Today in History

1569 – The Duke of Norfolk was imprisoned by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth for trying to marry Mary the Queen of Scots.

1800 – Spain ceded the territory of Louisiana back to France. Later the property would be purchased by the U.S. effectively doubling its size.

1880 – Thomas Edison began the commercial production of electric lamps at Edison Lamp Works in Menlo Park.

1885 – Special delivery mail service began in the United States. The first routes were in West Virginia.

1896 – Rural Free Delivery was established by the U.S.

Post Office.

1903 – The first modern World Series took place between the Boston Pilgrims and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1908 – The Model T automobile was introduced by Henry Ford. The purchase price of the car was $850.

1918 – Damascus was captured from the Turks during World War I by a force made up of British and Arab forces.

1933 – Babe Ruth made his final pitching appearance.

He pitched all nine innings and hit a home run in the 5th inning.

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

1938 – German forces enter Czechoslovakia and seized control of the Sudetenland. The Munich Pact had been signed two days before.

1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened as the first toll superhighway in the United States.

1943 – Naples was captured by the Allied forces during World War II.

1946 – The International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg sentenced 12 Nazi officials to death. Seven others were sentenced to prison terms and 3 were acquitted.

1946 – The first baseball play-off game for a league championship was played. The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-2.

1949 – Mao Tse-tung raised the first flag of the People’s Republic of China when the communist forces had defeated the Nationalists. The Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan.

1961 – Roger Maris (New York Yankees) hit his 61st home run of the season to beat Babe Ruth’s major league record of 60.

1962 – Johnny Carson began hosting the “Tonight” show on NBC-TV. He stayed with the show for 29 years. Jack Paar was the previous host.

1964 – The Free Speech Movement was started at the University of California at Berkeley.

1968 – “Night of the Living Dead” premiered in Pittsburgh, PA.

1971 – Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, FL.

Disney movies, music and books

1972 – The Chinese government approved friendly relations with the United States.

1979 – The United States handed control of the Canal Zone over to Panama.

1980 – Robert Redford became the first male to appear alone on the cover of “Ladies’ Home Journal.” He was the only male to achieve this in 97 years.

1982 – EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) Center opened in Florida. The concept was planned by Walt Disney.