TODAY IN HISTORY
On this day in:
1735 – John Adams, the second President of the United States, was born in Braintree, MA. His son became the sixth President of the U.S.
1817 – The independent government of Venezuela was established by Simon Bolivar.
1831 – Escaped slave Nat Turner was apprehended in Southampton County, VA, several weeks after leading the bloodiest slave uprising in American history.
1875 – The constitution of Missouri was ratified by popular vote.
1893 – The U.S. Senate gave final approval to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890.
1894 – The time clock was patented by Daniel M. Cooper of Rochester, NY.
1938 – Orson Welles’ “The War of the Worlds” aired on CBS radio. The belief that the realistic radio dramatization was a live news event about a Martian invasion caused panic among listeners.
1943 – In Moscow, a declaration was signed by the Governments of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and China called for an early establishment of an international organization to maintain peace and security. The goal was supported on December 1, 1943, at a meeting in Teheran.
1944 – Martha Graham’s ballet “Appalachian Spring” premiered at the Library of Congress.
1945 – The U.S. government announced the end of shoe rationing.
1953 – General George C. Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1961 – The Soviet Union tested a hydrogen bomb with a force of approximately 58 megatons.
1961 – The Soviet Party Congress unanimously approved an order to remove Joseph Stalin’s body from Lenin’s tomb.
1972 – U.S. President Richard Nixon approved legislation to increase Social Security spending by $5.3 billion.
1972 – In Illinois, 45 people were killed when two trains collided on Chicago’s south side.
1975 – Prince Juan Carlos assumed power in Spain as dictator Francisco Franco was near death.
1975 – The New York Daily News ran the headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” The headline came a day after U.S. President Gerald R. Ford said he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City.
1982 – Portugal’s constitution was revised for the first time since it was ratified on April 25, 1976.
1984 – In Poland, police found the body of kidnapped pro-Solidarity priest Father Jerry Popieluszko. His death was blamed on four security officers.
1989 – Mitsubishi Estate Company announced it would buy 51 percent of Rockefeller Group Inc. of NewYork.
1993 – Martin Fettman, America’s first veterinarian in space, performed the world’s first animal dissections in space, while aboard the space shuttle Columbia.
1993 – The United Nations deadline concerning ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide passed with country’s military still in control.
1995 – Federalist prevailed over separatists in Quebec in a referendum concerning secession from the federation of Canada.
1997 – The play revival “The Cherry Orchard” opened.
1998 – The terrorist who hijacked a Turkish Airlines plane and the 39 people on board was killed when anti- terrorist squads raided the plane.
