Today in History

MONDAY, Sept. 11, 2023

1609 ― Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island1773 ― Benjamin Franklin writes, "There never was a good war or bad peace."1852 ― Olympia Columbian is first newspaper published north of Columbia River1875 ― First newspaper cartoon strip1910 ― First commercially successful electric bus line opens (Hollywood)1919 ― U.S. marines inserted in Honduras1926 ― Aloha Tower dedicated in Honolulu1928 ― First TV drama airs - WGY's “The Queen's Messenger”1946 ― First mobile long-distance car-to-car telephone conversation held1951 ― Florence Chadwick becomes first woman to swim the English Channel from England to France taking 16 hours and 19 minutes1988 ― Sports Aid runners join Race Against Time to feed the world2001 ― The worst terrorist attack on American soil in history ― 2819+ die in hijacked airplane attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and when on crashes into a field in Western Pennsylvania

Sep 10, 2023

FRIDAY, Sept. 08, 2023

1380 ― Russians defeat Tatars at Kulikovo, beginning decline of Tatars1522 ― Spanish navigator Juan de Elcano returns to Spain, completes first circumnavigation of globe, expedition begins under Ferdinand Magellan1553 ― City of Lichfield, England established1771 ― Mission San Gabriel Archangel forms in California1892 ― First appearance of "The Pledge of Allegiance" (Youth's Companion)1930 ― First appearance of the comic strip "Blondie"1945 ― U.S. forces arrive in southern Korea after Japanese surrender1952 ― Ernest Hemingway's "Old Man & the Sea" published1967 ― Uganda abolishes traditional tribal kingdoms, becomes a republic1973 ― First all-Australian women's US Open final, (Court beats Goolagong)1985 ― "USA Weekend's" 1st issue, appears in 255 newspapers1990 ― Ellis Island Historical Site opens on Ellis Island, NYC

Sep 7, 2023

THURSDAY, Sept. 07, 2023

1714 ― Treaty of Baden: French retain Alsace, Austria gets right bank of Rhine1822 ― Brazil declares independence from Portugal (National Day)1896 ― First closed-circuit auto race, at Cranston, RI1903 ― Federation of American Motorcyclists organized in NY1914 ― New York Post Office Building opens to the public1927 ― Philo Farnsworth demonstrates first use of TV in San Francisco1948 ― First use of synthetic rubber in asphaltic concrete, Akron, Ohio1970 ― Donald Boyles sets record for highest parachute jump from a bridge, by leaping off the 1,053-foot-high Royal George Bridge in Colorado1980 ― 32nd Emmy Awards shown despite actors' boycott1990 ― Miss America 1991 crowned1991 ― Monica Seles wins the U.S. Open

Sep 6, 2023

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 06, 2023

1869 ― First westbound train arrives in SF1873 ― Regular Cable Car service begins on Clay Street1876 ― Southern Pacific line from LA to SF completed1899 ― Carnation processes its first can of evaporated milk1909 ― Word received, Adm Peary reaches North Pole 5 months earlier1914 ― First Battle of the Marne; Germans prevented from occupying Paris1941 ― All Jews over age 6 in German territories ordered to wear a yellow star1966 ― "Star Trek" premiers on NBC TV1968 ― Swaziland gains independence from Britain (National Day)1973 ― NY Times reports almost all superfectas run at Yonkers, Roosevelt & Monticello from Jan-Mar of 1973 were fixed1991 ― USSR recognizes independence of the 3 Baltic republics

Sep 5, 2023

TUESDAY, Sept. 05, 2023

1774 ― First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia1795 ― U.S.-Algiers sign peace treaty1882 ― 10,000 workers march in first Labor Day parade in NYC1885 ― First gasoline pump is delivered to a gasoline dealer (Ft Wayne, Ind)1901 ― National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues formed1905 ― Treaty of Portsmouth U.S., ends Russo-Japanese War1914 ― First Battle of the Marne (WWI) begins1953 ― First privately operated atomic reactor, Raleigh NC1958 ― "Doctor Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak published in the U.S.1958 ― First color video recording on magnetic tape presented, Charlotte NC1972 ― Chemical spill with fog sickens hundreds in Meuse Valley, Belgium1980 ― World's longest auto tunnel, St. Gotthard in Swiss Alps, opens1986 ― NASA awards study contracts to 5 aerospace firms1991 ― U.S. trial of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega begins

Sep 4, 2023

MONDAY, Sept. 04, 2023

1609 ― Navigator Henry Hudson discovers island of Manhattan1618 ― "Rodi" avalanche destroys Plurs, Switzerland, 1,500 killed1781 ― Los Angeles founded in Bahia de las Fumas by 44 settlers, (Valley of Smokes)1833 ― First newsboy hired (Barney Flaherty-NY Sun)1866 ― First Hawaiian daily newspaper published1882 ― First U.S. district lit by electricity (NY's Pearl Street Station)1885 ― First cafeteria opens (NYC)1888 ― George Eastman patents 1st roll-film camera & registers Kodak1945 ― U.S. regains possession of Wake Island from Japan1951 ― First transcontinental TV broadcast, by President Truman1957 ― Ford Motor Co. introduces the Edsel1972 ― U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz becomes 1st athlete to win 7 Olympic gold medals1991 ― Rte 35 Theater in Hazlit, the last drive-in in NJ, closes

Sep 3, 2023

FRIDAY, Sept. 01, 2023

1666 ― Great London Fire begins in Pudding Lane. Eighty percent of London destroyed.1859 ― Pullman sleeping car debuts1859 ― RC Carrington & R Hodgson make first observation of solar flare1874 ― Sydney General Post Office opens in Australia1878 ― First female telephone operator, Emma Nutt, starts work in Boston1916 ― Keating-Owen Act outlaws child labor from interstate commerce1939 ― Physical Review publishes first paper to deal with black holes1941 ― Yellow star becomes obligatory for Jews in the Reich 1948 ― U.N.'s World Health Organization established1951 ― U.S., Australia & New Zealand sign ANZUS treaty1983 ― Korean Boeing 747 strays over Kamchatka and is shot down by a Soviet jet1985 ― U.S.-French expedition locates wreckage of Titanic off Newfoundland1989 ― Princess Anne & Mark Phillips announce their separation

Aug 31, 2023

THURSDAY, Aug. 31, 2023

1881 ― First U.S. tennis championships (Newport, RI)1886 ― First major earthquake recorded in eastern U.S., at Charleston, SC1887 ― Thomas Edison patents Kinetoscope, (produces moving pictures)1902 ― Split skirt first worn by Mrs. Adolph Landeburg (horse rider)1907 ― England, Russia & France form the Triple Entente1954 ― Census Bureau established1955 ― First microwave TV station operated, Lufkin, Tx.1955 ― First sun-powered automobile demonstrated, Chicago, Ill.1957 ― Malaya (Malaysia) gains independence from Britain (National Day)1962 ― Trinidad & Tobago gain independence from Britain (National Day)1971 ― Dave Scott becomes 1st person to drive a car on the Moon1979 ― Comet Howard-Koomur-Michels collides with the Sun1986 ― Aeromexico jet and small plane collide killing 821988 ― 5-day power blackout of downtown Seattle begins

Aug 30, 2023

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 30, 2023

1645 ― Dutch & Indians sign peace treaty1843 ― First Black participation in nat'l political convention (Liberty Party)1850 ― Honolulu, Hawaii becomes a city1885 ― 13,000 meteors seen in 1 hour near Andromeda1941 ― Siege of Leningrad by Nazi troops begins in WWII1945 ― Hong Kong liberated from Japan1963 ― Hot Line communications link between Washington, D.C. & Moscow begins1968 ― First record released under Apple label (Beatle's “Hey Jude”)1979 ― First recorded occurrence-comet hits sun (energy=1 mil. hydrogen bombs)1979 ― U.S. President Jimmy Carter “attacked” by rabbit on a canoe trip in Plains, Georgia1986 ― Soviet authorities arrest Nicholas Daniloff (U.S. News World Report)1987 ― Yves Pol of France runs complete marathon backwards (3:57:57)1990 ― Ken Griffey & Ken Griffey Jr. become first father-son duo to play on the same team (Seattle Mariners)

Aug 29, 2023

TUESDAY, Aug. 29, 2023

1758 ― First Native American reservation established1844 ― First white vs indigenous lacrosse game held in Montreal, indigenous team wins1862 ― U.S. Bureau of Engraving & Printing begins operation1864 ― William Huggins discovers chemical composition of nebulae1885 ― Gottlieb Daimler receives German patent for a motorcycle1916 ― Steamboat Hsin Iu sinks off China's coast, 1,000 drown1929 ― German airship Graf Zeppelin ends a round-the-world flight1939 ― Chaim Weizmann informs England that Palestine Jews will fight in WWII1954 ― San Francisco International Airport (SFO) opens1958 ― U.S. Air Force Academy opens1964 ― Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins" released1988 ― Macy's Tap-o-Mania sets Guinness record1990 ― Seattle Mariners become 1st team with father-son teammates, signing Ken Griffey to play with son Ken Griffey Jr.

Aug 28, 2023

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