Today in History

Today in History

1792 – King Louis XVI was taken into custody by mobs during the French Revolution. He was executed the following January after being put on trial for treason.

1809 – Ecuador began its fight for independence from Spain.

1821 – Missouri became the 24th state to join the Union.

1846 – The Smithsonian Institution was chartered by the U.S. Congress. The 'Nation's Attic' was made possible by $500,000 given by scientist Joseph Smithson.

1859 – In Boston, MA, the first milk inspectors were appointed.

1869 – The motion picture projector was patented by O.B. Brown.

1881 – Thomas Edison's exhibit opened the Paris Electrical Exhibition.

1885 – The first electric streetcar, to be used commercially, was operated in Baltimore, MD, by Leo Daft.

1914 – Austria-Hungary invaded Russia.

1921 – Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio.

1927 – Mount Rushmore was formally dedicated. The individual faces of the presidents were dedicated later.

1944 – U.S. forces defeated the remaining Japanese resistance on Guam.

1945 – The day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan announced they would surrender. The only condition was that the status of Emperor Hirohito would remain unchanged.

1947 – William Odom completed an around-the-world flight. He set the solo record by completing the flight in 73 hours and 5 minutes.

1948 – On ABC, 'Candid Camera' made its TV debut. The original title was 'Candid Microphone.'

1949 – In the U.S., the National Military Establishment had its name changed to the Department of Defense.

1954 – Construction began on the St. Lawrence eaway.

1965 – In Austin, TX, a fire burned part of the 20th floor of the 27-story University of Texas main building. A collection that contained items once owned by escape artist Harry Houdini and circus magnate P. T. Barnum were damaged by smoke and water.

1973 – Arnold Palmer did not make the cut for the final two rounds of the PGA Golf Championship. It was the first time in his career.

1981 – Pete Rose hit a single and broke the National League all-time hit record with his 3,631 hit.

1988 – U.S. President Reagan signed a measure that provided $20,000 payments to Japanese-Americans who were interned by the U.S. government during World War II.

1993 – A massive deficit-reduction bill was signed into law by U.S. President Bill Clinton.

1994 – U.S. President Clinton claimed presidential immunity when he asked a federal judge to dismiss, at least for the time being, a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Corbin Jones.

1995 – Norma McCorvey, 'Jane Roe' of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, announced that she had joined the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.

1999 – Near an India-Pakistan border area an Indian fighter jet shot down a Pakistani naval aircraft. Sixteen people were killed.

2003 – Ekaterina Dmitriev and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko were married. Malenchenko was about 240 miles above the earth in the international space station. It was the first-ever marriage from space.

History