Today in History

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009

Today is Wednesday, November 25, the 329th day of 2009. There are 36 days left in the year. 1715 _ First English patent granted to an American, for processing corn 1867 _ Alfred Nobel invents dynamite 1930 _ 690 earthquake shocks recorded in one day (Ito, Japan) 1933 _ First Soviet liquid rocket attains altitude of 261' (80m) 1960 _ First atomic reactor for research and development, Richland, Wa. 1963 _ JFK laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery 1973 _ Bloodless military coup ousts Greek President George Papadopoulos 1986 _ Iran-Contra affair erupts, President Reagan reveals secret arm deal 1988 _ Convention on exploitation of Antarctic mineral resources signed 1990 _ Lech Walesa wins in Poland's first popular election

Nov 24, 2009

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009

Today is Tuesday, November 24, the 328th day of 2009. There are 37 days left in the year. 1639 _ First observation of transit of Venus occurred (only two, record event) 1759 _ Destructive eruption of Vesuvius 1859 _ Charles Darwin publishes ``On the Origin of Species" 1944 _ U.S. bombers based on Saipan, first attack Tokyo 1949 _ Britain nationalizes its steel and iron industry 1952 _ Agatha Christie's ``The Mousetrap" opens in London 1960 _ Wilt Chamberlain pulls down 55 rebounds in a game (NBA record) 1983 _ PLO exchanges six Israeli prisoners for 4,500 Palestinians and Lebanese 1989 _ Communist Party resigns in Czechoslovakia 1992 _ Chinese air crash kills 141

Nov 23, 2009

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009

Today is Monday, November 23, the 327th day of 2009. There are 38 days left in the year. 1835 _ Henry Burden patents Horseshoe manufacturing machine, Troy, N.Y. 1863 _ Patent granted for a process of making color photographs 1899 _ First jukebox (Palais Royal Hotel, San Francisco) 1903 _ Enrico Caruso U.S. debut (Metropolitan Opera House, N.Y.) in ``Rigoletto" 1936 _ first issue of Life, picture magazine created by Henry R. Luce 1963 _ JFK's body, lay in repose in East Room of White House 1971 _ China People's Republic seated in U.N. Security Council 1980 _ 4,800 die in series of earthquakes that devastated southern Italy 1988 _ Wayne Gretzky scores his 600th NHL goal 1989 _ Pilots Union give up sympathy strike against Eastern Airlines

Nov 22, 2009

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009

Today is Saturday, November 21, the 325th day of 2009. There are 40 days left in the year. 1654 _ Richard Johnson, a free black, granted 550 acres in Virginia 1818 _ Russia's Czar Alexander I petitions for a Jewish state in Palestine 1871 _ Moses Gale patents a cigar lighter 1877 _ Tom Edison announces his ``talking machine" invention 1945 _ General Motors workers go on strike 1977 _ first flight of the Concorde (London to New York) 1980 _ Dallas' ``Who Shot JR?" episode (Kristen) gets a 53.3 rating 1980 _ John and Yoko pose nude for photographer Allan Tannenbaum 1990 _ Michael Milken is sentenced to 10 years for security law violations 1990 _ Signing of ``Declaration of End of Cold war" in Paris

Nov 20, 2009

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009

Today is Friday, November 20, the 324th day of 2009. There are 41 days left in the year. 1272 _ Edward I proclaimed King of England 1805 _ The opera ``Fidelio" is produced (Vienna) 1945 _ 24 Nazi leaders put on trial at Nuremberg, Germany 1947 _ ``Meet the Press" makes network TV debut on NBC 1947 _ Britain's Princess Elizabeth, marries Duke Philip Mountbatten 1959 _ U.N. adopts the declaration of children's rights 1962 _ U.S. lifts blockade of Cuba 1969 _ Pele scores his 1,000th soccer goal 1977 _ Egyptian President Sadat became first Arab leader to address Israeli Knesset 1986 _ WHO announces first global effort to combat AIDS

Nov 19, 2009

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009

Today is Thursday, November 19, the 323rd day of 2009. There are 42 days left in the year. 1493 _ Christopher Columbus discovers Puerto Rico, on his second voyage 1644 _ First Protestant ministry society in New England 1863 _ Lincoln delivers his address in Gettysburg; ``4 score and 7 years ..." 1919 _ U.S. Senate rejects (55-39) Treaty of Versailles and League of Nations 1942 _ Russia launches winter offensive against Germans along the Don front 1947 _ 200-inch mirror arrives at Mt. Palomar 1963 _ Worst Canadian air disaster kills 118 in Montreal 1977 _ Egyptian President Anwar Sadat arrives in Israel 1985 _ U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet for first time 1990 _ Iraq announces it will free all German hostages

Nov 18, 2009

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009

Today is Wednesday, November 18, the 322nd day of 2009. There are 43 days left in the year. 1307 _ William Tell shoots apple off his son's head 1421 _ Zuider Zee floods 72 villages, killing an estimated 10,000 in Netherlands 1497 _ Bartolomeu Dias discovers Cape of Good Hope 1894 _ First newspaper Sunday color comic section published (N.Y. World) 1912 _ Albania declares independence from Turkey 1928 _ Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse debuts in NY in ``Steamboat Willie" 1936 _ Germany and Italy recognized Spanish government of Francisco Franco 1961 _ U.S. Ranger 2 launched to Moon; failed 1964 _ J. Edgar Hoover describes Martin Luther King as ``most notorious liar" 1970 _ Russia lands self propelled rover on the Moon

Nov 17, 2009

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009

Today is Tuesday, November 17, the 321st day of 2009. There are 44 days left in the year. 1558 _ Elizabeth I ascends English throne upon death of Queen Mary 1796 _ Battle of Arcole-Napoleon I's French forces beat Austrians in Italy 1800 _ Congress held first session in Washington, D.C. 1866 _ The opera ``Mignon" is produced (Paris) 1869 _ Suez Canal opens (Egypt) 1913 _ Panama Canal opens 1959 _ De Beers firm of South Africa announces synthetic diamond 1973 _ President Nixon told AP ``... people have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook" 1977 _ Egyptian President Sadat formally accepts invitation to visit Israel 1993 _ U.S. Congress votes for NAFTA

Nov 16, 2009

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009

Today is Monday, November 16, the 320th day of 2009. There are 45 days left in the year. 1532 _ Pizarro seizes Incan emperor Atahualpa after victory at Cajamarca 1894 _ 6,000 Armenians massacred by Turks in Kurdistan 1901 _ Three autos race on Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, fastest speed achieved by Henry Fournier who drives a mile in 51 & 4/5 seconds 1908 _ Arturo Tuscanini begins conducting N.Y.'s Metropolitan Opera 1914 _ Federal Reserve System formally opens 1933 _ Roosevelt establishes diplomatic relations with USSR 1959 _ ``Sound of Music" opens on Broadway 1981 _ Luke marries Laura on General Hospital 1988 _ Estonia declares sovereignty in internal affairs 1990 _ Manuel Noriega claims US denied him a fair trial

Nov 15, 2009

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2009

Today is Saturday, November 14, the 318th day of 2009. There are 47 days left in the year. 1666 _ Samuel Pepys reports on first blood transfusion (between dogs) 1832 _ First streetcar (horse-drawn) (John Mason) debuts in NYC; fare 12 cents rode on 4th Avenue between Prince and 14th St. 1851 _ ``Moby Dick," by Herman Melville, published 1918 _ Republic of Czechoslovakia created with T.G. Masaryk as President 1922 _ BBC begins domestic radio service at Marconi House 1935 _ FDR proclaims the Philippine Islands a free commonwealth 1940 _ During WW II, German planes destroyed most of Coventry, England 1972 _ Dow Jones closes above 1,000 for first time (1003.16) 1975 _ Spain abandoned the Spanish Sahara 1991 _ Michael Jackson's ``Black or White" video premiers on Fox TV

Nov 13, 2009

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