Today In History...

Today In History...

   In 1778 Oliver Pollock, a New Orleans businessman, creates the dollar ($)

           symbol.

   In 1789 The House of Representatives hold their first full meeting in

           New York City.  Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania is elected

           the first House speaker.

   In 1826 The internal combustion engine is patented by Samuel Mory.

   In 1853 Cincinnati becomes the first U.S. city to pay firefighters a

           regular salary.

   In 1864 The first accident insurance policy is issued in Hartford, CT.

   In 1866 The U.S. Congress overrides a presidential veto on a bill that gave

           equal voting rights in the U.S.

   In 1889 The first dishwashing machine is sold in Chicago.

   In 1904 The Antarctic Plateau is discovered by Captain R.F. Scott.

   In 1918 The Royal Air Force is established in Britain.

   In 1929 The Yo-Yo is introduced to the public by Louie Marx.

   In 1933 Nazi Germany begins persecution of Jews boycotting Jewish-owned

           businesses.

   In 1935 The first radio tube made of metal is produced in Schenectady, NY.

   In 1938 The "Superman" comic strip debuts in newspapers.

   In 1939 The U.S. recognizes the Franco government in Spain following the end

           of the Spanish civil war.

   In 1945 American forces launch the invasion of Okinawa during World War II.

   In 1946 A series of tidal waves strike the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in

           more than 170 deaths.

   In 1952 The "Big Bang" theory is proposed in Physical Review by Alpher,

           Bethe and Gamow.

   In 1953 The Department Of Health, Education and Welfare is voted into

           existence by the U.S. Congress.

   In 1954 The U.S. Air Force Academy is established. It was formally dedicated

           on July 11, 1955.

   In 1960 The first weather satellite TIROS-I is launched from Cape Canaveral.

   In 1963 New York City's newspapers resume publishing after a 114-day strike.

   In 1963 The daytime drama "General Hosptial" premieres on ABC-TV.

   In 1964 The USSR launches Zond 1 towards Venus.

   In 1970 President Nixon signs a measure banning cigarette advertising on

           radio and TV, to take effect after New Year's Day, 1971.

   In 1971 The U.S. and Canada launch ISIS II to study the ionosphere.

   In 1977 The U.S. Senate follows the example of the House adopting a strict

           code of ethics requiring financial disclosure of outside income.

   In 1979 Iran proclaims an Islamic Republic following the fall of the Shah.

   In 1982 U.S. formally transfers the Canal Zone to the government of Panama.

   In 1983 Tens of thousands of anti-nuclear demonstraters link arms and form a

           14-mile human chain around 3 defense installations in rural England.

   In 1986 World oil prices fall below $10 a barrel.

   In 1986 A presidential panel releases a report concluding that organized

           crime would reap more than $100 billion in 1986, costing the country

           more than 400,000 jobs.

   In 1987 In his first major speech on the AIDS epidemic, President Reagan

           tells a meeting of doctors in Philadelphia, "We've declared AIDS

           public health enemy number one."

   In 1988 Jim Jordan, radio's "Fibber McGee," dies at age 91.

   In 1988 Independent counsel James C. McKay finds insufficient evidence to

           warrant a criminal indictment of Attorney General Edwin Meese III in

           connection with the Iraq-Jordan pipeline plan.

   In 1990 Soviet military vehicles roll through the Lithuanian capital of

           Vilnius, a day after Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev warned the

           republic to annul its declaration of independence.

   In 1991 Modern dance pioneer Martha Graham dies at age 96.

   In 1991 The U.S. Supreme Court rules, 7-2, that trial prosecutors violate

           the Constitution if they bar prospective jurors for racial reasons.

   In 1992 The House Ethics Committee publicly identifies 22 current and former

           lawmakers as the worst offenders in the House bank overdraft

           controversy.

   In 1993 In a plea for Russian aid, President Clinton said that America

           should help "not out of charity" but as a crucial investment in

           peace and prosperity.

   In 1994 Model/actress Christie Brinkley suffers minor injuries when a

   In 1994 helicopter she was riding in with five other skiers crashed on a

           mountainside in Telluride, CO.

   In 1995 United Nations peacekeepers officially take over from the U.S.-led

           multinational force in Haiti.

   In 1995 Ukraine begins the process of dismantling its nuclear missiles.

   In 1996 Mother Teresa is hospitalized after breaking her left collarbone in

           a fall.

   In 1996 Baseball umpire John McSherry dies after collapsing on field at

           start of season opener between the Reds and the Expos.

   In 1996 Two Riverside County, CA, sheriff's deputies are videotaped

           repeatedly clubbing a Mexican man and woman after a 70-mile highway

           chase.

   In 1997 About 500 marchers in Miami protest a law making it harder for

           immigrants to get into the U.S. and easier for officials to deport

           those here illegally.

   In 1998 A federal judge throws out Paula Jones' sexual harassment lawsuit

           against President Clinton.

   In 2000 Michelle Kwan wins her third World Figure Skating title.

   In 2001 A U.S. Navy surveillance plane collides with a Chinese fighter over

           the South China Sea, then made an emergency landing on China's

           Hainan island.

   In 2001 Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is arrested on

           corruption charges after a standoff with the police at his villa.

   In 2002 Israeli tanks and bulldozers mass on the edge of Bethlehem in an 

           expansion of a West Bank offensive.

   In 2003 American troops enter a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, and rescued 

           Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who had been held prisoner since her unit 

           was ambushed on March 23.

   In 2016 April Fools Day.