This Day in History...

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On January 8


1815    The Battle of New Orleans began. The War of 1812 had officially ended on December 24, 1814, with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. The news of the signing had not reached British troops in time to prevent their attack on New Orleans.

1908    A catastrophic train collision occurred in a smoke-filled Park Avenue Tunnel in New York City. Seventeen were killed and thirty-eight were injured. The accident caused a public outcry and increased demand for electric trains.

1918    U.S. President Woodrow Wilson presents to Congress his "Fourteen Points" to preserve peace in Europe after World War I. While he is subsequently unable to obtain Allied support for the majority of his proposals, Wilson will win the Noble Peace Prize in 1920 for his peace efforts.

1957    Jackie Robinson announced his retirement from baseball in an article that appeared in LOOK magazine.

1964    President Lyndon Johnson declared a "War on Poverty."

1973    A trial opened in Washington of seven men accused of bugging Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, DC.

1982    U.S. Telephone system is opened to competition when American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) company is broken up. AT&T agrees to give up 22 local Bell System companies representing 80 percent of the company's assets.

1982    Dow Jones first tops 2000.

1992    President George Bush collapsed during a state dinner in Tokyo. White House officials said Bush was suffering from stomach flu.

1994    Tonya Harding won the ladies U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Detroit, MI, a day after Nancy Kerrigan dropped out because of a clubbing attack that injured her right knee. The U.S. Figure Skating Association later took the title from Harding because of her involvement in the attack.

1997    Mister Rogers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1998    Ramzi Yousef was sentenced to life in prison for his role of mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York.

1998    Scientists announced that they had discovered that galaxies were accelerating and moving apart and at faster speeds.

1999    The top two executives of Salt Lake City's Olympic Organizing Committee resigned amid disclosures that civic boosters had given cash to members of the International Olympic Committee.

1999    British Prime Minister Tony Blair concluded a three-day visit to South Africa.

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On January 10


1776    Thomas Paine's 50-page pamphlet,Common Sense, is published.

1840    The penny post, whereby mail was delivered at a standard charge rather than paid for by the recipient, began in Britain.

1863    The "Metro," the world's first underground railroad/subway, opens to the public in London.

1878    California Senator A.A. Sargent introduces the Susan B. Anthony (women's suffrage) Amendment to Congress. The amendment won't be signed into law for another 42 years.

1911    Major Jimmie Erickson took the first photograph from an airplane while flying over San Diego, CA.

1946    The first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly took place with 51 nations represented.

1951    Donald Howard Rogers piloted the first passenger jet on a trip from Chicago to New York City.

1969    The final issue of The Saturday Evening Post appeared after 147 years of publication.

1971    "Masterpiece Theatre" premieres on PBS.

1986    The uncut version of Jerome Kern’s musical, "Showboat", opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

1998    Michelle Kwan wins the ladies' U.S. Figure Skating Championship, Tara Lipinski finishes second. A month later the two skaters will compete again in the Nagano Winter Olympics with different results: Lipinski wins the gold medal, Kwan the silver.

2000    It was announced that AOL and Time Warner were merging. It was the largest media deal in U.S. history priced at $111 billion. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the deal on December 14, 2000.

2001    American Airlines agreed to acquire most of Trans World Airlines (TWA) assets for about $500 million. The deal brought an end to the financially troubled TWA.

2002    In France, the "Official Journal" reported that all women could get the morning-after contraception pill for free in pharmacies.

2003    North Korea announced that it was withdrawing from the global nuclear arms control treaty and that it had no plans to develop nuclear weapons.

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On January 11


1878    In New York, milk was delivered in glass bottles for the first time by Alexander Campbell.
1902    Popular Mechanics magazine was published for the first time.

1922    At Toronto General Hospital, Leonard Thompson became the first person to be successfully treated with insulin.

1935    Amelia Earhart Putnam became the first woman to fly solo from Hawaii to California.

1958    "Seahunt" debuted on CBS-TV. The show was aired on the network for four years.

1980    Nigel Short, age 14, from Bolton in Britain, became the youngest International Master in the history of chess.

1988    Vice President George Bush met with representative of independent counsel, Lawrence E. Walsh, to answer questions about the Iran-Contra affair.

1991    An auction of silver and paintings that had been acquired by the late Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, brought in a total of $20.29 million at Christie's in New York.

1996    Ryutaro Hashimoto become Japan's prime minister. He replaced Tomiichi Murayama who had resigned on January 5, 1996.

2000    The merger between AOL and Time Warner was approved by the U.S. government with restrictions.

2000    The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the second Vietnam Veterans Memorial commemorative stamp in a ceremony at The Wall.

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On January 13


1559    Queen Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey.

1794    President Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union.

1898    French writer Emile Zola publishes his "J'Accuse" letter, accusing the French judiciary of a cover-up in the Alfred Dreyfus treason. Dreyfus had been convicted of treason for selling the Germans military secrets.

1942    Henry Ford patents the construction for plastic automobiles.

1966    Elizabeth Montgomery’s character, Samantha, on "Bewitched," had a baby. The baby's name was Tabitha.

1984    Wayne Gretsky extended his consecutive scoring streak to 45 games.

1989    Bernhard H. Goetz was sentenced to one year in prison for possession of an unlicensed gun that he used to shoot four youths he claimed were about to rob him. He was freed the following September.

1990    Taking the oath of office, Douglas Wilder of Virginia becomes the first African-American governor in the United States.

1992    Japan apologized for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

1998    NBC agreed to pay almost $13 million for each episode of the TV show E.R. It was the highest amount ever paid for a TV show.

1999    Michael Jordan announced his retirement from the Chicago Bulls.

2002    The exhibit "In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." opened at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. More than 100 artists supplied the collection of 120 works of art.

2002    Japan and Singapore signed a free trade pact that would remove tariffs on almost all goods traded between the two countries.

2002    U.S. President George W. Bush fainted after choking on a pretzel.

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On January 14


1639    Connecticut's first constitution, the "Fundamental Orders," was adopted.

1784    The United States ratified a peace treaty with England ending the Revolutionary War.

1914    Henry Ford announced the newest advance in assembly line production of cars. The new method reduced assembly time of a car from 12½ hours to 93 minutes.

1954    Marilyn Monroe marries baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.

1973    "Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii" live concert attracts the largest worldwide television audience.

1973    By beating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII, the Miami Dolphins become the first NFL team to go undefeated and have a perfect season.

1985    Martina Navratilova won her 100th tournament. She joined Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert Lloyd as the only professional tennis players to win 100 tournaments.

1990    "The Simpsons" premieres on television.

1994    President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed Kremlin accords to stop aiming missiles at any nation and to dismantle the nuclear arsenal of Ukraine.

1998    In Dallas, researchers report an enzyme that slows the aging process and cell death.

1998    Whitewater prosecutors questioned Hillary Rodham Clinton at the White House for 10 minutes about the gathering of FBI background files on past Republican political appointees.

1999    The impeachment trial of President Clinton began in Washington DC.

1999    The U.S. proposed the lifting of the U.N. ceilings on the sale of oil in Iraq. The restriction being that the money be used to buy medicine and food for the Iraqi people.

2000    A U.N. tribunal sentenced five Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years for the 1993 massacre of over 100 Muslims in a Bosnian village.

2002    NBC's "Today" celebrated its 50th anniversary on television.

2002    Actor Brad Renfro, 19, was arrested after being stopped on a traffic violation. He was charged with public intoxication and driving without a license.

2004    In St. Louis, a Lewis and Clark Exhibition opened at the Missouri History Museum. The exhibit featured 500 rare and priceless objects used by the Corps of Discovery.



It's interesting and sometimes surprising to go back and read of many of these things which happened in history.  Some I had totally forgotten about, and some I don't ever remember hearing about.  Reading what happened back in the 1500s, 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s, is really interesting, especially with regards to things having to do with our country.

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On January 15


1559    England's Queen Elizabeth I was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

1844    The University of Notre Dame received its charter from the state of Indiana.

1870    The donkey is first used to represent the Democratic Party in a "Harper's Weekly" cartoon.

1943    The Pentagon was dedicated as the world's largest office building. The Pentagon, located just outside Washington, DC, in Arlington, VA, covers 34 acres of land and has 17 miles of corridors.

1953    Harry S. Truman became the first U.S. President to use radio and television to give his farewell address as he left office.

1967    The first Super Bowl was played. The Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League. The final score was 35-10.

1973    President Nixon announced the suspension of all U.S. offensive action in North Vietnam. He cited progress in peace negotiations as the reason.

1974    "Happy Days" premieres on television.

1987    Paramount Home Video reported that it would place a commercial at the front of one of its video releases for the first time. It was a 30-second Diet Pepsi ad at the beginning of Top Gun.

1998    NASA announces that John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, will be part of the upcoming Space Shuttle Discovery mission's crew, making him the oldest man to fly in space.

1998    Lance Carvin, a stalker of Howard Stern was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for threatening to kill Stern and his family.

2003    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Congress had permission to repeatedly extend copyright protection.

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On January 17


1806    James Madison Randolph, grandson of President Thomas Jefferson, was the first child born in the White House.

1893    Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown when a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate.

1900    Mormon, Brigham Roberts, was denied a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives because he practiced polygamy.

1934    New York Giants reward MVP pitcher Carl Hubbell with an $18,000 contract.

1945    Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II.

1955    The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched on its first test run. Two years later, it will be the first submarine to remain submerged for two weeks.

1966    A B-52 carrying four H-bombs collided with a refueling tanker. The bombs were released and eight crew members were killed.

1991    Operation Desert Storm is launched against Iraq.

1994    The Northridge earthquake rocked Los Angeles, CA, registering a 6.7 on the Richter scale. At least 61 people were killed and about $20 billion in damage was caused.

1997    A court in Ireland granted the first divorce in the Roman Catholic country's history.

1998    President Clinton gave his deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit against him. He was the first U.S. President to testify as a defendant in a criminal or civil lawsuit.

2001    Congo's President Laurent Kabila was shot and killed during a coup attempt. Congolese officials temporarily placed Kabila's son in charge of the government.

2002    It was announced that Microsoft had signed a joint venture agreement to produce software with two partners in China. The two partners were Beijin Centergate Technologies (Holding) Co. and the Stone Group.

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[This is way back in November, we are in January

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On January 20


1885    The roller coaster was patented by L.A. Thompson of Coney Island, NY.

1887    The U.S. Senate approved an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base.

1929    "In Old Arizona" is released. It is the first full-length talking movie to be filmed outdoors.

1937    Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to be inaugurated on January 20th. The 20th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution officially set the date for the swearing in of the President and Vice President.

1942    *bleep* officials held the Wannsee conference, during which they arrived at their "final solution" that called for exterminating Europe's Jews.

1945    President Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated to his fourth consecutive term of office. He will die three months later. In 1947, the twenty-second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution will limit future presidents to only two terms of office.

1961    John F. Kennedy is inaugurated for his first -- and tragically only -- term of office as the President of the United States.

1981    U.S. hostages, held captive in Iran for 444 days, are released just minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the fortieth president of the United States.

1985    The most-watched Super Bowl game in history was seen by an estimated 115.9 million people. The San Francisco 49ers downed the Miami Dolphins, 38-16. Super Bowl XIX marked the first time that TV commercials sold for a million dollars a minute.

1986    France and England announce plans to build the "Chunnel" - a rail tunnel that will run underneath the English Channel.

1994    Shannon Faulkner became the first woman to attend classes at The Citadel in South Carolina. Faulkner joined the cadet corps in August 1995 under court order but soon dropped out.

1996    Yasir Arafat, with 88 percent of the vote, becomes the first democratically-elected leader of the Palestinian people.

1997    Bill Clinton was inaugurated for his second term as president of the United States.

1998    American researchers announced that they had cloned calves that may produce medicinal milk.

2000    Greece and Turkey signed five accords aimed to build confidence between the two nations.

2002    Michael Jordan (Washington Wizards) played his first game in Chicago as a visiting player. The Wizards beat the Bulls 77-69.

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On January 24


1848    Gold is discovered in California. Few initially believe the claim, and the "California Gold Rush" won't truly begin until President James K. Polk confirms the discovery in December -- 11 months later.

1908    In England, the first Boy Scout troop was organized by Robert Baden-Powell.

1924    The Russian city of St. Petersburg was renamed Leningrad. The name has since been changed back to St. Petersburg.

1955    The rules committee of major league baseball announced a plan to strictly enforce the rule that required a pitcher to release the ball within 20 seconds after taking his position on the mound.

1962    Jackie Robinson is the first black baseball player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1972    The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws that denied welfare benefits to people who had resided in a state for less than a year.

1978    A nuclear-powered Soviet satellite plunged through Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated. The radioactive debris was scattered over parts of Canada's Northwest Territory.

1984    Changing the computer industry forever, the Apple Macintosh is unveiled.

1986    The Voyager 2 space probe comes within 51,000 miles of Uranus, giving scientists their best-ever look at the distant planet.

1987    In Lebanon, gunmen kidnapped educators Alann Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert Polhill and Mitheleshwar Singh. They were all later released.

1989    Ted Bundy, the confessed serial killer, was put to death in Florida's electric chair for the 1978 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach.

1995    The prosecution gave its opening statement at the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

1996    The FDA approves Olestra, a no-calorie, no-fat cooking oil.

1996    Polish Premier, Jozef Oleksy, resigned due to allegations that he had spied for Moscow.

2000    The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Missouri law that limited the contributions that individuals could donate to a candidate during a single election.

2002    John Walker Lindh appeared in court for the first time concerning the charges that he conspired to kill Americans abroad and aided terrorist groups. Lindh had been taken into custody by U.S. Marines in Afghanistan.

2003    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security began operations under Tom Ridge.

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On January 30

1798    The first brawl in the U.S. House of Representatives was witnessed by legislators. Congressmen Matthew Lyon and Roger Griswold fought on the House floor.

1815    The United States purchases Thomas Jefferson's library as the nucleus of the Library of Congress. Jefferson's more than 6,000 books help replace those burned by the British during the War of 1812.

1862    The U.S. Navy's first ironclad warship, the "Monitor", was launched.

1933    "The Lone Ranger" was heard on radio for the first time. The program ran for 2,956 episodes and ended in 1955.

1948    Mohandas Gandhi is assassinated in New Delhi. The political and spirtual leader of India's independence movement, Ghandhi staged numerous nonviolent -- and highly effective -- protests against British authority. His assassin, a Hindu fanatic, objected to Gandhi's tolerance for the Muslims.

1958    The first two-way moving sidewalk was put in service at Love Field in Dallas, TX. The length of the walkway through the airport was 1,435 feet.

1972    In Northern Ireland, British soldiers shot and killed thirteen Roman Catholic civil rights marchers. The day is known as "*bleep* Sunday."

1973    G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord, former President Nixon reelection campaign members, are convicted of breaking into and illegally tapping Democratic Party headquarters (Watergate hotel).

1981    Nearly 2 million New Yorkers turn out for a ticker-tape parade honoring the freed American hostages held captive in Iran for 444 days before being released January 20.

1994    Peter Leko became the world's youngest-ever grand master in chess.

1995    Kevin Eubanks takes over for Branford Marsalis as bandleader on "The Tonight Show."

1995    Researchers from the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced that clinical trials had demonstrated the effectiveness of the first preventative treatment for sickle cell anemia.

1997    A New Jersey judge ruled that the unborn child of a female prisoner must have legal representation. He denied the prisoner bail reduction to enable her to leave the jail and obtain an abortion.

2002    Slobodan Milosevic accused the U.N. war crimes tribunal of an "evil and hostile attack" against him. Milosevic was defending his actions during the Balkan wars.

2002    Japan's last coal mine was closed. The closures were due to high production costs and cheap imports.

2002    In Los Angeles, 15 students and 3 adults were injured when they were hit by a car.

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Here we are in February already!  There's so many interesting things to learn, remember, and share about things that took place in history.  I hope February proves to be a great and fantastic month for everyone! 

On February 1

1790    The U.S. Supreme Court convened for the first time in New York City.

1861    Texas becomes the seventh state (out of an eventual eleven) to secede from the Union. Texas will be the last state to be readmitted, March 30, 1870.

1862    "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," by Julia Ward Howe, was first published in the "Atlantic Monthly."

1884    The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published.

1913    Grand Central Station opened in New York City, NY. It was the largest train station in the world.

1960    Four black college students began a sit-in protest at a lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. They had been refused service.

1965    While protesting against voter discrimination, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and hundreds of others are arrested in Selma, Alabama.

1974    "Good Times" becomes the first spin-off of a spin-off in TV history. The Norman Lear CBS sitcom is a spin-off of "Maude," a spin-off of "All in the Family."

1976    "Sonny and Cher" resumed on TV despite a real-life divorce.

1978    Harriet Tubman becomes the first African-American woman honored with a U.S. postage stamp.

1979    Patty Hearst was released from prison after serving 22 months of a seven-year sentence for bank robbery.

1994    Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty in Portland, OR, for his role in the attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. Gillooly, Tonya Harding's ex-husband, struck a plea bargain under which he confessed to racketeering charges in exchange for testimony implicating Harding.

1996    The Chicago Bulls win their 17th straight game and improve to a 40-3 record. With the victory, the Bulls surpass the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (39-3) for most wins with just three losses in NBA history.

1996    Visa and Mastercard announced security measures that would make it safe to shop on the Internet.

2001    Three Scottish judges found Abdel Basset al-Mergrahi guilty of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people. The court said that Megrahi was a member of the Libyan intelligence service. Al-Amin Khalifa, who had been co-accused, was acquitted and freed.

2003    NASA's space shuttle Columbia exploded while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. All seven astronauts on board were killed.

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on this day in history i posted on this forum... its about to be down in history

Yep, you did it!  Fusion Cash History! 

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On February 5


1846    The North American Pacific coast's first newspaper, The Oregon Spectator, goes to press.

1900    The U.S. and Britain sign the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, which gave the U.S. the right to build a canal in Nicaragua, but not the right fortify it.

1922    Reader's Digest magazine is first published.

1937    President Roosevelt proposed enlarging the U.S. Supreme Court. The plan failed.

1953    Peter Pan, Walt Disney's 14th animated feature, premieres at New York City's Roxy Theater.

1953    For the second straight year, "I Love Lucy" wins the Emmy Award for Best Situation Comedy.

1987    The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 2,200-point for the first time. The market closed at 2201.49.

1988    General Manuel Noriega is indicted by a federal jury in Miami, Florida, on drug trafficking charges. The de facto dictator of Panama will be found guilty and sentenced to 40 years in federal prison in 1992.

1994    White separatist, Byron De La Beckwith, was convicted in Jackson, MS, of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

1997    Investment bank, Morgan Stanley, announced a $10 billion merger with Dean Witter.

1999    Mike Tyson was sentenced to a year in jail for assaulting two people after a car accident on August 31, 1998. Tyson was also fined $5,000, had to serve 2 years of probation, and had to perform 200 hours of community service upon release.

2001    It was announced the Kelly Ripa would be Regis Philbin's cohost. The show was renamed to "Live! With Regis and Kelly."

2001    Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announced their separation.

2003    U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell presented evidence to the U.N. concerning Iraq's material breach of U.N. Resolution 1441.

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In the early morning of June 12, 1963, just hours after President John F. Kennedy's speech on national television in support of civil rights, Evers pulled into his driveway after returning from a meeting with NAACP lawyers. Emerging from his car and carrying NAACP T-shirts that read "Jim Crow Must Go," Evers was struck in the back with a bullet fired from an Enfield 1917 rifle; it ricocheted into his home. He staggered 9 meters (30 feet) before collapsing. He died at a local hospital 50 minutes later.

In 1994, 30 years after the two previous trials had failed to reach a verdict, De La Beckwith was brought to trial based on new evidence. Bobby DeLaughter was the prosecutor. During the trial, the body of Evers was exhumed from his grave for autopsy.[3] De La Beckwith was convicted of murder on February 5, 1994, after having lived as a free man for much of the three decades following the killing (he was imprisoned on an unrelated charge from 1977 to 1980). De La Beckwith appealed unsuccessfully, and died at age 80 in prison in January 2001.