Today in History

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 02, 2023

1776 ― Formal signing of the Declaration of Independence1819 ― First parachute jump in U.S.1832 ― White settlers massacre fleeing Indians ending Battle of Bad Axe River, Wisc.1858 ― First street mailboxes introduced in Boston, Mass.1875 ― First roller skating rink opens in London1877 ― SF Public Library opens with 5,000 volumes1909 ― Army Air Corps formed as Army takes first delivery from Wright Brothers1964 ― North Vietnam fires on USS Maddox in Gulf of Tonkin1980 ― U.S. swimmers set three world records at national championships1989 ― NASA confirmed Voyager 2's discovery of three more moons of Neptune 1990 ― Iraq invades, occupies Kuwait

Aug 1, 2023

TUESDAY, Aug. 01, 2023

1716 ― First sculling race (London Bridge to Chelsea)1774 ― Priestly discovers oxygen1789 ― U.S. Customs begins enforcing Tariff Act1790 ― First U.S. census (population of 3,939,214)1831 ― London Bridge officially opens1834 ― Slavery abolished in British Empire1876 ― Colorado becomes 38th state1914 ― Germany declares war on Russia in WWI1916 ― Hawaii National Park established1950 ― Territory of Guam created1953 ― California introduces sales tax (for education)1955 ― First microgravity research begins1960 ― Benin gains independence from France1992 ― NBC's "Saturday Today" premieres

Jul 31, 2023

MONDAY, July 31, 2023

1498 ― Christopher Columbus discovers island of Trinidad1809 ― First practical railroad track (wooden, for horse-drawn cars), built in Pennsylvania1813 ― British forces invade Plattsburgh, NY1912 ― U.S. government prohibits movies and photos of prize fights (censorship)1922 ― 18-year-old Ralph Samuelson rides world's 1st water skis (Minnesota)1953 ― U.S. Dept. of Health, Education & Welfare created1960 ― Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam, calls for a Black state1964 ― NASA's Ranger 7 takes 4,316 pictures before crashing on Moon1966 ― Alabamans burn Beatle products due to John Lennon's anti-Jesus remark1981 ― Arnette Hubbard installed as first woman president of the National Bar Association1990 ― Nolan Ryan becomes the 20th major league pitcher to win 300 games

Jul 30, 2023

FRIDAY, July 28, 2023

1586 ― Sir Thomas Harriot introduces potatoes to Europe1588 ― Spanish Armada sails to overthrow England's Queen Elizabeth I1821 ― Peru declares independence from Spain (National Day)1851 ― Total solar eclipse captured on a daguerreotype photograph1866 ― Metric system becomes legal measurement system in U.S.1883 ― Shocks triggered by the Mount Epomeo volcano (Isle of Ischia, Italy) Destroys 1,200 houses at Casamicciola killing 2,0001896 ― City of Miami incorporated1900 ― Hamburger created by Louis Lassing in Connecticut1931 ― Congress makes "The Star-Spangled Banner" U.S.' 2nd national anthem1943 ― President FDR announces end of coffee rationing in U.S.1977 ― First oil flows through the Alaska pipeline1990 ― Blackout hits Chicago

Jul 27, 2023

THURSDAY, July 27, 2023

1586 ― Sir Walter Raleigh introduces tobacco to England from Virginia1661 ― Parliament of England passes the Navigation Act1789 ― U.S. Congress establishes Dept. of Foreign Affairs (State dept.)1862 ― Steamer "Golden Gate" burns & sinks off west coast of Mexico1866 ― Atlantic telegraph cable successfully laid (1,686 miles long)1940 ― Billboard magazine starts publishing bestseller charts1941 ― Imperial Japanese forces invade Indo-China1944 ― U.S. regains possession of Guam from Japan1953 ― Armistice signed halting Korean War1954 ― Armistice divides Vietnam into two countries1955 ― Austria regains full independence after post-war occupation1976 ― 8.2 Tangshan earthquake kills estimated 240,000 Chinese1977 ― John Lennon granted U.S. green card

Jul 26, 2023

WEDNESDAY, July 26, 2023

1775 ― Benjamin Franklin becomes first Postmaster General1788 ― New York becomes 11th state to ratify U.S. Constitution1790 ― U.S. passes Assumption Bill making government responsible for state debts1835 ― First sugar cane plantation started in Hawaii1847 ― Liberia declares independence from American Colonization Society1887 ― First Esperanto book published1947 ― U.S. Department of Defense established1947 ― CIA established under U.S. National Security Act1965 ― Republic of Maldives gains independence from Britain (Nat'l Day)1991 ― Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman) is arrested in Florida, for exposing himself at an adult movie theater

Jul 25, 2023

TUESDAY, July 25, 2023

1799 ― French-Egyptian forces under Napolean I beat Turks at Battle of Abukir1814 ― Battle of Niagara Falls (Lundy's Lane); Americans defeat British1860 ― First U.S. intercollegiate billiards match (Harvard vs Yale)1909 ― France's Louis Bleriot, makes first airplane flight across English Channel1946 ― First bikini is shown at a Paris fashion show1947 ― U.S. Department of the Army created1952 ― Commonwealth of Puerto Rico created (Constitution Day)1963 ― U.S., Russia & England sign nuclear test ban treaty1967 ― Construction begins on SF MUNI METRO (Market Street subway)1975 ― Premier of "A Chorus Line," longest-running Broadway show (6,137 performances)1983 ― First nonhuman primate (baboon) conceived in a lab dish, San Antonio1984 ― Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes first woman to walk in space1992 ― 25th Summer Olympic Games open in Barcelona, Spain

Jul 24, 2023

MONDAY, July 24, 2023

1683 ― First settlers from Germany to U.S., leave aboard the Concord1701 ― French make 1st landing at site of Detroit1704 ― Great Britain takes Gibraltar from Spain1783 ― Georgia becomes a protectorate of Tsarist Russia1824 ― Harrisburg Pennsylvanian newspaper publishes results of first public opinion poll. Clear lead for Andrew Jackson1866 ― Tennessee becomes 1st Confederate state readmitted to Union1870 ― First trans-U.S. rail service begins1877 ― Federal troops are for first time used to combat strikers1923 ― Allied Powers & Turkey sign peace treaty, Lausanne1948 ― Soviets blockade Berlin from the west1969 ― Apollo 11 returns to Earth1991 ― University of Manchester scientists announce finding a planet outside of the solar system

Jul 23, 2023

FRIDAY, July 21, 2023

1831 ― Belgium gains independence from the Netherlands, Leopold I made king1836 ― First Canadian railway opens connecting La Prairie and St. Johns, Quebec1898 ― Spain cedes Guam to U.S.1930 ― U.S. Veterans Administration established1931 ― Reno race track becomes first in U.S. to use daily double wagering1940 ― Soviet Union annexes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania1944 ― U.S. forces free Guam of Japanese invaders1969 ― Neil Armstrong takes first step on the Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT)1969 ― Russia's Luna 15 impacts moon after 52 lunar orbits1972 ― In New York, 57 murders occur in one-week period1978 ― U.S. Postal Service & unions agree on a contract averting mail strike1978 ― World's strongest dog, 80-kg St. Bernard, pulls 2909-kg load 27 meters1984 ― First documented case of a robot killing a human in U.S.1990 ― Pink Floyd's "The Wall" is performed where the Berlin Wall once stood

Jul 20, 2023

THURSDAY, July 20, 2023

1773 ― Scottish settlers arrive at Pictou, Nova Scotia (Canada)1810 ― Colombia declares independence from Spain1868 ― First use of tax stamps on cigarettes1871 ― British Columbia becomes 6th Canadian province1878 ― First telephone introduced in Hawaii1942 ― Legion of Merit Medal authorized by congress1944 ― U.S. invades Japanese-occupied Guam in WWII1944 ― Von Stauffenberg fails in an attempt on Hitler's life1954 ― Tennis Champ Maureen Connolly's right leg is crushed in an accident1969 ― First men on moon, Neil Armstrong & Edwin Aldrin, Apollo 111970 ― First baby born on Alcatraz Island1982 ― Bombs planted by Irish Republican Army explode in 2 London parks1996 ― 26th Summer Olympics opens in Atlanta, GA.

Jul 19, 2023

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