Today in History

Today in History

1807 – Former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge. Two weeks earlier Burr had been found innocent of treason.

1812 – Moscow was set on fire by Russians after Napoleon Bonaparte's troops invaded.

1814 – Francis Scott Key wrote the 'Star-Spangled Banner,' a poem originally known as 'Defense of Fort McHenry,' after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry, MD, during the War of 1812. The song became the official U.S. national anthem on March 3,

1931.

1847 – U.S. forces took control of Mexico City under the leadership of General Winfield Scott.

1866 – George K. Anderson patented the typewriter ribbon.

1899 – In New York City, Henry Bliss became the first automobile fatality.

1901 – U.S. President William McKinley died of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, at age 42, succeeded him.

1915 – Carl G. Muench received a patent for Insulit, the first sound-absorbing material to be used in buildings.

1938 – The VS-300 made its first flight. The craft was based on the helicopter technology patented by Igor Sikorsky.

1940 – The Selective Service Act was passed by the U.S. Congress providing the first peacetime draft in the United States.

1948 – In New York, a groundbreaking ceremony took place at the site of the United Nations' world headquarters.

1959 – Luna II, a Soviet space probe, became the first man-made object on the moon when it crashed on the surface.

1960 – The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded. The core members were Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.

1963 – Mary Ann Fischer gave birth to America's first surviving quintuplets.

1965 – 'My Mother The Car' premiered on NBC TV. The series was canceled after only a few weeks after the debut.

1972 – 'The Waltons' premiered on CBS-TV.

1975 – Pope Paul VI declared Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton the first U.S.-born saint.

1978 – 'Mork & Mindy' premiered on ABC-TV.

1983 – The U.S. House of Representatives voted 416-0 in a resolution condemning the Soviet Union for the shooting down of a Korean jet on September 1.

1984 – Joe Kittinger became the first person to fly a balloon solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

1987 – Tony Magnuson cleared 9.5 feet above the top of the U-ramp and set a new skateboard high jump record.

1989 – Joseph T. Wesbecker shot and killed eight people and wounded twelve others at a printing plant in Louisville, KY. Wesbecker, 47 years old, was on disability for mental illness. He took his own life after the incident.

1994 – It was announced that the season was over for the National Baseball League on the 34th day of the players strike. The final days of the regular season were canceled.

1998 – Jaime Jarrin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1998 – Israel announced that they had successfully tested its Arrow-2 missile defense system. The system successfully destroyed a simulated target.

1999 – Disney World closed down for the first time in its 28-year history. The closure was due to Hurricane Floyd heading for Florida.

Disney movies, music and books

1999 – It was announced that 'US' magazine would change from monthly to weekly and change its name to 'USWeekly.'

2001 – Nintendo released the GameCube home video game console in Japan.

2001 – The FBI released the names of the 19 suspected hijackers that had taken part in the September 11 terror attacks on the U.S.

2009 – Greyhound UK began operations as an hourly service between London and Portsmouth or Southampton.

2015 – In Livingston, LA, and Hanford, WA, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors detected gravitational waves for the first time. The news was reported on February 11, 2016.

History