This Day in History

[omeg]

<em class="date">May 28, 1961: Appeal for Amnesty campaign launches </h2>On this day in 1961, the British newspaper The London Observer publishes British lawyer Peter Benenson's article The Forgotten Prisoners on its front page, launching the Appeal for Amnesty 1961--a campaign calling for the release of all people imprisoned in various parts of the world because of the peaceful expression of their beliefs.  <em class="date">May 28, 1937: Volkswagen is founded </h2>On this day in 1937, the government of Germany--then under the control of Adolf Hitler of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party--forms a new state-owned automobile company, then known as Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH. Later that year, it was renamed simply Volkswagenwerk, or The People's Car Company.  <em class="date">May 28, 1965: Mine explosion kills hundreds in India </h2>Methane gas causes a mine explosion near Dharbad, India, that kills 375 people and injures hundreds more on this day in 1965. The blast was so powerful that even workers on the surface of the mine were killed.  <em class="date">May 28, 1754: First blood of the French and Indian War </h2>In the first engagement of the French and Indian War, a Virginia militia under 22-year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington defeats a French reconnaissance party in southwestern Pennsylvania. In a surprise attack, the Virginians killed 10 French soldiers from Fort Duquesne, including the French commander, Coulon de Jumonville, and took 21 prisoners. Only one of Washington's men was killed.  <em class="date">May 28, 1998: Comic Phil Hartman killed by wife </h2>On this day in 1998, the comedian and actor Phil Hartman, famous for his work on Saturday Night Live and NewsRadio, is shot to death by his troubled wife, Brynn, in a murder-suicide. He was 49.  <em class="date">May 28, 1935: Tortilla Flat is published </h2>John Steinbeck's first successful novel, Tortilla Flat, is published on this day.  <em class="date">May 28, 1983: Irene Cara has a #1 pop hit with the Flashdance theme </h2>Irene Cara's song Flashdance (What a Feeling) , from the Flashdance movie soundtrack, goes to the top of the U.S. pop charts on this day in 1983.  <em class="date">May 28, 1957: Baseball owners allow Dodgers and Giants to move </h2>On May 28, 1957, National League owners vote unanimously to allow the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to move to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively, at the mid-season owners meeting in Chicago, Illinois.  history.com

 

[omeg]

<em class="date">May 29, 1953: Hillary and Tenzing reach Everest summit </h2>At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal, become the first explorers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which at 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest point on earth. The two, part of a British expedition, made their final assault on the summit after spending a fitful night at 27,900 feet. News of their achievement broke around the world on June 2, the day of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, and Britons hailed it as a good omen for their country's future.  <em class="date">May 29, 2005: Danica Patrick becomes first woman to lead Indy 500 </h2>On this day in 2005, 23-year-old Danica Patrick becomes the first female driver to take the lead in the storied Indianapolis 500.  <em class="date">May 29, 1979: Woody Harrelson's father is arrested for murder </h2>Judge John Wood, known as Maximum John, is assassinated outside his San Antonio, Texas, home as he bent down to look at a flat tire on his car. Actor Woody Harrelson's father, Charles Harrelson, was charged with the murder after evidence revealed that drug kingpin Jimmy Chagra, whose case was about to come up before Maximum John, had paid him $250,000.  <em class="date">May 29, 1914: Ships crash in heavy fog </h2>Heavy fog causes a collision of boats on the St. Lawrence River in Canada that kills 1,073 people on this day in 1914. Caused by a horrible series of blunders, this was one of the worst maritime disasters in history.  <em class="date">May 29, 1848: Wisconsin enters the Union </h2>Following approval of statehood by the territory's citizens, Wisconsin enters the Union as the 30th state.  <em class="date">May 29, 2003: Bob Hope celebrates 100th birthday </h2>Some 35 U.S. states declare it to be Bob Hope Day on this day in 2003, when the iconic comedic actor and entertainer turns 100 years old.  <em class="date">May 29, 1906: T.H. White, author of The Once and Future King, is born </h2>On this day in 1906, Terence Hanbury White is born in Bombay, India, to English parents employed by the British civil service.  <em class="date">May 29, 1913: Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps makes its infamous world premiere </h2>Some of those in attendance to see the Ballets Russes at the Théâtre des Champs-élysées on May 29, 1913, would already have been familiar with the young Russian composer Igor Stravinsky through his 1910 ballet L'Oiseau de feu (The Firebird).But if they expected his newest work to proceed in the same familiar and pleasing vein as his first, they were in for a surprise. From the moment the premiere performance of Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps (Rite of Spring) began on this night in 1913, it was clear that even an audience of sophisticated Parisians was totally unprepared for something so avant-garde.  <em class="date">May 29, 1917: John F. Kennedy is born </h2>One of America's best-loved presidents, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, is born into a politically and socially prominent family in Brookline, Massachusetts, on this day in 1917. He was the first American president to be born in the 20th century.  <em class="date">May 29, 1922: Supreme Court rules in favor of Major League Baseball </h2>On May 29, 1922, the United States Supreme Court rules that organized baseball did not violate antitrust laws as alleged by the Baltimore franchise of the defunct Federal League in 1915. The Supreme Court held that organized baseball is not a business, but a sport.  history.com

 

[omeg]

<em class="date">May 30, 1431: Joan of Arc martyred </h2>At Rouen in English-controlled Normandy, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the savior of France, is burned at the stake for heresy.  <em class="date">May 30, 1911: First Indianapolis 500 held </h2>On this day in 1911, Ray Harroun drives his single-seater Marmon Wasp to victory in the inaugural Indianapolis 500, now one of the world's most famous motor racing competitions.  <em class="date">May 30, 1927: Waters of Kentucky River peak </h2>On this day in 1927, the Kentucky River peaks during a massive flood that kills 89 people and leaves thousands homeless. Torrential rains caused this unprecedented flood.  <em class="date">May 30, 1971: Mariner 9 departs for Mars </h2>The U.S. unmanned space probe Mariner 9 is launched on a mission to gather scientific information on Mars, the fourth planet from the sun. The 1,116-pound spacecraft entered the planet's orbit on November 13, 1971, and circled Mars twice each day for almost a year, photographing the surface and analyzing the atmosphere with infrared and ultraviolet instruments. It gathered data on the atmospheric composition, density, pressure, and temperature of Mars, and also information about the surface composition, temperature, and topography of the planet.  <em class="date">May 30, 1593: Christopher Marlowe killed in tavern brawl </h2>Playwright Christopher Marlowe, 29, is killed in a brawl over a bar tab on this day.  <em class="date">May 30, 1963: Lesley Gore sings It's My Party on American Bandstand </h2>On May 30, 1963, a New Jersey teenager named Lesley Goremakes her first appearance on American Bandstand singing her hit-to-be, It's My Party .  <em class="date">May 30, 1922: Former President Taft dedicates Lincoln Memorial </h2>Former President William Howard Taft dedicates the Lincoln Memorial on the Washington Mall on this day in 1922. At the time, Taft was serving as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.  history.com

 

[daremeto]

<dl class="clearfix"><dt class="date">Jun 13, 1966 - The Miranda rights are established </dt><dt class="date"> </dt><dd>On this day in 1966, the Supreme Court hands down its decision in Miranda v. Arizona, establishing the principle that all criminal suspects must be advised of their rights before interrogation. Now considered standard police procedure, You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you, has been heard so many times in television and film dramas that it has become almost cliche.  </dd><dd>  </dd><dd>                                          </dd></dl>  

 

[Mben]

I didn't even know that my State of Arizona was involved in the Miranda rights. Cool to know and thanks for the bit of history, daremeto!

 

[PhillipR]

On this day in 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who first took office in 1933 as America's 32nd president, is nominated for an unprecedented third term. Roosevelt, a Democrat, would eventually be elected to a record four terms in office, the only U.S. president to serve more than two terms.

 

[omeg]

PhillipR wrote: On this day in 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who first took office in 1933 as America's 32nd president, is nominated for an unprecedented third term. Roosevelt, a Democrat, would eventually be elected to a record four terms in office, the only U.S. president to serve more than two terms.

 An amazing President for sure.

 

[daremeto]

Rosetta Stone found   On this day in 1799, during Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign, a French soldier discovers a black basalt slab inscribed with ancient writing near the town of Rosetta, about 35 miles north of Alexandria. The irregularly shaped stone contained fragments of passages written in three different scripts: Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphics and Egyptian demotic. The ancient Greek on the Rosetta Stone told archaeologists that it was inscribed by priests honoring the king of Egypt, Ptolemy V, in the second century B.C. More startlingly, the Greek passage announced that the three scripts were all of identical meaning. The artifact thus held the key to solving the riddle of hieroglyphics, a written language that had been dead for nearly 2,000 years. When Napoleon, an emperor known for his enlightened view of education, art and culture, invaded Egypt in 1798, he took along a group of scholars and told them to seize all important cultural artifacts for France. Pierre Bouchard, one of Napoleon's soldiers, was aware of this order when he found the basalt stone, which was almost four feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide, at a fort near Rosetta. When the British defeated Napoleon in 1801, they took possession of the Rosetta Stone. Several scholars, including Englishman Thomas Young made progress with the initial hieroglyphics analysis of the Rosetta Stone. French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion (1790-1832), who had taught himself ancient languages, ultimately cracked the code and deciphered the hieroglyphics using his knowledge of Greek as a guide. Hieroglyphics used pictures to represent objects, sounds and groups of sounds. Once the Rosetta Stone inscriptions were translated, the language and culture of ancient Egypt was suddenly open to scientists as never before. The Rosetta Stone has been housed at the British Museum in London since 1802, except for a brief period during World War I. At that time, museum officials moved it to a separate underground location, along with other irreplaceable items from the museum's collection, to protect it from the threat of bombs.  

 

[Mben]

That was interesting, daremeto! Ancient Egypt (to modern man) was all held on a four foot long and two-and-a-half foot wide piece of stone. Wow!

 

[PhillipR]

July 20th 1969 At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, speaks these words to more than a billion people listening at home: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.I remember this,,anyone else willing to admit it??lol

 

[Mben]

I was 4 and don't remember it at all. My dad is 82 and I wonder if he even remembers it now. lol Gonna ask him!

 

[omeg]

 I was just barely one when this amazing piece of history happened.Seems like I was born a little to late for many of the things I admire.  For example, most of the old country music stars I admire were alive and passed before I was even born. i.e. Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves.History is amazing.                                                                        Pam

 

[Mben]

Nope, pops remembers that it happened but can't remember it happening. That has already happened with me and the space shuttle disaster. I remember that it happened but can't remember it happening. 9/11 will always be etched in my memory ... knowing exactly where I was and what I was doing as it unfolded.

 

[daremeto]

 Jessica Lynch gets hero's welcome On this day in 2003, U.S. Army Private Jessica Lynch, a prisoner-of-war who was rescued from an Iraqi hospital, receives a hero's welcome when she returns to her hometown of Palestine, West Virginia. The story of the 19-year-old supply clerk, who was captured by Iraqi forces in March 2003, gripped America; however, it was later revealed that some details of Lynch's dramatic capture and rescue might have been exaggerated.Lynch, who was born April 26, 1983, was part of the 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas. On March 23, 2003, just days after the U.S. invaded Iraq, Lynch was riding in a supply convoy when her unit took a wrong turn and was ambushed by Iraqi forces near Nasiriya. Eleven American soldiers died and four others besides Lynch were captured.Lynch, who sustained multiple broken bones and other injuries when her vehicle crashed during the ambush, was taken to an Iraqi hospital. On April 1, she was rescued by U.S. Special Forces who raided the hospital where she was being held. They also recovered the bodies of eight of Lynch's fellow soldiers. Lynch was taken to a military hospital in Germany for treatment and then returned to the United States.Lynch's story garnered massive media attention and she became an overnight celebrity. Various reports emerged about Lynch's experience, with some news accounts indicating that even after Lynch was wounded during the ambush she fought back against her captors. However, Lynch later stated that she had been knocked unconscious after her vehicle crashed and couldn't remember the details of what had happened to her. She also said she had not been mistreated by the staff at the Iraqi hospital and they put up no resistance to her rescue. Criticsand Lynch herselfcharged the U.S. government with embellishing her story to boost patriotism and help promote the Iraq war.In August 2003, Lynch received a medical honorable discharge. She collaborated on a book about her experience, I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story, which was released later that year. In April 2007, Lynch testified before Congress that she had falsely been portrayed as a little girl Rambo and the U.S. military had hyped her story for propaganda reasons. According to Lynch: I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and tried to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were, in fact, legendary. She added: The truth of war is not always easy to hear but is always more heroic than the hype.

 

[Mben]

Good for her for standing up against our US Military. That makes her little girl Rambo in my eyes. I love our military but when stories like this happen, they are not so high and mighty. (but just for a short minute)I wanted to add that I am an Army brat. My dad served proudly for 28 years. -- Edited by Mben on Sunday 22nd of July 2012 05:25:38 PM

 

[daremeto]

Worlds First Test Tube Baby was Born  On this day in 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the world's first baby to be conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF) is born at Oldham and District General Hospital in Manchester, England, to parents Lesley and Peter Brown. The healthy baby was delivered shortly before midnight by caesarean section and weighed in at five pounds, 12 ounces.

 

[PhillipR]

Emmett Louis TillBirth: Jul. 25, 1941ChicagoCook CountyIllinois, USADeath: Aug. 28, 1955MoneyLeflore CountyMississippi, USAMurder Victim, Civil Rights Figure. Many historians feel he inadvertently started the American civil rights movement. His story is chronicled in the PBS award-winning documentary series, Eyes on the Prize. While visiting relatives in Mississippi, this young black Chicagoan, not understanding the profundity of racism there, accepted a dare to address an attractive white woman in a grocery store. He went in, bought some candy, and on the way out allegedly said bye, baby. One observer claimed he had only whistled at her. A couple of days later, the woman's husband and his brother-in-law took him from the home he was visiting and drove him to the Tallahatchie River where they made him strip, beat him, gouged out one of his eyes and shot him in the head. They threw his body, with a 75 lb. fan attached, into the river. When he was was recovered, he was so badly disfigured that he could only be identified by an initialed ring. Authorities wanted to bury him quickly, but his mother requested that he be sent back to Chicago. When she saw him, she tearfully decided to have an open casket funeral so that the public could see what murderers had done to her only son. When a picture of his corpse was published in Jet magazine, black Americans collectively were indignant about the brutality. Emmett's killers were acquitted by a Mississippi jury, and both black America as well as major newspapers throughout the country, condemned these outcomes, which became a catalyst for the youth of the 1950s to pursue the civil rights efforts of the 1960s.

 

[daremeto]

US Postal System establishedOn this day in 1775, the U.S. postal system is established by the Second Continental Congress, with Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general. Franklin (1706-1790) put in place the foundation for many aspects of today's mail system. During early colonial times in the 1600s, few American colonists needed to send mail to each other; it was more likely that their correspondence was with letter writers in Britain. Mail deliveries from across the Atlantic were sporadic and could take many months to arrive. There were no post offices in the colonies, so mail was typically left at inns and taverns. In 1753, Benjamin Franklin, who had been postmaster of Philadelphia, became one of two joint postmasters general for the colonies. He made numerous improvements to the mail system, including setting up new, more efficient colonial routes and cutting delivery time in half between Philadelphia and New York by having the weekly mail wagon travel both day and night via relay teams. Franklin also debuted the first rate chart, which standardized delivery costs based on distance and weight. In 1774, the British fired Franklin from his postmaster job because of his revolutionary activities. However, the following year, he was appointed postmaster general of the United Colonies by the Continental Congress. Franklin held the job until late in 1776, when he was sent to France as a diplomat. He left a vastly improved mail system, with routes from Florida to Maine and regular service between the colonies and Britain. President George Washington appointed Samuel Osgood, a former Massachusetts congressman, as the first postmaster general of the American nation under the new U.S. constitution in 1789. At the time, there were approximately 75 post offices in the country.Today, the United States has over 40,000 post offices and the postal service delivers 212 billion pieces of mail each year to over 144 million homes and businesses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the American Virgin Islands and American Samoa. The postal service is the nation's largest civilian employer, with over 700,000 career workers, who handle more than 44 percent of the world's cards and letters. The postal service is a not-for-profit, self-supporting agency that covers its expenses through postage (stamp use in the United States started in 1847) and related products. The postal service gets the mail delivered, rain or shine, using everything from planes to mules. However, it's not cheap: The U.S. Postal Service says that when fuel costs go up by just one penny, its own costs rise by $8 million.

 

[omeg]

Thanks for the recent posts gang.  They are so interesting. I have to say when I was doing the thread on a regular basis, I didnt think anyone was reading it, so I ended it.If anyone out there is interested in the thread coming back, all you gotta do is let me know, I'd be happy to do it again each day.                                                                                                                                 Pam

 

[daremeto]

House begins Impeachment of NixonOn this day in 1974, the House Judiciary Committee recommends that America's 37th president, Richard M. Nixon, be impeached and removed from office. The impeachment proceedings resulted from a series of political scandals involving the Nixon administration that came to be collectively known as Watergate.

 

[daremeto]

Pam i think that decision is yours to make, I find the past interesting and to be honest I don't read this daily. I do post in this section when I think about it and don't mind posting. I didn't realize you closed it and I have been fine with the way it has been. So I won't have a problem with whatever you decide to do lol

 

[omeg]

daremeto wrote: Pam i think that decision is yours to make, I find the past interesting and to be honest I don't read this daily. I do post in this section when I think about it and don't mind posting. I didn't realize you closed it and I have been fine with the way it has been. So I won't have a problem with whatever you decide to do lol

 Thanks for the feedback daremeto.

 

[PhillipR]

Adam Walsh Birth: Nov. 14, 1974Miami ShoresMiami-Dade CountyFlorida, USA Death: Jul. 27, 1981HollywoodBroward CountyFlorida, USA He was the son of America's Most Wanted host, John Walsh and his wife Reva. He was abducted and murdered. The search continued for days and many appeals to the public for help until Adam's decapitated head was found. His death inspired a television movie and the America's Most Wanted television program in 1988. On December 16th, 2008, the Hollywood Police Department finally identified Adam Walsh's killer as Ottis Toole (who died in prison in 1996).

 

[PhillipR]

i just found this thread a few days ago and i for one love it

 

[blingam]

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[PhillipR]

On July 31, 1975, James Riddle Hoffa, one of the most influential American labor leaders of the 20th century, disappears in Detroit, Michigan, never to be heard from again. Though he is popularly believed to have been the victim of a Mafia hit, conclusive evidence was never found, and Hoffa's death remains shrouded in mystery to this day.Born in 1913 to a poor coal miner in Brazil, Indiana, Jimmy Hoffa proved a natural leader in his youth. At the age of 20, he helped organize a labor strike in Detroit, and remained an advocate for downtrodden workers for the rest of his life. Hoffa's charisma and talents as a local organizer quickly got him noticed by the Teamsters and carried him upward through its ranks. Then a small but rapidly growing union, the Teamsters organized truckers across the country, and through the use of strikes, boycotts and some more powerful though less legal methods of protest, won contract demands on behalf of workers.Hoffa became president of the Teamsters in 1957, when its former leader was imprisoned for bribery. As chief, Hoffa was lauded for his tireless work to expand the union, and for his unflagging devotion to even the organization's least powerful members. His caring and approachability were captured in one of the more well-known quotes attributed to him: You got a problem? Call me. Just pick up the phone. Hoffa's dedication to the worker and his electrifying public speeches made him wildly popular, both among his fellow workers and the politicians and businessmen with whom he negotiated. Yet, for all the battles he fought and won on behalf of American drivers, he also had a dark side. In Hoffa's time, many Teamster leaders partnered with the Mafia in racketeering, extortion and embezzlement. Hoffa himself had relationships with high-ranking mobsters, and was the target of several government investigations throughout the 1960s. In 1967, he was convicted of bribery and sentenced to 15 years in prison.While in jail, Hoffa never ceded his office, and when Richard Nixon commuted his sentence in 1971, he was poised to make a comeback. Released on condition of not participating in union activities for 10 years, Hoffa was planning to fight the restriction in court when he disappeared on July 31, 1975, from the parking lot of a restaurant in Detroit, not far from where he got his start as a labor organizer. Several conspiracy theories have been floated about Hoffas disappearance and the location of his remains, but the truth remains unknown.

 

[PhillipR]

Birth: Sep. 16, 1864Death: Jul. 31, 1939Candy Maker. Born Mary Wiseman on Howe Island in Ontario, Canada, she developed her chocolate candy recipes while helping run her husband's hotel on nearby Tremont Island. Following her husband's death in 1919, she moved with her son Charles to California and settled in Los Angeles. Inspired by his mother's candy, Charles opened the first See's Candies store in 1921. With the store designed to resemble her kitchen, Mary See's portrait became the symbol of the company's quality and can be found in every See's store and on See's candy boxes.

 

[Mben]

Here are some tidbits for this first day of August .....1893 - Henry Perky and William Ford of Watertown, NY woke up early and found their patent sitting on the breakfast table. They had invented shredded wheat. Pass the bananas and milk, please...1944 - 13-year-old Anne Frank made the last entry in her diary; a diary she had kept for two years while hiding with her family to escape Nazi deportation to a concentration camp. Three days later the Grune Polizei raided the secret annex in Amsterdam, Holland, where the Jewish family was in hiding. Anne died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at age 15.1958 - After 26 years at 3 cents, the cost of mailing a first-class letter in the United States went up a penny.1960 - Chubby Checkers The Twist was released. The song inspired the dance craze of the 1960s. Round and around and around...1981 - MTV (Music Television) made its debut at 12:01 a.m. The first music video shown on the rock-video cable channel was, appropriately, Video Killed the Radio Star , by the Buggles. MTV's original five veejays were Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Alan Hunter.

 

[Mben]

August 2 1776 - Members of the Continental Congress began adding their signatures to the Declaration of Independence. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1791 - Samuel Briggs and his son Samuel Briggs, Jr. received a joint patent for their nail-making machine. They were the first father-son pair to receive a patent. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1824 - In New York City, Fifth Avenue was opened. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1858 - In Boston and New York City the first mailboxes were installed along streets. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1861 - The United States Congress passed the first income tax. The revenues were intended for the war effort against the South. The tax was never enacted. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1887 - Rowell Hodge patented barbed wire. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1892 - Charles A. Wheeler patented the first escalator. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1921 - Eight White Sox players were acquitted of throwing the 1919 World Series. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1926 - John Barrymore and Mary Astor starred in the first showing of the Vitaphone System. The system was the combining of picture and sound for movies. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1938 - Bright yellow baseballs were used in a major league baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cardinals. It was hoped that the balls would be easier to see. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1939 - Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Roosevelt urging the  U.S.  to have an atomic weapons research program. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1939 -  U.S. President Roosevelt  signed the Hatch Act. The act prohibited civil service employees from taking an active part in political campaigns. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1943 - The  U.S.  Navy patrol torpedo boat, PT-109, sank after being attacked by a Japanese destroyer. The boat was under the command of Lt. John F. Kennedy. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1945 - The Allied conference at Potsdam was concluded. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1964 - The Pentagon reported the first of two North Vietnamese attacks on  U.S.  destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1983 - U.S. House of Representatives approved a law that designated the third Monday of January would be a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The law was signed by President Reagon on November 2. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1987 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was re-released. The film was 50 years old at the time of its re-release. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1990 - Iraq invaded the oil-rich country of Kuwait. Iraq claimed that Kuwait had driven down oil prices by exceeding production quotas set by OPEC. <br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " /><br style="font-family:'Times New Roman'; " />1995 - China ordered the expulsion of two  U.S.  Air Force officers. The two were said to have been caught spying on military sights.

 

[daremeto]

Nautilus travels under North Pole   On August 3, 1958, the U.S. nuclear submarine Nautilus accomplishes the first undersea voyage to the geographic North Pole. The world's first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus dived at Point Barrow, Alaska, and traveled nearly 1,000 miles under the Arctic ice cap to reach the top of the world. It then steamed on to Iceland, pioneering a new and shorter route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and Europe.The USS Nautilus was constructed under the direction of U.S. Navy Captain Hyman G. Rickover, a brilliant Russian-born engineer who joined the U.S. atomic program in 1946. In 1947, he was put in charge of the navy's nuclear-propulsion program and began work on an atomic submarine. Regarded as a fanatic by his detractors, Rickover succeeded in developing and delivering the world's first nuclear submarine years ahead of schedule. In 1952, the Nautilus' keel was laid by President Harry S. Truman, and on January 21, 1954, first lady Mamie Eisenhower broke a bottle of champagne across its bow as it was launched into the Thames River at Groton, Connecticut. Commissioned on September 30, 1954, it first ran under nuclear power on the morning of January 17, 1955.Much larger than the diesel-electric submarines that preceded it, the Nautilus stretched 319 feet and displaced 3,180 tons. It could remain submerged for almost unlimited periods because its atomic engine needed no air and only a very small quantity of nuclear fuel. The uranium-powered nuclear reactor produced steam that drove propulsion turbines, allowing the Nautilus to travel underwater at speeds in excess of 20 knots.In its early years of service, the USS Nautilus broke numerous submarine travel records and on July 23, 1958, departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Operation Northwest Passage --the first crossing of the North Pole by submarine. There were 116 men aboard for this historic voyage, including Commander William R. Anderson, 111 officers and crew, and four civilian scientists. The Nautilus steamed north through the Bering Strait and did not surface until it reached Point Barrow, Alaska, in the Beaufort Sea, though it did send its periscope up once off the Diomedes Islands, between Alaska and Siberia, to check for radar bearings. On August 1, the submarine left the north coast of Alaska and dove under the Arctic ice cap.The submarine traveled at a depth of about 500 feet, and the ice cap above varied in thickness from 10 to 50 feet, with the midnight sun of the Arctic shining in varying degrees through the blue ice. At 11:15 p.m. EDT on August 3, 1958, Commander Anderson announced to his crew: For the world, our country, and the Navy--the North Pole. The Nautilus passed under the geographic North Pole without pausing. The submarine next surfaced in the Greenland Sea between Spitzbergen and Greenland on August 5. Two days later, it ended its historic journey at Iceland. For the command during the historic journey, President Dwight D. Eisenhower decorated Anderson with the Legion of Merit.After a career spanning 25 years and almost 500,000 miles steamed, the Nautilus was decommissioned on March 3, 1980. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982, the world's first nuclear submarine went on exhibit in 1986 as the Historic Ship Nautilus at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut.