ON THIS DAY

On this date in 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris, France, attacked the palace of Louis XVI. The king was taken into custody, put on trial for treason, and executed the following January.

They wanted to wait until after Christmas, so they could also get the gifts he received.
Most were there to gain their freedom back. But the smart peasants grabbed furniture as an investment.
It was basically one big surprise "Going away" party.
The king was very surprised he was going away.

In 1809, Ecuador announced it's independence from Spain. Seems that, being that far apart, it was just too hard to get together during the holidays.

On this date in 1821 Missouri, became the 24th U.S. state. It's known as the "Show me" state, but I have and you can get arrested.

In 1866, after the completion of transatlantic cable being laid. President Buchanan spoke to Queen Victoria and became the first-ever person to ask if Prince Albert was in the can.

Our 31st president, Herbert Hoover, was born on this date in 1874. He was the first president born west of the Mississippi; a member of Stanford University's first graduating class; and the first president to have a telephone installed at his desk. Of course, it was during his presidency that America entered "the great depression." Most felt it was because we had a vacuum of leadership.

In 1885, in Baltimore, Maryland, the very first commercially operated electric trolley car began service. The cool thing about running on commercials -- you never run out of them!

On this date in 1948, Allen Funt's "Candid Microphone," later titled "Candid Camera," debuted on TV. That was back in the day when you could hide a camera and not have to apologize to your fellow employees and swear you'd never do it again.

On this date in 1949, the National Military Establishment is renamed the Department of Defense. Who knew they originally had such a foreboding name?

In 1954, workers at the Studebaker-Packard plant took a pay cut. And thanks to their dedication to the job and willingness to sacrifice their own needs for the sake of the company, they all... wait a minute. They went out of business years ago. Hey!

On this date in 1954, Elvis Presley made one of his first professional appearances at Overton Park in Memphis, TN, singing "That's All Right (Mama)." When he asked his mom how he did, she replied, "Oh, alright."

In 1972, Paul McCartney was arrested for possessing pot in Sweden. Let that be a lesson to you, kids: if you're arrested for drugs, then you'll probably never... oh, wait: bad example.

On this date in 1981, baseball's Pete Rose topped Stan Musial's National League record of 3630 hits. He remains baseball's all-time hits leader, a record that might someday be broken... but I wouldn't bet on it. He might, I wouldn't.

In 1982, filming began on the James Bond film, "Octopussy." Not very historically significant, but an excuse to say the word "Octopussy." So how does that grab you? It makes me feel like I'm getting away with something. :)

On this date in 1983, the roller coaster endurance record was set at 503 hours. Needless to say, while quite a conquest, it had its ups and downs.

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