Today In History...

In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII outlines his calendar reforms for the Gregorian Calendar, still in use today.
In 1803 In its Marbury vs. Madison decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that it was the final interpreter of constitutional issues.
In 1821 Mexico declares independence from Spain.
In 1863 Arizona is organized as a territory.
In 1868 The U.S. House of Representatives votes to impeach President Andrew Johnson following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. He is later acquitted by the Senate.
In 1903 The U.S. acquires a naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In 1920 The Nazi party holds it first meeting in Munich.
In 1922 Serial killer Henri Landau known as "Bluebeard" is executed in France for the murder of ten women.
In 1927 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that states may control KKK activities.
In 1929 The first Sherlock Holmes movie is released, a one-reeler withClive Brook as Holmes.
In 1938 The first nylon toothbrushes go on sale in New Jersey.
In 1941 America launches it's first rocket into space.
In 1942 The Voice Of America goes on the air for the first time.
In 1945 The U.S. recaptures the Philippine capital Manila from the Japanese during World War II.
In 1946 Argentinians elect Juan D. Peron as their president.
In 1961 The Federal Communications Commission authorizes PAY-TV.
In 1980 The U.S. hockey team defeats Finland, 4-2, to clinch the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York.
In 1981 Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of Britain's Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.
In 1983 The Dow Jones industrial average closes above 1,100 for the first time, ending the day at 1,121.81.
In 1983 A U.S. congressional commission releases a report condemning the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, calling it a "grave injustice."
In 1986 Chicago Mayor, Harold Washington defeats Jayne Byrne in the Democratic Primary.
In 1986 The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down as unconstitutional an Indianapolis ordinance that allowed women injured by someone who had seen or read pornographic material to sue the maker or seller of that material.
In 1987 Fawn Hall, former personal secretary to fired National Security Council aide Oliver L. North, poses for news photographers outside her attorney's office, saying the attention "a little overwhelming."
In 1988 In a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the U.S. Supreme Court overturns a $200,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt.
In 1989 A state funeral is held in Japan for Emperor Hirohito, who had died the month before at age 87.
In 1989 A cargo door blows off a United Air Lines Boeing 747 flying near Hawaii, killing nine.
In 1990 Magazine publisher Malcolm Forbes dies at age 70.
In 1991 The U.S. and its Gulf War allies launch a large-scale ground assault against Iraqi troops, many of whom surrendered to the advancing forces.
In 1992 General Motors reports a record $4.5 billion loss for 1991.
In 1992 A fourth round of Mideast peace talks begins in Washington, DC.
In 1993 Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced he would step down.
In 1994 Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders labels smoking an "adolescent addiction" and accused the tobacco industry of trying to convince teen-agers that cigarettes will make them sexy and successful.
In 1994 Dinah Shore dies in Beverly Hills, CA, at age 76.
In 1996 Cuba shoots down two small American planes that it claims were violating Cuban airspace.
In 1997 The Food and Drug Administration names six brands of birth control as safe and effective "morning-after" pills.
In 1997 Nairobi University closes Kenya's largest campus after rioting students protest fire death of student leader.
In 1997 Secretary of State Madeleine Albright meets in Beijing with Chinese officials, telling them to improve their country's record on human rights or face condemnation by the U.S. and its allies.
In 1998 Comedian Henny Youngman ("Take my wife... please") dies at age 91.
In 2001 Mathematician and computer scientist Claude Shannon, whose theories about binary code became the basis for modern mass communications networks, dies at age 84.
In 2002 The Salt Lake City Olympics come to a close, the same day Canada won its first hockey gold in 50 years.
In 2003 A powerful earthquake in China's western region of Xinjiang kills at least 268 people and injured more than 1,000.
In 2013 Jimmie Johnson wins the 2013 Daytona 500.
In 2014 Filmmaker Harold Ramis, who exerted a strong creative hand in such comedies as National Lampoon's Animal House, the Ghostbusters series and Groundhog's Day, dies in Chicago. He was 69.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fall Book Discussion and Movie Series

Book discussion group to meet

City Page Survey