Today in History

Today in History

1227 – The Mongol conqueror Ghengis Khan died.

1587 – Virginia Dare became the first child to be born on American soil of English parents. The colony that is now Roanoke Island, NC, mysteriously vanished.

1735 – The 'Evening Post' of Boston, MA, was published for the first time.

1840 – The American Society of Dental Surgeons was founded in New York City, NY.

1846 – Gen. Stephen W. Kearney and his U.S. forces captured Santa Fe, NM.

1894 – The Bureau of Immigration was established by the U.S. Congress.

1914 – The 'Proclamation of Neutrality' was issued by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. It was aimed at keeping the U.S. out of World War I.

1916 – Abraham Lincoln's birthplace was made into a national shrine.

1919 – The 'Anti-Cigarette League of America' was formed in Chicago IL.

1920 – Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Amendment guaranteed the right of all American women to vote.

1937 – The first FM radio construction permit was issued in Boston, MA. The station went on the air two years later.

1938 – The Thousand Islands Bridge was dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bridge connects the U.S. and Canada.

1940 – Canada and the U.S. established a joint defense plan against the possible enemy attacks during World War II.

1958 – Vladimir Nabokov's novel 'Lolita' was published.

1963 – James Meredith graduated from the University of Mississippi. He was the first black man to accomplish this feat.

1966 – The first pictures of earth taken from moon orbit were sent back to the U.S.

1980 – George Brett (Kansas City Royal) had his batting average reach the .400 mark.

1981 – Herschel Walker of the University of Georgia took out an insurance policy with Lloyd’s of London. The all-American was insured for one million dollars.

1982 – The volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped the 100-million level for the first time at 132.69 million shares traded.

1982 – The longest baseball game played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL, went 21 innings before the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cubs 2-1.

1987 – Earl Campbell announced his retirement from the National Football League (NFL).

1990 – The first shots were fired by the U.S. in the Persian Gulf Crisis when a U.S. frigate fired rounds across the bow of an Iraqi oil tanker.

1991 – An unsuccessful coup was attempted in against President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. The Soviet hard-liners were responsible. Gorbechev and his family were effectively imprisoned for three days while vacationing in Crimea.

1992 – Larry Bird, after 13 years with the Boston Celtics, announced his retirement.

1997 – Beth Ann Hogan became the first coed in the Virginia Military Institute's 158-year history.

1997 – Patrick Swayze received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1998 – Mrs. Field's Original Cookies announced that they would acquire the Great American Cookie Co.

2004 – Donald Trump unveiled his board game (TRUMP the Game) where players bid on real estate, buy big ticket items and make billion-dollar business deals.

Born

1774 Meriwether Lewis, American explorer who led the Corps of Discovery with William Clark.

1792 Lord John Russell, Prime Minister of England from 1846 to 1852 and 1865 to 1866.

1807 Charles F. Adams, U.S. diplomat and public official whose father was John Quincy Adams.

1918 Elsa Morante, Italian writer (History: ANovel).

1922 Shelly Winters, actress who won an Academy Award for The Diary of Anne Frank.

1923 Jimmy Witherspoon, blues singer.

1932 Luc Montagnier, virologist who discovered the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

1933 Roman Polanski, Polish film director best known for Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown.

1934 Roberto Clemente, outfielder for Pittsburgh Pirates, first Latin American enshrined in National Baseball Hall of Fame; died in plane crash while delivering aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua, Dec. 31,

1972.

1936 Robert Redford, actor (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, The Great Gatsby).

1937 William George Rushton, London, actor, author, cartoonist; co-founder of Private Eye satire magazine.

History