On This Day

August 10, 2012

1792 - King Louis XVI was taken into custody by mobs during the French Revolution. He was executed the following January after being put on trial for treason.

1809 - Ecuador began its fight for independence from Spain.

1821 - Missouri became the 24th state to join the Union.

1846 - The Smithsonian Institution was chartered by the U.S. Congress. The "Nation's Attic" was made possible by $500,000 given by scientist Joseph Smithson.

1859 - In Boston, MA, the first milk inspectors were appointed.

1869 - The motion picture projector was patented by O.B. Brown.

1881 - Thomas Edison's exhibit opened the Paris Electrical Exhibition.

1885 - The first electric streetcar, to be used commercially, was operated in Baltimore, MD, by Leo Daft.

1914 - Austria-Hungary invaded Russia.

1921 - Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio.

1927 - Mount Rushmore was formally dedicated. The individual faces of the presidents were dedicated later.

1944 - U.S. forces defeated the remaining Japanese resistance on Guam.

1945 - The day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan announced they would surrender. The only condition was that the status of Emperor Hirohito would remain unchanged.

1947 - William Odom completed an around-the-world flight. He set the solo record by completing the flight in 73 hours and 5 minutes.

1948 - On ABC, "Candid Camera" made its TV debut. The original title was "Candid Microphone."

1949 - In the U.S., the National Military Establishment had its name changed to the Department of Defense.

1954 - Construction began on the St. Lawrence Seaway.

1965 - In Austin, TX, a fire burned part of the 20th floor of the 27-story University of Texas main building. A collection that contained items once owned by escape artist Harry Houdini and circus magnate P. T. Barnum were damaged by smoke and water.

1973 - Arnold Palmer did not make the cut for the final two rounds of the PGA Golf Championship. It was the first time in his career.

1981 - Pete Rose hit a single and broke the National League all-time hit record with his 3,630 hit.

1988 - U.S. President Reagan signed a measure that provided $20,000 payments to Japanese-Americans who were interned by the U.S. government during World War II.

1993 - A massive deficit-reduction bill was signed into law by U.S. President Bill Clinton.

1994 - U.S. President Clinton claimed presidential immunity when he asked a federal judge to dismiss, at least for the time being, a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Corbin Jones.

1995 - Norma McCorvey, "Jane Roe" of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, announced that she had joined the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue.

1999 - Near an India-Pakistan border area an Indian fighter jet shot down a Pakistani naval aircraft. Sixteen people were killed.

2003 - Ekaterina Dmitriev and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko were married. Malenchenko was about 240 miles above the earth in the international space station. It was the first-ever marriage from space.

August 12, 2012

1676 - "King Phillip's War" came to an end with the killing of Indian chief King Phillip. The war between the Indians and the Europeans lasted for two years.

1851 - Isaac Singer was issued a patent on the double-headed sewing machine.

1865 - Disinfectant was used for the first time during surgery by Joseph Lister.

1867 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson sparked a move to impeach him when he defied Congress by suspending Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.

1877 - Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and made the first sound recording.

1879 - The first National Archery Association tournament took place in Chicago, IL.

1898 - Hawaii was annexed by the U.S. Hawaii was later given territorial status and was given Statehood in 1959.

1898 - The Spanish-American War was ended with the signing of the peace protocol. The U.S. acquired Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Hawaii was also annexed.

1915 - "Of Human Bondage", by William Somerset Maugham, was first published.

1918 - Regular airmail service began between Washington, DC, and New York City.

1937 - Red Skelton appeared on network radio for the first time on the "Rudy Vallee Show" on NBC.

1939 - "The Wizard of Oz" premiered in Oconomowoc, WI. Judy Garland became famous for the movie's song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The movie premiered in Hollywood on August 15th.

1944 - In France, Pierre Laval released Edouard Herriot.

1953 - The Soviet Union secretly tested its first hydrogen bomb.

1960 - The balloon satellite Echo One was launched by the U.S. from Cape Canaveral, FL. It was the first communications satellite.

1962 - The Soviet Union launched Pavel Popovich into orbit. Popovich and Andrian Nikolayev, who was launch a day before, both landed on August 15.

1964 - Mickey Mantle set a major league baseball record when he hit home runs from both the left and ride sides of the plate in the same game.

1969 - The Boston Celtics were sold for $6 million. At the time it was the highest price paid for a pro basketball team.

1973 - jack Nicklaus won his 14th major golf title. The win broke the record that had been held by Bobby Jones for 50 years.

1977 - The space shuttle Enterprise passed its first solo flight test.

1981 - IBM unveiled its first PC.

1985 - A Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 crashed into a mountain killing 520 people.

1986 - It was announced by NASA that they had selected a new rocket design for the space shuttle. The move was made in an effort at correcting the flaws that were believed to have been responsible for the Challenger disaster.

1986 - Rod Carew became the first player in the history of the California Angels franchise to have his uniform (#29) retired.

1988 - "The Last Temptation of Christ" opened.

1992 - The U.S., Canada, and Mexico announced that the North American Free Trade Agreement had been created after 14 months of negotiations.

1993 - U.S. President Clinton lifted the ban on rehiring air traffic controllers that had been fired for going on strike in 1981.

1994 - Major league baseball players went on strike rather than allow team owners to limit their salaries. The strike lasted for 232 days. As a result, the World Series was wiped out for the first time in 90 years.

1998 - Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion as restitution to World War II Holocaust victims.

1999 - Hang Thu Thi Ngyuen shot an arrow from a bow with her feet on "Guinness World Records: Primetime" and hit a target that was 16 feet and 5 inches away

August 13, 2012

1521 - Present day Mexico City was captured by Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez from the Aztec Indians.

1704 - The Battle of Blenheim was fought during the War of the Spanish Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.

1792 - French revolutionaries took the entire French royal family and imprisoned them.

1784 - The United States Legislature met for the final time in Annapolis, MD.

1846 - The American Flag was raised for the first time in Los Angeles, CA.

1867 - "Under the Gaslight", by Augustin Daly, opened in New York City, NY.

1876 - The Reciprocity Treaty between the U.S. and Hawaii was ratified.

1889 - A patent for a coin-operated telephone was issued to William Gray.

1907 - The first taxicab started on the streets of New York City.

1912 - The first experimental radio license was issued to St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia, PA.

1931 - The first community hospital in the U.S. was dedicated in Elk City, OK.

1932 - Adolf Hitler refused to take the post of vice-chancellor of Germany. He said he was going to hold out "for all or nothing."

1934 - Al Capp's comic strip "L'il Abner" made its debut in newspapers.

1935 - The first roller derby match was held at the Coliseum in Chicago, IL.

1942 - Walt Disney's "Bambi" opened at Radio City music Hall in New York City, NY.

1959 - In New York, ground was broken on the $320 million Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

1960 - "Echo I," a balloon satellite, allowed the first two-way telephone conversation by satellite to take place.

1961 - Berlin was divided by a barbed wire fence to halt the flight of refugees. Two days later work on the Berlin Wall began.

1979 - Lou Brock (St. Louis Cardinals) got his 3,000th career hit.

1985 - The engagement of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenagger was announced.

1986 - United States Football League standout Herschel Walker signed to play with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.

1990 - Iraq transferred $3-4 billion in bullion, currency, and other goods seized from Kuwait to Baghdad.

1992 - Woody Allen began legal action to win custody of his three children. A judge ruled against Allen in 1993.

1994 - It was reported that aspirin not only helps reduce the risk of heart disease, but also helps prevent colon cancer.

August 15, 2012

1057 - Macbeth, the King of Scotland, was killed by the son of King Duncan.

1848 - The dental chair was patented by M. Waldo Hanchett.

1877 - Thomas Edison wrote to the president of the Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh, PA. The letter stated that the word, "hello" would be a more appropriate greeting than "ahoy" when answering the telephone.

1911 - The product Crisco was introduced by Procter & Gamble Company.

1914 - The Panama Canal was officially opened to commercial traffic as an American ship sailed from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

1918 - Diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Russia were severed.

1935 - Will Rogers and Wiley Post were killed in an airplane crash in near Point Barrow, AK.

1939 - "The Wizard of Oz" premiered in Hollywood, CA. Judy Garland became famous for the movie's song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

1943 - Because of his special talent to use food scraps in both unusual and appetizing recipes, the U.S. War Department awarded Sgt. Edward Dzuba the Legion of Merit.

1944 - The Allied forces of World War II landed in southern France.

1945 - The Allies proclaimed V-J Day a day after Japan agreed to surrender unconditionally.

1947 - India became independent from Britain and was divided into the countries of India and Pakistan. India had been under British about 200 years.

1948 - The Republic of Korea was proclaimed.

1948 - CBS-TV inaugurated the first nightly news broadcast with anchorman Douglas Edwards.

1949 - In San Francisco, a stunt leap off the Golden Gate Bridge was performed for the first time.

1961 - East German workers began construction of the Berlin Wall.

1970 - Mrs. Pat Palinkas became the first woman to ‘play’ in a pro football game when she held the ball for the Orlando, FL, Panthers.

1971 - U.S. President Nixon announced a 90-day freeze on wages, rents and prices.

1983 - Six-month-old Lisa Harap of Queens Village, NY became the youngest identifiable living person to appear on a cover of "TIME" magazine.

1986 - The U.S. Senate approved a package of economic sanctions against South Africa. The ban included the importing of steel, uranium, textiles, coal, and produce from South Africa.

1992 - Vietnam blamed Hollywood for creating the "myth" concerning the issue of U.S. servicemen still being held prisoner in Indochina.

1994 - The U.S. Social Security Administration became an independent government agency. It had been a part of the Department of Health and Human Services agency.

1997 - The U.S. Justice Department decided not to prosecute FBI officials in connection with the deadly 1992 Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho. The investigation dealt with an alleged cover-up.

2000 - A group of 100 people from North Korea arrived in South Korea for temporary reunions with relatives they had not seen for half a century. Also, a group of 100 South Koreans visited the North.

2001 - Astronomers announced the discovery of the first solar system outside our own. They had discovered two planets orbiting a star in the Big Dipper.

August 16, 2012

1777 - During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bennington took place. New England's minutemen routed the British regulars.

1812 - Detroit fell to Indian and British troops in the War of 1812.

1829 - The "Siamese twins," Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston, MA. They had come to the Western world to be exhibited. They were 18 years old and joined at the waist.

1858 - A telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to U.S. President Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.

1861 - U.S. President Lincoln prohibited the Union states from trading with the states of the Confederacy.

1923 - Carnegie Steel Corporation put into place the eight-hour workday for its employees.

1930 - The first British Empire Games were held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event is now called the British Commonwealth Games.

1937 - Harvard University became the first school to have graduate courses in traffic engineering and administration.

1954 - Sports Illustrated was published for the first time. It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses.

1954 - jack Paar replaced Walter Cronkite as host of "The Morning Show" on CBS-TV.

1960 - Cyprus was granted independence by Britain.

1960 - The free-fall world record was set by Joseph Kittinger. He fell more than 16 miles (about 84,000 feet) before opening his parachute over New Mexico.

1978 - Xerox was fined for excluding Smith-Corona Mfg. from the copier market. The fine was $25.6 million.

1984 - The U.S. Jaycees voted to admit women to full membership in the organization.

1995 - Voters in Bermuda rejected independence from Great Britain.

1999 - In Russia, Vladimir V. Putin was confirmed as prime minister by the lower house of parliament.

August 17, 2012

1790 - The capital city of the U.S. moved to Philadelphia from New York City.

1807 - Robert Fulton's "North River Steam Boat" (known as the "Clermont") began heading up New York's Hudson River on its successful round-trip to Albany.

1815 - Napoleon began serving his exile when he arrived at the island of St. Helena.

1835 - Solyman Merrick patented the wrench.

1859 - A hot air balloon was used to carry mail for the first time. John Wise left Lafayette, IN, for New York City with 100 letters. He had to land after only 27 miles.

1863 - Federal batteries and ships bombarded Fort Sumter in Charleston, SC, harbor during the Civil War.

1894 - John Wadsworth of Louisville set a major league record when he gave up 28 base hits in a single game.

1896 - The Klondike gold rush was set off by George Carmack discovering gold on Rabbit Creek in Alaska.

1903 - Joseph Pulitzer donated a million dollars to Columbia University. This started the Pulitzer Prizes in his name.

1915 - Charles F. Kettering patented the electric, automobile self-starter.

1939 - The movie "Wizard of Oz" opened.

1943 - The Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina.

1945 - The nationalists of Indonesia declared their independence from the Netherlands.

1961 - The Communist East German government completed the construction of the Berlin Wall.

1973 - Lee Trevino got the first hole in one of his career at the U.S.I. Golf Classic, in Sutton, MA.

1977 - Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) reported that in one day the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland had surpassed the number for any other event in the company's history.

1978 - Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman became the first to land after a successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight. The voyage began in Presque Isle, ME and ended in Miserey, France.

1982 - The U.S. Senate approved an immigration bill that granted permanent resident status to illegal aliens who had arrived in the United States before 1977.

1985 - A year-long strike began when 1,400 Geo. A. Hormel and Co. meat packers walked off the job.

1987 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 2,700 for the first time.

1992 - Woody Allen admitted to being romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn. The girl was the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow, Allen's longtime companion.

1996 - A military cargo plane crashed in Wyoming killing eight crewmembers and a Secret Service employee. The plane was carrying gear for U.S. President Clinton.

1996 - Ross Perot was announced to be the Reform Party's presidential candidate. It was the party's first-ever candidate.

1998 - U.S. President Clinton admitted to having an improper relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

1998 - NationsBank and BankAmerica merge to create the largest U.S. bank.

1998 - Russia devalued the ruble.

2002 - In Santa Rosa, CA, the Charles M. Schulz Museum opened to the public.

August 21, 2012

1680 - The Pueblo Indians drove the Spanish out and took possession of Santa Fe, NM.

1831 - Nat Turner, a former slave, led a violent insurrection in Virginia. He was later executed.

1841 - A patent for venetian blinds was issued to John Hampton.

1878 - The American Bar Association was formed by a group of lawyers, judges and law professors in Saratoga, NY.

1888 - The adding machine was patented by William Burroughs.

1912 - Arthur R. Eldred became the first American boy to become an Eagle Scout. It is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America.

1923 - In Kalamazoo, Michigan, an ordinance was passed forbidding dancers from gazing into the eyes of their partner.

1929 - The Chicago Cardinals traveled out of town for training camp. They were the first professional football team to do this.

1943 - Japan evacuated the Aleutian island of Kiaska. Kiaska had been the last North American foothold held by the Japanese.

1945 - U.S. President Truman ended the Lend-Lease program that had shipped about $50 billion in aid to America's Allies during World War II.

1959 - Hawaii became the 50th state. U.S. President Eisenhower also issued the order for the 50 star flag.

1963 - In South Vietnam, martial law was declared. Army troops and police began to crackdown on the Buddhist anti-government protesters.

1971 - Laura Baugh, at the age of 16, won the United States Women's Amateur Golf tournament. She was the youngest winner in the history of the tournament.

1984 - Victoria Roche, a reserve outfielder, became the first girl to ever compete in a Little League World Series game.

1984 - Clint Eastwood was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1989 - Voyager 2, a U.S. space probe, got close to the Neptune moon called Triton.

1991 - The hard-line coup against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev ended. The uprising that led to the collapse was led by Russian federation President Boris Yeltsin.

1992 - NBC News fired Authur Kent two weeks after he refused an assignment to war-torn Croatia.

1993 - NASA lost contact with the Mars Observer spacecraft. The fate of the spacecraft was unknown. The mission cost $980 million.

1994 - Ernesto Zedillo won the Mexican presidential election.

1996 - The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was signed by U.S. President Clinton. The act made it easier to obtain and keep health insurance.

1997 - Hudson Foods Inc. closed a plant in Nebraska after it had recalled 25 million pounds of ground beef that was potentially contaminated with E. coli 01557:H7. It was the largest food recall in U.S. history.

1997 - Afghanistan suspended its embassy operations in the United States.

1997 - Cicely Tyson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1998 - Wesley Snipes received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2002 - In Pakistan, President General Pervez Musharraf unilaterally amended the Pakistani constitution. He extended his term in office and granted himself powers that included the right to dissolve parliament.

2003 - In Ghana, businessman Gyude Bryant was selected to oversee the two-year power-sharing accord between Liberia's rebels and the government. The accord was planned to guide the country out of 14 years of civil war.

August 22, 2012

"1923 - In Kalamazoo, Michigan, an ordinance was passed forbidding dancers from gazing into the eyes of their partner."

So, it is quite ok to look down & gaze at her boobs :clap:

August 22, 2012

1485 - The War of the Roses ended with the death of England's King Richard III. He was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field. His successor was Henry V II.

1567 - The "Council of Blood" was established by the Duke of Alba. This was the beginning of his reign of terror in the Netherlands.

1642 - The English Civil War began when Charles I called Parliament and its soldiers traitors.

1762 - Ann Franklin became the editor of the Mercury of Newport in Rhode Island. She was the first female editor of an American newspaper.

1770 - Australia was claimed under the British crown when Captain James Cook landed there.

1775 - The American colonies were proclaimed to be in a state of open rebellion by England's King George III.

1846 - The U.S. annexed New Mexico.

1851 - The schooner America outraced the Aurora off the English coast to win a trophy that became known as the America's Cup.

1865 - A patent for liquid soap was received by William Sheppard.

1902 - In Hartford, CT, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt became the first president of the United States to ride in an automobile.

1906 - The Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, NJ began to manufacture the Victrola. The hand-cranked unit, with horn cabinet, sold for $200.

1910 - Japan formally annexed Korea.

1911 - It was announced that Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" had been stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. The painting reappeared two years later in Italy.

1932 - The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) began its first TV broadcast in England.

1938 - Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared on the cover of "LIFE" magazine.

1941 - Nazi troops reached the outskirts of Leningrad during World War II.

1950 - Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to be accepted into a national competition.

1951 - 75,052 people watched the Harlem Globetrotters perform. It was the largest crowd to see a basketball game.

1959 - Stephen Rockefeller married Anne Marie Rasmussen. Anne had once been a maid for the powerful and wealthy Rockefeller family.

1968 - Pope Paul VI arrived in Bogota, Colombia, for the start of the first papal visit to Latin America.

1972 - Due to its racial policies, Rhodesia was asked to withdraw from the 20th Olympic Summer Games.

1973 - Henry Kissinger was named Secretary of State by U.S. President Nixon. Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year.

1984 - The last Volkswagen Rabbit rolled off the assembly line in New Stanton, PA.

1986 - Kerr-McGee Corp. agreed to pay the estate of the late Karen Silkwood $1.38 million to settle a 10-year-old nuclear contamination lawsuit.

1989 - Nolan Ryan became the first major league pitcher to strike out 5000 batters. (MLB)

1990 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush signed an order for calling reservists to aid in the build up of troops in the Persian Gulf.

1990 - The U.S. State Department announced that the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait would not be closed under President Saddam Hussein's demand.

1990 - Angry smokers blocked a street in Moscow to protest the summer-long cigarette shortage.

1991 - It was announced by Yugoslavia that a truce ordered on August 7th with Croatia had collapsed.

1991 - Mikhail S. Gorbachev returned to Moscow after the collapse of the hard-liners' coup. On the same day he purged the men that had tried to oust him.

1992 - In Rostock, Germany, neo-Nazi violence broke out against foreigners.

1996 - U.S. President Clinton signed legislation that ended guaranteed cash payments to the poor and demanded work from recipients.

1998 - "The Howard Stern Radio Show" premiered on CBS to about 70% of the U.S.

2004 - In Oslo, Norway, a version of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" and his work "Madonna" were stolen from the Munch Museum. This version of "The Scream," one of four different versions, was a tempera painting on board.

August 23, 2012

1838 - The first class graduated from Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, MA. It was one of the first colleges for women.

1839 - Hong Kong was taken by the British in a war with China.

1858 - "Ten Nights in a Barroom" opened in New York City at the National Theater. It was a melodrama about the evils of drinking.

1892 - The printed streetcar transfer was patented by John H. Stedman.

1902 - Fannie Merrit Farmer opened her cooking school, Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery, in Boston, MA.

1904 - Hard D. Weed patented the grip-tread tire chain for cars.

1914 - Tsingtao, China, was bombarded as Japan declared war on Germany in World War I.

1939 - Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty.

1944 - During World War II, Romanian prime minister Ion Antonescue was dismissed. Soon after the country would abandon the Axis and join the Allies.

1944 - Marseilles was captured by Allied troops during World War II.

1947 - Margaret Truman, U.S. President Truman's daughter, gave her first public performance as a singer. The event was at the Hollywood Bowl and had an audience of 15,000.

1952 - The security pact of the Arab League went into effect.

1959 - In the Peanuts comic strip, Sally debuted as an infant.

1962 - The first live TV program was relayed between the U.S. and Europe through the U.S. Telstar satellite.

1970 - U.S. swimmer Gary Hall broke three world records at the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) outdoor swimming meet, held in Los Angeles, CA.

1979 - Soviet dancer Alexander Godunov defected while the Bolshoi Ballet was on tour in New York City.

1982 - The parliament of Lebanon elected Bashir Bemayel president. He was assassinated three weeks later.

1982 - Gaylord Perry (Seattle Mariners) was tossed out of a game for throwing an illegal spitball.

1983 - The U.S. announced that it was nearly ready for a test flight of an anti-satellite missile.

1984 - South Fork Ranch, the home of the fictitious Ewing clan of the CBS-TV show, "Dallas," was sold. The ranch was to be transformed from a tourist site into a hotel.

1987 - Robert Jarvik and Marilyn Mach vos Savant were married. The event was called the "Union of Great Minds" since Savant had an IQ of 228 and Jarvik was the inventor of the artificial heart.

1990 - President Saddam Hussein appeared on Iraqi state television with a group of Western detainees that he referred to as "guests." He told the group that they were being held "to prevent the scourge of war."

1993 - It was confirmed by Los Angeles police that Michael Jackson was the subject of a criminal investigation.

1996 - U.S. President Clinton imposed limits on peddling cigarettes to children.

1998 - Protestors in Sudan carried a sign that bore the resemblance of Monica Lewinsky and the words "No War for Monika." The anti-U.S. demonstration was in Khartoum, Sudan.

1998 - Boris Yeltsin dismissed the Russian government again.

1999 - Rescuers in Turkey found a young boy that had been buried in rubble from an earthquake for about a week.

1999 - Robert Bogucki was rescued after getting lost in the Great Sandy Desert of Australia on July 11. During the 43 day ordeal Bogucki lost 44 pounds.

2000 - Richard Hatch was revealed as the winning castaway on CBS' "Survivor." Hatch won $1,000,000 for his stay on the island of Pulau Tida in the South China Sea.

August 24, 2012

0079 - Mount Vesuvius erupted killing approximately 20,000 people. The cities of Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum were buried in volcanic ash.

0410 - The Visigoths overran Rome. This event symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

1456 - The printing of the Gutenberg Bible was completed.

1572 - The Catholics began their slaughter of the French Protestants in Paris. The killings claimed about 70,000 people.

1814 - Washington, DC, was invaded by British forces that set fire to the White House and Capitol.

1853 - The first convention of the American Pharmaceutical Association was held.

1869 - A patent for the waffle iron was received by Cornelius Swarthout.

1891 - Thomas Edison applied patents for the kinetoscope and kinetograph (U.S. Pats. 493,426 and 589,168).

1912 - A four-pound limit was set for parcels sent through the U.S. Post Office mail system.

1932 - Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the U.S. non-stop. The trip from Los Angeles, CA to Newark, NJ, took about 19 hours.

1949 - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) went into effect. The agreement was that an attack against on one of the parties would be considered "an attack against them all."

1954 - The Communist Party was virtually outlawed in the U.S. when the Communist Control Act went into effect.

1959 - Three days after Hawaiian statehood, Hiram L. Fong was sworn in as the first Chinese-American U.S. senator while Daniel K. Inouye was sworn in as the first Japanese-American U.S. representative.

1963 - John Pennel pole-vaulted 17 feet and 3/4 inches becoming the first to break the 17-foot barrier.

1968 - France became the 5th thermonuclear power when they exploded a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.

1975 - Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles Dodgers set a major league baseball record when he stole his 38th consecutive base.

1985 - 27 anti-apartheid leaders were arrested in South Africa as racial violence rocked the country.

1986 - Frontier Airlines shut down. Thousands of people were left stranded.

1989 - Pete Rose, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, was banned from baseball for life after being accused of gambling on baseball.

1989 - "Total war" was declared by Columbian drug lords on their government.

1989 - The U.S. space probe, Voyager 2, sent back photographs of Neptune.

1990 - Iraqi troops surrounded foreign missions in Kuwait.

1991 - Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the head of the Communist Party.

1992 - China and South Korea established diplomatic relations.

1995 - Microsoft's "Windows 95" went on sale.

1998 - U.S. officials cited a soil sample as part of the evidence that a Sudan plant was producing precursors to the VX nerve gas. And, therefore made it a target for U.S. missiles on August 20, 1998.

1998 - A donation of 24 beads was made, from three parties, to the Indian Museum of North America at the Crazy Horse Memorial. The beads are said to be those that were used in 1626 to buy Manhattan from the Indians.

2001 - In McAllen, TX, Bridgestone/Firestone agreed to settle out of court and pay a reported $7.5 million to a family in a rollover accident in their Ford Explorer.

2001 - The remains of nine American servicemen killed in the Korean War were returned to the U.S. The bodies were found about 60 miles north of Pyongyang. It was estimated that it would be a year before the identies of the soldiers would be known.

2001 - U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly was randomly picked to take over the Microsoft monopoly case. The judge was to decide how Microsoft should be punished for illegally trying to squelch its competitors.

2001 - NASA announced that operation of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite would end by September 30th due to budget restrictions. Though the satellite is best known for monitoring a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, it was designed to provide information about the upper atmosphere by measuring its winds, temperatures, chemistry and energy received from the sun.

2005 - The planet Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Pluto's status was changed due to the IAU's new rules for an object qualifying as a planet. Pluto met two of the three rules because it orbits the sun and is large enough to assume a nearly round shape. However, since Pluto has an oblong orbit and overlaps the orbit of Neptune it disqualified Pluto as a planet.

August 25, 2012

1718 - Hundreds of colonists from France arrived in Louisiana. Some settled in present-day New Orleans.

1814 - The U.S. Library of Congress was destroyed by British forces.

1825 - Uruguay declared independence from Brazil.

1840 - Joseph Gibbons received a patent for the seeding machine.

1875 - Captain Matthew Webb swam from Dover, England, to Calais, France making him the first person to swim the English Channel. The feat took about 22 hours.

1902 - "Al-Hoda" began publication in New York City making it the first Arabic daily newspaper in the U.S.

1916 - The National Park Service was established as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

1920 - Ethelda Bleibtrey won the 100-meter freestyle swimming competition in Antwerp, Belgium. She was the first woman to win an Olympic competition for the U.S.

1920 - The first airplane to fly from New York to Alaska arrived in Nome.

1921 - The U.S. signed a peace treaty with Germany.

1940 - Arno Rudolphi and Ann Hayward were married while suspended in parachutes at the World’s Fair in New York City.

1941 - Soviet and British troops invaded Iran. This was in reaction to the Shah's refusal to reduce the number of German residents.

1941 - Allied forces invaded Iran. Within four days the Soviet Union and England controlled Iran.

1941 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the bill appropriating funds for construction of the Pentagon.

1944 - Paris, France, was liberated by Allied forces ending four years of German occupation.

1944 - Romania declared war on Germany.

1946 - Ben Hogan won the PGA in Portland, OR. It was his first major golf title.

1949 - NBC Radio debuted "Father Knows Best." The show went to TV in 1954.

1950 - U.S. President Truman ordered the seizure of U.S. railroads to avert a strike.

1972 - In Great Britain, computerized axial tomography (CAT scan) was introduced.

1978 - The Turin shroud believed to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ went on display for the first time in 45 years.

1981 - The U.S. Voyager 2 sent back pictures and data about Saturn. The craft came within 63,000 miles of the planet.

1983 - The U.S. and the Soviet Union signed a $10 billion grain pact.

1987 - Saudi Arabia denounced the "group of terrorists" that ran the Iranian government.

1988 - Iran and Iraq began talks in Geneva after ending their eight years of war.

1990 - Military action was authorized by the United Nations to enforce the trade embargo that had been placed on Iraq after their invasion of Kuwait.

1991 - Byelorussia declared independence from the Soviet Union.

1992 - It was reported by researchers that cigarette smoking significantly increased the risk of developing cataracts.

1993 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 3,652.09, an all-time high.

1995 - Harry Wu, human rights activist, returned to the United States. He said the spying case against him in China was "all lies."

1997 - The tobacco industry agreed to an $11.3 billion settlement with the state of Florida.

1998 - A survey released said that 1/3 of Americans use the Internet.

August 27, 2012

1660 - The books of John Milton were burned in London due to his attacks on King Charles II.

1789 - The Declaration of the Rights of Man was adopted by the French National Assembly.

1828 - Uruguay was formally proclaimed to be independent during preliminary talks between Brazil and Argentina.

1858 - The first cabled news dispatch was sent and was published by "The New York Sun" newspaper. The story was about the peace demands of England and France being met by China.

1859 - The first oil well was successfully drilled in the U.S. by Colonel Edwin L. Drake near Titusville, PA.

1889 - Charles G. Conn received a patent for the metal clarinet.

1889 - Boxer jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey was defeated for the first time of his career by George LaBlanche.

1892 - The original Metropolitan Opera House in New York was seriously damaged by fire.

1894 - The Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act was passed by the U.S. Congress. The provision within for a graduated income tax was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

1912 - Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan of the Apes" was published for the first time.

1921 - The owner of Acme Packing Company bought a pro football team for Green Bay, WI. J.E. Clair paid tribute to those who worked in his plant by naming the team the Green Bay Packers. (NFL)

1928 - The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed by 15 countries in Paris. Later, 47 other nations would sign the pact.

1938 - Robert Frost, in a fit of jealousy, set fire to some papers to disrupt a poetry recital by another poet, Archibald MacLeish.

1939 - Nazi Germany demanded the Polish corridor and Danzig.

1945 - American troops landed in Japan after the surrender of the Japanese government at the end of World War II.

1962 - Mariner 2 was launched by the United States. In December of the same year the spacecraft flew past Venus. It was the first space probe to reach the vicinity of another planet.

1972 - North Vietnam's major port at Haiphong saw the first bombings from U.S. warplanes.

1981 - Work began on recovering a safe from the Andrea Doria. The Andrea Doria was a luxury liner that had sank in 1956 in the waters off of Massachusetts.

1984 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced that the first citizen to go into space would be a teacher. The teacher that was eventually chosen was Christa McAuliffe. She died in the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986.

1984 - Diane Sawyer became the fifth reporter on CBS-TV's "60 Minutes."

1984 - The Menetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village opened. It was the first new off-Broadway theater to be built in 50 years in New York City.

1985 - The Space Shuttle Discovery left for a seven-day mission in which three satellites were launched and another was repaired and redeployed.

1986 - Nolan Ryan (Houston Astros) earned his 250th career win against the Chicago Cubs.

1989 - The first U.S. commercial satellite rocket was launched. A British communications satellite was onboard.

1990 - The U.S. State Department ordered the expulsion of 36 Iraqi diplomats.

1991 - The Soviet republic of Moldavia declared its independence.

1996 - California Governor Pete Wilson signed an order that would halt state benefits to illegal immigrants.

1998 - James Brolin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1999 - The final crew of the Russian space station Mir departed the station to return to Earth. Russia was forced to abandon Mir for financial reasons.

2001 - The U.S. military announced that an Air Force RQ-1B "Predator" aircraft was lost over Iraq. It was reported that the unmanned aircraft "may have crashed or been shot down."

2001 - Work began on the future site of a World War II memorial on the U.S. capital's historic national Mall. The site is between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

August 29, 2012

1828 - A patent was issued to Robert Turner for the self-regulating wagon brake.

1833 - The "Factory Act" was passed in England to settle child labor laws.

1842 - The Treaty of Nanking was signed by the British and the Chinese. The treaty ended the first Opium War and gave the island of Hong Kong to Britain.

1885 - The first prizefight under the Marquis of Queensberry Rules was held in Cincinnati, OH. John L. Sullivan defeated Dominick McCaffery in six rounds.

1886 - In New York City, Chinese Ambassador Li Hung-chang's chef invented chop suey.

1892 - Pop (Billy) Shriver (Chicago Cubs) caught a ball that was dropped from the top of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.

1944 - During the continuing celebration of the liberation of France from the Nazis, 15,000 American troops marched down the Champs Elysees in Paris.

1945 - U.S. General Douglas MacArthur left for Japan to officially accept the surrender of the Japanese.

1949 - At the University of Illinois, a nuclear device was used for the first time to treat cancer patients.

1957 - Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina set a filibuster record in the U.S. when he spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes.

1962 - The lower level of the George Washington Bridge opened.

1965 - Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles ("Pete") Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean after eight days in space.

1966 - Mia Farrow withdrew from the cast of the ABC-TV's "Peyton Place."

1967 - The final episode of "The Fugitive" aired.

1971 - Hank Aaron became the first baseball player in the National League to hit 100 or more runs in each of 11 seasons.

1977 - Lou Brock brought his total of stolen bases to 893. The record he beat was held by Ty Cobb for 49 years.

1983 - Two U.S. marines were killed in Lebanon by the militia group Amal when they fired mortar shells at the Beirut airport.

1983 - The anchor of the USS Monitor, from the U.S. Civil War, was retrieved by divers.

1990 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in a television interview, declared that America could not defeat Iraq.

1991 - The Communist Party in the Soviet Union had its bank accounts frozen and activities were suspended because of the Party's role in the failed coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev.

1991 - The republics of Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement to stay in the Soviet Union.

1992 - The U.N. Security Council agreed to send troops to Somalia to guard the shipments of food.

1994 - Mario Lemieux announced that he would be taking a medical leave of absence due to fatigue, an aftereffect of his 1993 radiation treatments. He would sit out the National Hockey Leagues (NHL) 1994-95 season.

1998 - Northwest Airlines pilots went on strike after their union rejected a last-minute company offer.

2004 - India test-launched a nuclear-capable missle able to carry a one-ton warhead. The weapon had a range of 1,560 miles.

September 1, 2012

1799 - The Bank of Manhattan Company opened in New York City, NY. It was the forerunner of Chase Manhattan.

1807 - Former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr was found innocent of treason.

1810 - The first plow with interchangeable parts was patented by John J. Wood.

1859 - The Pullman sleeping car was placed into service.

1878 - Emma M. Nutt became the first female telephone operator in the U.S. The company was the Telephone Dispatch Company of Boston.

1884 - The Thomas A. Edison Construction Department and the Edison Company for Isolated Lighting merged.

1887 - Emile Berliner filed for a patent for his invention of the lateral-cut, flat-disk gramophone. It is a device that is better known as a record player. Thomas Edison made the idea work.

1894 - A forest fire in Hinckley, MN, killed more than 400 people.

1897 - The first section of Boston's subway system was opened.

1905 - Saskatchewan and Alberta became the ninth and tenth provinces of Canada.

1906 - jack Coombs of the American League’s Philadelphia Athletics pitched 24 innings against the Boston Red Sox. (MLB)

1922 - The first daily news program on radio was "The Radio Digest," on WBAY radio in New York City, NY.

1923 - About 100,000 people were killed when an earthquake hit Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan.

1939 - World War II began when Germany invaded Poland.

1942 - A federal judge in Sacramento, CA, upheld the wartime detention of Japanese-Americans as well as Japanese nationals.

1945 - The U.S. received official word of Japan's formal surrender that ended World War II. In Japan, it was actually September 2nd.

1949 - "Martin Kane, Private Eye" debuted on NBC-TV.

1951 - The ANZUS Treaty, a mutual defense pact, was signed by the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

1969 - Col. Moammar Gadhafi came into power in Libya after the government was overthrown.

1970 - The last episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" aired on NBC-TV. The show premiered was on September 18, 1965.

1971 - Danny Murtaugh of the Pittsburgh Pirates gave his lineup card to the umpire with the names of nine black baseball players on it. This was a first for Major League Baseball.

1972 - America’s Bobby Fischer beat Russia’s Boris Spassky to become world chess champion. The chess match took place in Reykjavik, Iceland.

1979 - The U.S. Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to visit Saturn.

1982 - J.R. Richard returned to major league baseball after a two-year absence following a near-fatal stroke.

1982 - Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo closed all the country's private banks.

1983 - A Soviet jet fighter shot down a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 when it entered Soviet airspace. 269 people were killed.

1985 - The Titanic was found by Dr. Robert Ballard and Jean Louis Michel in a joint U.S. and French expedition. The wreck site is located 963 miles northeast of New York and 453 miles southeast of the Newfoundland coast.

1986 - The Soviet Union announced the accident involving the Admiral Nakhimov the night before. 448 people died in the ship collision.

1986 - Jerry Lewis raised a record $34 million for Muscular Dystrophy during his annual telethon for Jerry’s kids over the Labor Day weekend.

1993 - Louis Freeh was sworn in as the director of the FBI.

1995 - Illinois Congressman Mel Reynolds announced his resignation. He had been convicted of having sex with an underage campaign volunteer.

1997 - In France, the prosecutor's office announced that the driver of the car, in which Britain's Princess Diana was killed, was over the legal alcohol limit.

1998 - The movie "Titanic" went on sale across North America.

1998 - Mark McGwire, of the St. Louis Cardinals, hit his 56th and 57th homeruns to set a new National League record. He would eventually reach a total of 70 for the season on September 27.

1998 - Vietnam released 5,000 prisoners, including political dissidents, on National Day.

1999 - Twenty-two of major league baseball's 68 permanent umpires were replaced. The problem arose from their union's failed attempt to force an early start to negotiations for a new labor contract.

September 2, 2012

31 B.C. - The Roman leader Octavian defeated the alliance of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Octavian, as Augustus Caesar, became the first Roman emperor.

1666 - The Great Fire of London broke out. The fire burned for three days destroying 10,000 buildings including St. Paul's Cathedral. Only 6 people were killed.

1775 - Hannah, the first American war vessel was commissioned by General George Washington.

1789 - The U.S. Treasury Department was established.

1864 - During the U.S. Civil War Union forces led by Gen. William T. Sherman occupied Atlanta following the retreat of the Confederates.

1897 - The first issue of "McCall’s" magazine was published. The magazine had been known previously as "Queens Magazine" and "Queen of Fashion."

1901 - Theodore Roosevelt, then Vice President, said "Speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair.

1930 - The "Question Mark" made the first non-stop flight from Europe to the U.S. The plane was flown by Captain Dieudonne Coste and Maurice Bellonte.

1935 - A hurricane hit the Florida Keys killing 423 people.

1938 - The first railroad car to be equipped with fluorescent lighting was put into operation on the New York Central railroad.

1945 - Japan surrendered to the U.S. aboard the USS Missouri, ending World War II. The war ended six years and one day after it began.

1945 - Ho Chi Minh declared the independence the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

1961 - The U.S.S.R. resumed nuclear weapons testing. Test ban treaty negotiations had failed with the U.S. and Britain when the three nations could not agree upon the nature and frequency of on-site inspections.

1962 - Ken Hubbs, of the Chicago Cubs, set a major-league baseball fielding record when he played errorless for his 74th consecutive game.

1963 - The integration of Tuskegee High School was prevented by state troopers assigned by Alabama Gov. George Wallace. Wallace had the building surrounded by state troopers.

1963 - "The CBS Evening News" was lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes.

1969 - Ho Chi Minh died. He was the president of North Vietnam.

1969 - NBC-TV canceled "Star Trek." The show had debuted on September 8, 1966.

1973 - Billy Martin was fired as manager of the Detroit Tigers. Martin was relieved of his duties three days after ordering his pitchers to throw spitballs against Cleveland Indians batters.

1985 - It was announced that the Titanic had been found on September 1 by a U.S. and French expedition 560 miles off Newfoundland. The luxury liner had been missing for 73 years.

1986 - Cathy Evelyn Smith was sentenced to three years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the overdose death of John Belushi.

1991 - The U.S. formally recognized the independence of Lithuania, Lativa and Estonia.

1992 - The U.S. and Russia agreed to a joint venture to build a space station.

1996 - Muslim rebels and the Philippine government signed a pact formally ending 26-years of insurgency that had killed more than 120,000 people.

1998 - In Canada, pilots for Canada's largest airline launch their first strike in Air Canada's history.

1998 - 229 people were killed when a Swissair jetliner crashed into the Atlantic near Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. The pilot had reported smoke in the cockpit a few minutes before the crash.

September 3, 2012

1189 - England's King Richard I was crowned in Westminster.

1783 - The Revolutionary War between the U.S. and Great Britain ended with the Treaty of Paris.

1833 - The first successful penny newspaper in the U.S., "The New York Sun," was launched by Benjamin H. Day.

1838 - Frederick Douglass boarded a train in Maryland on his way to freedom from being a slave.

1895 - The first professional football game was played in Latrobe, PA. The Latrobe YMCA defeated the Jeannette Athletic Club 12-0.

1935 - Sir Malcolm Campbell became the first person to drive an automobile over 300 miles an hour. He reached 304.331 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

1939 - British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, in a radio broadcast, announced that Britain and France had declared war on Germany. Germany had invaded Poland on September 1.

1943 - Italy was invaded by the Allied forces during World War II.

1951 - "Search for Tomorrow" debuted on CBS-TV.

1954 - "The Lone Ranger" was heard on radio for the final time after 2,956 episodes over a period of 21 years.

1966 - The television series "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" ended after 14 years.

1967 - The TV game show "What's My Line?" broadcast its final episode. The show aired over 17 years on CBS.

1967 - Nguyen Van Thieu was elected president of South Vietnam under a new constitution.

1967 - In Sweden, motorists stopped driving on the left side of the road and began driving on the right side.

1976 - The U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars. The unmanned spacecraft took the first close-up, color photos of the planet's surface.

1981 - David Brinkley left NBC News after 38 years to join with ABC.

1981 - Egypt arrested more than 1,500 opponents of the government.

1984 - Bruce Sutter (St. Louis Cardinals) set a National League record by earning his 38th save of the season.

1986 - Peat Marwick International and Klynveld Main Goerdeler of the Netherlands agreed to merge and form the world’s largest accounting firm.

1989 - The U.S. began shipping military aircraft and weapons, worth $65 million, to Columbia in its fight against drug lords.

1994 - Russia and China announced that they would no longer be targeting nuclear missiles or using force against each other.

1999 - Mario Lemieux's ownership group officially took over the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. Lemieux became the first player in the modern era of sports to buy the team he had once played for.

September 4, 2012

0476 - Romulus Augustulus, the last emperor of the western Roman Empire, was deposed when Odoacer proclaimed himself King of Italy.

1609 - English navigator Henry Hudson began exploring the island of Manhattan.

1781 - Los Angeles, CA, was founded by Spanish settlers. The original name was "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula," which translates as "The Town of the Queen of Angels."

1825 - New York Governor Clinton ceremoniously emptied a barrel of Lake Erie water in the Atlantic Ocean to consummate the "Marriage of the Waters" of the Great Lakes and the Atlantic.

1833 - Barney Flaherty answered an ad in "The New York Sun" and became the first newsboy/paperboy at the age of 10.

1882 - Thomas Edison's Pearl Street electric power station began operations in New York City. It was the first display of a practical electrical lighting system.

1885 - The Exchange Buffet opened in New York City. It was the first self-service cafeteria in the U.S.

1886 - Geronimo, and the Apache Indians he led, surrendered in Skeleton Canyon in Arizona to Gen. Nelson Miles.

1888 - George Eastman registered the name "Kodak" and patented his roll-film camera. The camera took 100 exposures per roll.

1894 - A strike in New York City by 12,000 tailors took place to protest sweatshops.

1899 - An 8.3 earthquake hit Yakutat Bar, AK.

1917 - The American expeditionary force in France suffered its first fatalities in World War I.

1921 - The first police broadcast was made by radio station WIL in St. Louis, MO.

1923 - The first American dirigible, the "Shenandoah," began its maiden voyage in Lakehurst, NJ.

1944 - During World War II, British troops entered the city of Antwerp, Belgium.

1948 - The Dutch Queen Wilhelmina left her throne for health reasons.

1949 - The longest pro tennis match in history was played when Pancho Gonzales and Ted Schroeder played 67 games in five sets.

1951 - The first live, coast-to-coast TV broadcast took place in the U.S. The event took place in San Francisco, CA, from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference. It was seen all the way to New York City, NY.

1953 - The New York Yankees became the first baseball team to win five consecutive American League championships.

1957 - The Arkansas National Guard was ordered by Governor Orval Faubus to keep nine black students from going into Little Rock's Central High School.

1957 - The Ford Motor Company began selling the Edsel. The car was so unpopular that it was taken off the market only two years.

1967 - "Gilligan's Island" aired for the last time on CBS-TV. It ran for 98 shows.

1967 - Michigan Gov. George Romney said during a TV interview that he had undergone "brainwashing" by U.S. officials while visiting Vietnam in 1965.

1971 - "The Lawrence Welk Show" was seen for the last time on ABC-TV.

1972 - Swimmer Mark Spitz captured his seventh Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter medley relay event at Munich, Germany. Spitz was the first Olympian to win seven gold medals.

1981 - The Soviet Union began war games with about 100,000 troops on the Polish border.

1983 - U.S. officials announced that there had been an American plane, used for reconnaissance, in the vicinity of the Korean Air Lines flight that was shot down.

1986 - South African security forces halted a mass funeral for the victims of the riot in Soweto.

1989 - A reconnaissance satellite was released by the Air Force's Titan Three rocket. The Titan Three set over 200 satellites into space between 1964 and 1989.

1993 - Pope John Paul II started his first visit to the former Soviet Union.

1993 - Jim Abbott (New York Yankees) pitched a no-hitter. Abbott had been born without a right hand.

1995 - The Fourth World Conference on Women was opened in Beijing. There were over 4,750 delegates from 181 countries in attendance.

1998 - In Mexico, bankers stopped approving personal loans and mortgages.

1998 - The International Monetary Fund approved a $257 million loan for the Ukraine.

1998 - While in Ireland, U.S. President Clinton said the words "I'm sorry" for the first time about his affair with Monica Lewinsky and described his behavior as indefensible.

1999 - The United Nations announced that the residents of East Timor had overwhelmingly voted for independence from Indonesia in a referendum held on August 30. In Dili, pro-Indonesian militias attacked independence supporters, burned buildings, blew up bridges and destroyed telecommunication facilities.

2002 - The Oakland Athletics won their AL-record 20th straight game. The A's gave up an 11-run lead during the game and then won the game on a Scott Hatteberg home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

2003 - Keegan Reilly, 22, became the first parapalegic climber to reach the peak of Japan's Mount Fuji.

September 5, 2012

1698 - Russia's Peter the Great imposed a tax on beards.

1774 - The first session of the U.S. Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia. The delegates drafted a declaration of rights and grievances, organized the Continental Association, and elected Peyton Randolph as the first president of the Continental Congress.

1793 - In France, the "Reign of Terror" began. The National Convention enacted measures to repress the French Revolutionary activities.

1836 - Sam Houston was elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas.

1877 - Sioux chief Crazy Horse was killed by the bayonet of a U.S. soldier. The chief allegedly resisted confinement to a jail cell.

1881 - The American Red Cross provided relief for disaster for the first time. The disaster was the Great Fire of 1881 in Michigan.

1882 - The first U.S. Labor Day parade was held in New York City.

1885 - Jake Gumper bought the first gasoline pump to be manufactured in the U.S.

1900 - France proclaimed a protectorate over Chad.

1901 - The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues was formed in Chicago, IL. It was the first organized baseball league.

1905 - The Treaty of Portsmouth was signed by Russia and Japan to end the Russo-Japanese War. The settlement was mediated by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in New Hampshire.

1906 - Bradbury Robinson executed the first legal forward pass in football. Robinson threw the ball to jack Schneider of St. Louis University in a game against Carroll College.

1914 - Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional player in the International League.

1914 - The Battle of the Marne began. The Germans, British and French fought for six days killing half a million people.

1917 - Federal raids were carried out in 24 cities on International Workers of the World (IWW) headquarters. The raids were prompted by suspected anti-war activities within the labor organization.

1930 - Charles Creighton and James Hagris completed the drive from New York City to Los Angeles and back to New York City all in reverse gear. The trip took 42 days in their 1929 Ford Model A.

1938 - The NBC Red network broadcast "Life Can Be Beautiful" for the first time.

1939 - The U.S. proclaimed its neutrality in World War II.

1945 - Iva Toguri D'Aquino was arrested. D'Aquino was suspected of being the wartime radio propagandist "Tokyo Rose". She served six years and was later pardoned by U.S. President Ford.

1953 - The first privately operated atomic reactor opened in Raleigh, NC.

1957 - jack Kerouac's "On the Road" was first published.

1958 - The first color videotaped program was aired. It was "The Betty Freezor Show" on WBTV-TV in Charlotte, NC.

1958 - Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago" was published for the first time in the U.S.

1960 - Cassius clay of Louisville, KY, won the gold medal in light heavyweight boxing at the Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. clay later changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

1961 - The U.S. government made airline hijacking a federal offense.

1971 - J.R. Richard (Houston Astros) tied Karl Spooner’s record when he struck out 15 batters in his major-league baseball debut.

1977 - The U.S. launched Voyager .

1980 - The St. Gothard Tunnel opened in Switzerland. It is the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles long.

1982 - Eddie Hill set a propeller-driven boat water speed record when he reached 229 mph.

1983 - U.S. President Reagan denounced the Soviet Union for shooting down a Korean Air Lines. Reagan demanded that the Soviet Union pay reparations for the act that killed 269 people.

1983 - "Sports Illustrated" became the first national weekly magazine to use four-color process illustrations on every page.

1983 - The "MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour" on PBS (Public Broadcasting System) became the first hour-long network news show.

1984 - The space shuttle Discovery landed after its maiden voyage.

1984 - Mortimer Zuckerman purchased the newsmagazine, "U.S. News & World Report" for $163 million.

1985 - Rioting in South Africa spilled into white neighborhoods for the first time.

1986 - Merv Griffin aired his final program for Metromedia Television after 23 years on various talk shows.

1986 - NASA launched DOD-1.

1989 - Chris Evert retired from professional tennis after a 19 year career.

1989 - Deborah Norville became the news anchor of the "Today" show.

1990 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein urged for a Holy War against the West and former allies.

1991 - Soviet lawmakers created an interim government to usher in the confederation after dissolving the U.S.S.R. The new name the Union of Sovereign States was taken.

1992 - A General Motors Corporation strike ended with a new agreement being approved. Nearly 43,000 workers were on strike.

1995 - France set off an underground nuclear blast in the South Pacific.

1996 - The play "Summer and Smoke" opened at the Criterion Theatre.

2001 - Fox News Channel terminated Paula Zahn for breach of contract.

2003 - In London, magician David Blaine entered a clear plastic box and then suspended by a crane over the banks of the Thames River. He remained there until October 19 surviving only on water.

September 6, 2012

1620 - The Pilgrims left on the Mayflower from Plymouth, England to settle in the New World.

1819 - Thomas Blanchard patented a machine called the lathe.

1837 - The Oberlin Collegiate Institute of Ohio went co-educational.

1876 - The Southern Pacific rail line from Los Angeles to San Francisco was completed.

1899 - Carnation processed its first can of evaporated milk.

1901 - U.S. President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded (he died eight days later) by Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz, an American anarchist, was executed the following October.

1909 - Robert Peary, American explorer, sent word that he had reached the North Pole. He had reached his goal five months earlier.

1939 - South Africa declared war on Germany.

1941 - Jews in German-occupied areas were ordered to wear the Star of David with the word "Jew" inscribed. The order only applied to Jews over the age of 6.

1943 - The youngest player to appear in an American League baseball game was pitcher Carl Scheib of the Philadelphia Athletics. Scheib was 16 years, eight months and five days old.

1944 - During World War II, the British government relaxed blackout restrictions and suspended compulsory training for the Home Guard.

1948 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was crowned.

1952 - In Montreal, Canadian television began broadcasting.

1959 - The first Barbie Doll was sold by Mattel Toy Corporation.

1972 - Rick DeMont lost the gold medal he received in a 400-meter swimming event because a banned drug was found in his system during routine drug testing.

1975 - Martina Navratilova requested political asylum while in New York for the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament.

1978 - James Wickwire and Louis Reichardt reached the top of the world's second largest mountain, Pakistan's K-2. They were the first Americans to reach the summit.

1990 - Iraq warned that anyone trying to flee the country without permission would be put in prison for life.

1991 - The State Council of the Soviet Union recognized the independence of the Baltic states.

1991 - The name St. Petersburg was restored to Russia's second largest city. The city was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. The name has been changed to Petrograd (1914) and to Leningrad (1924).

1992 - A 35-year old man died ten weeks after receiving a transplanted baboon liver.

1993 - Renault of France and Volvo of Sweden announced they were merging. Volvo eventually canceled the deal the following December.

1995 - U.S. Senator Bob Packwood was expelled by the Senate Ethics Committee.

1995 - Cal Ripken played his 2,131st consecutive game setting a new record. Lou Gehrig previously held the record.

1996 - Eddie Murray (Baltimore Orioles) hit his 500th career home run during a game against the Detroit Tigers. He was only the third person to have at least 3,000 hits and 500 home runs.

2000 - The U.N. Millennium Summit began in New York. It was the largest gathering of world leaders in history with more than 150 present.

2001 - The U.S. Justice Department announced that it was seeking a lesser antitrust penalty and would not attempt to break up Microsoft.

2001 - eBay Inc. was found not liable for copyright infringement because bootleg copies of a Charles Manson documentary had been sold on the site.

2002 - In New York, the U.S. Congress convened at Federal Hall for a rare special session. The session was held in New York to express the nation's mourning for the loss on September 11, 2001 and unity in the war against terrorism.

2002 - At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the exhibition "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery" went on view.

September 7, 2012

1812 - Napoleon defeated the Russian army of Alexander I at the battle of Borodino.

1813 - The nickname "Uncle Sam" was first used as a symbolic reference to the United States. The reference appeared in an editorial in the New York's Troy Post.

1822 - Brazil declared its independence from Portugal.

1880 - George Ligowsky was granted a patent for his device that threw clay pigeons for trapshooters.

1888 - Edith Eleanor McLean became the first baby to be placed in an incubator.

1896 - A.H. Whiting won the first automobile race held on a racetrack. The race was held in Cranston, RI.

1901 - The Boxer Rebellion began in China ending the Peace of Beijing.

1921 - Margaret Gorman of Washington, DC, was crowned the first Miss America in Atlantic City, NJ.

1927 - Philo T. Farnsworth succeeded in transmitting an image through purely electronic means by using an image dissector.

1930 - The cartoon "Blondie" made its first appearance in the comic strips.

1940 - London received its initial rain of bombs from Nazi Germany during World War II.

1942 - During World War II, the Russian army counter attacked the German troops outside the city of Stalingrad.

1963 - The National Professional Football Hall of Fame was dedicated in Canton, OH.

1966 - The final episode of the original "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was aired on CBS-TV.

1971 - "The Beverly Hillbillies" was seen for the final time on CBS-TV.

1977 - The Panama Canal treaties were signed by U.S. President Carter and General Omar Torrijos Herrera. The treaties called for the U.S. to turn over control of the canal's waterway to Panama in the year 2000.

1979 - ESPN, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, made its debut on cable TV.

1983 - In Ireland, voters approved a constitutional ammendment that banned abortion.

1984 - American Express Co. issued the first of its Platinum charge cards.

1986 - Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins threw his 100th career touchdown pass, in only his 44th NFL game, which set a NFL record.

1986 - President Augusto Pinochet survived an assassination attempt made by guerrillas.

1986 - Desmond Tutu was the first black to be installed to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa.

1987 - Erich Honecker became the first East German head of state to visit West Germany.

1989 - Legislation was approved by the U.S. Senate that prohibited discrimination against the handicapped in employment, public accommodations, transportation and communications.

1995 - U.S. Senator Bob Packwood announced that he would resign after 27 years in the Senate.

1998 - Mark McGwire set a new major league baseball record for most homeruns hit in a single season. The previous record was 61 set in 1961.

1999 - Viacom Inc. announced that it had plans to buy CBS Corp.

2001 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) became the only the fifth player in major league baseball history to hit 60 home runs in a season. (California)

September 8, 2012

1565 - A Spanish expedition established the first permanent European settlement in North America at present-day St. Augustine, FL.

1664 - The Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, who then renamed it New York.

1866 - The first recorded birth of sextuplets took place in Chicago, IL. The parents were James and Jennie Bushnell.

1892 - An early version of "The Pledge of Allegiance" appeared in "The Youth's Companion."

1893 - In New Zealand, the Electoral Act 1893 was passed by the Legislative Council. It was consented by the governor on September 19 giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote.

1935 - U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, "The Kingfish" of Louisiana politics, was shot and mortally wounded. He died two days later.

1945 - In Washington, DC, a bus equipped with a two-way radio was put into service for the first time.

1945 - Bess Myerson of New York was crowned Miss America. She was the first Jewish contestant to win the title.

1951 - A peace treaty with Japan was signed by 48 other nations in San Francisco, CA.

1952 - The Ernest Hemingway novel "The Old Man and the Sea" was published.

1960 - NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, was dedicated by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The facility had been activated in July earlier that year.

1966 - NBC-TV aired the first episode of "Star Trek" entitled "The Man Trap". The show was canceled on September 2, 1969.

1971 - In Washington, DC, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was inaugurated. The opening featured the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's "Mass."

1973 - Hank Aaron hit his 709th home run.

1974 - U.S. President Ford granted an unconditional pardon to former U.S. President Nixon.

1975 - In Boston, MA, public schools began their court-ordered citywide busing program amid scattered incidents of violence.

1986 - Herschel Walker made his start in the National Football League (NFL) after leaving the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.

1997 - America Online acquired CompuServe.

1998 - Mark McGwire (St. Louis Cardinals) hit his 62nd home run of the season. He had beaten a record that had stood for 37 years by Roger Maris. McGwire would eventually reach 70 home runs on September 27.

1999 - Russia's Mission Control switched off the Mir space station's central computer and other systems to save energy during a planned six months of unmanned flights.

September 9, 2012

490 B.C. - The Battle of Marathon took place between the invading Persian army and the Athenian Army. The marathon race was derived from the events that occurred surrounding this battle.

1776 - The second Continental Congress officially made the term "United States", replacing the previous term "United Colonies."

1836 - Abraham Lincoln received his license to practice law.

1850 - California became the 31st state to join the union.

1898 - In Omaha, NE, Tommy Fleming of Eau Claire, WI won the first logrolling championship.

1893 - U.S. President Grover Cleveland's wife, Frances Cleveland, gave birth to a daughter, Esther. It was the first time a president's child was born in the White House.

1904 - Mounted police were used for the first time in the City of New York.

1911 - Italy declared war on the Ottoman Turks and annexed Libya, Tripolitania, and Cyrenaica in North Africa.

1919 - The majority of Boston's police force went on strike. The force was made up of 1,500 men.

1919 - Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin's HD-4, a hydrofoil craft, set a world marine speed record.

1926 - The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was created by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA).

1942 - Japan dropped incendiaries over NE in an attempt to set fire to the forests in Oregon and Washington. The forest did not ignite.

1943 - During World War II Allied forces landed at Taranto and Salerno.

1946 - Ben Alexander hosted "Heart’s Desire" for the first time on the Mutual Broadcasting System.

1948 - North Korea became the People's Democratic Republic of Korea.

1950 - Sal Maglie (New York Giants) pitched a fourth consecutive shutout. Only four other pitchers in the National League had ever accomplished this feat.

1957 - The first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction was signed into law by U.S. President Eisenhower.

1965 - French President Charles de Gaulle announced that France was withdrawing from NATO to protest the domination of the U.S. in the organization.

1965 - Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched the eighth perfect game in major league baseball history.

1971 - Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings retired from the National Hockey League (NHL).

1979 - Tracy Austin, at 16, became the youngest player to win the U.S. Open women’s tennis title.

1981 - Nicaragua declared a state of economic emergency and banned strikes.

1983 - The Soviet Union announced that the Korean jetliner the was shot down on September 1, 1983 was not an accident or an error.

1984 - Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears broke Jim Brown’s combined yardage record when he reached 15,517 yards.

1986 - Frank Reed was taken hostage in Lebanon by pro-Iranian kidnappers. The director of a private school in Lebanon was released 44 months later.

1986 - Ted Turner presented the first of his colorized films on WTBS in Atlanta, GA.

1986 - Gennadiy Zakharov was indicted by a New York jury on espionage charges. Zakharov was a Soviet United Nations employee.

1987 - Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer aired for the last time on CBS.

1993 - Israeli and PLO leaders agreed to recognize each other.

1994 - The U.S. agreed to accept about 20,000 Cuban immigrants a year. This was in return for Cuba's promise to halt the flight of refugees.

1994 - The space shuttle Discovery blasted off on an 11-day mission.

1995 - Amtrak's Broadway Limited service made its final run between New York City, NY and Chicago, IL.

1997 - Sinn Fein, the IRA's political ally, formally renounced violence as it took its place in talks on Northern Ireland's future.

1998 - Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr delivered to the U.S. Congress 36 boxes of material concerning his investigation of U.S. President Clinton.

1998 - Four tourists who had paid $32,500 each were taken in submarine to view the wreckage of the Titanic. The ship is 2 miles below the Atlantic off Newfoundland.

September 10, 2012

1608 - John Smith was elected president of the Jamestown, VA colony council.

1794 - America's first non-denominational college was charted. Blount College later became the University of Tennessee.

1813 - The first defeat of British naval squadron occurred in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. The leader of the U.S. fleet sent the famous message "We have met the enemy, and they are ours" to U.S. General William Henry Harrison.

1845 - King Willem II opened Amsterdam Stock exchange.

1846 - Elias Howe received a patent for his sewing machine.

1847 - The first theater opened in Hawaii.

1862 - Rabbi Jacob Frankel became the first Jewish Army chaplain.

1897 - British police arrest George Smith for drunken driving. It was the first DWI.

1899 - A second quake in seven days hit Yakutat Bay, AK. It measured 8.6.

1913 - The Lincoln Highway opened. It was the first paved coast-to-coast highway in the U.S.

1919 - New York City welcomed home 25,000 soldiers and General John J. Pershing who had served in the First Division during World War I.

1919 - Austria and the Allies signed the Treaty of St.-Germain-en-Laye. Austria recognized the independence of Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.

1921 - The Ayus Autobahn in Germany opened near Berlin. The road is known for its nonexistent speed limit.

1923 - The Irish Free state joined the League of Nations.

1926 - Germany joined the League of Nations.

1935 - "Popeye" was heard on NBC radio for the first time.

1939 - Canada declared war on Germany.

1940 - In Britain, Buckingham Palace was hit by German bomb.

1942 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt mandated gasoline rationing as part of the U.S. wartime effort.

1943 - German forces began their occupation of Rome during World War II.

1948 - Mildred "Axis Sally" Gillars was indicted for treason in Washington, DC. Gillars was a Nazi radio propagandist during World War II. She was convicted and spent 12 years in prison.

1950 - Eddie Cantor began working on TV on the "Colgate Comedy Hour" on NBC.

1951 - Britain began an economic boycott of Iran.

1953 - Swanson began selling its first "TV dinner."

1955 - "Gunsmoke" premiered on CBS.

1955 - Bert Parks began a 25-year career as host of the "Miss America Pageant" on NBC.

1956 - Great Britain performed a nuclear test at Maralinga, Australia.

1961 - Mickey Mantle tied a major league baseball record for home runs when he hit the 400th of his career.

1963 - Twenty black students entered public schools in Alabama at the end of a standoff between federal authorities and Alabama governor George C. Wallace.

1972 - Gayle Sayers (Chicago Bears) retired from the National Football League (NFL).

1974 - Lou Brock (St. Louis Cardinals) set a new major league baseball record when he stole his 105th base of the season.

1977 - "Mickey Finn" appeared in the comic pages for the last time.

1979 - U.S. President Carter granted clemency to four Puerto Rican nationalists who had been imprisoned for an attack on the U.S. House of Representatives in 1954 and an attempted assassination of U.S. President Truman in 1950.

1981 - Pablo Picasso's mural Guernica was received in the town of Guernica.

1984 - The Federal Communications Commission changed a rule to allow broadcasters to own 12 AM and 12 FM radio stations. The previous limit was 7 of each.

1989 - Hungary gave permission to thousands of East German refugees and visitors to immigrate to West Germany.

1990 - Iran agreed to resume full diplomatic ties with past enemy Iraq.

1990 - Iraq's Saddam Hussein offered free oil to developing nations in an attempt to win their support during the Gulf War Crisis.

1992 - In Minneapolis, MN, a federal jury struck down professional football's limited free agency system.

1998 - Mac Davis received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1998 - U.S. President Clinton met with members of his Cabinet to apologize, ask forgiveness and promise to improve as a person in the wake of the scandal involving Monica Lewinsky.

1998 - Northwest Airlines announced an agreement with pilots, ending a nearly two-week walkout.

1999 - A bronze sculpture of a war horse just over 24 feet high was dedicated in Milan, Italy.

2002 - Florida tested its new elections system. The test resulted in polling stations opening late and problems occurred with the touch screen voting machines.

2002 - The "September 11: Bearing Witness to History" exhibit opened at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

2002 - Switzerland became the 190th member of the United Nations.

September 11, 2012

1297 - Scotsman William Wallace defeated the English forces of Sir Hugh de Cressingham at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

1499 - French forces took over Milan, Italy.

1609 - Explorer Henry Hudson sailed into New York harbor and discovered Manhattan Island and the Hudson River.

1695 - Imperial troops under Eugene of Savoy defeated the Turks at the Battle of Zenta.

1709 - An Anglo-Dutch-Austrian force defeated the French in the Battle of Malplaquet.

1714 - Spanish and French troops broke into Barcelona and ended Catalonia's sovereignty after 13 months of seige.

1776 - A Peace Conference was held between British General Howe and three representatives of the Continental Congress (Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Edward Rutledge). The conference failed and the American war for independence continued for seven years.

1777 - American forces, under General George Washington, were forced to retreat at the Battle of Brandywine Creek by British forces under William Howe. The Stars and Stripes (American flag) were carried for the first time in the battle.

1786 - The Convention of Annapolis opened with the aim of revising the articles of the confederation.

1789 - Alexander Hamilton was appointed by U.S. President George Washington to be the first secretary of the treasury.

1814 - The U.S. fleet defeated a squadron of British ships in the Battle of Lake Champlain, VT.

1842 - 1,400 Mexican troops captured San Antonio, TX. The Mexicans retreated with prisoners.

1855 - The siege of Sevastopol ended when French, British and Piedmontese troops captured the main naval base of the Russian Black fleet in the Crimean War.

1875 - "Professor Tidwissel's Burglar Alarm" was featured in the New York Daily Graphic and became the first comic strip to appear in a newspaper.

1877 - The first comic-character timepiece was patented by the Waterbury Clock Company.

1883 - The mail chute was patented by James Cutler. The new device was first used in the Elwood Building in Rochester, NY.

1897 - A ten-week strike of coal workers in Pennsylvania, WV, and Ohio came to an end. The workers won and eight-hour workday, semi-monthly pay, and company stores were abolished.

1904 - The U.S. battleship Connecticut was launched in New York.

1910 - In Hollywood, the first commercially successful electric bus line opened.

1926 - In Honolulu Harbor, HI, the Aloha Tower was dedicated.

1936 - Boulder Dam in Nevada was dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt by turning on the dam's first hydroelectric generator. The dam is now called Hoover Dam.

1941 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave orders to attack any German or Italian vessels found in U.S. defensive waters. The U.S. had not officially entered World War II at this time.

1941 - Charles A. Lindbergh brought on charges of anti-Semitism with a speech in which he blamed "the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration" for trying to draw the United States into World War II.

1941 - In Arlington, VA, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pentagon took place.

1951 - Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the English Channel from both directions.

1952 - Dr. Charles Hufnagel successfully replaced a diseased aorta valve with an artificial valve made of plastic.

1954 - The Miss America beauty pageant made its network TV debut on ABC. Miss California, Lee Ann Meriwether, was the winner.

1959 - The U.S. Congress passed a bill authorizing the creation of food stamps.

1964 - "Friday Night Fights" was seen for the last time.

1965 - The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) arrived in South Vietnam and was stationed at An Khe.

1967 - The Carol Burnett Show premiered on CBS.

1970 - The last "Get Smart" episode aired on CBS-TV.

1974 - "Little House On The Prairie" made its television debut.

1974 - The St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets set a National League record when they played 25 innings. It was the second longest game in professional baseball history.

1985 - Pete Rose (Cincinnati Reds) achieved hit number 4,192 to break the record held by Ty Cobb.

1985 - A U.S. satellite passed through the tail of the Giacobini-Zinner comet. It was the first on-the-spot sampling of a comet.

1990 - U.S. President Bush vowed "Saddam Hussein will fail" while addressing Congress on the Persian Gulf crisis. In the speech Bush spoke of an objective of a new world order - "freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice, and more secure in the quest for peace".

1991 - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced that thousands of troops would be drawn out of Cuba.

1997 - John Lee Hooker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1997 - Scotland voted to create its own Parliament after 290 years of union with England.

1998 - Independent counsel Kenneth Starr sent a report to the U.S. Congress accusing President Clinton of 11 possible impeachable offenses.

1999 - The Wall Street Journal reported that Bayer Corp. had quit putting a wad of cotton in their bottles of aspirin. Bayer had actually stopped the practice earlier in the year.

2001 - In the U.S., four airliners were hijacked and were intentionally crashed. Two airliners hit the World Trade Center, which collapsed shortly after, in New York City, NY. One airliner hit the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Another airliner crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. About 3,000 people were killed.

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