DBKP Today in Weird History: February 23, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, LAST STANDS, POLITICS, MASS INOCULATION, FAKE SHEEP, WHO, RUMORS, IRONY, BUSY, SERIAL KILLERS, PERSECUTION, PATENTS, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, CANDY, LEASES, PROGRESS, QUICKIE, FASCISTS, PRO WRESTLING, JEWS, KIDNAPPED, SUSPENDED, GOLD, SUPERNOVA, SHORT PEOPLE, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

WAR!

1945 During World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, where they raised the American flag.

1847 The Battle of Buena Vista took place during the Mexican-American War. U.S. troops led by General Zachary Taylor fought Mexican General Santa Anna's forces, who ended up withdrawing.

1916 French artillery kills entire French 72nd division at Samogneux Verdun.

1942 Japanese sub fires on oil refinery in Ellwood CA.

1967 US troops begin largest offensive of Vietnam War.

TERRORISM

1969 Nayif Hawatimah forms Democratic People's Front for Liberation of Palestine.

1997 Ali Abu Kamal opens fire in Empire State Building & kills 1.

2007 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport became the first in the United States to begin testing new X-ray screening technology that can see through people's clothes.

DISASTER

1887 French/Italian Riviera struck by Earthquake; 2,000 die.

1980 Oil tanker explosion off Pilos, Greece, causes 37-million-gallon spill.

1998 Forty-two people were killed, some 2,600 homes and businesses damaged or destroyed, by tornadoes in central Florida.

2003 In West Warwick, R.I., relatives of the 100 victims of a deadly nightclub fire were allowed to walk up to the charred rubble to pray and say goodbye.

IRONY

1994 Stuart Berger doctor (Immune Power Diet), dies from obesity at 40.

LAST STANDS

1836 the siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, entire garrison eventually killed.

BUSY

1922 Henri Landru executed for having 11 wives, in France.

SHORT PEOPLE

1993 Gary Coleman wins $1,280,000 lawsuit against parents for high fees.

PROGRESS

1910 1st radio contest held (Philadelphia).

1936 1st rocket air mail flight, Greenwood Lake NY.

QUICKIE

1915 Nevada enforces convenient divorce law.

GOLD

1973 Gold goes up $10 overnight to record $95 an ounce in London.

WHO?

2007 Democrat Tom Vilsack abandoned his bid for the presidency.

LEASES

1903 Cuban state of Guantanamo leased to USA.

SUSPENDED

1971 George Harrison is fined & his driving license is suspended for 1 year as a result of several speeding tickets and a dispute with the police.

SPORTS

1983 USFL New Jersey Generals sign Heisman winner Herschel Walker (3 years-$5 million).

1985 Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight throws a chair during a game.

POPULAR

1861 By popular referendum, Texas becomes 7th state to secede from US.

SUPERNOVA

1987 Supernova 1987A in LMC 1st seen; 1st naked-eye supernova since 1604

SERIAL KILLERS

1906 Johann Hoch US murderer, executed.

PRO WRESTLING

1939 Lou Thesz beats E Marshall in St Louis, to become wrestling champion.

PATENTS

1874 Major Walter Winfield patents game called "sphairistike" (lawn tennis)

RUMORS

1970 Rumors spread that females born on this day were better looking and more vivacious.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1886 London Times publishes world's 1st classified ad.

JEWS

1947 General Eisenhower opens drive to raise $170 million in aid for European Jews.

CANDY

1896 Tootsie Roll introduced by Leo Hirshfield.

KIDNAPPED

1958 5-time world driving champion Juan Fangio kidnapped by Cuban rebels.

BURNED

155 Polycarp disciple of Apostle John, arrested & burned at stake.

FASCISTS

1919 Benito Mussolini founds the Fascist party of Italy.

POLITICS

1861 President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take office, following word of an assassination plot in Baltimore.

1870 Mississippi was readmitted to the Union.

PERSECUTION

303 Emperor Diocletian orders general persecution of Christians.

MASS INOCULATION

1954 The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh.

COUP

1981 an attempted coup began in Spain as 200 members of the Civil Guard invaded the Parliament, taking lawmakers hostage. (However, the attempt collapsed 18 hours later.)

FAKE SHEEP

1997 Scientists in Scotland announced they had succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named Dolly. (Dolly, however, was later put down after a short life marred by premature aging and disease.)

JURIES

2007 A Mississippi grand jury refused to bring any new charges in the 1955 slaying of Emmett Till, a black teenager who was beaten and shot after whistling at a white woman, declining to indict the woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, for manslaughter.

BORN

1633 English diarist Samuel Pepys (The Great Fire of London) was born in London.

1865 Barney Dreyfuss baseball owner (Pittsburgh Pirates).

BIRTHDAYS

Country songwriter Bob Willis is 74. Actor Peter Fonda is 68. Author John Sandford is 64. Singer-musician Johnny Winter is 64. Country-rock musician Rusty Young is 62. Actress Patricia Richardson is 57. Rock musician Brad Whitford (Aerosmith) is 56. Singer Howard Jones is 53. Rock musician Michael Wilton (Queensryche) is 46. Country singer Dusty Drake is 44. Actress Kristin Davis is 43. Tennis player Helena Sukova is 43. Actor Marc Price is 40. Actress Niecy Nash is 38. Rock musician Jeff Beres (Sister Hazel) is 37. Country singer Steve Holy is 36. Rock musician Lasse Johansson (The Cardigans) is 35. Actress Dakota Fanning is 14.

DEATH

1848 The 6th president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, died in Washington, D.C., at age 80.

1884 Tambo Tambo Australian aboriginal/US circus attraction, dies at 23.


February 23, the 54th day of 2008. There are 312 days left in the year.


compiled by Mondoreb
Source:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: February 9, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTERS, TIME, POLITICS, COMMIES, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, SCIENCE, WEATHER, BURNED, RESISTANCE, EXECUTED, SERIAL KILLERS, SIMIANS, PATENTS, VEGETABLES, SPORTS, NANNY STATE, NAZIS, ESCAPES, PROGRESS, SUICIDE, RESTROOMS, RECORDS, OPIUM KINGS, SIMPSONS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH



COMMIES

1950 in a speech in Wheeling, W.Va., Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., charged the State Department was riddled with Communists.

WAR!

1674 English re-conquer New York from Netherlands.

1775 English Parliament declares Massachusetts colony is in rebellion.

1943 the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.

1998 The Pentagon said it was sending up to 3,000 U.S. ground troops to the Persian Gulf region to discourage what one official called "any creative thinking" by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

2003 President Bush told congressional Republicans at a policy conference that Iraq had fooled the world for more than a decade about its banned weapons and the United Nations was now facing "a moment of truth" in disarming Saddam Hussein. The leaders of Germany and Russia renewed their calls for a peaceful resolution in Iraq, restating their opposition to any U.S.-led war to disarm and oust Saddam Hussein.

TERRORISM

2007 Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Munich, Germany, that serial numbers and other markings on bombs suggested that Iranians were linked to deadly explosives used by Iraqi militants.

DISASTER

1913 10 Day Tragedy of Mexico-City; 3,000 die.

1971 Quake in San Fernando Valley kills 65 & causes over $½ billion damage.

2001 A U.S. Navy submarine collided with a Japanese fishing boat off the Hawaiian coast, killing nine men and boys aboard the boat.

RECORDS

1992 Fastest yodeler-22 tones/15 falsetto in 1 second by Thomas School of Germany.

VEGETABLES

1891 1st shipment of asparagus arrives in San Francisco from Sacramento.

OPIUM KINGS

1993 Army of opium king Khun Sa kills 60 in NE Burma.

RESTROOMS

1987 New York Stock Exchange installs ladies restroom in the Exchange Luncheon Club.

SIMPSONS

1997 Fox cartoon series "Simpsons" airs 167th episode the longest-running animated series in cartoon history.

PATENTS

1863 Fire extinguisher patented by Alanson Crane.

NAMES

1942 Philadelphia "Phillies" change nickname (temporarily) to "Phils", thereby saving three letters (l.i.e.) for the war effort.

ESCAPES

1947 Bank robber Willie Sutton escapes jail in Philadelphia PA.

PROGRESS

1969 World's largest airplane, Boeing 747, makes 1st commercial flight.

SUICIDE

1987 Former national security adviser Robert McFarlane attempts suicide.

LABOR

1943 FDR orders minimal 48 hour work week in war industry.

1955 US federations of trade unions merge into AFL/CIO.

NAZIS

1941 Nazi collaborators destroy pro-Jewish café Alcazar Amsterdam (Alcazar refused to hang "No Entry for Jews" signs in front of cafe).

1943 Nazis arrest Dutch sons of rich parents.

NANNY STATE

1909 1st federal legislation prohibiting narcotics (opium).

SPORTS

1895 1st intercollegiate basketball game (Minnesota Agricultural beats Hamline, 9-3).

1895 Volleyball invented by W G Morgan in Massachusetts.

TIME

1942 daylight-saving "War Time" went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.

BURNED

1583 Jeseph Sanalbo Jewish convert in Rome, burned at stake.

THEORIES

1926 Teaching theory of evolution forbidden in Atlanta GA schools.

EXECUTED

1943 ... Reydons wife of General Reydons, shot to death by resistance.

RESISTANCE

1945 George J L Maduro resistance fighter (Madurodam), dies in Dachau.

SERIAL KILLERS

1978 Kimberly Leach killed by Ted Bundy in Lake City FL at age 12.

SIMIANS

1977 Gaus, an orangutan who lived to be 59 dies.

POLITICS

1825 The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

1861 Tennessee votes against secession.

1861 Jefferson Davis was elected the provisional president of the Confederate States of America.

1867 Nebraska becomes 37th US state.

WEATHER

1870 The U.S. Weather Bureau was established.

1922 Snow on Mauna Loa, Hawaii.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1953 "The Adventures of Superman" TV series premieres in syndication.

1964 The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on CBS.

1971 Probably 1st gay theme TV episode - All in the Family.

SCIENCE

1971 The crew of Apollo 14 returned to Earth after man's third landing on the moon.

BORN

1773 The ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison, was born in Charles City County, Va.

BIRTHDAYS

Actress Kathryn Grayson is 86. Television journalist Roger Mudd is 80. Actress Janet Suzman is 69. Actress-politician Sheila James Kuehl ("The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis") is 67. Singer-songwriter Carole King is 66. Actor Joe Pesci is 65. Singer Barbara Lewis is 65. Author Alice Walker is 64. Actress Mia Farrow is 63. Singer Joe Ely is 61. Actress Judith Light is 59. Rhythm-and-blues musician Dennis "DT" Thomas (Kool & the Gang) is 57. Actor Charles Shaughnessy is 53. Country singer Travis Tritt is 45. Actress Julie Warner is 43. Country singer Danni Leigh is 38. Actor Jason George is 36. Actor-producer Charlie Day is 32. Actress Ziyi Zhang is 29. Actor David Gallagher is 23. Actress Marina Malota is 20. Actress Camille Winbush ("The Bernie Mac Show") is 18.

DEATH

1984 Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov died at age 69, less than 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was succeeded by Konstantin U. Chernenko.

2002 Princess Margaret sister of Queen Elizabeth II of England, dies from a stroke at 71.

2007 British actor Ian Richardson, who portrayed immoral politician Francis Urquhart in the satirical TV drama "House of Cards," died in London at age 72.

February 9, the 40th day of 2008. There are 326 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
image: gov.archives
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP's Today in Weird History: February 1, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTERS, CLINTONS, OOPS, SHIPWRECK, MOUNTIES, EXPOSED, SERIAL KILLERS, PIRATES, FEDERAL PEN, PATENTS, PEDOPHILES, MUSIC, HOMOS, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, NGOs, UNIONS, HOLLYWOOD, JEWS, CIVIL RIGHTS, POLITICS, ASSASSINATION, LABOR, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH



WAR!

1968 during the Vietnam War, South Vietnam's police chief executed a Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head in a scene captured by Associated Press photographer Eddie Adams and NBC News.

1861 Texas voted to secede from the Union.

1865 General Sherman's march through South Carolina begins.

1943 German occupiers make Vidkun Quisling Norwegian premier.

2007 The departing top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that improving security in Baghdad would take fewer than half as many extra troops as President Bush had chosen to commit.

TERRORISM

1979 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini received a tumultuous welcome in Tehran as he ended nearly 15 years of exile.

2007 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched anniversary celebrations for Iran's Islamic Revolution with a defiant promise to push ahead with the country's controversial nuclear program.

DISASTERS

1814 Volcano Mayon on Luzon Philippines erupts killing 1,200.

1953 Flooding in Netherlands, kills 1,835.

1967 Severe brush fires in Tasmania destroy $11 million & 60 lives.

1970 Stalled commuter train rammed by express in Argentina, 139 die.

1977 Heavy blizzard in New England claims 100 lives.

1991 34 people were killed when a USAir jetliner crashed atop a commuter plane on a runway at Los Angeles International Airport.

1991 Afghanistan/Pakistan hit by earthquake, 1,200 die.

2003 At least 50 people were killed in a Zimbabwe train collision.

2003 The space shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry, killing all seven of its crew members: Commander Rick Husband; pilot William McCool; Michael Anderson; Kalpana Chawla; David Brown; Laurel Clark; and Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli in space.

CLINTONS

1998 In a round of Sunday talk show appearances, Monica Lewinsky's attorney, William Ginsburg, predicted that the controversy over whether the former White House intern had had an affair with President Bill Clinton would "go away" and that the president would survive unscathed.

OOPS!

1966 Nicholas Piantanida sets balloon flight record & dies in descent.

SHIPWRECK

1709 British sailor Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being marooned on a desert island (Fernandez Island) for 5 years, his story is the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe".

MOUNTIES

1920 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police came into existence.

EXPOSED

1969 Jim Morrison arrested for exposing himself in concert.

SERIAL KILLERS

1974 Lynda Ann Healy 1st Bundy murder victim, abducted in Seattle.

PIRATES!

1662 Dutch garrison on Formosa surrenders for Chinese pirates.

FEDERAL PEN

1906 1st federal penitentiary building completed, Leavenworth KS.

PATENTS

1793 Patent granted Ralph Hodgson, New York, for oiled silk & linen.

PEDOPHILE

1978 Director Roman Polanski skips bail & fled to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.

MUSIC

1949 RCA releases 1st single record ever (45 rpm).

HOMOS

1975 Otis Francis Tabler is 1st open homosexual to get security clearance to work for the Defense Department.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1953 "General Electric Theater" premieres on CBS TV; Reagan later hosts.

NGOs

1946 Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie was chosen to be the first secretary-general of the United Nations.

UNIONS

1958 The United Arab Republic, a union of Egypt and Syria, was established. (The union ended in 1961.)

HOLLYWOOD

1887 Harvey Wilcox of Kansas subdivides 120 acres he owned in Southern California & starts selling it off as a real estate development (Hollywood).

JEWS

1860 1st rabbi to open House of Representatives, Morris Raphall of New York NY.

1948 Palestine Post building in Jerusalem bombed.

CIVIL RIGHTS

1865 JS Rock, 1st black lawyer to practice in Supreme Court, admitted to bar.

1871 Jefferson Long of Georgia is 1st black to make an official speech in House of Representatives (opposing leniency to former Confederates).

1960 Four black college students began a sit-in protest at a lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., where they had been refused service.

1965 Martin Luther King Jr & 700 demonstrators arrested in Selma AL.

POLITICS

1968 Richard M. Nixon announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

ASSASSINATIONS

1908 Carlos I King of Portugal (1889-1908), assassinated by mob at 44.

LABOR

1867 Bricklayers start working 8-hour days.

BORN

1901 Clark Gable Cadiz OH, actor (Gone With the Wind).

BIRTHDAYS

Actor Stuart Whitman is 80. Singer Don Everly is 71. Actor Garrett Morris is 71. Singer Ray Sawyer (Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show) is 71. Actor Sherman Hemsley is 70. Bluegrass singer Del McCoury is 69. Jazz musician Joe Sample is 69. Comedian Terry Jones is 66. Actor-writer-producer Bill Mumy is 54. Rock musician Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 54. Rock singer Exene Cervenka is 52. Princess Stephanie of Monaco is 43. Country musician Dwayne Dupuy (Ricochet) is 43. Actress Sherilyn Fenn is 43. Lisa Marie Presley is 40. Comedian and actor Pauly Shore is 40. Actor Brian Krause is 39. Jazz musician Joshua Redman is 39. Rock musician Patrick Wilson (Weezer) is 39. Actor Michael C. Hall is 37. Rock musician Ron Welty is 37. Rapper Big Boi (Outkast) is 33. Country singer Julie Roberts is 29. Actor Jarrett Lennon is 26.

DEATH

1650 Rene Descartes philosopher "I think therefore I am", stops thinking.

1851 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley novelist (Frankenstein), dies at 53.

1966 Buster Keaton [Joseph Francis], US comic (General), dies at 69.

1988 Heather O'Rourke "Poltergeist" star dies of intestinal ailment at 12.

2003 Former Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng died in Modesto, Calif., at age 84.

2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti died in Monaco at age 95.

February 1, the 32nd day of 2008. There are 334 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
image: moorestevie
Source:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Today in History: January 18, 2008

WAR!, DISASTERS, EXPLORERS, UFOs, KAISERS, EXHIBITIONS, DRUGS, JEWS, RATIONING, LOTTERIES, PROGRESS, SERIAL KILLERS, CIVIL RIGHTS, RUNAWAY PROSECUTORS, PRO WRESTLING, MUSIC, POPES, SPORTS, DEATH PENALTY, FINANCE, DIVORCE, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH



EXPLORERS

On Jan. 18, 1912, English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had beaten them to it. (Scott and his party perished during the return trip.)

WAR!

1862 Confederate Territory of Arizona is formed.

1919 the Paris Peace Conference, held to negotiate peace treaties ending World War I, opened in Versailles, France.

1943 During World War II, the Soviets announced they had broken through the long Nazi siege of Leningrad (it was another year before the siege was fully lifted).

2003 Top U.N. officials warned Iraq it was running out of time to cooperate and avoid war. Protesters nationwide and overseas demonstrated in opposition to possible war in Iraq.

DISASTERS

1915 Train crashes at Colima-Guadalajara Mexico, about 600 die.

1947 Small river steamer sank on Yangtze River, kills 400.

1988 Airliner crashes in SW China, killing all 108 on board.

EXPLORERS

1778, English navigator Capt. James Cook reached the Hawaiian Islands, which he dubbed the "Sandwich Islands."

UFOs

1644 Perplexed Pilgrims in Boston reported America's 1st UFO sighting.

KAISERS

1871 William I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor in Versailles, France.

EXHIBITIONS

1733 1st polar bear exhibited in America (Boston).

DRUGS

1990 Washington DC, Mayor Marion Barry arrested in drug enforcement sting.

JEWS

1943 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto begin resistance of Nazis.

RATIONING

1943 A wartime ban on the sale of pre-sliced bread in the U.S. — aimed at reducing bakeries' demand for metal replacement parts — went into effect.

LOTTERIES

1986 New York Lotto pays $30.5 million to one winner (#s are 19-20-27-34-41-46).

PROGRESS

1911 1st shipboard landing of a plane (Tanforan Park to USS Pennsylvania).




SERIAL KILLERS

In 1967, Albert DeSalvo, who claimed to be the "Boston Strangler," was convicted in Cambridge, Mass., of armed robbery, assault and sex offenses. (Sentenced to life, DeSalvo was killed in prison in 1973.)

CIVIL RIGHTS

1949 1st US Congressional standing committee headed by Negro (W Dawson).

1966 Robert C Weaver, confirmed as 1st black cabinet member (HUD).

RUNAWAY PROSECUTORS

1990 A jury in Los Angeles acquitted former preschool operators Raymond Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, of 52 child molestation charges.

PRO WRESTLING

1971 Ivan Koloff beats Bruno Sammartino in NY, to become WWF champ.

MUSIC

1980 Pink Floyd's "The Wall" hits #1.

POPES

1998 Pope John Paul II named 22 new cardinals, including Archbishop Francis Eugene George of Chicago and James Francis Stafford, the former archbishop of Denver.

SPORTS

1951 NFL rules tackles, guards & centers ineligible for forward pass.

DEATH PENALTY

2007 Truck driver Tyrone Williams was spared the death penalty and sentenced in Houston to life in prison for his role in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants crammed in a sweltering tractor-trailer.

FINANCE

1980 Gold reaches $1,000 an ounce.

1991 Eastern Airlines goes out of business after 62 years.

DIVORCE

1996 Lisa Marie Presley filed for divorce from Michael Jackson in NY.

BIRTHDAYS

Movie director John Boorman is 75. Singer-songwriter Bobby Goldsboro is 67. Comedian-singer-musician Brett Hudson is 55. Actor-director Kevin Costner is 53. Country singer Mark Collie is 52. Actress Jane Horrocks is 44. Comedian Dave Attell is 43. Actor Jesse L. Martin ("Law & Order") is 39. Rapper DJ Quik is 38. Rock singer Jonathan Davis (Korn) is 37. Singer Christian Burns (BBMak) is 35. Actor Derek Richardson is 32. Actor Jason Segel is 28. Actress Samantha Mumba is 25.

DEATH

1862 the 10th president of the United States, John Tyler, died in Richmond, Va., at age 71.

1936 author Rudyard Kipling died in Burwash, England.

1991 Nita Krebs actor (Munchkin-Wizard of Oz), dies of heart attack at 85

1996 Minnesota Fats [Rudolf Wanderone Jr], billiard hustler, dies at 82

1997 Paul Tsongas (Senator-D-MA), dies at 55

January 18, the 18th day of 2008. There are 348 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
[images:
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Today in History: January 15, 2008

WAR!, DISASTERS, QUEENS, ICE CREAM, FREEDOM, RECORDS, GEEZERS, EDUCATION, POLITICS, LANDMARKS, MURDERS, SPORTS, SERIAL KILLERS, SCANDAL, FINANCE, SUPREME COURT, EXECUTIONS, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, POPES, KINGS, RIOTS, PRO WRESTLING, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH and MORE


1870 Donkey 1st used as symbol of Democratic Party, in Harper's Weekly

WAR!

1865 Fort Fisher, NC falls to Union troops

1940 German U-Boot torpedoes Dutch trade ship Arendskerk (Eagle's Church)
1942 FDR asks commissioner to continue baseball during WWII
1942 Cubs, drop plans to install lights at Wrigley due to WWII
1943 Japanese driven off Guadalcanal
1944 European Advisory Commission decides to divide Germany
1944 General Eisenhower arrives in England
1944 Vught Concentration Camp puts 74 women in 1 cell, 10 die
1945 Red Army frees Crakow-Plaszow concentration camp
1949 Mao's Red army conquers Ten-tsin
1955 USSR ends state of war with German Federal Republic
1973, President Nixon announced the suspension of all U.S. offensive action in North Vietnam, citing progress in peace negotiations.

DISASTER

1919 2 million gallons of molasses "Tidal wave" Boston MA, drowning 21

1934 8.4 earthquake in India/Nepal, 10,700 die

1951 "Cloud of Death" rolls down Mount Lamington, New Guinea kills 3-5,000

1993 7.5 earthquake strikes northern Japan, 2 die

ICE CREAM

1935 300 Dutch ice cream salesmen protest against Italian competition

QUEENS

1559 England's Queen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

1994 Queen Elizabeth falls off her horse & breaks her left wrist

FREEDOM

1777 the people of New Connecticut declared their independence. (The tiny republic later became the state of Vermont.)

GEEZERS

1998 NASA announces John Glenn, 76, may fly in space again

EDUCATION

1844, the University of Notre Dame received its charter from the state of Indiana.

POLITICS

1942, Jawaharlal Nehru was named to succeed Mohandas K. Gandhi as head of India's Congress Party.

RECORDS

1983 Thom Syles keeps a life saver intact in his mouth for over 7 hours

LANDMARKS

1943, work was completed on the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.

MURDERS

1947 The mutilated remains of Elizabeth Short, the 22-year-old aspiring actress now known as the "Black Dahlia," were found in a vacant Los Angeles lot.

SPORTS

1934 Babe Ruth signs a 1934 contract for $35,000 ($17,000 cut)

1967 The Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League 35-10 in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, retroactively known as Super Bowl I.

SERIAL KILLERS

1978 Two students at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman, were murdered in their sorority house. (Ted Bundy was later convicted of the crime, and executed.)

SCANDAL

1992 Cleaning woman finds intimate photos of Sarah Ferguson with US man

1998 Henry Cisneros' ex-mistress, Linda Medlar Jones, pleaded to misleading federal authorities investigating the former U.S. housing secretary's payment of alleged hush money to her. (Jones served nearly 18 months in prison; she was later pardoned by President Clinton.) Labor Secretary Alexis Herman denied allegations that she had sold her influence in the White House. (Herman was cleared in 2000 by Independent Counsel Ralph I. Lancaster.)

FINANCE

2003 White House budget director Mitchell Daniels predicted federal deficits would balloon to the $200- to $300 billion range over the next two years.

SUPREME COURT

1951 Supreme Court rule "clear & present danger" of incitement to riot is not protected speech & can be a cause for arrest

2003 Mickey Mouse and The Walt Disney Co. scored a big victory as the Supreme Court upheld longer copyright protections for cartoon characters, songs, books and other creations worth billions of dollars.

EXECUTIONS

2008 The Iraqi government hanged two of Saddam Hussein's henchmen, including a half-brother (Barzan Ibrahim) who was accidentally decapitated by the noose.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1973 Gene Shalit joins the Today Show panel

1974 "Happy Days" begins an 11 year run on ABC

1977 Coneheads debut on "Saturday Night Live"

1981 "Hill Street Blues" premieres on NBC-TV

1988 Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder makes remarks about black athletes

1993 Soap opera "Santa Barbara" final show on NBC TV

POPES

708 Sisinnius begins his reign as Catholic Pope (dies 20 days later)

KINGS

1535 Henry VIII declares himself head of English Church

RIOTS

1754 Riot at burial of doelist Daniel Raap in Amsterdam

FASHION

1797 1st top hat worn (John Etherington of London)

PROGRESS

1831 1st US-built locomotive to pull a passenger train makes 1st run; Mr & Mrs Pierson of Charleston SC make 1st US railroad honeymoon trip

1863 1st US newspaper printed on wood-pulp paper, Boston Morning Journal

1936 1st all-glass windowless structure in US completed, Toledo, Ohio

SCIENCE

1833 HMS Beagle anchors at Goeree Tierra del Fuego

PATENTS

1861 Steam elevator patented by Elisha Otis

1907 3-element vacuum tube patented by Dr Lee de Forest

INVENTIONS

1907 Gold dental inlays 1st described by William Taggart, who invented them

JEWS

1943 1st transport of Jews from Amsterdam to concentration camp Vught

1973 Pope Paul VI has an audience with Golda Meir at Vatican

1988 Arab uprising in Israel begins

RATIONING

1945 Every Amsterdammer gets 3 kg sugar beets

CIVIL RIGHTS

1950 4,000 attend National Emergency Civil Rights Conference in Washington DC

MUSIC

1961 Supremes signed with Motown Records

1965 Rock group The Who releases 1st album "I Can't Explain"

LABOR

1964 Teamsters negotiate 1st national labor contract

WATERGATE

1973 4 Watergate burglars plead guilty in federal court

1974 Expert panel reports 18½-m gap in Watergate tape, 5 separate erasures

ASSASSINATION

1976 Sara Jane Moore sentenced to life for attempting to shoot President Ford

PRO WRESTLING

1989 Big John Studd wins WWF's 1st Royal Rumble

BIRTHDAYS

Actress Margaret O'Brien is 71. Singer Don Van Vliet (aka "Captain Beefheart") is 67. Actress Andrea Martin is 61. Actor-director Mario Van Peebles is 51. Actor James Nesbitt is 43. Singer Lisa Lisa (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam) is 41. Actor Chad Lowe is 40. Actress Regina King is 37. Actor Eddie Cahill is 30. Rapper/reggaeton artist Pitbull is 27.

DEATH

1998 Amos "Junior" Wells blues harpist, dies at 63

January 15, the 15th day of 2008. There are 351 days remaining in the year.


compiled by Mondoreb
[image: publicdomainclipart]
Sources:
*Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Today in History: December 31, 2007

WAR!, DISASTER, ECONOMICS, SMOKING, NANNY STATE, POLITICS, DICTATORS, IMMIGRATION, COMPUTERS, SCIENCE, SERIAL KILLERS, COUP, CULTURE, 2nd AMENDMENT, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, ROCK AND ROLL, BORN, DEATH



In 1991, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) last day of existence.

WAR!

In 406, 80,000 Vandels attack the Rhine at Mainz.

In 1775, Battle of Québec; Americans unable to take British stronghold.

In 1862, Union ironclad ship "Monitor" sinks off Cape Hatteras NC.

In 1946, President Truman officially proclaims end of WWII.

DISASTER

In 1986 Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 97

ECONOMICS

In 1600, British East India Company chartered.

In 1776, Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70¢ a day for carpenters, 42¢ for tailors.

In 1896, 25th auto built in US.

In 1961, Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $12 billion.

In 1974, Gold legal in US, Franklin Mint strikes Panamá's Gold 100 balboa coin.

In 1991, Dow Jones closes at record high 3168.83.

SMOKING



In 1910, US tobacco industry produced 9 billion cigarettes in 1910.
In 1930, US tobacco industry produced 123 billion cigarettes in 1930.

POLITICS

In 1857, Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada.

In 1862, President Lincoln signs act admitting West Virginia to the Union.

In 1897, Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898).

In 1945. Ratification of UN Charter completed.

In 1984, US leaves UNESCO.

In 1978, Taiwan's final day of diplomatic relations with the US.

In 1999, Control of Panamá Canal reverts to Panamá.

DICTATORS

In 1958, Cuban dictator Batista flees from advancing rebels led by Fidel Castro.

IMMIGRATION

In 1890, Ellis Island (New York NY) opens as a US immigration depot.

COMPUTERS

In 1997, Intel cuts price of Pentium II-233 MHz from $401 to $268.

In 1997, Microsoft buys Hotmail E-mail service.

SCIENCE

In 1879, Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp.

In 1911, Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize.

In 1923, 1st transatlantic radio broadcast of a voice, Pittsburgh-Manchester.

In 1924, Edwin Hubble announces existence of distant galactic systems.

In 1958, International Geophyscial Year (IGY) ends.

In 1968, 1st supersonic airliner flown (Russian Tupolev TU-144).

SERIAL KILLERS

In 1977, Ted Bundy escapes from jail in Colorado.

CULTURE

In 1907, for the 1st time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the new year.

1921 Last San Francisco firehorses retired.

In 1923, BBC begins using Big Ben chime ID.

In 1935, Charles Darrow patents Monopoly.

In 1990, The Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting.

In 1995, Cartoonist Bill Watterson ends his "Calvin & Hobbes" comic strip.

2nd AMENDMENT

In 1984, NYC subway gunman Bernhard Goetz surrenders to police in New Hampshire.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

In 1981, CNN Headline News debuts.

COUP

In 1961, failed coup by Syrian group in Lebanon.

NANNY STATE

1938 Dr R N Harger's "drunkometer", 1st breath test, introduced in Indiana

ROCK AND ROLL

In 1963, Jerry Garcia & Bob Weir played music together for the 1st time.

In 1966, Monkee's "I'm a Believer" hits #1 & stays there for 7 weeks.

DEMOGRAPHY

1997 More Swedes died than were born in 1997, 1st time since 1809

BORN

1880 George C Marshall Uniontown PA, authored Marshall Plan (Nobel 1953)
1892 Jason Robards Sr Hillsdale MI, actor (Acapulco)
1908 Simon Wiesenthal Polish/Austrian nazi hunter (Wiesenthal Center)
1921 Rocky Graziano New York NY, boxer (Middleweight champion)/actor (Miami Undercover)
1942 Andy Summers Blackpool England, rock guitarist (Police-Roxanne)
1943 Ben Kingsley Scarborough England, actor (Gandhi, Betrayal, Maurice)
1943 John Denver [Henry John Deutschendorf Jr] Roswell NM, singer/songwriter/actor (Rocky Mountain High, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Oh God!)
1946 Patti Smith Chicago IL, singer (Radio Ethiopia)
1947 Burton Cummings rock guitarist (Guess Who-These Eyes)
1947 Tim Matheson California, actor (Animal House, Fletch, Up the Creek)
1948 Donna Summer Boston MA, singer (Love to Love You Baby, On the Radio)
1959 Val [Edward] Kilmer actor (The Saint, Top Gun, The Doors)
1959 Bebe Neuwirth Princeton NJ, actress (Lilith-Cheers, Damn Yankees)
1970 Bryon Russell NBA forward (Utah Jazz)

DEATH

0192 Lucius Aurelius Commodus Emperor of Rome (180-192), murdered at 31
1384 John Wycliffe English religious reformer/bible translator, dies
1862 Joshua Woodrow Sill US Union Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 31
1972 Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirate slugger, dies in a plane crash at 38
1980 Marshall McLuhan Canadian cultural philosopher, dies at 69
1985 Rick Nelson singer/actor (Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet), dies at 45
1990 George Allen US football coach (Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins), dies
1995 Calvin/Hobbes (comic strip), dies
1996 61 law enforcement officers killed by felons in US this year
1997 76 law enforcement officers killed by felons in US this year

HOLIDAYS

Austria : Imperial Ball
Benin : Feed Yourself Day
Congo : National Day
Japan : Omisoka Day/Grand Purification
Scotland : Hogmanay Day
World : New Year's Eve/Watch Night

December 31, 2007, the last day of the year. There are no days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History





Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Today in History: December 18, 2007

WAR!, TERRORISM, CULTURE, SCANDAL, DEATH PENALTY, CIVIL RIGHTS, SCIENCE, NANNY STATE, POLITICS, IMMIGRATION, SERIAL KILLERS

WAR!

In 1940, Adolf Hitler signed a secret directive ordering preparations for a Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. (Operation Barbarossa was launched in June 1941.)

1916 - During World War I, after 10 months of fighting the French defeated the Germans in the Battle of Verdun.

In 1944, in a pair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the wartime relocation of Japanese-Americans (Korematsu v. United States), but also said undeniably loyal Americans of Japanese ancestry could not continue to be detained (Ex parte Endo).

1950 - NATO foreign ministers approved plans to defend Western Europe, including the use of nuclear weapons, if necessary.

In 1972, the United States began heavy bombing of North Vietnamese targets during the Vietnam War. (The bombardment ended 11 days later.)

1998 - Russia recalled its U.S. ambassador in protest of the U.S. attacks on Iraq.


POLITICS

1787 - New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

TERRORISM

1973 - The IRA launched its Christmas bombing campaign in London.

CIVIL RIGHTS

In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect.

IMMIGRATION

1912 - The U.S. Congress prohibited the immigration of illiterate persons.

SCANDAL

1987 - Ivan F. Boesky was sentenced to three years in prison for plotting Wall Street's biggest insider-trading scandal. He only served about two years of the sentence.

1998 - The U.S. House of Representatives began the debate on the four articles of impeachment concerning U.S. President Bill Clinton. It was only the second time in U.S. history that process had begun.

DISCOVERY!

In 1620, passengers from the Mayflower came ashore near Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts

CULTURE

In 1957, the World War II epic "The Bridge on the River Kwai" opened in New York.

NANNY STATE

1917 - The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress. It banned the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol.

2001 - Mark Oliver Gebel, a Ringling Bros. Circus star, went on trial for animal abuse. The charges stemmed from an incident with an elephant that was marching too slowly into a circus performance on August 25, 2001. He was acquitted on December 21, 2001.

DEATH PENALTY

1969 - Britain's Parliament abolished the death penalty for murder.

1998 - South Carolina proceeded with the U.S.' 500th execution since capital punishment was restored.

SERIAL KILLERS

2001 - In Seattle, WA, Gary Leon Ridgeway pled innocent to the charge of murder for four of the Green River serial killings. He had been arrested on November 30, 2001.

SCIENCE

1912 - The discovery of the Piltdown Man in East Sussex was announced. It was proved to be a hoax in 1953.

DEATH

In 1980, former Soviet Premier Alexei N. Kosygin died at age 76.


Dec. 18, the 352nd day of 2007. There are 13 days left in the year.


compiled by Mondoreb
[image:centuryofflight.freeola]
Sources: Today in History
Today in History: December 17, 2007



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.