|
|
Post by LuLu on Apr 28, 2013 23:54:52 GMT -5
Today In History
On April 29, 1913,
Swedish-born engineer Gideon Sundback of Hoboken, N.J., received a U.S. patent for a "separable fastener" — later known as the zipper.
In 1429,
Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a French victory over the English.
In 1861,
the Maryland House of Delegates voted 53-13 against seceding from the Union. In Montgomery, Ala., President Jefferson Davis asked the Confederate Congress for the authority to...
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on Apr 29, 2013 23:16:38 GMT -5
Today in History
On April 30, 1973,
President Richard Nixon announced the resignations of top aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean,...
In 1789,
George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States.
In 1803,
the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 1, 2013 0:07:20 GMT -5
Today In History
On May 1, 1963,
James W. Whittaker became the first American to conquer Mount Everest as he and Sherpa guide Nawang Gombu reached the summit.
In 1707,
the Kingdom of Great Britain was created as a treaty merging England and Scotland took effect.
In 1786,
Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro" premiered in Vienna.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 2, 2013 0:01:56 GMT -5
Today in History
On May 2, 1963,
the Children's Crusade began in Birmingham, Ala., as more than 1,000 black schoolchildren skipped classes and marched downtown to protest racial segregation; hundreds were...
In 1519,
artist Leonardo da Vinci died at Cloux, France, at age 67.
In 1670,
the Hudson's Bay Co. was chartered by England's King Charles II.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 3, 2013 0:01:27 GMT -5
Today In History
On May 3, 1973,
Chicago's 110-story Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower) was topped out after two years of construction, becoming the world's tallest building for the next 25 years.
In 1791,
Poland adopted a national constitution.
In 1802,
Washington, D.C., was incorporated as a city.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 3, 2013 23:57:39 GMT -5
Today In History
On May 4, 1776,
Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
In 1626,
Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.
In 1862,
after a monthlong siege, Union forces prepared to unleash a massive bombardment against Confederate troops at Yorktown, Va., only to discover the Confederates had slipped away...
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 4, 2013 23:17:57 GMT -5
Today In History
On May 5, 1813,
Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, considered the father of existentialism, was born in Copenhagen.
In 1821,
Napoleon Bonaparte, 51, died in exile on the island of St. Helena.
In 1862,
Mexican troops defeated French occupying forces in the Battle of Puebla. (The Cinco de Mayo holiday commemorates Mexico's victory.)
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 5, 2013 23:42:10 GMT -5
Today In History
On May 6, 1863,
the Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia ended with a Confederate victory over Union forces.
In 1840,
Britain's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, officially went into circulation five days after its introduction.
In 1882,
President Chester Alan Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese immigrants from the U.S. for 10 years (Arthur had opposed an earlier version with a 20-year...
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 6, 2013 23:40:06 GMT -5
Today In History
On May 7, 1763,
Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa Indians, attempted to lead a sneak attack on British-held Fort Detroit, but was foiled because the British had been tipped off in advance. (The...
In 1789,
the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of President George Washington and his wife, Martha.
In 1824,
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, had its premiere in Vienna.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 7, 2013 23:54:19 GMT -5
Today in History
On May 8, 1945
President Harry S. Truman announced on radio that Nazi Germany's forces had surrendered, and that "the flags of freedom fly all over Europe."
In 1541
Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.
In 1794
Antoine Lavoisier (lah-vwahz-YAY'), the father of modern chemistry, was executed on the guillotine during France's Reign of Terror.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 8, 2013 23:46:23 GMT -5
Today in History
On May 9, 1754,
a political cartoon in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette depicted a snake cut into eight pieces, each section representing a part of the American colonies; the caption...
In 1712,
the Carolina Colony was officially divided into two entities: North Carolina and South Carolina.
In 1883,
Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset was born in Madrid.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 9, 2013 23:53:35 GMT -5
Today In History
On May 10, 1863,
during the Civil War, Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson died of pneumonia, a complication resulting from being hit by friendly fire eight days earlier during the...
In 1774,
Louis XVI acceded to the throne of France.
In 1775,
Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, along with Col. Benedict Arnold, captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, N.Y.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 10, 2013 23:56:58 GMT -5
Today in History
On May 11, 1973,
the espionage trial of Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo in the "Pentagon Papers" case came to an end as Judge William M. Byrne dismissed all charges, citing government misconduct.
In 1647
Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam to become governor of New Netherland.
In 1858,
Minnesota became the 32nd state of the Union.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 11, 2013 23:43:01 GMT -5
Today in History
On May 12, 1943,
during World War II, Axis forces in North Africa surrendered. The two-week Trident Conference, headed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston...
In 1780,
during the Revolutionary War, the besieged city of Charleston, S.C., surrendered to British forces.
In 1870,
an act creating the Canadian province of Manitoba was given royal assent, to take effect in July.
|
|
|
|
Post by LuLu on May 12, 2013 23:20:42 GMT -5
Today In History
1922 -
"Latin Lover" silent actor Rudolph Valentino (27) weds film costume and set designer Natacha Rambova (25) in Mexicali, Mexico
1950
Singer-Songwriter Stevie Wonder was born.
1637
Cardinal Richelieu of France creates the table knife
|
|
