ON THIS DAY

ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1734, Daniel Boone was born in a log cabin in Berks County, near present-day Reading, Pennsylvania. Boone is one of the most famous pioneers in U.S., as he spent most of his life exploring and settling the American frontier. Many legends revolved around him, like the time he wrestled a bear. It doesn't say here a "bare what," but I'm sure it was interesting.

Marie Antoinette was born in 1755. She and her husband were the heads of France, until they separated.

On this date in 1783, George Washington gave his farewell address to the troops.

• He said it wasn't the battles that wore him down, it was posing for all those pictures.
• He told them all to write anytime.
• Eventually, he quit working and became president.
• Washington gave his farewell address to his troops. But, of course, not his zip code.

Our country's 11th president, James Polk, was born back in 1795. During his presidency, the U.S. acquired California. Other than that, he was a pretty good president.

On this date in 1889, North Dakota becomes the 39th and South Dakota becomes the 40th U.S. state. They came as a boxed set.

America's first commercial radio station went on the air on this date in 1920. Have you ever noticed that "a word from our sponsor" is rarely ever just "a word"?

In 1947, Howard Hughes flew his "Spruce Goose" for the one and only time, in a flight that lasted less than a minute. It stayed in the air for a minute... and yet, still managed to lose 4 pieces of luggage.

On this date in 1957, Montreal goalie Jacques Plante, is the first to start wearing a facemask, after he was hit in the face by the puck. Imagine if he had never done that... we would all know what Jason's face looked like. Or, even if he had just worn a catcher's mask, it wouldn't have been as scary.

In 1964, CBS purchased 80% of the New York Yankees for $11.2 million. Fortunately, a psychic warned them about the upcoming Alex Rodriguez thing, so they eventually bailed.