Today in History

Today in History

0096 – Vespasian, a Roman Army leader, was hailed as a Roman Emperor by the Egyptian legions.

1543 – England and Scotland signed the peace of Greenwich.

1596 – An English fleet under the Earl of Essex, Lord Howard of Effingham and Francis Vere captured and sacked Cadiz, Spain.

1690 – The French defeated the forces of the Grand Alliance at Fleurus in the Netherlands.

1798 – Napoleon Bonaparte took Alexandria, Egypt.

1845 – Uniform postal rates went into effect throughout the United States. The Act of Congress was passed on March 3, 1845.

1847 – In New York City, the U.S. Post Office issued its first adhesive stamps. The two stamps available were

a 5-cent Benjamin Franklin and a 10-cent George Washington.

1862 – The U.S. Congress established the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

1863 – During the U.S. Civil War, the first day's fighting at Gettysburg began.

1867 – Canada became an independent dominion.

1874 – The Philadelphia Zoological Society zoo opened as the first zoo in the United States.

1876 – Montenegro declared war on the Turks.

1893 – The first bicycle race track in America to be made out of wood was opened in San Francisco, CA.

1897 – Three years after the first issue of 'Billboard Advertising' was published, the publication was renamed, 'The Billboard'.

1898 – During the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt and his 'Rough Riders' waged a victorious assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba.

1905 – The USDA Forest Service was created within the Department of Agriculture. The agency was given the mission to sustain healthy, diverse, and productive forests and grasslands for present and future generations.

1909 – Thomas Edison began commercially manufacturing his new 'A' type alkaline storage batteries.

1916 – The massive Allied offensive known as the Battle of the Somme began in France. The battle was the first to use tanks.

1934 – The Federal Communications Commission replaced the Federal Radio Commission as the regulator of broadcasting in the United States.

1940 – In Washington, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was opened to traffic. The bridge collapsed during a wind storm on November 7, 1940.

1941 – Bulova Watch Company sponsored the first TV commercial in New York City, NY.

1942 – German troops captured Sevestpol, Crimea, in the Soviet Union.

1943 – The U.S. Government began automatically withholding federal income tax from paychecks.

1945 – New York established the New York State Commission Against Discrimination to prevent discrimination in employment because of race, creed or natural origin. It was the first such agency in the U.S.

1946 – U.S. President Harry Truman signed Public Law

476 that incorporated the Civil Air Patrol as a benevolent, nonprofit organization. The Civil Air Patrol was created on December 1, 1941.

1946 – The U.S. exploded a 20-kiloton atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

1948 – The price of a subway ride in New York City was increased from 5 cents to 10.

1950 – American ground troops arrived in South Korea to stem the tide of the advancing North Korean army.

1951 – Bob Feller set a major league baseball record as he pitched his third no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians.

1960 – Somalia gained its independence from Britain through the unification of Somaliland with Italian Somalia.

1961 – British troops landed in Kuwait to aid against Iraqi threats.

History