Jan. 27, 1967, Astronauts Virgil I. ''Gus'' Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo I spacecraft at Cape Kennedy, Fla. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0127.html#article))

On Jan. 27 , 1885, Jerome (David) Kern , one of America's foremost composers of music for the theatre and screen , was born. Following his death on Nov. 11 , 1945, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0127.html) | Other Birthdays (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/#birthdays))

On January 27, 1877, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the Electoral College controversy. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0127.html)

1756 Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.

1832 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who wrote "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" under the pen name Lewis Carroll, was born in Cheshire, England.

1880 Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.

1885 Broadway composer Jerome Kern was born in New York City.

1944 The Soviet Union announced the end of the deadly German siege of Leningrad, which had lasted for more than two years.

1945 Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland. to hear some tell it, it was America that won the war single handed.

1951 The era of atomic testing in the Nevada desert began.

1967 More than 60 nations signed a treaty banning the orbiting of nuclear weapons. and then came Reagan and his "Star Wars" program.

1973 The Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris.

1998 First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, appearing on NBC's "Today" show, said that allegations against her husband were the work of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." Luwinski was a gop plant i would wager. doesn't excuse what buba did, he was just set up imho.

2006 Western Union delivered its last telegram.

[Kestra]

On Jan. 28, 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members.

On Jan. 28 , 1887, Arthur Rubinstein , the Polish-American virtuoso pianist , was born. Following his death on Dec. 20 , 1982, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0128.html) | Other Birthdays (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/#birthdays))

On January 28, 1871, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about African-Americans. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0128.html)

1547 England's King Henry VIII died.

1853 Cuban revolutionary Jose Marti was born in Havana.

1871 France surrendered in the Franco-Prussian War.

1909 The United States ended direct control over Cuba.

1915 The Coast Guard was created by an act of Congress.

1916 Louis D. Brandeis was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to the Supreme Court, becoming its first Jewish member.

1945 During World War II, Allied supplies began reaching China over the newly reopened Burma Road.

1959 Vince Lombardi was named head coach of the NFL's Green Bay Packers.

1973 A cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War.

1999 Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, honoring a personal request for mercy from Pope John Paul II, spared a triple murderer from execution.

2003 President George W. Bush said in his State of the Union address that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had sought uranium from Africa. (The claim was later disputed by former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who had been asked by the CIA to investigate.) yes, and BA punished him by outing his 'covert' undercover wife. whose specialty was uncovering terrorists activities. putting at risk (some were murdered) hundreds of covert CIA operatives. but who cares, Iraq has a buttt load of oil that giggles simply 'had' to procure.

2009 In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a huge $819 billion stimulus bill 244-188 with Republicans unanimous in opposition. gotta love the party of "no".

[Kestra]

On Jan. 30, 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist. (Go to article. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/../onthisday/big/0130.html#article))

On Jan. 30 , 1882, Franklin Delano Roosevelt , the 32nd president of the United States , was born. Following his death on April 12 , 1945, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0130.html) | Other Birthdays (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/#birthdays))


On January 30, 1858, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about law and order. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) (http://bbs.roddenberry.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0130.html)

1649 England's King Charles I was beheaded.

1882 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, was born in Hyde Park, N.Y.

1883 James Ritty and John Birch received a U.S. patent for the first cash register.

1933 The first episode of the "Lone Ranger" was broadcast on radio station WXYZ in Detroit.

1933 Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany.

1968 The Tet offensive began as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals.

1969 The Beatles performed as a group for the last time in public in a 45-minute gig on the roof of their Apple Records headquarters in London during the filming of "Let it Be."

1972 Thirteen Roman Catholic civil rights marchers were shot to death by British soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as "Bloody Sunday."

2003 Richard Reid, a British citizen and al-Qaida follower, was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Boston for trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic jetliner with explosives hidden in his shoes.

2005 Iraqis voted in their country's first free election in a half-century.

2006 Coretta Scott King, the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died at age 78.

2007 Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system went on sale.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 2, 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II. Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0202.html#article)


On Feb. 2, 1882, James Joyce, the Irish author of "Ulysses", was born. Following his death on Jan. 13 , 1941, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0202.html)

1536 The Argentine city of Buenos Aires was founded.

1653 New Amsterdam - now New York City - was incorporated.

1848 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the Mexican War. 1876 The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was formed in New York.

1882 Novelist James Joyce was born near Dublin.

1971 Idi Amin assumed power in Uganda following a coup.

1979 Punk rock musician Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols died of a drug overdose at age 21.

1990 South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.

2007 The world's leading climate scientists said global warming has begun, is "very likely" caused by humans and will be unstoppable for centuries. and yet there are those who claim they 'know more' than scientists, therefore, there is no climate change. :hmm:

2008 French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former supermodel Carla Bruni were married at the presidential Elysee Palace.

2009 Hillary Rodham Clinton was sworn in as U.S. secretary of state.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 3, 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, which had announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0203.html#article)

On Feb. 3, 1874, Gertrude Stein, American author and literary stylist, was born. Following her death on July 27, 1946, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0203.html)

1809 The territory of Illinois was created.

1913 The 16th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified. aw, so taxation is constitutional.

1917 The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, which had announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

1924 Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, died in Washington, D.C., at age 67.

1959 Rock 'n' roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

1971 Apollo 14 astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Edgar D. Mitchell landed on the lunar surface during the third successful manned mission to the moon.

1988 The U.S. House of Representatives rejected President Ronald Reagan's request for more than $36 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras. :hmm:

1994 The space shuttle Discovery blasted off with a woman, Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins, in the pilot's seat for the first time.

1998 Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker for the pickax killings of two people in 1983.

2006 An Egyptian passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea during bad weather, killing more than 1,000 passengers.

2009 Iran sent its first domestically made satellite, Omid ("hope"), into orbit.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 4, 1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0204.html#article)

On Feb. 4, 1902, Charles A. Lindbergh, the American aviator who became the first man to fly the Atlantic solo nonstop from the United States to Europe, was born. Following his death on Aug. 26, 1974, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0204.html)

1783 Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.

1789 Electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.

1801 John Marshall was sworn in as chief justice of the United States.

1861 Delegates from six southern states met in Montgomery, Ala., to form the Confederate States of America.

1913 Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Ala.

1938 The Thornton Wilder play "Our Town" opened on Broadway.

1941 The United Service Organizations (USO) was formed.

1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.

1948 The island nation of Ceylon - now Sri Lanka - became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.

1974 Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

1977 The album "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac was released.

1997 A civil jury found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

1999 Four plainclothes New York City police officers fired 41 bullets at Amadou Diallo in front of his Bronx home after mistaking his wallet for a gun. The unarmed West African immigrant was killed.

2003 Yugoslavia was dissolved and replaced with a loose union of its remaining two republics, Serbia and Montenegro.

2004 The Massachusetts high court declared that gays were entitled to marry.

2004 The social networking website Facebook was launched.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 8, 1996, in a ceremony at the Library of Congress, President Clinton signed legislation revamping the telecommunications industry, saying it would "bring the future to our doorstep."
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0208.html#article)

On Feb. 8, 1878, Martin Buber, the German-Jewish religious philosopher, was born. Following his death on June 13, 1965, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0208.html)

1693 A charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

1837 The Senate selected Richard Mentor Johnson of Kentucky as vice president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

1904 The Russo-Japanese War began.

1910 The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.

1915 D.W. Griffith's silent movie epic about the Civil War, "The Birth of a Nation," premiered in Los Angeles.

1922 President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed in the White House.

1924 The first execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City.

1968 Three college students died in a confrontation with highway patrolmen in Orangeburg, S.C., during a civil rights protest against a whites-only bowling alley.

1993 General Motors sued NBC, alleging that the program "Dateline NBC" had rigged two crashes to show that GM pickups were prone to fires. (NBC settled the lawsuit the following day.)

1999 The Senate heard closing arguments in President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial. what a joke that all was.

2007 Model and tabloid sensation Anna Nicole Smith died at age 39 of an accidental drug overdose.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 9, 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an American victory over Japanese forces.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0209.html#article)

On Feb. 9, 1910, Jacques Monod, the French Nobel Prize-winning biologist, was born. Following his death on May 31, 1976, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0209.html)

1773 William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, was born in Charles City County, Va.

1825 The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

1861 The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America elected Jefferson Davis president and Alexander H. Stephens vice president.

1942 Daylight-saving "war time" went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.

1943 The World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an American victory over Japanese forces.

1964 The Beatles made their first live American TV appearance, on "The Ed Sullivan Show." my family and i saw that.

1971 Apollo 14 returned to Earth after man's third landing on the moon.

1984 Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov died less than 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev.

2002 Britain's Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died at age 71.

2009 New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez admitted he took banned substances from 2001 to 2003.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 10, 1962, the Soviet Union exchanged captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for Rudolph Ivanovich Abel, a Soviet spy held by the United States.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0210.html#article)

On Feb. 10, 1890, Boris Pasternak, the Russian Nobel Prize-winning novelist and poet, was born. Following his death on May 30, 1960, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0210.html)

1763 France ceded Canada to England under the Treaty of Paris, which ended the French and Indian War.

1840 Britain's Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg-Gotha.

1846 Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – the Mormons – began an exodus west from Illinois.

1962 The Soviet Union exchanged captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for a Soviet spy held by the United States.

1964 Bob Dylan's album "The Times They Are A-Changin"' was released. even more appripo today.

1967 The 25th Amendment to the Constitution, dealing with presidential disability and succession, went into effect.

1989 Ron Brown was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first African-American to head a major U.S. political party.

1992 Boxer Mike Tyson was convicted in Indianapolis of raping a Miss Black America contestant.

2004 Rapper-producer Kanye West's debut CD, "The College Dropout," was released.

2005 North Korea boasted publicly for the first time that it possessed nuclear weapons.

2007 Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., kicked off his presidential campaign with a speech at the state house in Springfield, Ill.

2007 Gen. David Petraeus took charge of U.S. forces in Iraq. yes the illegal occupation on a foreign country.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 11, 1945, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement during World War II.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0211.html#article)

On Feb. 11, 1847, Thomas Alva Edison, the prolific inventor whose more than 1,000 patents included the light bulb and the gramophone, was born. Following his death on Oct. 18, 1931, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0211.html)

1847 Inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio.

1858 A French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes.

1929 Italy recognized the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.

1937 A sit-down strike against General Motors ended with the company agreeing to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union.

1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin wrapped up a conference at Yalta in the Crimea by signing a series of agreements on the governance of post-World War II Europe.

1975 Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to head a major party in Britain when she was elected leader of opposition Conservative Party.

1979 Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15 years of exile.

1989 Rev. Barbara C. Harris became the first woman consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church in a ceremony held in Boston.

2006 Vice President Dick Cheney "accidentally" shot and wounded a companion (Harry Whittington) during a quail hunt in Texas. yeah, and then Harry apologized to His Divine Shadow for getting in the way of his bullets.

2006 Dubai Ports World, a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, struck a $6.8 billion deal to take over operations at six U.S. ports. (The deal was later blocked.) interesting how giggles wanted to turn over our ports to terrorists, while declaring war on them at the same time.

2008 The Defense Department charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks.

2009 Democrat John Dingell of Michigan became the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives with more than 53 years of service.

2009 President Robert Mugabe swore in longtime rival Morgan Tsvangirai as Zimbabwe's prime minister.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 15, 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor, killing 260 crew members and escalating tensions with Spain.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0215.html#article)

On Feb. 15, 1820, Susan B. Anthony, the co-founder of the National Woman Suffrage Association, was born. Following her death on March 13, 1906, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0215.html)

1564 Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa.

1764 The city of St. Louis was established.

1898 The U.S. battleship Maine blew up in Havana harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the U.S. closer to war with Spain over the issue of Cuban independence.

1933 President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that claimed the life of Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak.

1965 Canada's new maple leaf flag was unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa.

1989 The Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan after more than nine years of military intervention. US needs to take a lesson from Soviet Union military occupation book.

2002 President George W. Bush approved Nevada's Yucca Mountain as the site for long-term disposal of highly radioactive nuclear waste. good use of a national park wouldn't you say.

2002 Canadian pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were awarded a gold medal to resolve a judging controversy at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

2005 Defrocked priest Paul Shanley was sentenced in Boston to 12 to 15 years in prison on child rape charges.

2008 Business tycoon Steve Fossett, 63, was declared dead five months after his small plane vanished over California's Sierra Nevada mountains. (His remains were discovered later in the year.)

[Kestra]

On Feb. 16, 1923, the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen's recently unearthed tomb was unsealed in Egypt.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0216.html#article)

On Feb. 16, 1893, Katharine Cornell, the American stage actress who was called "the first lady of the American theater", was born. Following her death on June 9, 1974, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0216.html)

1804 Lt. Stephen Decatur led a successful raid into Tripoli harbor to burn the U.S. Navy frigate Philadelphia, which had fallen into the hands of pirates.

1862 Some 14,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered at Fort Donelson, Tenn., to Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

1868 The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in New York City.

1918 Lithuania proclaimed its independence.

1923 The burial chamber of King Tutankhamen's recently unearthed tomb was unsealed in Egypt.

1937 Wallace H. Carothers, a research chemist for Du Pont, received a patent for nylon.

1945 American troops landed on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines during World War II.

1948 NBC-TV aired its first nightly newscast, "The Camel Newsreel Theatre," which consisted of Fox Movietone newsreels.

1968 The nation's first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated in Haleyville, Ala.

2005 The Kyoto global warming pact, which the U.S. never ratified, went into effect. yeah, the US oil cartel would have nothing to do with it.

2005 The NHL canceled what was left of its season after a round of last-gasp negotiations failed to resolve differences over a salary cap - the issue that led to a lockout.

2009 A 200-pound chimpanzee severely mauled its owner's friend before being shot dead by police in Stamford, Conn.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 17, 1972, President Nixon departed on his historic trip to China.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0217.html#article)

On Feb. 17, 1874, Thomas J. Watson, Sr., the American industrialist who built I.B.M., was born. Following his death on June 19, 1956, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0217.html)

1865 Columbia, S.C., burned as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in.

1904 Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" had its world premiere at La Scala in Milan, Italy.

1933 Newsweek magazine was first published.

1947 The Voice of America began broadcasting to the Soviet Union.

1972 President Richard M. Nixon departed on a historic trip to China.

1976 The Eagles' album "Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)" was released.

1992 Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.

1995 Colin Ferguson was convicted of six counts of murder in the December

1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings that also wounded 19 people.

1996 World chess champion Garry Kasparov beat IBM supercomputer "Deep Blue," winning a six-game match in Philadelphia.

2002 The new Transportation Security Administration took over supervision of aviation security from the airline industry and the Federal Aviation Administration.

2005 President George W. Bush named John Negroponte to be the first national intelligence director.

2008 Kosovo declared itself a nation in defiance of Serbia and Russia.

2009 President Barack Obama signed a $757 billion economic stimulus package into law. which was necessary thanks to the previous admin.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 18, 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Ala.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0218.html#article)

On Feb. 18, 1848, Louis Comfort Tiffany, a craftsman and designer who made significant advancements in the art of glassmaking, was born. Following his death on Jan. 17, 1933, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0218.html)

1546 Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, died in Eiselben, Germany.

1564 The artist Michelangelo died in Rome.

1885 "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain was published.

1930 Photographic evidence of Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.

1960 The eighth Winter Olympic Games opened in Squaw Valley, Calif.

1970 Five of the Chicago Seven defendants were found guilty of intent to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic national convention. (The convictions were later overturned.)

1972 The California Supreme Court struck down the state's death penalty.

1977 The space shuttle Enterprise, sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its maiden flight above the Mojave Desert.

1988 Anthony M. Kennedy was sworn in as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

2001 Auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr., 49, died from injuries suffered in a crash at the Daytona 500.

2001 Veteran FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested, accused of spying for Russia for more than 15 years. (Hanssen pleaded guilty and is serving life in prison without parole.)

2006 American Shani Davis won the men's 1,000-meter speed-skating in Turin, becoming the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history.

2006 A Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament was sworn in. not only that, they were democratically voted into office. of course, that's not the kind of democracy giggles had in mind for middle east.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 22, 1980, in a stunning upset, the United States Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets at Lake Placid, N.Y., 4-to-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.)
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0222.html#article)

On Feb. 22, 1892, Edna St. Vincent Millay, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet who personified romantic rebellion, was born. Following her death on Oct. 19, 1950, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0222.html)

1819 Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

1865 Tennessee adopted a new constitution abolishing slavery.

1879 Frank Winfield Woolworth opened a five-cent store in Utica, N.Y.

1924 Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House.

1932 Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., was born in Boston, the youngest child of Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy.

1959 The inaugural Daytona 500 race was held in Daytona Beach, Fla.

1980 The U.S. hockey team beat the Soviets 4-3 In a stunning upset at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.

1994 The Justice Department charged 31-year CIA veteran Aldrich Ames and his wife, Rosario, with selling national security secrets to the Soviet Union.

2001 A U.N. war crimes tribunal convicted three Bosnian Serbs on charges of rape and torture in the first case of wartime sexual enslavement to go before an international court.

2002 San Diego police arrested David Westerfield in the disappearance of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. (Westerfield was later convicted of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to death.)

2006 Insurgents destroyed the golden dome of one of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines, the Askariya mosque in Samarra, setting off a spasm of sectarian violence.

[Kestra]

On Feb. 23, 1954, the first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0223.html#article)

On Feb. 23, 1868, W.E.B. DuBois, the American sociologist who co-founded the N.A.A.C.P., was born. Following his death on Aug. 27, 1963, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0223.html)

1685 Composer George Frideric Handel was born in Germany.

1822 Boston was granted a charter to incorporate as a city.

1836 The siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas.

1847 U.S. troops under Gen. Zachary Taylor defeated Mexican general Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico.

1848 John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, died at age 80 in Washington, D.C., two days after suffering a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives.

1861 President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take office after an assassination plot was foiled in Baltimore.

1870 Mississippi was readmitted to the Union.

1954 The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began, in Pittsburgh. i contracted polio when i was 3.

1965 Stan Laurel of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy died at age 74.

1991 President George H.W. Bush announced that the allied ground offensive against Iraqi forces had begun. it was all about the oil

1997 Scientists in Scotland announced they had cloned an adult mammal, producing a lamb named Dolly.

1999 A jury in Jasper, Texas, convicted white supremacist John William King of murder in the dragging death of an African-American man, James Byrd Jr.

2000 Carlos Santana won eight Grammy Awards for his album "Supernatural," tying the record set by Michael Jackson in

1983 for "Thriller."

2003 Norah Jones won five Grammy Awards for the album "Come Away With Me."

[Kestra]

On Feb. 24, 1868, the United States House of Representatives impeached President Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0224.html#article)

On Feb. 24, 1885, Chester W. Nimitz, whose work as U.S. naval commander contributed greatly to the defeat of Japan during World War II, was born. Following his death on Feb. 20, 1966, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0224.html)

1582 Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull outlining his calendar reforms. (The Gregorian Calendar is the calendar in general use today.)

1821 Mexico declared its independence from Spain.

1863 Arizona was organized as a territory.

1868 The House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson following his attempt to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; the Senate later acquitted Johnson.

1903 The United States signed an agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

1920 The German Workers Party, which later became the Nazi Party, met in Munich to adopt its platform. let's see what BeckyBoo, Limpy and the lot do with this.

1942 The Voice of America went on the air for the first time.

1945 American soldiers liberated the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese control during World War II.

1981 Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Britain's Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.

1998 Comedian Henny Youngman died at age 91.

1999 Lauryn Hill won five Grammys for her debut solo album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."

2006 South Dakota lawmakers approved a ban on nearly all abortions. aw yes, smaller government meets Sharia law.

2006 NASA said 2005 was the warmest year in more than a century of record-keeping.

2008 Cuba's parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel.

[Kestra]

On March 8, 1917, Russia's February Revolution (so called because of the Old Style calendar used by Russians at the time) began with rioting and strikes in St. Petersburg. Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0308.html#article)

On March 8, 1841, Oliver Wendell Holmes, the United States Supreme Court justice, was born. Following his death on March 6, 1935, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0308.html)

1702 England's Queen Anne ascended the throne upon the death of King William III. 1782 The Gnadenhutten massacre took place as some 90 Indians were slain by militiamen in Ohio in retaliation for raids carried out by other Indians.

1841 Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was born in Boston.

1874 Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States, died in Buffalo, N.Y., at age 74.

1917 The U.S. Senate voted to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule.

1930 William Howard Taft, the 27th president and a former chief justice of the United States, died in Washington, D.C., at age 72.

1965 The United States landed about 3,500 Marines in South Vietnam.

1999 Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio died at age 84.

1999 The Clinton administration directed the firing of nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee from his job at the Los Alamos National Laboratory because of alleged security violations.

2005 Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was killed in northern Chechnya during a raid by Russian forces.

2008 President George W. Bush vetoed a bill that would have banned the CIA from using simulated drowning and other coercive interrogation methods to gain information from suspected terrorists. aw Conqueror Worms final act as dictator... no, "we don't torture." :eyeroll:

[Kestra]

On March 9, 1862, during the Civil War, the ironclads Monitor and Virginia (formerly Merrimac) clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Va. Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0309.html#article)

On March 9, 1934, Yury Gagarin, the world's first man in space, was born. Following his death on March 27, 1968, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0309.html)

1796 Napoleon Bonaparte, the future emperor of France, married Josephine de Beauharnais.

1862 The ironclads Monitor and Virginia (formerly Merrimac) clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Va., during the Civil War.

1916 Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, N.M., killing more than a dozen people.

1945 U.S. B-29 bombers launched incendiary bomb attacks against Japan during World War II, causing widespread devastation.

1954 CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow critically reviewed Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy's anti-Communism campaign on "See It Now." it's baaaAAAaaack... and now has Muslims in its sites.

1959 Mattel's Barbie doll, created by Ruth Handler, made its public debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
:buxom:

1975 Work began on the Alaskan oil pipeline.

1977 About a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims invaded three buildings in Washington D.C., killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The siege ended two days later.

1981 Dan Rather made his debut as principal anchorman of "The CBS Evening News;" he signed off for the last time on the same date in 2005. yes, he was forced to resign after he showed proof that gigglesnot went awol during his time in the military.

1989 The Senate rejected President George H.W. Bush's nomination of John Tower to be defense secretary on a 53-47 vote.

1992 Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin died at age 78.

1996 Comedian George Burns died at age 100.

1997 Gangsta rapper The Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles at age 24.

2004 Convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death in Virginia.

2006 Bowing to ferocious opposition in Congress, a Dubai-owned company relinquished its quest to take over operations at U.S. ports.

2007 Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller acknowledged the FBI improperly used the Patriot Act to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. like Quakers, and other peaceful organizations.

2009 President Barack Obama lifted limits on using federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research that President George W. Bush had put in place.

[Kestra]

On March 10, 1985, Konstantin U. Chernenko, Soviet leader for just 13 months, died at age 73. His death was announced on March 11th. Politburo member Mikhail S. Gorbachev was chosen to succeed him.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0310.html#article)

On March 10, 1903, Clare Boothe Luce, the American playwright and politician, was born. Following her death on Oct. 9, 1987, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0310.html)

1496 Christopher Columbus concluded his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he left Hispaniola for Spain.

1629 England's King Charles I dissolved Parliament.

1785 Thomas Jefferson was appointed minister to France, succeeding Benjamin Franklin.

1848 The Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the war with Mexico.

1864 Ulysses S. Grant became commander of the Union armies during the Civil War.

1949 Nazi wartime broadcaster Mildred E. Gillars, also known as "Axis Sally," was convicted in Washington, D.C., of treason.

1965 Neil Simon's play "The Odd Couple" opened on Broadway.

1969 James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in Memphis, Tenn., to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

1980 "Scarsdale Diet" author Dr. Herman Tarnower was shot to death in Purchase, N.Y. (His lover, Jean Harris, was convicted of murder and served nearly 12 years in prison.)

1985 Konstantin Chernenko, Soviet leader for just 13 months, died at age 73.

1993 Dr. David Gunn was shot to death outside a Pensacola, Fla., abortion clinic. love the fetus, hate those out of the womb.

1997 "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" debuted on the WB network.

2002 Israeli helicopters destroyed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's office in Gaza City, hours after 11 Israelis were killed in a suicide bombing in a cafe across the street from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's residence in Jerusalem.

2004 Teenage sniper Lee Boyd Malvo was sentenced in Chesapeake, Va., to life in prison.

[Kestra]

On March 11, 1941, President Roosevelt signed into law the Lend-Lease Bill, providing war supplies to countries fighting the Axis.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0311.html#article)

On March 11, 1926, Ralph Abernathy, the American pastor and civil rights leader, was born. Following his death on April 17, 1990, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0311.html)

1810 Emperor Napoleon of France was married by proxy to Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria.

1888 A blizzard struck the northeastern United States, resulting in some 400 deaths.

1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Lend-Lease Bill, providing war supplies to countries fighting the Axis.

1942 As Japanese forces continued to advance in the Pacific during World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines for Australia. He subsequently vowed: "I shall return."

1970 The album "Deja Vu" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young was released.

1977 More than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims were freed.

1978 Palestinian guerrillas went on a rampage on the Tel Aviv-Haifa highway, killing 34 Israelis.

1985 Mikhail S. Gorbachev was chosen to succeed the late Soviet President Konstantin Chernenko.

1990 The Lithuanian parliament voted to break away from the Soviet Union and restore its independence.

1993 Janet Reno was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to be the nation's first female attorney general.

1993 North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

1997 Rock musician Paul McCartney of the Beatles was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
:shield:

2002 Two columns of light soared skyward from ground zero in New York as a temporary memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

2005 A man being escorted to court for trial in Atlanta took a gun from a sheriff's deputy and went on a deadly rampage, killing four people, including a judge. (Brian Nichols was later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole).

2006 Former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic was found dead of a heart attack in his cell during his war crimes trial in The Hague.

[Kestra]

On March 18, 1965, the first spacewalk took place as Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov left his Voskhod 2 capsule and remained outside the spacecraft for 20 minutes, secured by a tether.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0318.html#article)

On March 18, 1837, Grover Cleveland, the only U.S. president who served two non-consecutive terms, was born. Following his death on June 24, 1908, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0318.html)

1766 Britain repealed the Stamp Act. 1922 Mohandas K. Gandhi was sentenced to prison in India for civil disobedience.

1925 A tornado with a base nearly a mile wide tore a destructive path 219 miles from southeastern Missouri across Illinois and into southwestern Indiana. With 695 killed, it is the deadliest tornado in U.S. history.

1931 Schick Inc. marketed the first electric razor.

1940 Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini held a meeting at the Brenner Pass during which the Italian dictator agreed to join in Germany's war against France and Britain.

1959 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill. so, if Obama had been born in 58, the birthers would be screaming that he wasn't 'born in US'... oh wait, they already do that.

1962 France and Algerian rebels agreed to a truce.

1965 Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov went on the first spacewalk.

1974 Most of the Arab oil-producing nations ended their embargo against the United States. so Arabs had their fingers in our election process.

2000 Taiwan ended more than a half century of Nationalist Party rule by electing opposition leader Chen Shui-bian president.

2002 A 13-year-old girl died two days after being hit in the head by a hockey puck during an NHL game in Columbus, Ohio.

2005 Doctors in Florida, acting on orders of a state judge, removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. (The brain-damaged woman died 13 days later.) yeah, giggles managed to 'interrupt his sacred vacation' to sneak back to DC in the middle of the night to sign orders against the judge. too bad he wasn't as 'concerned' about ppl dieing due to Katrina... oh that's right, the right to lifers only care about fetuses and the brain dead.

2008 Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama confronted America's racial divide with a speech in Philadelphia. It was prompted by incindiary racial remarks made by Obama's African-American pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. funny how McShame didn't feel led to say anything about Caribou Barbies incendiary remarks about Obama which elicit "kill him!" shouts from their constituents. *Borg Queen voice* "they're all so pathetic."

2009 British actress Natasha Richardson, 45, died at a New York hospital two days after suffering a head injury while skiing in Canada

[Kestra]

On March 22, 1972, Congress sent the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution to the states for ratification. It fell short of the three-fourths approval needed.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0322.html#article)

On March 22, 1908, Louis L'Amour, the best-selling American author who wrote more than 100 books, was born. Following his death on June 10, 1988, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0322.html)

1765 Britain enacted the Stamp Act to raise money from the American colonies.

1882 Congress outlawed polygamy.

1894 Hockey's first Stanley Cup championship game was played in Montreal. That city's Amateur Athletic Association beat the Ottawa Capitals 3-1.

1933 During Prohibition, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure to make wine and beer containing up to 3.2 percent alcohol legal.

1941 The Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state went into operation. my father helped build that dam.

1945 The Arab League was formed with the adoption of a charter in Cairo, Egypt.

1946 The British mandate in Transjordan came to an end.

1963 The Beatles' first album, "Please Please Me," was released in Great Britain. :band:

1965 Bob Dylan's album "Bringing It All Back Home," his first featuring electric guitar, was released.

1972 Congress sent the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution to the states for ratification.

1987 A barge carrying 3,200 tons of garbage left Islip, N.Y., on a six-month journey in search of a place to unload. The barge was turned away by several states and three countries before space was found back in Islip.

1990 A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, found former tanker captain Joseph Hazelwood innocent of three major charges in connection with the Exxon Valdez oil spill, but convicted him of a minor charge of negligent discharge of oil. and it's still polluted.

1991 High school instructor Pamela Smart, accused of manipulating her student-lover into killing her husband, was convicted in Exeter, N.H., of murder-conspiracy. guess she wasn't so smart after all.

1995 Colin Ferguson was sentenced to life in prison for killing six people on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train in 1993.

1997 Tara Lipinski of the United States became the youngest women's world figure skating champion at age 14 years, 10 months.

2004 Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.

2006 The Basque separatist group ETA announced a permanent cease-fire with Spain.

[Kestra]

On March 23, 1965, America's first two-person space flight began as Gemini 3 blasted off from Cape Kennedy with astronauts Virgil I. Grissom and John W. Young aboard.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0323.html#article)

On March 23, 1908, Joan Crawford, the Academy Award-winning actress who epitomized the glamorous Hollywood movie star, was born. Following death on May 10, 1977, obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0323.html)

1743 George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" had its premiere, in London.

1775 Patrick Henry called for America's independence from Britain, telling the Virginia Provincial Convention, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"

1933 The German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial legislative powers. then 69 years later the same happened w\gwb

1942 During World War II, the U.S. government began moving Japanese-Americans from their West Coast homes to detention centers. just because of their appearance. and now today the same is happening to Muslims. or anyone who "looks" Muslim.

1981 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could require, with some exceptions, parental notification when teenage girls seek abortions. interesting the low information lifers seem to have conveniently forgotten that little fact.

1983 President Ronald Reagan proposed the development of technology to intercept enemy nuclear missiles; the plan was dubbed "Star Wars" by its critics.

1983 Dr. Barney Clark died after living 112 days with a permanent artificial heart.

1990 Former Exxon Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood was sentenced by a judge in Anchorage, Alaska, to help clean up Prince William Sound and pay $50,000 in restitution for his role in the nation's worst oil spill. it still has yet to be cleaned.

1994 Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings broke Gordie Howe's National Hockey League career record with his 802nd goal.

1998 "Titanic" won 11 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best song, to tie the record set by
1959's "Ben-Hur." (The record was tied again by "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" in 2003.)

2001 Russia's orbiting Mir space station ended its 15-year odyssey with a fiery plunge into the South Pacific.

2003 A U.S. Army maintenance convoy was ambushed in Iraq; 11 soldiers were killed and seven were captured, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch. and BA exploited Jessica in order to hype the invasion\occupation and lied about what actually happened.

2004 R&B singer Usher's album "Confessions" was released.

2008 A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000. so more Americans died in a 'war of choice', in a country that didn't attack us than those who died 9\11. good work giggles.

[Kestra]

On March 24, 1989, the nation's worst oil spill occurred as the supertanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound and began leaking 11 million gallons of crude.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0324.html#article)

On March 24, 1874, Harry Houdini, the Hungarian-born magician and escape artist, was born. Following his death on Oct. 31, 1926, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0324.html)

1765 Britain enacted the Quartering Act, requiring American colonists to provide temporary housing to British soldiers.

1882 German scientist Robert Koch announced in Berlin that he had discovered the bacillus responsible for tuberculosis.

1883 Long-distance telephone service was inaugurated between Chicago and New York City. ya know, if this had been happening today, with repulicorps in charge, we'd still be communicating via tin can and smoke signals. because they'd claim it's too "much money" to build a long-distance telephone service.

1944 In occupied Rome, the Nazis executed more than 300 civilians in reprisal for an attack by Italian partisans the day before that killed 32 German soldiers.

1955 "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway.

1958 Elvis Presley was inducted into the Army in Memphis, Tenn. thank you, thank very much.

1973 The album "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd was released.

1977 Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, was named archbishop of Munich and Freising in Germany.

1988 Former national security aides Oliver L. North and John M. Poindexter pleaded innocent to Iran-Contra charges. :halo:

1999 NATO launched airstrikes against Yugoslavia - the first time the alliance had attacked a sovereign country. and then came king giggles.

2001 Apple Computer Inc.'s operating system Mac OS X went on sale.

2002 Halle Berry became the first African-American performer to win a best actress Oscar, for her work in "Monster's Ball."

2005 The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal from the parents of Terri Schiavo to have a feeding tube reinserted into the severely brain-damaged woman. yeah, then giggles interrupted his sacred vacation to fly back to DC during the 'witching hours' to sign a phony order to have the feeding tube reinserted. too bad he didn't show the same concern for Katrina victims.

[Kestra]

On March 25, 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers to the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0325.html#article)

On March 25, 1881, Bela Bartok, the Hungarian pianist who was one of the most important composers of the 20th century , was born. Following his death on Sept. 26, 1945, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0325.html)

1634 Maryland was founded by English colonists sent by the second Lord Baltimore. "good morning Baltimore..."

1807 Britain abolished its slave trade.

1894 Jacob S. Coxey began leading an "army" of the unemployed from Massillon, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., to demand help from the federal government. interesting bit of history. considering the war being perpetrated by gop against middle class.

1911 A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. factory in New York City killed 146 workers, most of them young immigrant women. The tragedy galvanized America's labor movement. which shows the need for Unions.

1913 The home of vaudeville, the Palace Theatre, opened in New York City.

1957 The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community.

1975 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness.

1988 Robert E. Chambers Jr. pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in New York City's so-called "preppie murder case."

1992 Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returned to Earth from the Mir space station after a 10-month stay, during which his native country, the Soviet Union, ceased to exist.

1994 American troops completed their withdrawal from Somalia.

1996 An 81-day standoff by the anti-government Freemen began at a ranch near Jordan, Mont.

1996 The redesigned $100 bill went into circulation.

1998 President Bill Clinton acknowledged during his Africa tour that "we did not act quickly enough" to stop the slaughter of 1 million Rwandans four years earlier.

2002 A powerful earthquake rocked Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, killing as many as 1,000 people.

[Kestra]

On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent and a District of Columbia police officer.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0330.html#article)

On March 30, 1880, Sean O'Casey, the noted Irish playwright, was born. Following his death on Sept. 18, 1964, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0330.html)

1822 Florida became a U.S. territory. 1

1867 Secretary of State William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal roundly ridiculed as "Seward's Folly." and now Palin has become an even bigger Folly.

1870 The 15th amendment to the Constitution, giving black men the right to vote, was declared in effect. but they had to pay a pole tax, pass some idiotic 'test' first.

1870 Texas was readmitted to the Union.

1945 The Soviet Union invaded Austria during World War II.

1964 The TV game show "Jeopardy!" premiered on NBC.

1986 Actor James Cagney died at age 86.

1995 Pope John Paul II issued an encyclical condemning abortion and euthanasia as crimes that no human laws could legitimize. yeah, you shan't have control over you own bodies and lives.

2002 Britain's Queen Mother Elizabeth died at age 101.

2008 President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington National's new stadium, Nationals Park.

2009 President Barack Obama asserted unprecedented government control over the auto industry, rejecting GM and Chrysler's restructuring plans and engineering the ouster of GM's chief executive, Rick Wagoner.. and now, GM is back in the black, and has paid back the loan.

[Kestra]

On April 1, 1945, American forces invaded Okinawa during World War II.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0401.html#article)

On April 1, 1884, Florence Blanchfield, an American nurse who was the first woman to become a fully ranked officer of the U.S. Army, was born. Following her death on May 12, 1971, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0401.html)

1789 The U.S. House of Representatives held its first full meeting in New York City; Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania was elected the first speaker.

1853 Cincinnati, Ohio, became the first U.S. city to pay its firefighters a regular salary. and today, republicorps party are de-funding firefighters. you really didn't want your house fire to be put out anyway.

1873 Composer Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Russia.

1918 Britain's Royal Air Force was established.

1933 Nazi Germany began persecuting Jews with a boycott of Jewish-owned businesses. and now today, here in 'the land of the free', Muslims are being persecuted.

1960 The first weather satellite, TIROS-1, was launched from Cape Canaveral.

1970 President Richard Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and TV.

1984 Singer Marvin Gaye, 44, was shot to death by his father.

1987 In his first major speech on the epidemic, President Ronald Reagan told doctors in Philadelphia, "We've declared AIDS public health enemy No. 1."

1999 A New Jersey man was arrested and charged with originating the "Melissa" e-mail virus, which infected more than 1 million computers worldwide.

2001 Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was arrested on corruption charges after a 26-hour armed standoff with police at his Belgrade villa.

2003 American troops rescued Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch from a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, where she had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed nine days earlier. and BA wasted no time exploiting her. and lying about what really happened.

2008 The Pentagon made public a legal memo dated March 14, 2003, that approved the use of harsh interrogation techniques against terror suspects, saying that President George W. Bush's wartime authority trumped any international ban on torture. naw, he wasn't a dictator.

2009 Benjamin Netanyahu took office as Israel's prime minister for a second time.

[Kestra]

On April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Ga., at age 63. Vice President Harry S Truman became president.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0412.html#article)

On April 12, 1903, Jan Tinbergen, the Dutch economist who won the Nobel Prize in 1969 for his work with econometric models, was born. Following his death on June 9, 1994, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0412.html)

1606 England adopted the Union Jack as its flag.

1861 The Civil War began as Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

1877 The catcher for Harvard's baseball team, James Tyng, wore a modified fencing mask behind the plate. It is believed to be the first time a catcher's mask was used during a game.

1955 The Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective.

1961 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the Earth once before making a safe landing.

1981 The space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on its first test flight.

1983 Harold Washington was elected Chicago's first African-American mayor.

1999 U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright found President Bill Clinton in contempt of court for giving "intentionally false" testimony in a lawsuit filed by Paula Jones about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

2002 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez resigned under pressure from the country's divided military. (He was returned to office two days later.)

2004 Barry Bonds hit his 660th home run to tie Willie Mays for third on baseball's career list. (Bonds is now the career leader in home runs.)

2009 American cargo ship captain Richard Phillips was rescued from Somali pirates by U.S. Navy snipers who shot and killed three of the hostage-takers.

[Kestra]

On April 13, 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0413.html#article)

On April 13, 1906, Samuel Beckett, the Irish-born author, critic, and playwright who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969, was born. Following his death on Dec. 22, 1989, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0413.html)

1598 King Henry IV of France signed the Edict of Nantes, granting rights to the Protestant Huguenots.

1742 George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" was first performed publicly, in Dublin, Ireland.

1870 The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in New York City.

1954 Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Braves.

1964 Sidney Poitier became the first black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award, for "Lilies of the Field."

1970 Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst.

1986 Pope John Paul II visited a Rome synagogue in the first recorded papal visit of its kind.

1990 The Soviet Union accepted responsibility for the World War II murders of thousands of imprisoned Polish officers in the Katyn Forest, a massacre the Soviets had previously blamed on the Nazis.

1997 Tiger Woods, 21, became the youngest person to win the Masters Tournament and the first person of African heritage to claim a major golf title.

1999 Jack Kervorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder of a man whose assisted suicide in 1998 was videotaped and shown on "60 Minutes." even tho assisted suicide was legal at the time of his actions. funny how it was legal until someone actually used 'death with dignity'.

2005 Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and three other attacks.

[Kestra]

On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. He died the next day. Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0414.html#article)

On April 14, 1866, Anne Sullivan Macy, the American teacher who helped educate the blind, deaf and mute Helen Keller, was born. Following her death on Oct. 20, 1936, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0414.html)

1759 Composer George Frideric Handel died in London.

1775 The first American society for the abolition of slavery was organized by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.

1828 The first edition of Noah Webster's "American Dictionary of the English Language" was published.

1902 J.C. Penney opened his first store, in Kemmerer, Wyo.

1904 Actor John Gielgud was born in London.

1910 William Howard Taft became the first U.S. president to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game at the Washington Senators' home opener.

1912 The British liner Titanic collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and began to sink.

1931 King Alfonso XIII of Spain went into exile and the Spanish Republic was proclaimed.

1939 "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck was published.

1956 Ampex Corp. demonstrated its first commercial videotape recorder.

1997 Whitewater figure James McDougal drew a three-year prison sentence for 18 felony fraud and conspiracy counts.

2002 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned to office two days after being ousted and arrested by his country's military.

2002 Tiger Woods became only the third golfer in history to win back-to-back Masters titles.

2003 U.S. commandos in Baghdad captured Abul Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner Achille Lauro in 1985.

2007 Singer Don Ho died in Honolulu, Hawaii, at age 76. Tiny Bubbles, in my wine....

2008 Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp., announced they were combining.

[Kestra]

On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. About 1,500 people died.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0415.html#article)

On April 15, 1889, A. Philip Randolph, American civil rights leader and trade unionist, was born. Following his death on May 16, 1979, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0415.html)

1850 The city of San Francisco was incorporated.

1865 President Abraham Lincoln died nine hours after being shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington. Andrew Johnson became the 17th president.

1912 The British luxury liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. About 1,500 people died.

1945 British and Canadian troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.

1947 Jackie Robinson became baseball's first black major league player when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1980 Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre died in Paris at age 74.

1986 The United States launched an air raid against Libya in response to the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin on April 5; Libya said 37 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

1989 Students in Beijing launched pro-democracy protests upon the death of former Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang.

2000 Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles became the 24th major league player to reach 3,000 hits.

2002 Retired Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White died at age 84.

2010 Civil rights leader Benjamin Hooks, one-time executive director of the NAACP, died in Memphis, Tenn. at age 85.

[Kestra]

On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring 500. (Timothy McVeigh was later convicted of federal murder charges and executed.)
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0419.html#article)

On April 19, 1883, Getulio Vargas, the Brazilian president who used dictatorial powers to modernize his country, was born. Following his death on Aug. 24, 1954, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0419.html)

1775 The American Revolutionary War began with the battles of Lexington and Concord.

1897 The first Boston Marathon was run.

1933 The United States went off the gold standard.

1943 Tens of thousands of Jews living in the Warsaw Ghetto began an uprising against Nazi forces.

1951 Gen. Douglas MacArthur, relieved of his command by President Harry S. Truman, bid farewell to Congress, quoting a line from a ballad: "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."

1961 The Federal Communications Commission authorized regular FM stereo broadcasting starting on June 1, 1961.

1993 A 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ended when fire destroyed the structure after federal agents smashed their way in. Dozens of people, including sect leader David Koresh, were killed.

1994 A Los Angeles jury awarded $3.8 million to beaten motorist Rodney King.

2001 The Mel Brooks musical "The Producers" opened on Broadway.

2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected pope and took the name Benedict XVI.

[Kestra]

On April 20, 1971, the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0420.html#article)

On April 20, 1889, Adolf Hitler, the Nazi dictator of Germany who led his country into World War II and was responsible for persecuting millions of Jews, was born. Following his death on April 30, 1945, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0420.html)

1792 France declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary wars.

1812 Vice President George Clinton, a former New York governor, died at age 73.

1836 The Territory of Wisconsin was established by Congress.

1889 Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria.

1902 Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.

1939 Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox.

1940 RCA publicly demonstrated its new electron microscope.

1971 The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.

1972 The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.

1980 The first Cubans sailing to the United States as part of the massive Mariel boatlift reached Florida.

1999 Two students went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., killing 12 students and one teacher before taking their own lives.

2008 Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history by capturing the Indy Japan 300.

[Kestra]

On April 21, 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Conn.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0421.html#article)

On April 21, 1838, John Muir, the Scottish-born naturalist considered the father of the environmental movement, was born. Following his death on Dec. 24, 1914, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0421.html)

1649 The Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of worship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly. and today, christians want to take away freedom of worship from those of other religious beliefs.

1789 John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States.

1816 Charlotte Bronte, author of "Jane Eyre," was born in Thornton, England.

1836 Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring Texas' independence.

1910 Author Mark Twain died at age 74.

1960 Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro.

1977 The musical "Annie," based on the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie," opened on Broadway. the sun'll come out tomorrow.

1980 Rosie Ruiz, the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon, was disqualified when officials discovered she had jumped into the race about a mile from the finish.
:Oops

1986 A vault in Chicago's Lexington Hotel that was linked to Al Capone was opened during a live TV special hosted by Geraldo Rivera. Except for a few bottles and a sign, the vault was empty.
:Oops

1992 Robert Alton Harris became the first person executed by the state of California in 25 years as he was put to death in the gas chamber for the 1978 murder of two teenage boys.

2004 Five suicide attackers detonated car bombs against police buildings in Basra, Iraq, killing at least 74 people. aw yes, freedom\democracy on the march.

[Kestra]

On April 22, 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon as thousands of homesteaders staked claims.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0422.html#article)

On April 22, 1904, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American nuclear physicist who headed the country's atomic bomb development project, was born. Following his death on Feb. 18, 1967, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0422.html)

1509 Henry VIII became king of England following the death of his father, Henry VII.

1864 Congress authorized the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins. In God We Trust was adopted as the official motto of the United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_national_motto) in 1956 (to show communists we were a "god fearing country". It is also the motto of the U.S. state (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state) of Florida (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida).

1870 Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin was born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov in Simbirsk, Russia.

1954 The televised Senate Army-McCarthy hearings began. today it's turned into 'Muslim hearings'. "are you, or have you ever been a terrorist?" btw 'The Army of god' group are a terrorist group and nobody is dragging their :jass:'s into court.

1970 Earth Day was observed for the first time.

1983 The West German news magazine Stern announced the discovery of personal diaries purportedly written by Adolf Hitler that turned out to be a hoax.

1993 The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington, D.C.

1994 Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, died at age 81 in New York City, four days after suffering a stroke.

2000 Armed immigration agents seized Elian Gonzalez from his relatives' home in Miami; the 6-year-old boy was reunited with his father.

2004 Pro football player Pat Tillman, who'd traded in a multimillion-dollar contract to serve as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, was killed by friendly fire. which giggles admin lied about and used his death to promote the illegal, unpaid for war.

2005 Zacarias Moussaoui pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers to kill Americans. (He was later sentenced to life in prison.)

2010 The Deepwater Horizon oil platform, operated by BP, sank into the Gulf of Mexico two days after a massive explosion that killed 11 workers. BP is responsible for the murder of 11 workers. of course, the apologist republicorps party don't see it that way. they apologized to BP for their 'unfair' treatment.

[Kestra]

On April 23, 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. The sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0423.html#article)

On April 23, 1858, Max Planck, the German Nobel Prize winner who developed the quantum theory, was born. Following his death on Oct. 4, 1947, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0423.html)

1616 The Spanish poet Cervantes died in Madrid.

1789 President-elect George Washington and his wife moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House in New York City.

1791 James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, was born in Franklin County, Pa.

1940 About 200 people died in a dance-hall fire in Natchez, Miss.

1954 Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 major-league home runs in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. (Aaron's career total is second only to Barry Bonds.)

1968 Leftist students at Columbia University in New York City began a weeklong occupation of several campus buildings.

1971 The Rolling Stones album "Sticky Fingers" was released.

1985 The Coca-Cola Co. announced it was changing its secret formula for Coke. (Negative public reaction forced the company to revert to the original version.)

1993 Labor leader Cesar Chavez died at age 66.

1998 James Earl Ray, who confessed to assassinating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 but later insisted he was framed, died at age 70.

2004 President George W. Bush eased sanctions against Libya in return for Moammar Gadhafi's giving up weapons of mass destruction.

2005 The first video was uploaded to YouTube.com.

2010 Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the nation's toughest, most racist, profiling illegal immigration measure into law.

[Kestra]

On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the United States after rejecting America's ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0424.html#article)

On April 24, 1905, Robert Penn Warren, an American writer and first poet laureate of the United States, was born. Following his death on Sept. 15, 1989, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0424.html)

1792 The French national anthem, "La Marseillaise," was composed by Capt. Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle. 1800 Congress approved a bill establishing the Library of Congress.

1877 Federal troops were ordered out of New Orleans, ending the North's post-Civil War rule in the South.

1898 Spain declared war on the United States after rejecting America's ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba.

1915 The Ottoman Empire rounded up Armenian political and cultural leaders in Constantinople at the start of what many scholars regard as the first genocide of the 20th century, in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians died.

1916 The Easter uprising began when some 1,600 Irish nationalists seized several key sites in Dublin.

1980 The United States launched an abortive attempt to free the American hostages in Iran; eight U.S. servicemen died.

1996 The main assembly of the Palestine Liberation Organization voted to revoke clauses in its charter that called for an armed struggle to destroy Israel.

2005 Pope Benedict XVI was installed as leader of the Roman Catholic Church in ceremonies at the Vatican

[Kestra]

On April 25, 1945, the United Nations Conference on International Organization began in San Francisco.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0425.html#article)

On April 25, 1908, Edward R. Murrow, the influential American radio and television broadcaster during the industry's early years, was born. Following his death on April 27, 1965, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0425.html)

1792 Highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier became the first person under French law to be executed by guillotine.

1859 Ground was broken for the Suez Canal.

1874 Radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy. Oscar Meyer :D

1898 The United States declared war on Spain.

1901 New York became the first state to require automobile license plates.

1915 Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Ottoman Turkish Empire out of World War I.

1945 U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, in central Europe, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany.

1945 Delegates from some 50 countries met in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.

1959 The St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping.

1990 Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was inaugurated as president of Nicaragua, ending 11 years of leftist Sandinista rule.

1990 The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the space shuttle Discovery.

1992 Islamic forces took control of most of the Afghan capital Kabul following the collapse of the Communist government.

2007 The Dow Jones industrial average topped 13,000 for the first time, ending the day at 13,089.89.

[Kestra]

On April 26, 1986, the world's worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire in the No. 4 reactor sent radioactivity into the atmosphere; at least 31 Soviets died immediately. n'eeyah, nuclear power is perfectly safe. and according to Beckyboo, "nobody died at Chernobyl. :eyeroll:
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0426.html#article)

On April 26, 1914, Bernard Malamud, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, was born. Following his death on March 18, 1986, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0426.html)

1607 An expedition of English colonists went ashore at Cape Henry, Va., to establish the first permanent English settlement in the Western Hemisphere. (They later settled at Jamestown.)

1785 Naturalist and artist John James Audubon was born in Haiti.

1865 John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, was surrounded and killed by federal troops near Bowling Green, Va.

1937 Planes from Nazi Germany raided the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

1945 Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, the head of France's Vichy government during World War II, was arrested.

1964 The African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania.

1989 Actress-comedian Lucille Ball died at age 77. Reeckee! babaloooOOOooo!

1998 Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera, a leading Guatemalan human rights activist, was bludgeoned to death two days after a report he'd compiled on atrocities during Guatemala's 36-year civil war was made public.

2000 Vermont Gov. Howard Dean signed the nation's first bill allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions.

2005 Syria's 29-year military presence in Lebanon ended as Syrian soldiers completed a withdrawal brought about by international pressure and Lebanese street protests.

2008 Police in Austria arrested a man accused of holding his daughter captive in a windowless cellar for 24 years, fathering her seven children and killing one of them. (Josef Fritzl is serving life in a psychiatric ward.)

[Kestra]

On April 27, 1947, "Babe Ruth Day" at Yankee Stadium was held to honor the ailing baseball star.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0427.html#article)

On April 27, 1822, Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States and commander of the Union armies during the American Civil War, was born. Following his death on July 23, 1885, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0427.html)

1521 Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Philippines.

1896 Baseball Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby was born in Winters, Texas.

1947 "Babe Ruth Day" was held at Yankee Stadium to honor the ailing baseball star.

1965 Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow died at age 57.

1972 Apollo 16 returned to Earth after a manned voyage to the moon.

1987 The Justice Department barred Austrian President Kurt Waldheim from entering the United States, saying he had aided in the deportation and execution of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War II.

1992 The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed in Belgrade by the Republic of Serbia and its lone ally, Montenegro.

1992 Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics won entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

2006 Construction began on a 1,776-foot building on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.

[Kestra]

On April 28, 1947, a six-man expedition sailed from Peru aboard a balsa wood raft named the Kon-Tiki on a 101-day journey across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0428.html#article)

On April 28, 1878, Lionel Barrymore, who was one of the most important American character actors in the early 1900s, was born. Following his death on Nov. 15, 1954, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0428.html)

1788 Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1789 The crew of the British ship Bounty mutinied, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors adrift in a launch in the South Pacific.

1945 Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were executed.

1947 A six-man expedition sailed from Peru aboard a balsa wood raft named the Kon-Tiki on a 101-day journey across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia.

1967 Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the Army. yeah, he's "one those Muslims" the frightright is so afraid of. :shock:

1980 Secretary of State Cyrus Vance resigned over his opposition to the failed rescue mission aimed at freeing American hostages in Iran.

1990 The musical "A Chorus Line" closed after 6,137 performances on Broadway.

1994 Former CIA official Aldrich Ames, who had betrayed U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and then Russia, pleaded guilty to espionage and tax evasion and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

1996 President Bill Clinton gave 4 1/2 hours of videotaped testimony as a defense witness in the criminal trial of his former Whitewater business partners.

2001 A Russian rocket lifted off from Central Asia bearing the first space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito.

2003 Apple Computer Inc. launched the iTunes store.

2004 The first photos of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal were shown on CBS' "60 Minutes II."

2009 Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party. because he realized what losers the GOP has become and he only cared about being re-elected.

[Kestra]

On April 29, 1992, deadly rioting that claimed 54 lives and caused $1 billion in damage erupted in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0429.html#article)

On April 29, 1901, Hirohito, ruler of Japan during World War II and Japan's longest-reigning monarch, was born. Following his death on Jan. 7, 1989, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0429.html)

1429 Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a victory over the English.

1861 Maryland's House of Delegates voted against seceding from the Union. so US is a "Union" not a 'republic forces'.
:hmm:

1862 New Orleans fell to Union forces "Union forces" not 'republic forces' during the Civil War.

1899 Jazz musician and bandleader Duke Ellington was born Edward Kennedy Ellington in Washington, D.C.

1916 The Easter uprising in Dublin collapsed as Irish nationalists surrendered to British authorities.

1945 Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler married his longtime mistress Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker. (The couple killed themselves the next day.)

1981 Truck driver Peter Sutcliffe admitted in a London court to being the "Yorkshire Ripper," the killer of 13 women in northern England over five years.

1965 on the morning of April 29 at 8:29 a.m. Pacific Daylight Saving Time, an earthquake registering 6.5 magnitude occurs in Western Washington centered between Seattle and Tacoma. This is the fourth strongest documented earthquake in the Puget Sound region since 1850.

1992 Rioting erupted in Los Angeles after a jury acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King. Fifty-four people were killed.

1996 The musical "Rent" opened on Broadway.

1997 A worldwide treaty to ban chemical weapons went into effect. and then came bush.

2004 President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were interviewed by the Sept. 11 commission. the shadow lord and his ventriloquist dummy.

2004 A national monument to the 16 million U.S. men and women who served during World War II opened to the public in Washington D.C.

2006 Economist John Kenneth Galbraith died at age 97.

[Kestra]

On April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0430.html#article)

On April 30, 1902, Theodore Schultz, the American economist who won a Nobel Prize for his important studies of the human factor in the workplace, was born. Following his death on February 26, 1998, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0430.html)

1789 George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States.

1803 The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France.

1812 Louisiana became the 18th state.

1859 The novel "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens was first published in serial form in a literary magazine. "I have but one regret..."

1900 Hawaii was organized as a U.S. territory. Birthplace of our current President.

1900 John Luther "Casey" Jones, a train engineer for the Illinois Central Railroad, died in a wreck near Vaughan, Miss., after staying at the controls in an effort to save the passengers. (The event was immortalized in song.)

1939 The New York World's Fair opened.

1970 President Richard Nixon announced the United States was sending troops into Cambodia.

1975 The South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces.

1993 Top-ranked women's tennis player Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by a man who ran onto the court during a match in Hamburg, Germany. yeah, if ya can't win fairly, cheat, it's the gop way.

1997 ABC aired the "coming out" episode of the sitcom "Ellen," in which the title character, played by Ellen DeGeneres, admitted she is a lesbian.

2001 Chandra Levy, a federal government intern, went missing in Washington, D.C. (Her remains were found more than a year later in a city park.)

2003 Mahmoud Abbas took office as the first Palestinian prime minister. International mediators presented Israeli and Palestinian leaders with a "road map" to peace.

2005 Missing Georgia woman Jennifer Wilbanks, the so-called "runaway bride," turned up in Albuquerque, N.M.

2009 Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection.

2009 British forces exited Iraq.

[Kestra]

On May 1, 1960, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane near Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0501.html#article)

On May 1, 1907, Kate Smith, the American singer who was considered the "first lady of radio," was born. Following her death on June 17, 1986, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0501.html)

i loved her voice, she was magnificent!

1707 The Kingdom of Great Britain was created as a treaty merging England and Scotland took effect.

1786 Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro" premiered in Vienna.

1941 The Orson Welles film "Citizen Kane" premiered in New York.

1948 The People's Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was proclaimed.

1960 The Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane near Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

1967 Anastasio Somoza Debayle became president of Nicaragua.

1967 Singer Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu in Las Vegas.

1971 Amtrak went into service, combining and streamlining the operations of 18 intercity passenger railroads.

1992 On the third day of the Los Angeles riots, Rodney King appeared in public to appeal for calm, asking "Can we all get along?"

1999 The Mercury space capsule Liberty Bell 7 that Gus Grissom flew in 1961 was found in the Atlantic Ocean 300 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral, Fla.

2001 Thomas E. Blanton Jr. became the second ex-Ku Klux Klansman to be convicted in the

1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Ala., that claimed the lives of four black girls. (He was later sentenced to life in prison.)

2003 President George W. Bush landed in a jet on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the California coast and, in a speech to the nation, declared major combat in Iraq over. :eyeroll:

2009 Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced his retirement effective at the end of the court's term in June. (He was replaced by Sonia Sotomayor.)

[Kestra]

On May 2, 1945, the Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0502.html#article)

On May 2, 1903, Benjamin Spock, the American pediatrician whose books on child rearing influenced generations of parents, was born. Following his death on March 15, 1998, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0502.html)

1519 Artist Leonardo da Vinci died. 1670 The Hudson Bay Co. was chartered by England's King Charles II.

1863 Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was accidentally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, Va. He died eight days later.

1890 The Oklahoma Territory was organized.

1895 Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart was born in New York City.

1932 Jack Benny's first radio show debuted on the NBC Blue Network.

1945 The Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.

1957 Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., died at age 48. seems his twisted, paranoid views have been revived by gop.

1972 J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI for 48 years, died at age 77.

1994 Nelson Mandela claimed victory in South Africa's first democratic elections. "get up, stand up, stand up for your rights..."

1997 Tony Blair became, at age 44, Britain's youngest prime minister in 185 years.

[Kestra]

On May 3, 1971, anti-war protesters calling themselves the Mayday Tribe began four days of demonstrations in Washington, D.C., aimed at shutting down the nation's capital.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0503.html#article)

On May 3, 1898, Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of the State of Israel, was born. Following her death on Dec. 8, 1978, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0503.html)

1802 Washington, D.C., was incorporated.

1898 Israeli founder and prime minister Golda Meir was born Goldie Mabovitch in Kiev, Ukraine.

1921 West Virginia imposed the first state sales tax.

1936 Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio made his major league debut with the New York Yankees.

1937 Margaret Mitchell won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel "Gone with the Wind."

1948 The Supreme Court ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities were legally unenforceable.

1960 The musical "The Fantasticks" opened off-Broadway, beginning a record run of nearly 42 years and 17,162 performances.

1971 Anti-war protesters began four days of demonstrations in Washington, D.C.

1971 The National Public Radio program "All Things Considered" made its debut.

1988 The White House acknowledged that first lady Nancy Reagan had used astrological advice to help schedule President Ronald Reagan's activities. this is not an uncommon 'practice' used by politicians.

2001 The United States lost its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission for the first time since the commission was formed in 1947. under the watch of gigglesnot.

2005 Iraq's first democratically elected government was sworn in.

2007 Astronaut Wally Schirra died at age 84.

2010 Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad was apprehended aboard a flight preparing to depart New York for Dubai. :hmm: Dick chinny moved his Halliburton corporation to Dubai.

[Kestra]

On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0504.html#article)

On May 4, 1874, Frank Conrad, the American electrical engineer whose innovations led to the establishment of the first radio station, was born. Following his death on Dec. 11, 1941, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0504.html)

1626 Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on what is now Manhattan.

1886 A labor (union) demonstration for an eight-hour workday at Haymarket Square in Chicago turned into a riot when a bomb exploded. which is why we have the 5 day, 8 hour workday\week today.

1927 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded.

1961 A group of Freedom Riders left Washington, D.C., for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.

1980 Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito died at age 87.

1989 Fired White House aide Oliver North was convicted of shredding documents and two other charges stemming from the Iran-Contra affair. (The convictions were overturned on appeal.)

1994 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed an accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.

1998 Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.

2000 Londoners elected their mayor for the first time.

2006 A federal judge sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. :hmm: a terrorist successfully tried and sentenced on American soil. to listen to the fright right that's not possible.

2007 Paris Hilton was sentenced to jail for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. (The hotel heiress served 23 days behind bars.)

[Kestra]

On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled German dirigible Hindenburg burned and crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 36 of the 97 people on board.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0506.html#article)

On May 6, 1915, Orson Welles, the American motion-picture actor, director, producer and writer who combined his talents in the highly regarded movie "Citizen Kane," was born. Following his death on Oct. 10, 1985, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0506.html)

1856 Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was born in Freiberg, Moravia (present-day Pribor, Czech Republic). zumtymes a hozz iz just a hozz.

1840 A tornado that touched down in eastern Louisiana and crossed the Mississippi River into Natchez, Miss., killed 317 people - most of them on boats in the river.

1861 Arkansas seceded from the Union. :hmm: so US is a Union.

1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from the United States for 10 years.

1889 The Paris Exposition opened, featuring the just-completed Eiffel Tower.

1910 Britain's King Edward VII died.

1915 Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox hit the first of his 714 major league home runs in a 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds.

1942 Some 15,000 Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese during World War II.

1954 Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a mile in less than four minutes, finishing in 3:59.4 during a track meet in Oxford, England.

1960 Britain's Princess Margaret married Anthony Armstrong Jones, a commoner, at Westminster Abbey. (They divorced in 1978.) we are nawt amuzed.

2001 Pope John Paul II, during a trip to Syria, became the first pope to enter a mosque.

2002 Right-wing Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was shot and killed in Hilversum, Netherlands.

2002 "Spider-Man" became the first movie to make more than $100 million in its opening weekend.

2004 The final first-run episode of "Friends" aired on NBC.

2007 Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president of France.

[Kestra]

On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. good thing this happened in 1869. gop would never allow this to happen if it were attempted today.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0510.html#article)

On May 10, 1902, David O. Selznick, who produced "Gone With the Wind" and other highly successful films, was born. Following his death on June 22, 1965, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0510.html)

1774 Louis XVI ascended the throne of France.

1775 Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, N.Y.

1865 Union forces captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Irwinville, Ga. there it is again "Union" US is a "Union"

1869 A golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. good thing this happened in 1869. gop would never allow this to happen if it were attempted today.

1899 Actor-dancer Fred Astaire was born in Omaha, Neb. "Daddy Long Legs"

1908 The first Mother's For Peace Day observance took place during church services in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia. originally observed as: "Mother's For Peace Day"

1924 J. Edgar Hoover was appointed director of the federal Bureau of Investigation - the forerunner of the FBI - a job he held until his death in 1972.

1940 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.

1941 Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuted into Scotland on what he claimed was a peace mission. what he meant was; "a piece of Scotland" mission.

1994 The state of Illinois executed convicted serial killer John Wayne Gacy for the murders of 33 young men and boys.

2003 The New York Times announced that one of its reporters, Jayson Blair, had "committed frequent acts of journalistic fraud." like what FAUX noise does today.

2005 Germany dedicated a national Holocaust memorial.

2008 Jenna Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush, married Henry Hager at the Bush family ranch in Crawford, Texas.

2010 President Barack Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. oh and the fervor from the fright right....

[Kestra]

On May 12, 1943, during World War II, Axis forces in North Africa surrendered.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0512.html#article)

On May 12, 1820, Florence Nightingale, the Englishwoman who established nursing as a trained profession for women, was born. Following her death on Aug. 13, 1910, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0512.html)

1820 Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was born in Florence, Italy.

1870 Manitoba entered the confederation as a Canadian province.

1907 Actress Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford, Conn.

1932 The body of the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was found in a wooded area of Hopewell, N.J.

1943 Axis forces in North Africa surrendered during World War II.

1949 The Soviet Union announced an end to the Berlin blockade.

1965 West Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations.

1970 The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.

1972 The album "Exile on Main St." by the Rolling Stones was released.

1982 Pope John Paul II was assaulted by a knife-wielding Spanish priest while visiting the shrine of Fatima in Portugal. (In 2008, the pope's longtime private secretary revealed that the pontiff had been lightly wounded.)

2002 Jimmy Carter became the first present or former U.S. president to visit Cuba since Fidel Castro seized power in 1959.

2003 Suicide bombers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed 26 people, including nine U.S. citizens.

2003 Fifty-nine Texas House Democrats fled to Oklahoma to prevent passage of a congressional redistricting bill. which was being done illegally by republicon party

2008 An earthquake in China's Sichuan province killed some 70,000 people.

2009 Five Miami men were convicted in a plot to blow up FBI buildings and Chicago's Sears Tower.

2009 Suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk was deported from the United States to Germany.

[Kestra]

Friday, 13th. :D

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter's Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0513.html#article)

On May 13, 1914, Joe Louis, the American boxer who was world heavyweight champion for a record-setting 12 years, was born. Following his death on April 12, 1981, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0513.html)

1607 An English colony was settled at Jamestown in present-day Virginia.

1842 Composer Arthur Sullivan, who collaborated with William Gilbert in writing 14 comic operas, was born in London.

1846 The United States declared that a state of war existed against Mexico.

1914 Boxing champion Joe Louis was born in Lafayette, Ala.

1917 Three peasant children near Fatima, Portugal, reported seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary.

1940 Winston Churchill told the British House of Commons in his first speech as prime minister, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."

1958 Vice President Richard Nixon's limousine was battered by rocks thrown by anti-U.S. demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela.

1985 Philadelphia police dropped an explosive onto the headquarters of the radical group MOVE; 11 people died in the resulting fire.

2003 The government unveiled a new version of the $20 bill - the first to be colorized in an effort to thwart counterfeiters. yes, and then they wasted a few million on commercials 'explaining' to the masses "how to "'use"' the new $20.

[Kestra]

On May 16, 1868, the United States Senate failed by one vote to convict President Andrew Johnson as it took its first ballot on one of 11 articles of impeachment against him. (Johnson was acquitted of all charges.) Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0516.html#article)

On May 16, 1882, Anne O'Hare McCormick, the American journalist who became the first woman on the editorial board of The New York Times, was born. Following her death on May 29, 1954, her obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0516.html)

1770 Marie Antoinette, age 14, married the future King Louis XVI of France, who was 15.

1868 The U.S. Senate failed by one vote to convict President Andrew Johnson as it took its first ballot on one of 11 articles of impeachment against him. (He was acquitted of all charges.)

1920 Joan of Arc was canonized. they shot her from a cannon. :wgrin:

1929 The first Academy Awards were presented during a banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

1966 The album "Blonde on Blonde" by Bob Dylan was released.

1966 The album "Pet Sounds" by the Beach Boys was released.

1975 Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

1990 Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. died at age 64.

1990 "Muppets" creator Jim Henson died at age 53. from flesh eating disease.

1991 Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.

1997 Zaire's president, Mobutu Sese Seko, ended 32 years of autocratic rule, giving control of the country to rebel forces.

2002 The remains of kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl were unearthed in Pakistan.

2003 Five simultaneous suicide attacks claimed the lives of 33 victims and a dozen suicide bombers in Casablanca, Morocco.

2005 Newsweek magazine retracted a story that claimed investigators had found evidence the Quran was desecrated by interrogators at the U.S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay. The story had sparked deadly protests in Afghanistan.

[Kestra]

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court issued its landmark Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka ruling, which declared that racially segregated public schools were inherently unequal.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0517.html#article)

On May 17, 1911, Maureen O'Sullivan, the American movie actress who played "Jane" in the Tarzan movies, was born. Following her death on June 22, 1998, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0517.html)

1792 The New York Stock Exchange was founded by brokers meeting under a tree on what is now Wall Street.

1829 John Jay, American statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, died at age 83.

1875 The first Kentucky Derby was run; the winner was Aristides.

1939 Britain's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived in Quebec on the first visit to Canada by reigning British sovereigns.

1940 The Nazis occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War II.

1946 President Harry S. Truman seized control of the nation's railroads, delaying a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen.

1971 The musical "Godspell" opened off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre.

1973 The Senate began hearings into the Watergate scandal. "I am not a crook."

1980 Rioting that claimed 18 lives erupted in Miami's Liberty City neighborhood after an all-white jury in Tampa acquitted four former Miami police officers of fatally beating a black man.

1987 An Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 American sailors. Iraq and the United States called the attack a mistake. good thing it didn't happen under gigglesnots rule. he would have bombed, invaded and occupied Iraq... oh no wait, he did based upon made up intel.

1996 President Bill Clinton signed "Megan's Law," a measure requiring neighborhood notification when sex offenders move in.

1998 New York Yankees pitcher David Wells became the 13th player in modern major league baseball history to throw a perfect game in a 4-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

1999 Labor Party leader Ehud Barak unseated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israeli elections.

2000 Two former Ku Klux Klansmen were arrested on murder charges in the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Ala., that killed four black girls.

2004 Massachusetts became the first state to allow legal same-sex marriages.

[Kestra]

On May 19, 1935, T.E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia," died in England from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0519.html#article)

On May 19, 1890, Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Indochina Communist Party and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 1954 to 1969, was born. Following his death on Sept. 2, 1969, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0519.html)

1536 Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII, was beheaded after being convicted of adultery. wonder how long b4 republicons reinstate that.

1588 The Spanish Armada set sail for England.

1962 Actress Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday" for President John F. Kennedy during a fund-raiser at New York's Madison Square Garden. Haaaaapyy birthhhhhday to yoooooou....

1964 The State Department disclosed that 40 hidden microphones had been found in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

1967 The Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the United States and Britain banning nuclear weapons from outer space.

1992 Mary Jo Buttafuoco was shot and seriously wounded in Massapequa, N.Y., by her husband Joey's teenage lover, Amy Fisher.

1992 The 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits Congress from giving itself midterm pay raises, went into effect. buttt the other terms don't count.

1994 Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York at age 64.

2001 Apple, Inc. opened its first retail stores, one in Tysons Corner, Va., the other in Glendale, Calif.

2003 WorldCom Inc. agreed to pay investors $500 million to settle civil fraud charges.

2004 Specialist Jeremy C. Sivits received a year in prison and a bad conduct discharge in the first court-martial stemming from abuse of Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison. a token sacrifice.

2005 "Revenge of the Sith," the final chapter of the "Star Wars" saga, opened in movie theaters.

2010 President Barack Obama condemned Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigration and pushed instead for a federal fix.

[Kestra]

On May 20, 1961, a white mob attacked a busload of "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Ala., prompting the federal government to send in United States marshals to restore order.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0520.html#article)

On May 20, 1908, James Stewart, the American movie actor, was born. Following his death on July 2, 1997, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0520.html)

1861 North Carolina voted to secede from the Union. there's that pesky Union again.

1861 The capital of the Confederacy was moved from Montgomery, Ala., to Richmond, Va.

1902 The United States ended its occupation of Cuba.

1927 Charles Lindbergh took off for Paris from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, N.Y., aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

1932 Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland for Ireland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

1939 Regular trans-Atlantic air service began as a Pan American Airways plane took off from Port Washington, N.Y., bound for Europe.

1969 U.S. and South Vietnamese forces captured Apbia Mountain, referred to as Hamburger Hill by the Americans, following one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

1971 The album "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye was released.

1989 Comedian Gilda Radner died of cancer at age 42. "never mind"

1993 The final first-run episode of "Cheers" aired on NBC.

1995 President Bill Clinton announced that the two-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House would be permanently closed to traffic as a security measure.

1996 The Supreme Court struck down a Colorado measure banning laws that protect homosexuals from discrimination.

2002 East Timor became an independent nation.

2006 The FBI searched the Capitol Hill office of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., as part of a bribery investigation. (Jefferson was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He is free on appeal.)

2006 San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds tied Babe Ruth for second place on the career list with his 714th home run.

2008 Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. (He died in 2009.)

2009 A commission published a damning report on decades of rapes, humiliation and beatings at Catholic Church-run reform schools in Ireland.

2009 Suspended NFL star Michael Vick was released after 19 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring.

2010 Under pressure following security lapses, retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair resigned as national intelligence director.

[Kestra]

On May 22, 1947, the Truman Doctrine was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0522.html#article)

On May 22, 1859, Arthur Conan Doyle, the British writer best known for his creation of the detective Sherlock Holmes, was born. Following his death on July 7, 1930, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0522.html)

1813 Composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany.

1859 Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Canon Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1861 In what is generally regarded as the first Union combat fatality of the Civil War, Pvt. Thornsbury Bailey Brown was shot and killed by a Confederate soldier at Fetterman Bridge in present-day West Virginia.

1868 The Great Train Robbery took place near Marshfield, Ind., as seven members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in cash, gold and bonds.

1907 Actor Laurence Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England.

1947 The Truman Doctrine was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.

1960 A magnitude 9.5 earthquake, the strongest on record, struck southern Chile. Approximately 1,655 people were killed and 3,000 injured.

1990 North Yemen and South Yemen merged to form the Republic of Yemen.

1992 Johnny Carson hosted NBC's "Tonight Show" for the last time after nearly 30 years in the job.

1998 Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland cast ballots giving resounding approval to a Northern Ireland peace accord.

2002 A jury in Birmingham, Ala., convicted former Ku Klux Klansman Bobby Frank Cherry of murder in a 1963 church bombing that killed four black girls.

2002 The remains of Chandra Levy, a federal intern who had been missing more than a year, were found in a Washington, D.C., park. (An illegal immigrant from El Salvador was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to 60 years in prison.)

[Kestra]

On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot to death in a police ambush as they were driving a stolen Ford Deluxe along a road in Bienville Parish, La.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0523.html#article)

On May 23, 1875, Alfred Sloan, the American philanthropist who headed General Motors for more than a quarter of a century, was born. Following his death on Feb. 17, 1966, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0523.html)

1430 Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English.

1533 The marriage of England's King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared null and void.

1701 Captain William Kidd was hanged in London after being convicted of piracy and murder.

1788 South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1873 Canada's North West Mounted Police force was established.

1915 Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary in World War I.

1937 Industrialist John D. Rockefeller died at age 97.

1945 Nazi official and SS chief Heinrich Himmler committed suicide while imprisoned in Luneburg, Germany.

1949 The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was established.

1960 Israel announced it had captured former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann in Argentina.

1997 Iranians elected a moderate president, Mohammad Khatami, over hard-liners in the ruling Muslim clergy.

2003 Congress sent President George W. Bush a $330 billion package of tax cuts for the top 3%, thus drastically depleting revenue, while entering into two unpaid for wars\occupations, unpaid for Medicaid drug coverage. any wonder why we're in the economic fix we're in today - the third of his presidency.

2005 Actor Tom Cruise jumped on the couch while declaring his love for actress Katie Holmes on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

2006 ABC named Charles Gibson to replace Elizabeth Vargas as anchor of its "World News Tonight" evening newscast.

2010 The final episode of the supernatural castaway drama "Lost" aired on ABC.

[Kestra]

On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was opened to traffic.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0524.html#article)

On May 24, 1819, Queen Victoria, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, was born. Following her death on Jan. 22, 1901, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0524.html)

1819 Queen Victoria was born in London.

1830 The first passenger railroad in the United States began service between Baltimore and Ellicott Mills, Md.

1883 The Brooklyn Bridge was opened to traffic.

1935 The first major league baseball game played at night took place at Cincinnati's Crosley Field. The Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.

1958 United Press International was formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.

1962 Astronaut Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Aurora 7.

1976 Britain and France opened trans-Atlantic Concorde service to Washington.

1994 Four men convicted of bombing New York's World Trade Center in 1993 were each sentenced to 240 years in prison. funny how the fright right are now saying US is incapable of successfully trying\convicting terrorists.

2000 Israeli troops pulled out of southern Lebanon, ending 18 years of occupation.

2001 Democrats gained control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 1994 when Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party and declared himself an independent.

[Kestra]

On May 26, 1868, the Senate impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson ended with his acquittal as the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0526.html#article)

On May 26, 1907, John Wayne, the American actor famous for his roles in western movies, was born. Following his death on June 11, 1979, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0526.html)

1521 Martin Luther was declared an outlaw and his writings were banned by the Edict of Worms.

1805 Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned king of Italy.

1868 The impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson ended with his acquittal as the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.

1896 The Dow Jones Industrial Average was first published. The average price of the 11 initial stocks was 40.94

1907 Actor John Wayne was born Marion Morrison in Winterset, Iowa.

1908 The first major oil strike in the Middle East took place as engineers working for British entrepreneur William Knox D'Arcy hit a gusher in Masjid-i-Suleiman in present-day Iran.

1969 Apollo 10 returned to Earth after a mission that served as a dress rehearsal for the first moon landing.

1972 President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in Moscow. (The U.S. withdrew from the treaty in 2002.) under the rule of GWB.

1977 George H. Willig scaled the outside of the south tower of New York's World Trade Center; he was arrested at the top of the 110-story building.

1978 The first legal casino in the eastern United States opened in Atlantic City, N.J.

1994 Pop star Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were married in the Dominican Republic. (They were divorced 19 months later.) what a joke that was.

1998 The Supreme Court ruled that Ellis Island - historic gateway for millions of immigrants - is mainly in New Jersey, not New York.

2004 Terry Nichols was found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing. funny how the fright right doesn't declare war on guys who wear glasses and have slicked back hair.

2009 President Barack Obama nominated federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.

2009 California's Supreme Court upheld the Proposition 8 gay marriage ban but said the 18,000 same-sex weddings that had taken place before the prohibition passed were still valid.

[Kestra]

On May 27, 1964, independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, died.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0527.html#article)

On May 27, 1907, Rachel Carson, the American biologist whose books helped inspire the environmental movement, was born. Following her death on April 14, 1964, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0527.html)

1647 Alse Young became the first person executed as a witch in America when she was hanged in Hartford, Conn. gotta love organized religion.

1896 A tornado struck St. Louis and East St. Louis, Ill., killing 255 people.

1911 Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey was born in Wallace, S.D.

1935 The Supreme Court struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act.

1941 The British navy sank the German battleship Bismarck off France with a loss of more than 2,100 lives.

1963 The album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan," which featured the song "Blowin' in the Wind," was released.

1964 Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India's first prime minister, died.

1994 Nobel Prize-winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn returned to Russia after spending two decades in exile.

1995 Actor Christopher Reeve was paralyzed when he was thrown from his horse during a jumping event in Charlottesville, Va.

1996 Russian President Boris Yeltsin negotiated a cease-fire to the war in Chechnya in his first meeting with the rebels' leader.

1997 The Supreme Court ruled Paula Jones could pursue her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton while he was in office.

1998 Michael Fortier, the government's star witness in the Oklahoma City bombing case, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after apologizing for not warning anyone about the deadly plot.

1999 A U.N. tribunal indicted Slobodan Milosevic for crimes against humanity, holding the Yugoslav president personally responsible for the horrors in Kosovo.

[Kestra]

On May 29, 1953, Mount Everest was conquered as Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first climbers to reach the summit.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0529.html#article)

On May 29, 1917, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, American 35th president, was born. Following his death on Nov. 22, 1963, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0529.html)

1660 England's King Charles II was restored to the monarchy after an interregnum of 11 years.

1765 Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act before Virginia's House of Burgesses, saying, "If this be treason, make the most of it!"

1790 Rhode Island became the last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the United States Constitution.

1848 Wisconsin became the 30th state of the union. there's that union word again.

1917 John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was born in Brookline, Mass.

1942 Bing Crosby recorded Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" in Los Angeles for Decca Records.

1988 President Ronald Reagan began his first visit to the Soviet Union as he arrived in Moscow for a superpower summit with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev. "Mr. Gorbachev... tear down that wall.

1990 Boris Yeltsin was elected president of the Russian republic by the Russian parliament.

1999 Space shuttle Discovery completed the first docking with the International Space Station.

2001 Four followers of Osama bin Laden were convicted in New York of a global conspiracy to murder Americans, including the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa that killed 224 people. (All were sentenced to life in prison.) interesting how when giggles was in charge, trying terrorists on American soil weren't an issue.

2004 A memorial to America's World War II veterans was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

2005 French voters soundly rejected the European Union's proposed constitution.

2009 Jay Leno ended his first stint as host of "The Tonight Show." (Following a short-lived prime-time show, Leno was back on NBC's late night mainstay in February 2010.)

2010 Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in major league history, beating the Florida Marlins 1-0

[Riker 1]

These posts of days in history are awesome! I will now make an effort to ck these out and learn more of our history that I have forgotten (old age lol) over the years.
Thank you

[Kestra]

yw, Riker, old geezers are most welcome. :wgrin: :g'pa: if you find (or know of) an 'one this day' event, feel free to post it here.

i do add my pov's to certain events ft2t.

On June 1, 1968, author-lecturer Helen Keller, who earned a college degree despite being blind and deaf most of her life, died in Westport, Conn. Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0601.html#article)

On June 1, 1926, Marilyn Monroe, the film actress and American icon, was born. Following her death on Aug. 5, 1962, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0601.html)


happy birthday Mr. President :buxom:

1533 Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was crowned Queen Consort of England. a tough time for Queens to be sure.

1792 Kentucky became the 15th state.

1796 Tennessee became the 16th state.

1801 Mormon leader Brigham Young was born in Whitingham, Vt. i wonder if there were Sea Gulls present?

1868 James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, died near Lancaster, Pa., at age 77.

1925 Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig's streak of playing in 2,130 consecutive games began when he entered a game as a pinch hitter for the New York Yankees. "i am the luckiest man in the world."

1926 Actress Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortensen in Los Angeles.

1944 The BBC broadcast a coded message to inform the French resistance that the D-Day invasion was imminent.

1958 Charles de Gaulle became premier of France.

1968 Deaf and blind author and educator Helen Keller died at age 87.

1980 CNN made its debut.

2009 Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330 carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of everyone on board.

2009 General Motors filed for Chapter 11, becoming the largest U.S. industrial company to enter bankruptcy protection. and our current admin gave them a loan, and now they are productive again have paid back the loan.

2009 Conan O'Brien debuted as host of NBC's "Tonight Show." (He stepped down in January after a dispute with the network.) perhaps Jay got jealous cuz Conan was so much better at it. :tantrum:

2010 Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, announced their separation after 40 years of marriage.

[Kestra]

On June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain was crowned in Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0602.html#article)

On June 2, 1904, Johnny Weissmuller, the Olympic gold medallist and actor famous for his portrayal of "Tarzan"was born Following his death on Jan. 20, 1984, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0602.html)

1851 Maine became the first state to enact a law prohibiting alcohol. which was supported by the oil cartel so they could kill cars that run on alcohol.

1886 President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in a White House ceremony.

1897 Mark Twain was quoted by the New York Journal as saying "the report of my death was an exaggeration."

1924 Congress granted U.S. citizenship to all American Indians. well that was might white of them considering the natives were here before US.

1941 Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig died at age 37 of a degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

1946 The Italian monarchy was abolished in favor of a republic.

1966 The U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface.

1979 Pope John Paul II arrived in his native Poland on the first visit by a pope to a Communist country.

1981 The Japanese video arcade game "Donkey Kong" made its U.S. debut.

1987 President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating economist Alan Greenspan to succeed Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

1995 A U.S. Air Force F-16C was shot down by Bosnian Serbs while on a NATO air patrol in northern Bosnia; the pilot, Capt. Scott F. O'Grady, was rescued six days later.

1997 Timothy McVeigh was convicted of murder and conspiracy in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. that was b4 US turned into sissies when it comes to trying terrorist on American soil.

1998 Voters in California passed Proposition 227, requiring that all schoolchildren be taught in English. isn't that the logical thing to do?

2008 Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll, died at age 79.

2010 Amid the Deepwater Horizon oil spill crisis, BP chief executive Tony Hayward apologized for having told reporters, "I'd like my life back," calling the remark hurtful and thoughtless in a statement posted on Facebook. yes, 12 ppl lost their lives due to BP, why hasn't anyone gone to jail for that?

2010 Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga lost his bid for a perfect game against Cleveland with two outs in the ninth inning on a call that first base umpire Jim Joyce later admitted he'd blown

[Kestra]

On June 3, 1965, astronaut Edward White became the first American to "walk" in space, during the flight of Gemini 4.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0603.html#article)

On June 3, 1926, Allen Ginsberg, the "poet laureate" of the Beat Generation, was born. Following his death on April 5, 1997, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0603.html)

1621 The Dutch West India Company received a charter for New Netherlands, present-day New York City. Dutch West India Co is the one the original Boston Tea Party protest was about. DWI has since 'morphed' into BP of today.

1888 The poem "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer was first published, in the San Francisco Daily Examiner.

1963 Pope John XXIII died at age 81.

1965 Astronaut Edward White became the first American to walk in space, during the flight of Gemini 4. look ma! no hands!

1989 Chinese army troops began a sweep of Beijing to crush student-led pro-democracy demonstrations.

1989 Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died.

1999 Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic accepted a peace plan for Kosovo designed to end mass expulsions of ethnic Albanians and 11 weeks of NATO airstrikes.

2001 Mel Brooks' musical comedy "The Producers" won a record 12 Tony Awards.

2008 Barack Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination. yes we can.

2009 New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage.

2010 Emmy-winning actress Rue McClanahan died at age 76 :(

[Kestra]

On June 4, 1989, Chinese army troops stormed Tiananmen Square in Beijing to crush the pro-democracy movement; hundreds - possibly thousands - of people died.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0604.html#article)

On June 4, 1889, Beno Gutenberg, the American scientist who made important discoveries about the earth's interior, was born. Following his death on Jan. 25, 1960, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0604.html)

1647 The English army seized King Charles I.

1896 Henry Ford made a successful pre-dawn test run of his horseless carriage, called a quadricycle, through the streets of Detroit. it was steam powered if memory serves.

1940 The Allies completed the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk, France.

1942 The Battle of Midway began during World War II.

1944 The U.S. Fifth Army began liberating Rome during World War II.

1954 French and Vietnamese officials signed treaties in Paris according independence to Vietnam.

1984 The album "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen was released.

1985 The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling striking down an Alabama law providing for a daily minute of silence in public schools.

1986 Jonathan Jay Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty in Washington to spying for Israel.

1998 A federal judge sentenced Terry Nichols to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. :hmm: another home grown terrorist successfully tried and convicted on American soil. fright right has turned US into a nation of fraidy cats. :blcat: :shock:

2003 Martha Stewart stepped down as head of her media empire, hours after she was charged with obstruction of justice, conspiracy, securities fraud and lying to investigators. and yet today, no one has been jailed for the huge bank\wallstreet failure. and that nearly bankrupted America.

2007 A federal indictment accused Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., of receiving more than $500,000 in bribes. (Jefferson was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He is free on appeal.). a banana peal? :D

2009 President Barack Obama addressed the Muslims of the world in a speech in Cairo, saying America has a common cause with Islam and never will be at war with the faith. yeah, and the fright right went crazy. "see! that proves he's a Muslim appologist."

2010 Legendary basketball coach John Wooden died at age 99.

[Kestra]

On June 8, 1968, authorities announced the capture in London of James Earl Ray, the suspected assassin of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0608.html#article)

On June 8, 1867, Frank Lloyd Wright, the famed American architect, was born. Following his death on April 9, 1959, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0608.html)

632 The Prophet Mohammed died in Medina.

1845 Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, died in Nashville, Tenn., at age 78.

1861 Tennessee seceded from the Union. aw yes, the good ol Union of US.

1864 Abraham Lincoln was nominated for a second term as president at the Republican Party convention in Baltimore.

1915 Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned in a disagreement over U.S. handling of the sinking of the Lusitania.

1948 The "Texaco Star Theater" made its debut on NBC-TV with Milton Berle as guest host. uncle Miltey!

1953 The Supreme Court ruled that restaurants in the District of Columbia could not refuse to serve blacks.

1969 The New York Yankees retired Mickey Mantle's uniform No. 7 during "Mickey Mantle Day" at Yankee Stadium.

1987 Fawn Hall, secretary to national security aide Oliver L. North, testified at the Iran-Contra hearings, saying she had helped to shred some documents.

1995 U.S. Marines rescued Capt. Scott O'Grady, whose F16-C fighter jet had been shot down by Bosnian Serbs on June 2.

1998 The National Rifle Association elected actor Charlton Heston its president.

2001 British Prime Minister Tony Blair was elected to a second term in a landslide

[Kestra]

On June 12, 1987, during a visit to the divided German city of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to ''tear down this wall.''
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0612.html#article)

On June 12, 1897, Anthony Eden, the British statesman, was born. Following his death on Jan. 14, 1977, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0612.html)

1776 Virginia's colonial legislature became the first to adopt a Bill of Rights.

1898 Philippine nationalists declared independence from Spain.

1937 The Soviet Union under Josef Stalin executed eight army leaders during a purge.

1939 The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, N.Y.

1963 Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was fatally shot in front of his home in Jackson, Miss.

1971 President Richard M. Nixon's daughter Tricia and Edward F. Cox were married in the White House Rose Garden.

1978 David Berkowitz was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for each of the six "Son of Sam" .44-caliber killings in New York City.

1981 Major league baseball players began a 49-day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.

1994 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were slashed to death outside her Los Angeles home; her former husband, football Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson, was later acquitted of the killings in a criminal trial, but held liable in a civil action. he did it, and we know it.

2002 The Los Angeles Lakers won a third straight NBA title and Shaquille O'Neal was named MVP of the finals for the third straight year.

2003 Actor Gregory Peck died at age 87. Judy, Judy, Judy.

2008 A deeply divided Supreme Court ruled that foreign detainees held for years at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba had the right to appeal to U.S. civilian courts to challenge their indefinite imprisonment without charges.

2009 The switch from analog to digital TV transmission was completed in the U.S. forced switch.

2010 A French fishing vessel rescued 16-year-old Abby Sunderland from her crippled sailboat in the turbulent southern Indian Ocean, ending the California teen's attempt to sail around the world solo.

[fremen]

On this date (06-16-2010) Fremen found out that he might be able to retire early!

[Kestra]

that'll make one do the happy dance.
:ydance:

On June 16, 1933, President Roosevelt opened his New Deal recovery program, signing bank, rail, and industry bills and initiating farm aid.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0616.html#article)

On June 16, 1829, Geronimo, the Apache leader and warrior, was born. Following his death on Feb. 17, 1909, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0616.html)

1890 Stan Laurel of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Lancashire, England. now you're gone and don it.

1858 accepting the Illinois Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." words to live by.

1897 The United States signed a treaty of annexation with Hawaii.

1903 Ford Motor Co. was incorporated.

1911 The forerunner of IBM was incorporated in New York State as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co.

1932 President Herbert Hoover was renominated at the Republican National Convention in Chicago. Hooverville.

1960 "Psycho," directed by Alfred Hitchcock, premiered in New York. :eek4:

1967 The three-day Monterey International Pop Music Festival - which catapulted Jimi Hendrix, the Who and Janis Joplin to stardom - opened in northern California. "freedom's just another word for nothing left to loose..."

1976 Riots broke out in the black South African township of Soweto.

1978 President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos exchanged the instruments of ratification for the Panama Canal treaties.

1987 A jury in New York acquitted Bernhard Goetz of attempted murder in the subway shooting of four young blacks he said were going to rob him; he was convicted of illegal weapons possession.

1996 Russian voters went to the polls in their first independent presidential election; the result was a runoff between President Boris Yeltsin, the eventual winner, and a Communist challenger.

2000 Federal regulators approved the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE Corp., creating the nation's largest local phone company, Verizon. aw, gotta love monopolies.

2006 "Lonelygirl15," a fictitious video blogger played by actress Jessica Lee Rose, made her online debut.

2009 Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., admitted he'd had an extramarital affair with a campaign staff member. (Ensign resigned in May 2011.) yeah, it's always a different game when repubs stray.

[Kestra]

On June 21, 1964, three civil rights workers disappeared in Philadelphia, Miss. Their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later. Eight members of the Ku Klux Klan went to prison on federal conspiracy charges; none served more than six years.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0621.html#article)

On June 21, 1905, Jean-Paul Sartre, the French existientialist philosopher and writer, was born. Following his death on April 15, 1980, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0621.html)

1834 Cyrus Hall McCormick received a patent for his reaping machine.

1905 Philosopher, author and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre was born in Paris.

1963 Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was chosen to succeed the late Pope John XXIII as head of the Roman Catholic Church, taking the name Paul VI.

1964 Three civil rights workers disappeared in Philadelphia, Miss. Their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later.

1964 Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a perfect game in a 6-0 victory over the New York Mets.

1973 The Supreme Court ruled that states may ban materials found to be obscene according to local standards.

1977 Menachem Begin became Israel's sixth prime minister.

1982 John Hinckley Jr. was found innocent by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Ronald Reagan and three others.

1985 Scientists announced that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were those of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.

1989 The Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag as a form of political protest is protected by the First Amendment. bet that would be banned by today's SC.

1997 The Women's National Basketball Association made its debut.

2005 Edgar Ray Killen, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman, was found guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Miss., 41 years to the day earlier.

[Kestra]

On June 23, 1947, the Senate joined the House in overriding President Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0623.html#article)

On June 23, 1894, Edward VIII, the British monarch who abdicated in 1936 in order to marry American Wallis Simpson, was born. Following his death on May 28, 1972, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0623.html)

1868 Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called the "Type-Writer." 1892 The Democratic convention in Chicago nominated former President Grover Cleveland on the first ballot. 1923 Choreographer-director Bob Fosse was born in Chicago. 1931 Aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from New York on the first round-the-world flight in a single-engine plane.

1947 The Senate joined the House in overriding President Harry S. Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows the president to intervene in labor disputes.

1956 Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt.

1969 Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States.

1992 John Gotti, convicted of racketeering charges, was sentenced in New York to life in prison.

1993 Lorena Bobbitt of Prince William County, Va., sexually mutilated her husband, John, after he allegedly raped her.

2005 Former Ku Klux Klansman Edgar Ray Killen was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the 1964 Mississippi slayings of three civil rights workers.

2009 "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon died at 86.

2010 Following Gen. Stanley McChrystal's criticism of the Obama administration in a Rolling Stone magazine profile, President Barack Obama named Gen. David Petraeus to replace the Afghanistan commander

[Kestra]

On June 24, 1997, the Air Force released a report on the so-called "Roswell Incident," suggesting the alien bodies witnesses reported seeing in 1947 were actually life-sized dummies. :eyeroll: they've changed the Roswell story more times than most change their sox.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0624.html#article)

On June 24, 1895, Jack Dempsey, the American world heavyweight boxing champion from 1919 to 1926, was born. Following his death on May 31, 1983, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0624.html)

1314 The forces of Scotland's King Robert I defeated the English in the Battle of Bannockburn.

1497 The first recorded sighting of North America by a European took place as explorer John Cabot, on a voyage for England, spotted land, probably in present-day Canada. "land ho! aye."

1509 Henry VIII was crowned king of England.

1793 The first republican constitution in France was adopted.

1908 Former President Grover Cleveland died in Princeton, N.J., at age 71.

1940 France signed an armistice with Italy during World War II.

1974 The Beach Boys' greatest hits album "Endless Summer" was released.

1998 AT&T Corp. struck a deal to buy cable television giant Tele-Communications Inc. for $31.7 billion. no monopolies going on here, no sirree bob.

2004 Federal investigators questioned President George W. Bush for more than an hour in connection with the news leak of a CIA operative's name. :liar3: :shsh2:

2006 Patsy Ramsey, who was thrust into the national spotlight by the unsolved slaying of her daughter JonBenet, died at age 49.

2009 After going AWOL for seven days, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted that he had secretly flown to Argentina to visit his mistress. "don't cry for me Argentina..."

2010 John Isner of the U.S. defeated Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon in the longest-ever professional match: 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days. (Isner won the fifth set 70-68.) :tennis:

[Kestra]

On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending World War I.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0628.html#article)

On June 28, 1902, Richard Rodgers, the American composer who was a major force in 20th century musical comedy, was born. Following his death on Dec. 30, 1979, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0628.html)

1836 James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, died in Montpelier, Va., at age 85.

1838 Britain's Queen Victoria was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

1894 Labor Day was established as a holiday for federal employees. let's see if far right fright try to rename, or abolish Labor Day because it's a a celebration of "socialism".

1902 Broadway composer Richard Rodgers was born in New York City.

1919 The Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending World War I.

1919 Harry S. Truman married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace in Independence, Mo.

1950 North Korean forces captured Seoul, South Korea.

1967 Israel declared Jerusalem reunified under its sovereignty following its capture of the Arab sector in the Six-Day War.

1967 Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was named a cardinal.

1997 Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield's ear during their WBA heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas.

2000 The Supreme Court ruled the Boy Scouts can bar homosexuals from serving as troop leaders. :eyeroll: homophobes.

2001 Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic was handed over by Serbia to the U.N. war crimes tribunal.

2004 The U.S.-led coalition transferred sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government two days ahead of schedule.

2004 The Supreme Court ruled that enemy combatants can challenge their detention in U.S. courts.

2007 The American bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list.

2010 Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., the longest-serving senator in the nation's history, died in Fairfax, Va., at 92.

2010 The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Americans have the right to own a gun for self-defense anywhere they live. so i'm wondering, if an American moves to a country where guns are banned, do they still (under SC ruling) have the right to own guns.

[Kestra]

On June 29, 1995, the shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir docked, forming the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0629.html#article)

On June 29, 1868, George Ellery Hale, the American astronomer, was born. Following his death on Feb. 21, 1938, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0629.html)

1951 Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, was ordained as a priest.

1958 Brazil won their first World Cup title with a 5-2 victory over host country Sweden in Stockholm on the strength of two goals by 17-year-old Pele.

1967 Actress Jayne Mansfield, 34, and two male companions died when their car struck a trailer truck east of New Orleans.

1972 The Supreme Court ruled the death penalty could constitute "cruel and unusual punishment." not too mention that juries and judges are not infallible.

1992 A divided Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion, but the justices also weakened the right as defined in the Roe v. Wade decision. yeah, we can't allow women to have control over their own bodies.

2001 U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was elected to a second term.

2003 Actress Katharine Hepburn died at age 96.

2004 Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks became the fourth pitcher in major league history to record 4,000 career strikeouts.

2006 The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law. and yet here we are today trying GB detainees via military tribunals simply because there's a black Dem in the white-house. and republicons heads have exploded. and we've become a nation of scaredy cats, too afraid to try terrorists on American soil as we've done successfully in years past.

2007 The Apple iPhone went on sale.

2009 Financier Bernard Madoff received a 150-year sentence for his multibillion-dollar fraud. one of gigglesnots friends that giggles sought to hide once this story broke.

2010 Talk show host Larry King announced he would step down from his CNN show in the autumn after 25 years on the air.

[Kestra]

On June 30, 1997, in Hong Kong, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time over Government House as Britain prepared to hand the colony back to China after ruling it for 156 years.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0630.html#article)

On June 30, 1868, Mabel Cratty, American social worker and head of the Y.W.C.A., was born. Following her death on Feb. 27, 1928, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0630.html)

1859 French acrobat Blondin crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope as 5,000 spectators watched.

1908 An asteroid exploded above Tunguska in Siberia, leaving 800 square miles of scorched or blown-down trees.

1917 Jazz singer Lena Horne was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.

1921 President Warren G. Harding appointed former President William Howard Taft chief justice of the United States.

1936 The novel "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell was published.

1963 Pope Paul VI was crowned the 262nd head of the Roman Catholic Church.

1971 The 26th Amendment to the Constitution, lowering the minimum voting age to 18, was ratified as Ohio became the 38th state to approve it.

1971 The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the government could not prevent The New York Times or the Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers.

1994 The U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya Harding of the national championship and banned her from the organization for life for an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan. :scream: H'WHYYYYYYEEEEEEEEE!

2001 Doctors implanted a dual-purpose pacemaker in Vice President Dick Cheney's chest. and paid for by We The Tax Payer.

2002 Brazil won the World Cup for a record fifth time with a 2-0 victory over Germany in Yokohama, Japan.

2004 The international Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit after a nearly seven-year journey.

2005 Spain legalized gay marriage.

[Kestra]

On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0701.html#article)

On July 1, 1893, Walter White, who headed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for over 20 years, was born. Following his death on March 21, 1955, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obiuary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0701.html)

1863 The Civil War Battle of Gettysburg began.

1867 Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain.

1898 Theodore Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" waged a victorious assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

1916 Dwight D. Eisenhower married Mary "Mamie" Geneva Doud in Denver.

1943 "Pay-as-you-go" income tax withholding began. :hmm:

1961 Britain's Princess Diana was born Diana Spencer near Sandringham, England.

1963 The U.S. Post Office introduced five-digit ZIP codes.

1969 Britain's Prince Charles was invested as the prince of Wales.

1984 The Motion Picture Association of America established the "PG-13" rating.

1991 President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. so now we have a sexual predator who takes bribes as Supreme Court judge. makes ya feel all warm and fuzzy.

1997 Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony.

2000 Vermont's civil unions law went into effect, granting gay couples most of the rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage.

2004 Actor Marlon Brando died at age 80.

2010 At least two suicide bombers attacked a popular Muslim shrine in Pakistan's second largest city, Lahore, killing some three dozen people. and yet there are those who claim all Muslims are terrorists.

[Kestra]

On July 2, 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0702.html#article)

On July 2, 1908, Thurgood Marshall, the leader of the legal battle against segregated schools and the first black member of the U.S. Supreme Court, was born. Following his death on Jan. 24, 1993, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0702.html)

1776 The Continental Congress passed a resolution that "these United Colonies are, and of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States."

1881 President James A. Garfield was fatally shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Washington railroad station. (Garfield died on Sept. 19.)

1890 Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act.

1932 Democrats nominated New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt for president at their convention in Chicago.

1937 Aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first around-the-world flight at the equator. personally, i think she was sabotaged.

1947 An object that the Army Air Force later said was a weather balloon crashed near Roswell, N.M. Eyewitness accounts gave rise to speculation it might have been an alien spacecraft. yeah, they've changed their claim several times over the years.

1961 Author Ernest Hemingway, 61, shot himself to death at his home in Ketchum, Idaho.

1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law a sweeping civil rights bill. now we're going thru a different civil rights battle.

1976 The Supreme Court ruled the death penalty was not inherently cruel or unusual.

2003 President George W. Bush promised to deal harshly with those who attack American troops in Iraq, saying "bring them on." moron.

2007 President George W. Bush commuted the sentence of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, sparing him from a two-and-half-year prison term in the CIA leak case. yeah, see here Scooter, you take the fall for the leak and i'll pardon\commute your sentence.

[Kestra]

On July 4, 1976, the United States celebrated its Bicentential. In 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0704.html#article)

On July 4, 1872, Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, was born. Following his death on Jan. 5, 1933, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0704.html)

1802 The U.S. Military Academy opened at West Point, N.Y.

1804 Author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Mass.

1826 Death claimed the second and third presidents of the United States: John Adams died at age 90 in Braintree, Mass., while Thomas Jefferson died at 83 at Monticello, his home near Charlottesville, Va.

1831 James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, died at age 73 in New York City.

1845 American writer Henry David Thoreau began a two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond near Concord, Mass. simplify, simplify.

1872 Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, was born in Plymouth, Vt.

1939 Baseball player Lou Gehrig, afflicted with a fatal illness, bid a tearful farewell at Yankee Stadium in New York, telling fans, "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth."

1946 The Philippines became independent.

1958 Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was appointed auxilliary bishop of Krakow in his native Poland.

1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act into law.

1976 Israeli commandos raided Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing almost all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by pro-Palestinian hijackers.

1987 Former Getaspo chief Klaus Barbie was convicted by a French court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison.

2010 Gen. David Petraeus formally assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in Afghanistan.

[Kestra]

On July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0705.html#article)

On July 5, 1810, P. T. Barnum, the great American showman, was born. Following his death on April 7, 1891, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0705.html)

1810 Sowman and promoter Phineas T. Barnum was born in Bethel, Conn. there's a sucker born every minute. :D

1811 Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.

1830 The French occupied the North African city of Algiers.

1865 William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London.

1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, which allowed labor to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining. and now the republicons are tearing that all apart.

1946 The bikini made its debut during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris. oo la la.

1948 Britain's National Health Service Act went into effect, providing government-financed medical and dental care. and we're still fighting about such things in this country.

1975 The Cape Verde Islands became independent after 500 years of Portuguese rule.

1975 Arthur Ashe became the first African-American man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors.

1991 Regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, charging it with fraud, drug money laundering and illegal infiltration into the U.S. banking system. they're baaaAAAaaack.

1997 Martina Hingis, 16, became the youngest Wimbledom singles champion in 110 years.

2002 Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams died at age 83.

2005 Roger Federer of Switzerland won Wimbledon for his record 15th Grand Slam tennis title.

2006 North Korea test-fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, including at least one believed capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. thank you king george.

2006 Enron founder Kenneth Lay, facing decades in prison, died of heart disease at age 64.

2009 The worst ethnic violence in decades in China erupted in the far western Xinjiang region. Some 200 people were killed.

[Kestra]

On July 6, 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0706.html#article)

On July 6, 1907, Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter famous for her surrealist and expressionist work, was born. Following her death on July 13, 1954, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0706.html)

1483 England's King Richard III was crowned. :king:

1535 Sir Thomas More was executed in England for treason.

1777 British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution.

1854 The first official meeting of the Republican Party took place in Jackson, Mich.

1923 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed.

1933 Baseball's first All-Star game was held at Chicago's Comiskey Park, with the American League's best beating the National Leauge squad 4-2.

1944 Fire broke out in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn., killing 169 people.

1957 Althea Gibson became the first African-American tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.

1974 Garrison Keillor's radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion," debuted in a live broadcast from St. Paul, Minn.

2003 Former ambassador Joseph Wilson, in a New York Times op-ed, disputed President George W. Bush's statement that Iraq had sought uranium in Africa, saying he had found no evidence to support the claim when the CIA asked him to investigate. and for that gigglesnot 'got back at his non-support' by outing his covert undercover wife. which resulted in the murder of her operatives... good work giggles, ya did a "heckuva job".

2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry chose Sen. sleazebag John Edwards of North Carolina to be his running mate.

2005 Soap opera actress Kelly Monaco won the first season of "Dancing With the Stars."

2005 New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed after refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of an undercover CIA operative's name. what a joke that was.

2010 Queen Elizabeth II addressed the United Nations for the first time since 1957 during her first New York visit in more than 30 years.

2010 Actress Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 90 days in a residential substance-abuse program for violating her probation stemming from two separate
2007 cases of driving under the influence of cocaine and alcohol. (She served 14 days behind bars.) . she's too pritty to be in jail. :eyeroll:

[Kestra]

On July 8, 1950, Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0708.html#article)

On July 8, 1839, John D. Rockefeller, who founded the Standard Oil Co. and gave more than $500 million to charitable causes, was born. Following his death on May 23, 1937, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0708.html)

1663 King Charles II of England granted a charter to Rhode Island.

1776 Col. John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to a crowd gathered at Independence Square in Philadelphia.

1853 An expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Yedo Bay, Japan, on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese.

1889 The Wall Street Journal was first published.

1891 Warren G. Harding married Florence K. DeWolfe in Marion, Ohio.

1907 Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first "Follies," on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City.

1919 President Woodrow Wilson received a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles Peace Conference in France.

1950 Gen. Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea.

1986 Kurt Waldheim was inaugurated as president of Austria despite controversy over his alleged ties to Nazi war crimes.

1994 Kim II Sung, North Korea's communist leader since 1948, died at age 82.

2004 Enron founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay pleaded innocent to charges related to the energy company's collapse. (He was convicted, but died while the case was on appeal.) *church Lady voice* how convieeenient."

2004 Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas and his son Timothy were convicted in New York of looting the cable company and deceiving investors.

2010 Ten people accused of spying in suburban America pleaded guilty to conspiracy and were ordered deported to Russia in exchange for the release of four prisoners there who were accused of spying for the West.

2010 During an ESPN prime-time special, basketball free agent LeBron James announced he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. :hot:

[Kestra]

On July 9, 1896, William Jennings Bryan caused a sensation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with his "cross of gold" speech denouncing supporters of the gold standard. Bryan went on to win the party's nomination.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0709.html#article)

On July 9, 1929, Hassan II, who ruled Morocco from 1961 to 1999, was born. Following his death on July 23, 1999, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0709.html)

1776 The Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York. bet he didn't leave out any parts like gop did when they read it allowed in one of their showcase productions of 09.

1816 Argentina declared independence from Spain.

1850 Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, died in Washington, D.C., after serving only 16 months in office.

1947 The engagement of Britain's Princess Elizabeth, the future queen, to Lt. Philip Mountbatten was announced.

1974 Former Chief Justice Earl Warren died at age 83.

1992 Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton tapped Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee to be his running mate.

1995 The Grateful Dead played their last concert, at Soldier Field in Chicago. (Lead guitarist Jerry Garcia died the following month.) do you think he's grateful?

1997 Boxer Mike Tyson was banned from the ring and fined $3 million for biting opponent Evander Holyfield's ear. :box: :box2:

2001 A court in Chile ruled that Gen. Augusto Pinochet could not be tried on human rights charges because of his deteriorating physical and mental health.

2002 The baseball All-Star game in Milwaukee finished in a 7-7 tie after 11 innings when both teams ran out of pitchers.

2004 A Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration relied on to justify going to war. gee... what a surprise... :eyeroll: those of us who were paying attention knew that.

2004 The International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's planned barrier in the West Bank barrier violated international law. funny, not a peep out of the repulicons at that time.

2008 Prosecutors cleared JonBenet Ramsey's parents and brother in the 1996 killing of the 6-year-old beauty queen in Boulder, Colorado.

[Kestra]

On July 11, 1979, the abandoned United States space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0711.html#article)

On July 11, 1899, E. B. White, the American writer of essays and children's books, was born. Following his death on Oct. 1, 1985, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0711.html)

1533 England's King Henry VIII was excommunicated.

1767 John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, was born in Braintree, Mass.

1798 The U.S. Marine Corps was created by an act of Congress.

1804 Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a pistol duel near Weehawken, N.J.

1859 Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time.

1914 Baseball Hall of Famer Babe Ruth made his major league debut as a pitcher for the Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston.

1952 The Republican National Convention, meeting in Chicago, nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower for president and Richard M. Nixon for vice president.

1955 The Air Force Academy was dedicated at Lowry Air Base in Colorado.

1960 "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about childhood innocence and racial injustice in a small Southern town during the Great Depression, was first published.

1977 The Medal of Freedom was awarded posthumously to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a White House ceremony.

1979 The abandoned U.S. space station Skylab returned to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.

1995 The United States normalized relations with Vietnam.

2007 Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson died in Austin, Texas, at age 94.

[Kestra]

On July 12, 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale named New York Congresswoman Geraldine A. Ferraro his running mate, making her the first woman to run on a major party ticket.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0712.html#article)

On July 12, 1865, George Washington Carver, the African-American scientist whose discoveries helped to improve agriculture in the South, was born. Following his death on Jan. 5, 1943, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0712.html)

100 B.C. Julius Caesar was born in Rome.

1543 England's King Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr. yes, marriage is so sacrid. :eyeroll:

1690 Protestant forces led by William of Orange defeated the Roman Catholic army of James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. this is why ppl wear green on St. Paddys Day. in which one actually proclaims oneself as 'Catholic'.

1862 Congress authorized the Medal of Honor.

1895 Broadway lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II was born in New York City.

1908 Comedian Milton Berle was born Mendel Berlinger in New York City. Uncle Milty

1972 George McGovern won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Miami Beach.

1993 A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck northern Japan, killing 196 people.

1998 Three young brothers who had been asleep in their beds burned to death in a sectarian attack in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland.

2001 Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant tortured in a New York City police station, agreed to an $8.7 million settlement.

2005 Prince Albert II of Monaco acceded to the throne.

2006 Hezbollah guerrillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in a cross-border raid; Israel sent ground troops into Lebanon in response.

2010 Roman Polanski was declared a free man, no longer confined to house arrest in his Alpine villa, after Swiss authorities rejected a U.S. request for the Oscar-winning director's extradition because of a 32-year-old sex conviction.

[Kestra]

On July 13, 1977, a 25-hour blackout hit the New York City area after lightning struck upstate power lines.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0713.html#article)

On July 13, 1821, Nathan Bedford Forrest, the notorious Confederate Civil War general , was born. Following his death on Oct. 29, 1877, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0713.html)

1793 French revolutionary writer Jean Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who was executed four days later.

1863 Rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City; about 1,000 people died over three days.

1930 France beat Mexico 4-1 in the first match of soccer's inaugural World Cup tournament in Montevideo, Uruguay.

1960 John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Los Angeles.

1977 A 25-hour blackout hit the New York City area after lightning struck upstate power lines.

1978 Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford Motor Co.

1985 Live Aid, a concert to raise money for Africa's starving people, was held in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, Australia.

2005 Former WorldCom Inc. boss Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison for leading the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history. and now, another WorldCom scandle with Rupert M. guess they've bean illegally hacking and spying on lots and lots of ppl.

2010 New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died at age 80.

[Kestra]

On July 14, 1965, the American space probe Mariner 4 flew by Mars, sending back photographs of the planet.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0714.html#article)

On July 14, 1834, James McNeill Whistler, the famed American-born painter and designer, was born. Following his death on July 17, 1903, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0714.html)

1798 Congress passed the Sedition Act, making it a federal crime to publish false, scandalous or malicious writing about the U.S. government. :hmm: my, how times have changed. FAUX REPUBLICORPS

1881 Outlaw William H. Bonney Jr., alias Billy the Kid, was shot and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, N.M.

1913 Gerald R. Ford Jr., the 38th president of the United States, was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Neb. (His mother's second husband later adopted and renamed him.)

1921 Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted in Dedham, Mass., of killing a shoe company paymaster and his guard. (They were executed in 1927.)

1933 All German political parties except the Nazi Party were outlawed. and today, republicons are attempting to do the same thing with all other political parties. WI, MI etc.

1958 The army of Iraq overthrew the monarchy.

1966 Eight student nurses were murdered by Richard Speck in a Chicago dormitory.

1976 Jimmy Carter won the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in New York City.

1999 Race-based school busing in Boston ended after 25 years. this was not that long ago.

1999 Major league baseball umpires voted to resign and not work the final month of the season.

2003 Journalist Robert Novak identified Valerie Plame as a CIA operative in his newspaper column, citing two Bush administration officials. outing one of our most clandestine undercover operatives. who was in charge of finding terrorists.

2004 The Senate voted 50-48 against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. amazing that the fright right made an attempt to place homophobic discrimination into the constitution.

[Kestra]

On July 15, 1918, the Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0715.html#article)

On July 15, 1919, Dame Iris Murdoch, the British writer and philosopher, was born. Following her death on Feb. 8, 1999, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0715.html)

1606 The painter Rembrandt was born in Leiden, Netherlands.

1870 Georgia became the last of the Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union. there's that "Union" word again. :D

1918 The Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.

1964 Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco.

1971 President Richard Nixon announced he would visit the People's Republic of China. "there is an old Klingon proverb: "'only Nixon can go to China.'"

1979 President Jimmy Carter delivered a speech in which he lamented what he called a "crisis of confidence" in America. Though he didn't use the word, it became known as the "malaise" speech.

1992 Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton claimed the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in New York City.

1996 MSNBC, a 24-hour all-news network, made its debut on cable TV and the Internet.

1997 Fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot to death outside his home in Miami; suspected gunman Andrew Phillip Cunanan was found dead eight days later.

2002 John Walker Lindh, an American who had fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to two felonies in a deal sparing him life in prison.

2007 The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles announced it was settling clergy sex-abuse cases for $660 million. yeah, it's a lot easier to pay ppl off than to do the responsible thing.

2007 The Philadelphia Phillies lost for the 10,000th time in franchise history, a 10-2 defeat at the hands of the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.2010BP stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico after 85 days using a 75-ton cap lowered onto the well earlier in the week.

2010 The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Goldman Sachs & Co. would pay a record $550 million penalty to settle charges that the Wall Street giant had misled buyers of mortgage investments. whuth!? Wall Street did what!?

2010 Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize gay marriage.

[Kestra]

On July 17, 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit in the first superpower linkup of its kind.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0717.html#article)

On July 17, 1899, James Cagney, the Academy-Award winning American film actor, was born. Following his death on March 30, 1986, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0717.html)

1821 Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

1898 Spanish troops in Santiago, Cuba, surrendered to U.S. forces during the Spanish-American War.

1917 With the country at war with Germany, the British royal family changed its name from the German Saxe-Coburg Gotha to Windsor.

1918 Russia's Czar Nicholas II, his wife and their five children were executed by the Bolsheviks.

1945 President Harry S. Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit of World War II.

1948 Southern Democrats opposed to the party's position on civil rights met in Birmingham, Ala., to endorse South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond for president.

1955 Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif.

1961 Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb died at age 74.

1967 Jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane died at age 40.

1981 A pair of walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during a dance, killing 114 people.

1996 TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747 bound for Paris, exploded and crashed off Long Island, N.Y., shortly after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport. All 230 people aboard were killed.

2000 Bashar Assad succeeded his late father, Hafez Assad, becoming Syria's 16th head of state.

2009 Former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite died at age 92.

[Kestra]

On July 18, 1936, the Spanish Civil War began as Gen. Francisco Franco led an uprising of army troops based in North Africa.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0718.html#article)

On July 18, 1909, Andrey Gromyko, the Soviet foreign minister from 1957 to 1985, was born. Following his death on July 2, 1989, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0718.html)

1536 Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope void in England.

1872 Britain introduced the concept of voting by secret ballot.

1927 Baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb got his 4,000th career hit.

1969 A car driven by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha's Vineyard. His passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, died.

1984 Walter F. Mondale won the Democratic presidential nomination in San Francisco.

1989 Actress Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, was shot to death at her Los Angeles home by an obsessed fan. (The killing prompted California in 1990 to pass the nation's first anti-stalking law.)

1998 A 23-foot tsunami along the coast of Papua New Guinea killed nearly 3,000 people.

1999 David Cone of the New York Yankees pitched the 14th perfect game in modern major league baseball history in a game against the Montreal Expos.

2005 An unrepentant Eric Rudolph was sentenced in Birmingham, Ala., to life in prison for an abortion clinic bombing that killed an off-duty police officer and maimed a nurse. yeah, only the unborn have a "right to life".

[Kestra]

On July 19, 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill launched his "V for Victory" campaign in Europe.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0719.html#article)

On July 19, 1834, Edgar Degas, the French Impressionist painter and sculptor, was born. Following his death on September 27, 1917, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0719.html)

1553 Fifteen-year-old Lady Jane Grey was deposed as queen of England after claiming the crown for nine days. Mary, the daughter of King Henry VIII, was proclaimed queen.

1848 A pioneer women's rights convention convened in Seneca Falls, N.Y. women died so we modern women would have the right to vote.

1870 The Franco-Prussian war, which led to the unification of the German states, began.

1969 Apollo 11, with Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins on board, went into orbit around the moon.

1979 The Nicaraguan capital of Managua fell to Sandinista guerrillas.

1980 The Summer Olympics began in Moscow with dozens of nations boycotting because of Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.

1984 Congresswoman Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York won the Democratic nomination for vice president at the party's convention in San Francisco. then she put her foot in her mouth.

1986 Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, married Edwin A. Schlossberg.

1989 A United Air Lines DC-10 crashed while making an emergency landing at Sioux City, Iowa, killing 112 people; 184 survived.

1990 Baseball's all-time hits leader Pete Rose was sentenced in Cincinnati to five months in prison for tax evasion.

2005 President George W. Bush announced his choice of federal appeals court judge anti-American John Roberts to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

2010 The Agriculture Department pressured Shirley Sherrod, an administrator in Georgia, to resign after a conservative website and waved like a victory flag by FAUX GOP NOISE posted edited video it claimed showed her making racist remarks. (After reviewing the entire video, the White House ended up apologizing to Sherrod.)

[Kestra]

On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0720.html#article)

On July 20, 1920, Elliot Richardson, the American public official best known for his refusal to obey President Richard M. Nixon's order to fire a special prosecutor, was born. Following his death on December 31, 1999, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0720.html)

1810 Colombia declared independence from Spain.

1861 The Congress of the Confederate States began holding sessions in Richmond, Va.

1871 British Columbia joined the confederation as a Canadian province.

1881 Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull surrendered to federal troops.

1917 The World War I draft lottery began.

1944 Adolf Hitler was only slightly wounded when a bomb planted by would-be assassins exploded at the German leader's Rastenburg headquarters.

1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented fourth term at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

1976 America's Viking 1 robot spacecraft landed on Mars.

1977 A flash flood hit Johnstown, Pa., killing 80 people and causing $350 million in damage.

1990 A federal appeals court set aside Oliver North's Iran-Contra convictions.

1993 White House deputy counsel Vince Foster was found shot to death in a park near Washington, D.C., in an apparent suicide.

1999 After 38 years at the bottom of the Atlantic, astronaut Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule was recovered.

2007 The Senate Judiciary Committee voted almost totally along party lines, 13-6, to approve Elena Kagan to be the Supreme Court's fourth female justice.

2010 Text goes here. guess someone forgot something here.

[Kestra]

On July 21, 1925, the ''monkey trial'' ended in Dayton, Tenn., with John T. Scopes convicted of violating state law for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. (The conviction was later overturned.)
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0721.html#article)

On July 21, 1899, Ernest Hemingway, the American novelist and short story writer, was born. Following his death on July 2, 1961, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0721.html)

1831 Belgium became independent as Leopold I was proclaimed King of the Belgians.

1861 The first Battle of Bull Run was fought at Manassas, Va., during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.

1899 Author Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Ill.

1944 The Democratic National Convention in Chicago nominated Sen. Harry S. Truman to be vice president.

1949 The U.S. Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty.

1954 France surrendered North Vietnam to the Communists.

1955 President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented his "open skies" proposal under which the United States and the Soviet Union would trade information on each other's military facilities.

1961 Capt. Virgil "Gus" Grissom became the second American to rocket into a sub-orbital pattern around the Earth, flying on the Liberty Bell 7.

1969 Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin blasted off from the moon aboard the lunar module.

1988 Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Atlanta.

1998 Astronaut Alan Shepard died at age 74.

2002 Telecommunications giant WorldCom Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection after disclosing it had inflated profits by nearly $4 billion through deceptive accounting.

2007 "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the final volume in the book series by J.K. Rowling, went on sale.

2008 Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, one of the world's top war crimes fugitives, was arrested in a Belgrade suburb by Serbian security forces.

2010 President Barack Obama signed into law the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. lending and high finance rules since the 1930s.

[Kestra]

On July 23, 1914, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; the dispute led to World War I.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0723.html#article)

On July 23, 1892, Haile Selassie I, the emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, was born. Following his death on August 26, 1975, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0723.html)

1829 William Austin Burt of Mount Vernon, Mich., received a patent for his typographer, a forerunner of the typewriter.

1885 Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, died in Mount McGregor, N.Y., at age 63.

1945 French Marshal Henri Petain, who had headed the Vichy government during World War II, went on trial, charged with treason.

1952 Egyptian military officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk I.

1967 Rioting that claimed some 43 lives erupted in Detroit.

1984 Vanessa Williams became the first Miss America to resign her title, because of nude photographs published in Penthouse magazine.

1986 Britain's Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London. (The couple divorced in 1996.)

2000 Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to complete a career Grand Slam when he won the British Open at age 24.

2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Eudora Welty died in Jackson, Miss., at age 92.

2003 Massachusetts' attorney general issued a report saying clergy members and others in the Boston Archdiocese probably probably? sexually abused more than 1,000 people over six decades.

2009 Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox pitched the 18th perfect game in major league history, a 5-0 win over Tampa Bay

[Kestra]

On July 24, 1959, during a visit to the Soviet Union, Vice President Richard M. Nixon got into a discussion at a U.S. exhibition with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev that was dubbed the ''kitchen debate.''
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0724.html#article)

On July 24, 1920, Bella Abzug, the American feminist, lawyer and politician, was born. Following her death on March 31, 1998, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0724.html)

1783 Revolutionary Simon Bolivar was born in Caracas, Venezuela.

1847 Mormon leader Brigham Young and his followers arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah.

1862 Martin Van Buren, the eighth president of the United States, died in Kinderhook, N.Y., at age 79.

1866 Tennessee became the first state to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War.

1937 The state of Alabama dropped charges against five black men accused of raping two white women in the Scottsboro case.

1959 During a visit to the Soviet Union, Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev compared the merits of capitalism and communism in the "kitchen debate," so-named because it took place at a model kitchen at a U.S. exhibition.

1969 Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the moon, splashed down safely in the Pacific.

1979 A Miami jury convicted Ted Bundy of first-degree murder in the slayings of two Florida State University sorority sisters.

1990 Iraq massed tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks along its border with Kuwait. that particular Bush knew better than to invade and occupy Iraq.

1997 Retired Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan died at age 91.

2002 The U.S. House expelled Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, who had been convicted of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion. otoh, if he'd been republicon, he'd have stayed.

2005 Lance Armstrong won a seventh consecutive Tour de France.

[Kestra]

On July 25, 1956, the Italian liner Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish ship Stockholm off the New England coast, claiming the lives of 51 people.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0725.html#article)

On July 25, 1848, Arthur James Balfour, the British statesman best remembered for issuing the British declaration of support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, was born. Following his death on March 19, 1930, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0725.html)

1593 France's King Henry IV converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism.

1868 Congress passed an act creating the Wyoming Territory.

1952 Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.

1956The Italian liner Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish ship Stockholm off the New England coast, claiming the lives of 51 people.

1965 Bob Dylan shocked his fans at the Newport Folk Festival by playing electric guitar. :rocker:

1975 The musical "A Chorus Line" opened on Broadway.

1978 The first baby conceived by in-vitro fertilization was born in Oldham, England.

1984 Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to walk in space.1

1994 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signed a declaration at the White House ending their countries' 46-year state of war.

2000 Texas Gov. George W. Bush selected Dick Cheney to be his running mate on the Republican presidential ticket. actually, it was the other way around.

2008 California became the first state to ban trans fats from restaurant food. didn't hear a peep out of Limply, BeckyBoo etc over thatJaun... oh yeah, there was a white republicon in the whitehouse at the time.

[Kestra]

On July 27, 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0727.html#article)

On July 27, 1905, Leo Durocher, the American baseball player and manager, was born. Following his death on October 7, 1991, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0727.html)

1694 The Bank of England received a royal charter as a commercial institution.

1789 Congress established the Department of Foreign Affairs, the forerunner of the State Department.

1794 French revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre was overthrown and placed under arrest; he was executed the following day.

1861 Union Gen. George B. McClellan was put in command of the Army of the Potomac.

1866 After two failures, Cyrus W. Field succeeded in laying the first underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe.

1940 Bugs Bunny made his debut in the Warner Bros. animated cartoon "A Wild Hare." nyeah, what's up Doc?

1960 Vice President Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in Chicago.

1967 In the wake of urban rioting, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to assess the causes of the violence.

1974 The House Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to recommend President Richard M. Nixon's impeachment on a charge that he had personally engaged in a "course of conduct" designed to obstruct justice in the Watergate case.

1980 The deposed Shah of Iran died in Egypt at age 60.

1995 The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C.

1996 A pipe bomb exploded at a public park during the Olympic games in Atlanta, killing one person and injuring more than 100.

2003 Comedian Bob Hope died at age 100. thanks for the memories.

2003 Lance Armstrong won a record-tying fifth straight Tour de France title.

2005 Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian who'd plotted to bomb the Los Angeles airport on the eve of the millennium, was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

[Kestra]

On July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis, which had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Only 316 out of 1,196 men survived the sinking and shark-infested waters.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0730.html#article)

On July 30, 1863, Henry Ford, the American automobile manufacturer who founded the Ford Motor Company, was born. Following his death on April 7, 1947, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0730.html)

1619 The first representative assembly in America convened in Jamestown, Va.

1729 The city of Baltimore was founded. "Good morning Baltimore...."

1792 The French national anthem, "La Marseillaise" by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, was first sung in Paris.

1863 American automaker Henry Ford was born in Dearborn Township, Mich.

1930 Host Uruguay won soccer's first World Cup with a 4-2 victory over Argentina in the final in Montevideo.

1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill creating a women's auxiliary agency in the Navy known as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES.

1945 The USS Indianapolis, which had just delivered key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine; 880 men lost their lives.

1966 England won the World Cup when Geoff Hurst scored a hat trick in a 4-2 victory over West Germany at London's Wembley Stadium.

1971 Apollo 15 astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin landed on the moon.

1975 Former Teamsters union president Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in suburban Detroit. (His remains have never been found.)

2002 Expelled from Congress a week earlier, James A. Traficant Jr. was sentenced to eight years behind bars for corruption.

2008 Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was extradited to The Hague to face genocide charges after nearly 13 years on the run.

[Kestra]

On July 31, 1964, the American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the moon's surface.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0731.html#article)

On July 31, 1919, Primo Levi, the Italian writer and chemist whose work was influenced by his captivity at Auschwitz, was born. Following his death on April 11, 1987, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0731.html)

1777 The Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was made a major-general in the American Continental Army. oo lala!

1875 Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, died in Carter Station, Tenn., at age 66.

1914 The New York Stock Exchange closed due to the outbreak of World War I. (Trading didn't resume until December.)

1919 Germany's Weimar Constitution was adopted.

1972 Democratic vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton withdrew from the ticket with George McGovern following disclosures that Eagleton had once undergone psychiatric treatment.

1977 The "Son of Sam" killer claimed his last victims when he shot and killed Stacy Moskowitz, 20, and seriously wounded her date as they sat in a parked car in Brooklyn, N.Y. (David Berkowitz was arrested less than two weeks later. He is serving six sentences of 25 years to life.)

1981 A seven-week strike by major league baseball players ended.

1990 Nolan Ryan became the 20th major league pitcher to win 300 games as his Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3.

1995 Walt Disney Co. agreed to acquire Capital Cities-ABC Inc. in a $19 billion deal.

2007 The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Sudan's Darfur region.

2008 Scientists reported the Phoenix spacecraft had confirmed the presence of frozen water in Martian soil.
:Pool:

2009 Three American tourists were arrested by Iran on suspicion of espionage during what their families have said was a simple hiking trip along the Iraq-Iran border. (One was released on bail, the others remain in Iranian custody.)

[Kestra]

On Aug. 4, 1914, Britain declared war on Germany while the United States proclaimed its neutrality.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0804.html#article)

On Aug. 4, 1901, Louis Armstrong, the influential American jazz trumpeter, was born. Following his death on July 6, 1971, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0804.html)

1790 The Coast Guard had its beginnings as the Revenue Cutter Service.

1792 Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was born in Field Place, England.

1830 Plans for the city of Chicago were laid out.

1892 Andrew and Abby Borden were axed to death in their home in Fall River, Mass. (Lizzie Borden, Andrew Borden's daughter from a previous marriage, was accused of the killings, though she was later acquitted.)

1914 Britain declared war on Germany while the United States proclaimed its neutrality in World War I. yeah, US really dragged its feet on thatJaun. tho there are those who would claim it differently.

1929 Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was born Rahman Abdel-Raouf Arafat Al-Qudwa in either Cairo or Gaza.

1964 The bodies of three missing civil rights workers were found buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi.

1977 President Jimmy Carter signed a measure establishing the Department of Energy. and gop has been determined to kill it ever since.

1987 The Federal Communications Commission voted to rescind the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and TV stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues. and FAUX REPUBLICORPS puppet station was born.

1994 Serb-dominated Yugoslavia withdrew its support for Bosnian Serbs, sealing the 300-mile border between Yugoslavia and Serb-held Bosnia.

2002 A Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a bus in northern Israel during rush hour, killing nine passengers.

2005 A mini-submarine carrying seven Russians became caught on an underwater antenna 600 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean; the men were rescued three days later with help from a British vessel.

2007 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants tied Hank Aaron's 755 career home runs.

2007 Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees became at age 32 the youngest player in major league history to hit his 500th career home run.

2009 North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee for entering the country illegally and ordered their release during a surprise visit by former President Bill Clinton.

2010 New York Yankees third basemen Alex Rodriguez, 35, became the youngest player to hit his 600th career home run.

[Kestra]

On August 5, 1963 the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0805.html#article)

On Aug. 5, 1906, John Huston, the American motion-picture director, was born. Following his death on Aug. 28, 1987, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0805.html)

1861 The federal government levied an income tax for the first time.

1884 The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.

1924 The comic strip "Little Orphan Annie" by Harold Gray made its debut.

1957 "American Bandstand," hosted by Dick Clark, made its network TV debut on ABC.

1963 The United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater. and then came gw.

1966 The album "Revolver" by the Beatles was released.

1969 The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars, sending back photographs and scientific data.
:greetings

1981 The federal government began firing striking air traffic controllers.

2001 Afghanistan's ruling Taliban jailed eight foreign aid workers, including two Americans, for allegedly preaching Christianity.

2009 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term as Iran's president.

2010The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as the Supreme Court's 112th justice and the fourth woman in its history. The vote was 63-37.

2010Thirty-three workers were trapped in a copper mine in northern Chile after a tunnel caved in. (They were rescued after being entombed for 69 days).

[Kestra]

On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0806.html#article)

On Aug. 6, 1911, Lucille Ball, the American radio, television and film comedic actress, was born. Following her death on April 26, 1989, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0806.html)

1825 Bolivia declared its independence from Peru.

1890 The electric chair was used for the first time, to execute a convicted murderer at Auburn State Prison in New York.

1890 Hall of fame pitcher Cy Young made his major league debut with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League.

1914 Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia, and Serbia declared war against Germany at the outbreak of World War I.

1926 Gertrude Ederle of New York became the first American woman to swim the English Channel.

1962 Jamaica became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.

1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. and gop have been disenfranchising voters ever since. because they can't win an honest election.

1965 The album "Help!" by the Beatles was released.

1978 Pope Paul VI died at age 80.

1998 Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky testified before a grand jury about her relationship with President Bill Clinton.

2001 President George W. Bush received a memo entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S." as part of his daily intelligence briefing. which he replied, "okay you covered your butt." then ignored the warning. ya did a heckuv a job goeorgie. :golf:

2007 The Crandall Canyon Mine in central Utah collapsed, trapping six coal miners. (All six miners died, along with three rescuers.)

2008 The government declared that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was solely responsible for the anthrax attacks that killed five in 2001. (Ivins had committed suicide on July 29.) how convenient.

2008 A U.S. military jury convicted Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, of supporting terrorism in the first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay.

2009 Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice by a Senate vote of 68-31. after gop tried to portray her as a lesbian. as if that should even be a factor.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon announced he would resign following damaging revelations in the Watergate scandal.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0808.html#article)

On Aug. 8, 1896, Marjorie Rawlings, the American author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning book "The Yearling", was born. Following her death on Dec. 14, 1953, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0808.html)

1815 Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena, in the South Atlantic, to spend the remainder of his days in exile.

1844 Brigham Young was chosen to lead the Mormons following the killing of Joseph Smith.

1876 Thomas A. Edison received a patent for the mimeograph.

1945 President Harry S. Truman signed the United Nations Charter.

1945 The Soviet Union declared war against Japan during World War II.

1963 Britain's "Great Train Robbery" took place as thieves made off with 2.6 million pounds in banknotes from a train they stopped north of London.

1968 Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach and chose Maryland Gov. Spiro T. Agnew to be his running mate.

1988 U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar announced a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq.

2005 Iran resumed work at a uranium conversion facility after suspending activities for nine months to avoid U.N. sanctions.

2006 Sen. Joseph Lieberman lost the Connecticut Democratic primary to political newcomer Ned Lamont. (Lieberman won re-election as an independent).

2008 The Summer Olympic Games opened in Beijing.

2008 Former Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards admitted having had an extramarital affair. sleazebag.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 9, 1945, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, Japan, instantly killing an estimated 39,000 people. The explosion came three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0809.html#article)

On Aug. 9, 1896, Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist famous for his studies of cognitive development in children, was born. Following his death on Sept. 17, 1980, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0809.html)

1854 Henry David Thoreau published "Walden," which described his experiences living near Walden Pond in Massachusetts.

1902 Britain's Edward VII was crowned king following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.

1936 Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics as the United States took first place in the 400-meter relay.

1969 Actress Sharon Tate and four other people were found murdered in Los Angeles; cult leader Charles Manson and a group of his followers were later convicted of the crime.

1974 Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States following the resignation of Richard M. Nixon.

1985 A federal judge in Norfolk, Va., found retired Navy officer Arthur J. Walker guilty of seven counts of spying for the Soviet Union.

1995 Rock musician Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead died at age 53.

2001 President George W. Bush approved federal funding for existing lines of embryonic stem cells.

2002 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 600th home run, becoming the fourth major leaguer to reach the mark.

2004Terry Nichols was sentenced to 161 consecutive life sentences on state murder charges in the Oklahoma City bombing.

2010Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, 86, the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, was killed in a plane crash in southwestern Alaska

[Kestra]

On Aug. 10, 1977, David Berkowitz, the suspect in the "Son of Sam" murders, was arrested. Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0810.html#article)

On Aug. 10, 1874, Herbert Hoover, 31st president of the United States, was born. Following his death on Oct. 20, 1964, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0810.html)

1821 Missouri became the 24th state.

1846 Congress chartered the Smithsonian Institution, named after English scientist James Smithson, whose bequest of $500,000 made it possible.

1874 Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, was born in West Branch, Iowa.

1885 America's first commercially operated electric streetcar began operation in Baltimore. STELLAAAA!!!! :scream:

1921 Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio at his summer home on the Canadian island of Campobello.

1944 American forces overcame Japanese resistance on Guam during World War II.

1949 The National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense.

1969 Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murdered in their Los Angeles home by members of Charles Manson's cult, one day after actress Sharon Tate and four other people were slain.

1988 President Ronald Reagan signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to Japanese-Americans interred by the U.S. government during World War II.

1993 Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as the second female Supreme Court justice.

2006 British authorities announced they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up 10 aircraft heading to the United States.

2008 American swimmer Michael Phelps won the first of a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics by smashing his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley

[Kestra]

On Aug. 16, 1977, singer Elvis Presley died at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0816.html#article)

On Aug. 16, 1913, Menachem Begin, the prime minister of Israel from 1977 to 1983, was born. Following his death on March 9, 1992, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0816.html)

1858 A telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.

1888 T.E. Lawrence, the British soldier who gained fame as "Lawrence of Arabia," was born in Tremadoc, Wales.

1913 Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was born in Brest-Litovsk in present-day Belarus.

1948 Baseball Hall of Famer Babe Ruth died at age 53.

1954 Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc.

1956 Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

1960 Britain granted independence to Cyprus.

1987 Thousands of people worldwide began a two-day celebration of the "harmonic convergence," which believers called the start of a new, purer age of humankind.

1988 Vice President George H.W. Bush tapped Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle to be his running mate on the Republican ticket.

2000 Delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles nominated Vice President Al Gore for president.

2003 Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda, died in Saudi Arabia.

2007 Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held for 3-1/2 years as an enemy combatant, was convicted in Miami of helping Islamic extremists and plotting overseas attacks. (He was sentenced to 17 years, four months in prison.)

2008 Michael Phelps won the 100-meter butterfly by a hundredth of a second for his seventh gold medal of the Beijing Olympics, tying Mark Spitz's 1972 record.

2008 Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and actress Portia de Rossi were married at their Beverly Hills, Calif., home.

2010 China eclipsed Japan as the world's second biggest economy after three decades of blistering growth.

[fremen]

:woohoo:

[fremen]

Aug 19, 1984 - Republican convention in Houston nominates Ronald Reagan for president.

Aug 19, 1957 - New York Giants vote 8-1 to move their franchise to San Francisco in 1958.

Aug 19, 1950 - ABC (network TV) first aired Saturday morning television shows for children.

Aug 19, 1909 - First race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Louis Schwitzer wins.

Aug 19, 1814 - Capture and Burning of Washington by the British.

Aug 19, 1787 - Sir Frederick William Herschel discovers Enceladus, a moon of Saturn.

Aug 19, 1698 - Russian czar Peter the Great begins term.

Aug 19, 1692 - 5 women executed for witchcraft in Salem Mass.

Aug 19, 1587 - Sigismund III becomes king of Poland. :woohoo:

Aug 19, 1399 - King Richard II of England surrenders to his cousin Henry.

Aug 19, 1099 - Crusaders beat Saracens in Battle of Ascalon.

Aug 19, 440 - St. Sixtus III ends his reign as Catholic Pope.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 20, 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the ''Prague Spring'' liberalization drive of Alexander Dubcek's regime.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0820.html#article)

On Aug. 20, 1833, Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States, was born. Following his death on March 13, 1901, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0820.html)

1833 Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States, was born in North Bend, Ohio.

1914 German forces occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War I.

1918 Britain opened an offensive on the Western front during World War I.

1940 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill paid tribute to the Royal Air Force, saying, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

1953 The Soviet Union publicly acknowledged it had tested a hydrogen bomb.

1955 Hundreds of people were killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.

1964President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a nearly $1 billion anti-poverty measure.

1977 The United States launched Voyager 2, an unmanned spacecraft carrying a 12-inch copper phonograph record containing greetings in dozens of languages, samples of music and sounds of nature.

1992 The Republican National Convention in Houston nominated President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle for a second term.

1998 Retaliating for deadly embassy bombings in East Africa, the United States launched cruise missile strikes against al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan and what was described as a chemical plant in Sudan.

2006 Former Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, who took the iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising picture during World War II, died at age 94.

2009 Voting in Afghanistan's presidential election was marred by rampant ballot-box stuffing. (Hamid Karzai was declared the winner in November.)

2009 The only man convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 returned home to Libya after his release from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida, causing record damage; 55 deaths in Florida, Louisiana and the Bahamas were blamed on the storm. Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0824.html#article)

On Aug. 24, 1899, Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentinian writer of poems, essays and short stories, was born. Following his death on June 14, 1986, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0824.html)

79 Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash. An estimated 20,000 people died.

1572 The slaughter of French Protestants at the hands of Catholics began in Paris.

1814 British forces invaded Washington, D.C., and set fire to the Capitol and the White House.

1857 The New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co. failed, sparking the Panic of 1857.

1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly nonstop across the United States, traveling from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in just over 19 hours. :Plane:

1949 The North Atlantic Treaty went into effect.

1954 The Communist Control Act went into effect, virtually outlawing the Communist Party in the United States. aw the land of the free.

1968 France became the world's fifth thermonuclear power as it exploded a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.

1970 A bomb planted by anti-war extremists exploded at the University of Wisconsin's Army Math Research Center in Madison, killing a researcher.

1981 John Lennon died.

1989 Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti banned Pete Rose from the game for gambling.

2006 The International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was no longer a planet, demoting it to the status of a "dwarf planet." :arge:

2007 A judge in Inverness, Fla., sentenced John Evander Couey to death for kidnapping 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, raping her and burying her alive.

2007 James Ford Seale, a reputed Ku Klux Klansman, was sentenced to three life terms for his role in the 1964 abduction and murder of two black teenagers in Mississippi.

2007 The NFL suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for his involvement in dog fighting

[Kestra]

On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was declared in effect.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0826.html#article)

On Aug. 26, 1906, Albert Sabin, the Polish-American doctor who developed the polio vaccine, was born. Following his death on March 3, 1993, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0826.html)

1847 Liberia was proclaimed an independent republic.

1910 Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia.

1939 Major league baseball was televised for the first time when experimental station W2XBS broadcast a doubleheader between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.

1957 The Soviet Union announced that it had successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.

1961 The Hockey Hall of Fame opened in Toronto.

1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a term of office in his own right at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, N.J.

1974 Aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh died at age 72.

1978 Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice was elected the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and took the name John Paul I.

1986 In the so-called "preppie murder case," 18-year-old Jennifer Levin was found strangled in New York's Central Park. (Robert Chambers later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served 15 years in prison.)

2003 Investigators concluded that NASA's overconfident management and inattention to safety doomed the space shuttle Columbia as much as damage to the craft did.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 27, 1962, the United States launched the Mariner 2 space probe, which flew past Venus the following December.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0827.html#article)

On Aug. 27, 1908, Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, was born. Following his death on Jan. 22, 1973, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0827.html)

1770 German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born in Stuttgart.

1859 Edwin L. Drake drilled the first successful U.S. oil well near Titusville, Pa.

1883 The island volcano Krakatoa erupted and the resulting tidal waves claimed some 36,000 lives on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra.

1928 The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed in Paris, outlawing war and providing for the peaceful settlement of disputes.

1945 American troops began landing in Japan following the surrender of the Japanese government in World War II.

1962 The United States launched the Mariner 2 space probe, which flew past Venus the following December.

1967 The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, was found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills.

1975 Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia's 3,000-year-old monarchy, died in Addis Ababa almost a year after being overthrown.

1979 British war hero Lord Louis Mountbatten was killed off the coast of Ireland in a boat explosion; the Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility.

2007 Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty in Richmond, Va., to a federal dogfighting charge.

2008 Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was nominated for president by the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

[Kestra]

On Aug. 28, 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0828.html#article)

On Aug. 28, 1828, Leo Tolstoy, the Russian author considered one of history's greatest novelists was born. Following his death on Nov. 7, 1910, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0828.html)

1609 English sea explorer Henry Hudson reached present-day Delaware Bay.

1828 Novelist Leo Tolstoy was born near Tula, Russia.

1922 The first radio commercial aired on WEAF in New York City.

1955 Emmett Till, an African-American teenager from Chicago, was abducted from his uncle's home in Money, Miss., by two white men after he was accused of whistling at a white woman. He was found murdered three days later.

1968 Police and anti-war demonstrators clashed in the streets of Chicago as the Democratic National Convention nominated Hubert H. Humphrey for president.

1981 John W. Hinckley Jr. pleaded innocent to charges of attempting to kill President Ronald Reagan.

1996 Democrats nominated President Bill Clinton for a second term at their national convention in Chicago.

1996 Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana were divorced after 15 years of marriage.

2005 New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered everyone in the city to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Katrina.

2008 Barack Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination with a speech at Invesco Field in Denver.

[Kestra]

On Sept. 6, 1901, President William B. McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0906.html#article)

On Sept. 6, 1860, Jane Addams, the famed American social worker, reform activist and proponent of world peace, was born. Following her death on May 21, 1935, her obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0906.html)

1620 - The Pilgrims left on the Mayflower from Plymouth, England to settle in the New World.

1766 - John Dalton was born. The teacher/physicist formulated the atomic theory.

1819 - Thomas Blanchard patented a machine called the lathe.

1837 - The Oberlin Collegiate Institute of Ohio went co-educational.

1860 - Jane Addams was born. She was the founder of Hull House in Chicago and was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

1876 - The Southern Pacific rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco was completed.

1888 - Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was born. He owned the Chicago Merchandise Mart and made his fortune in real estate, liquor and movies.

1899 - Carnation processed its first can of evaporated milk.

1901 - U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded (he died eight days later) by Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz, an American anarchist, was executed the following October.

1909 - Robert Peary, American explorer, sent word that he had reached the North Pole. He had reached his goal five months earlier.

1939 - South Africa declared war on Germany.

1941 - Jews in German-occupied areas were ordered to wear the Star of David with the word "Jew" inscribed. The order only applied to Jews over the age of 6.

1943 - The youngest player to appear in an American League baseball game was pitcher Carl Scheib of the Philadelphia Athletics. Scheib was 16 years, eight months and five days old.

1944 - During World War II, the British government relaxed blackout restrictions and suspended compulsory training for the Home Guard.

1948 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was crowned.

1952 - In Montreal, Canadian television began broadcasting.

1959 - The first Barbie Doll was sold by Mattel Toy Corporation.

1966 - In Cape Town, South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd was stabbed to death by a deranged page during a parliamentary session.

1970 - Palestinian guerrillas seized control of three jetliners. After the crews and passengers were evacuated the jets were blown up while on the ground in Jordan.

1972 - Rick DeMont lost the gold medal he received in a 400-meter swimming event because a banned drug was found in his system during routine drug testing.

1972 - The Summer Olympics resumed in Munich, West Germany, a day after the deadly hostage crisis that took the lives of 11 Israelis and five Arab abductors.

1975 - Martina Navratilova requested political asylum while in New York for the U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) Open Tennis Tournament.

1978 - James Wickwire and Louis Reichardt reached the top of the world's second largest mountain, Pakistan's K-2. They were the first Americans to reach the summit.

1983 - The Soviet Union admitted to the shooting down of Korean Air Lines flight 007. They said the pilots were not aware that their target was a civilian aircraft.

1985 - 31 people were killed when a Midwest Express Airlines DC-9 crashed just after takeoff in Milwaukee.

1986 - 22 worshipers were killed in a synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey. The people were attacked with machine guns and grenades. The gunmen eventually took their own lives.

1990 - Iraq warned that anyone trying to flee the country without permission would be put in prison for life.

1991 - The State Council of the Soviet Union recognized the independence of the Baltic states.

1991 - The name St. Petersburg was restored to Russia's second largest city. The city was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. The name has been changed to Petrograd (1914) and to Leningrad (1924).

1992 - A 35-year old man died ten weeks after receiving a transplanted baboon liver.

1993 - Renault of France and Volvo of Sweden announced they were merging. Volvo eventually canceled the deal the following December.

1995 - Los Angeles police detective Mark Fuhrman invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at the O.J. Simpson trial.

1995 - U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) Senator Bob Packwood was expelled by the Senate Ethics Committee.

1995 - Cal Ripken played his 2,131st consecutive game setting a new record. Lou Gehrig previously held the record.

1996 - Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles hit his 500th career home run during a game against the Detroit Tigers. He was only the third person to have at least 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

1997 - More than 2 million people watched the funeral service of Princess Diana that was held at Westminster Abbey.

2000 - The U.N. Millennium Summit began in New York. It was the largest gathering of world leaders in history with more than 150 present.

2001 - The U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) Justice Department announced that it was seeking a lesser antitrust penalty and would not attempt to break up Microsoft.

2001 - Ebay Inc. was found not liable for copyright infringement because bootleg copies of a Charles Manson documentary had been sold on the site.

2002 - In New York, the U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) Congress convened at Federal Hall for a rare special session. The session was held in New York to express the nation's mourning for the loss on September 11, 2001 and unity in the war against terrorism.

2002 - At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the exhibition "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery" went on view. The exhibit contained over 400 objects

[Kestra]

On Sept. 8, 1974, President Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former President Nixon.
Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0908.html#article)

On Sept. 8, 1900, Claude Pepper, the American politician and champion of aid to the elderly, was born. Following his death on May 30, 1989, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0908.html)

1620 - The Pilgrims left on the Mayflower from Plymouth, England to settle in the New World.

1766 - John Dalton was born. The teacher/physicist formulated the atomic theory.

1819 - Thomas Blanchard patented a machine called the lathe.

1837 - The Oberlin Collegiate Institute of Ohio went co-educational.

1860 - Jane Addams was born. She was the founder of Hull House in Chicago and was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

1876 - The Southern Pacific rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco was completed.

1888 - Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was born. He owned the Chicago Merchandise Mart and made his fortune in real estate, liquor and movies.

1899 - Carnation processed its first can of evaporated milk.

1901 - U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded (he died eight days later) by Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz, an American anarchist, was executed the following October.

1909 - Robert Peary, American explorer, sent word that he had reached the North Pole. He had reached his goal five months earlier.

1939 - South Africa declared war on Germany.

1941 - Jews in German-occupied areas were ordered to wear the Star of David with the word "Jew" inscribed. The order only applied to Jews over the age of 6.

1943 - The youngest player to appear in an American League baseball game was pitcher Carl Scheib of the Philadelphia Athletics. Scheib was 16 years, eight months and five days old.

1944 - During World War II, the British government relaxed blackout restrictions and suspended compulsory training for the Home Guard.

1948 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was crowned.

1952 - In Montreal, Canadian television began broadcasting.

1959 - The first Barbie Doll was sold by Mattel Toy Corporation.
:buxom:

1966 The TV series "Star Trek" premiered on NBC.
To Boldly Go...

1966 - In Cape Town, South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd was stabbed to death by a deranged page during a parliamentary session.

1970 - Palestinian guerrillas seized control of three jetliners. After the crews and passengers were evacuated the jets were blown up while on the ground in Jordan.

1972 - Rick DeMont lost the gold medal he received in a 400-meter swimming event because a banned drug was found in his system during routine drug testing.

1972 - The Summer Olympics resumed in Munich, West Germany, a day after the deadly hostage crisis that took the lives of 11 Israelis and five Arab abductors.

1975 - Martina Navratilova requested political asylum while in New York for the U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) Open Tennis Tournament.

1978 - James Wickwire and Louis Reichardt reached the top of the world's second largest mountain, Pakistan's K-2. They were the first Americans to reach the summit.

1983 - The Soviet Union admitted to the shooting down of Korean Air Lines flight 007. They said the pilots were not aware that their target was a civilian aircraft.

1985 - 31 people were killed when a Midwest Express Airlines DC-9 crashed just after takeoff in Milwaukee.

1986 - 22 worshipers were killed in a synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey. The people were attacked with machine guns and grenades. The gunmen eventually took their own lives.

1990 - Iraq warned that anyone trying to flee the country without permission would be put in prison for life.

1991 - The State Council of the Soviet Union recognized the independence of the Baltic states.

1991 - The name St. Petersburg was restored to Russia's second largest city. The city was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. The name has been changed to Petrograd (1914) and to Leningrad (1924).

1992 - A 35-year old man died ten weeks after receiving a transplanted baboon liver.

1993 - Renault of France and Volvo of Sweden announced they were merging. Volvo eventually canceled the deal the following December.

1995 - Los Angeles police detective Mark Fuhrman invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at the O.J. Simpson trial.

1995 - U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) Senator Bob Packwood was expelled by the Senate Ethics Committee.

1995 - Cal Ripken played his 2,131st consecutive game setting a new record. Lou Gehrig previously held the record.

1996 - Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles hit his 500th career home run during a game against the Detroit Tigers. He was only the third person to have at least 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

1997 - More than 2 million people watched the funeral service of Princess Diana that was held at Westminster Abbey.

2000 - The U.N. Millennium Summit began in New York. It was the largest gathering of world leaders in history with more than 150 present.

2001 - The U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) Justice Department announced that it was seeking a lesser antitrust penalty and would not attempt to break up Microsoft.

2001 - Ebay Inc. was found not liable for copyright infringement because bootleg copies of a Charles Manson documentary had been sold on the site.

2002 - In New York, the U.S. (http://www.on-this-day.com/us) Congress convened at Federal Hall for a rare special session. The session was held in New York to express the nation's mourning for the loss on September 11, 2001 and unity in the war against terrorism.

2002 - At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the exhibition "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery" went on view. The exhibit contained over 400 objects

[Kestra]

On Sept. 10, 1919, New York City welcomed home Gen. John J. Pershing and 25,000 soldiers who had served in the United States 1st Division during World War I. Go to article » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0910.html#article)

On Sept. 10, 1934, Roger Maris, the professional baseball player who held the record for home runs in a single season from 1961 to 1998, was born. Following his death on Dec. 14, 1985, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » (http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0910.html)

1608 John Smith was elected president of the Jamestown colony council in Virginia.

1813 Oliver H. Perry sent the message, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours," after an American naval force defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.

1846 Elias Howe of Spencer, Mass., received a patent for the sewing machine.

1919 New York City welcomed home Gen. John J. Pershing and 25,000 soldiers who had served in the U.S. 1st Division during World War I.

1924 A judge in Chicago sentenced Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb to life in prison for the murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks - a "thrill killing" that had shocked the nation.

1935 Sen. Huey P. Long, the "Kingfish" of Louisiana politics, died two days after being shot in Baton Rouge.

1948 American-born Mildred Gillars, the Nazi wartime radio broadcaster known as "Axis Sally," was indicted in Washington, D.C., for treason.

1955 "Gunsmoke" premiered on CBS. Mr. Dillan! :zombie: Mr. Dillan!

1963 Twenty black students entered public schools in Birmingham, Tuskegee and Mobile, Ala., following a standoff between federal authorities and Gov. George C. Wallace.

1977 A convicted murderer became the last person to be executed by the guillotine in France. i'll bet gov. Perry wishes he had one of those.

1988 Steffi Graf of West Germany achieved tennis' Grand Slam - winning all four major tournaments in a calendar year - by taking the U.S. Open women's title.

2000 The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats" closed after 7,485 performances over nearly 18 years as the longest-running show in Broadway history.

2000 NBC's "The West Wing" won a record nine Emmy awards, including best drama series.

2002 Switzerland became the 190th member of the United Nations.

2003 Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, 46, was stabbed in a Stockholm department store; she died the next day.