Today in History

History

1653 – Oliver Cromwell became lord protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.

1773 – Nearly 350 chests of tea were dumped into Boston Harbor off of British ships by Colonial patriots. The patriots were disguised as Indians.

The act was to protest taxation without representation and the monopoly the government granted to the East India Company.

1809 – Napoleon Bonaparte was divorced from the Empress Josephine by an act of the French Senate.

1835 – In New York, 530 buildings were destroyed by fire.

1838 – The Zulu chief Dingaan was defeated by a small force of Boers at Blood River celebrated in South Africa as ‘Dingaan’s Day’.

1850 – The first immigrant ship, the Charlotte Jane, arrived at Lyttleton, New Zealand.

1901 – “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” by Beatrix Potter, was printed for the first time.

1903 – Women ushers were employed for the first time at the Majestic Theatre in New York City.

1905 – Sime Silverman published the first issue of “Variety”.

1912 – The first postage stamp to depict an airplane was issued was a 20-cent parcel-post stamp.

1940 – French Premier Petain arrested Pierre Laval after learning of a plan for Laval to seize power and set up a new government with German support.

1950 – U.S. President Truman proclaimed a national state of emergency in order to fight “Communist imperialism.” 1951 – NBC-TV debuted “Dragnet” in a special preview on “Chesterfield Sound Off Time”. The show began officially on January 3, 1952.

1960 – A United Air Lines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collided over New York City, killing

134 people.

1972 – The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to go unbeaten and untied in a 14-game regular season. The Dolphins went on to defeat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.

1973 – O.J. Simpson broke Jim Brown’s single- season rushing record in the NFL. Brown had rushed for 1,863 yards, while Simpson attained

2,003 yards.

1981 – The U.S. Congress restored the $122 minimum monthly social security benefit for current recipients.

1984 – The play “Diamonds” opened in New York City.

1985 – Reputed organized-crime chief Paul Castellano was shot to death outside a New York City restaurant.

1990 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a leftist priest, was elected president in Haiti’s first democratic elections.

1991 – The U.N. General Assembly rescinded its

1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism by a vote of 111-25.

1993 – The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for negotiations on a comprehensive test ban.

1995 – Many U.S. government functions were again closed as a temporary finance provision expired and the budget dispute between President Clinton and Republicans in Congress continued.