This Day in History

Amaury · May 13, 2012

5/13/1846: President Polk Declares War on Mexico

On May 13, 1846, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly votes in favor of President James K. Polk's request to declare war on Mexico in a dispute over Texas.

Under the threat of war, the United States had refrained from annexing Texas after the latter won independence from Mexico in 1836. But in 1844, President John Tyler restarted negotiations with the Republic of Texas, culminating with a Treaty of Annexation.

The treaty was defeated by a wide margin in the Senate because it would upset the slave state/free state balance between North and South and risked war with Mexico, which had broken off relations with the United States. But shortly before leaving office and with the support of President-elect Polk, Tyler managed to get the joint resolution passed on March 1, 1845. Texas was admitted to the union on December 29.

While Mexico didn't follow through with its threat to declare war, relations between the two nations remained tense over border disputes, and in July 1845, President Polk ordered troops into disputed lands that lay between the Neuces and Rio Grande rivers. In November, Polk sent the diplomat John Slidell to Mexico to seek boundary adjustments in return for the U.S. government's settlement of the claims of U.S. citizens against Mexico and also to make an offer to purchase California and New Mexico. After the mission failed, the U.S. army under Gen. Zachary Taylor advanced to the mouth of the Rio Grande, the river that the state of Texas claimed as its southern boundary.

Mexico, claiming that the boundary was the Nueces River to the northeast of the Rio Grande, considered the advance of Taylor's army an act of aggression and in April 1846 sent troops across the Rio Grande. Polk, in turn, declared the Mexican advance to be an invasion of U.S. soil, and on May 11, 1846, asked Congress to declare war on Mexico, which it did two days later.

After nearly two years of fighting, peace was established by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848. The Rio Grande was made the southern boundary of Texas, and California and New Mexico were ceded to the United States. In return, the United States paid Mexico the sum of $15 million and agreed to settle all claims of U.S. citizens against Mexico.
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American Revolution

Connecticut Patriot Eliphalet Dyer dies, 1807

Automotive

Autoworkers union head joins Chrysler board, 1980

Civil War

Grant moves on Jackson, Mississippi, 1863

Cold War

Vice President Nixon is attacked, 1958

Crime

Pope John Paul II is shot, 1981

A raid is set for MOVE headquarters, 1985

Disaster

Fire breaks out at club in Japan, 1972

General Interest

Mary Queen of Scots defeated, 1568

Jamestown founded, 1607

Pope John Paul II shot, 1981

Hollywood

Edison sues over new motion-picture technology, 1898

Literary

Daphne Du Maurier, author of Rebecca, is born, 1907

Music

Stevie Wonder comes of age, 1971

Old West

The inventor of western swing dies, 1975

Presidential

Nixon attacked by angry Venezuelans, 1958

Sports

First Battle of the Sexes, 1973

Vietnam War

Paris peace talks at standstill, 1971

Heavy fighting continues at Quang Tri and Kontum, 1972

World War I

Edith Wharton writes of the war's effect on France, 1915

World War II

Churchill announces: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.", 1940

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Amaury · May 14, 2012

5/14/1804: Lewis and Clark Depart

One year after the United States doubled its territory with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

Even before the U.S. government concluded purchase negotiations with France, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his private secretary Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an army captain, to lead an expedition into what is now the U.S. Northwest. On May 14, the "Corps of Discovery"--featuring approximately 45 men (although only an approximate 33 men would make the full journey)--left St. Louis for the American interior.

The expedition traveled up the Missouri River in a 55-foot long keelboat and two smaller boats. In November, Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader accompanied by his young Native American wife Sacagawea, joined the expedition as an interpreter. The group wintered in present-day North Dakota before crossing into present-day Montana, where they first saw the Rocky Mountains. On the other side of the Continental Divide, they were met by Sacagawea's tribe, the Shoshone Indians, who sold them horses for their journey down through the Bitterroot Mountains. After passing through the dangerous rapids of the Clearwater and Snake rivers in canoes, the explorers reached the calm of the Columbia River, which led them to the sea. On November 8, 1805, the expedition arrived at the Pacific Ocean, the first European explorers to do so by an overland route from the east. After pausing there for the winter, the explorers began their long journey back to St. Louis.

On September 23, 1806, after almost two and a half years, the expedition returned to the city, bringing back a wealth of information about the largely unexplored region, as well as valuable U.S. claims to Oregon Territory.
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American Revolution

Constitutional Convention delegates begin to assemble, 1787

Automotive

Daimler Chrysler sells most of Chrysler for $7.4 billion, 2007

Civil War

The Battle of Resaca, Georgia, begins, 1864

Cold War

The Warsaw Pact is formed, 1955

Crime

A brutal murder begins an unusual investigation, 1948

Disaster

Two trains crash in Japan, 1991

General Interest

Jenner tests smallpox vaccine, 1796

First American Olympiad, 1904

State of Israel proclaimed, 1948

Skylab launched, 1973

Hollywood

Frank Sinatra dies, 1998

Literary

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, publishes his popular volume Poems, 1842

Music

Bobby Darin is born, 1936

Old West

William Fetterman joins the U.S. Army, 1861

Presidential

Clinton apologizes to Chinese leader for embassy bombing, 1999

Sports

Scoreless inning streak ends, 1913

Vietnam War

President Nixon responds to National Liberation Front proposal, 1969

South Vietnamese sustain second highest casualties of war, 1970

World War I

London Times article sparks "Shells Crisis", 1916

World War II

United States and Britain plan Operation Pointblank, 1943

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Amaury · May 15, 2012

5/15/1937: Madeleine Albright Is Born

On this day in 1937, Madeleine Albright, America's first female secretary of state, is born Maria Jana Korbelova in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic).

The daughter of Czech diplomat Josef Korbel, Albright fled to England with her family after the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939. Though Albright long believed they had fled for political reasons, she learned as an adult that her family was Jewish and that three of her grandparents had died in Nazi concentration camps. The family returned home after World War II ended but immigrated to the United States in 1948 after a Soviet-sponsored Communist coup seized power in Prague. Josef Korbel became dean of the school of international relations at the University of Denver (where he would later train another female secretary of state, Condoleeza Rice).

After graduating from Wellesley College in 1959, Albright married Joseph Medill Patterson Albright of the prominent Medill newspaper-publishing family. With an MA and PhD from Columbia University under her belt, Albright headed to Washington, D.C., where she worked for Maine's Senator Edmund S. Muskie and served on the National Security Council in the administration of President Jimmy Carter. She and Joseph Albright divorced in 1982. During the Republican presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Albright worked for several nonprofit organizations and taught at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

With a Democrat--Bill Clinton--in the White House again in 1992, Albright found herself at the center of Washington's most powerful circle. In 1993, Clinton appointed her ambassador to the United Nations. In that post, Albright earned a reputation as a straight-talking defender of American interests and an advocate for an increased role for the U.S. in U.N. operations. In late 1996, Clinton nominated Albright to succeed Warren Christopher as U.S. secretary of state. After her nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, she was sworn in on January 23, 1997.

As secretary of state, Albright pursued an active foreign policy, including the use of military force to pressure autocratic regimes in Yugoslavia and Iraq, among other troubled regions. Her trip to North Korea in October 2000 to meet with leader Kim Jong Il made her the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit that country. She drew some criticism for her tough position on U.S. sanctions against Iraq, which led to many civilian deaths in that country and fueled the rage of Muslim extremists such as Osama bin Laden.

Albright's term ended with the election of President George W. Bush in 2000. Though there was talk of her entering Czech politics, she returned to her teaching post at Georgetown and became chair of a nonprofit organization, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.
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American Revolution

Continentals capture Fort Granby, South Carolina, 1781

Automotive

Seventeen states put gasoline rationing into effect, 1942

Civil War

VMI cadets fight in Battle of New Market, 1864

Cold War

Soviets begin withdrawal from Afghanistan, 1988

Crime

A young woman and her married lover kill her family, 1976

Disaster

Tornado decimates Texas town, 1896

General Interest

The Seven Years War begins, 1756

First Allied jet flies, 1941

The flight of Faith 7, 1963

Governor George Wallace shot, 1972

Hollywood

Celebrity private detective Anthony Pellicano found guilty, 2008

Literary

Katherine Anne Porter is born, 1890

Music

"Ebony And Ivory" begins a seven-week run at #1 on the pop charts, 1982

Old West

Second vigilante committee organizes in San Francisco, 1856

Presidential

President John Adams orders federal government to Washington, D.C., 1800

Ronald Reagan applies for transfer to Army Air Force, 1942

Sports

Nolan Ryan pitches first no-hitter, 1973

Vietnam War

U.S. positions south of the DMZ come under heavy fire, 1967

Air Force sergeant awarded Medal of Honor, 1970

World War I

Austrians launch massive offensive on Trentino Front, 1916

World War II

Legislation creating the Women's Army Corps becomes law, 1942

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Amaury · May 16, 2012

5/16/1929: First Academy Awards Ceremony

On this day in 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hands out its first awards, at a dinner party for around 250 people held in the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California.

The brainchild of Louis B. Mayer, head of the powerful MGM film studio, the Academy was organized in May 1927 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and improvement of the film industry. Its first president and the host of the May 1929 ceremony was the actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Unlike today, the winners of the first Oscars--as the coveted gold-plated statuettes later became known--were announced before the awards ceremony itself.

At the time of the first Oscar ceremony, sound had just been introduced into film. The Warner Bros. movie The Jazz Singer--one of the first "talkies"--was not allowed to compete for Best Picture because the Academy decided it was unfair to let movies with sound compete with silent films. The first official Best Picture winner (and the only silent film to win Best Picture) was Wings, directed by William Wellman. The most expensive movie of its time, with a budget of $2 million, the movie told the story of two World War I pilots who fall for the same woman. Another film, F.W. Murnau's epic Sunrise, was considered a dual winner for the best film of the year. German actor Emil Jannings won the Best Actor honor for his roles in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh, while 22-year-old Janet Gaynor was the only female winner. After receiving three out of the five Best Actress nods, she won for all three roles, in Seventh Heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise.

A special honorary award was presented to Charlie Chaplin. Originally a nominee for Best Actor, Best Writer and Best Comedy Director for The Circus, Chaplin was removed from these categories so he could receive the special award, a change that some attributed to his unpopularity in Hollywood. It was the last Oscar the Hollywood maverick would receive until another honorary award in 1971.

The Academy officially began using the nickname Oscar for its awards in 1939; a popular but unconfirmed story about the source of the name holds that Academy executive director Margaret Herrick remarked that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar. Since 1942, the results of the secret ballot voting have been announced during the live-broadcast Academy Awards ceremony using the sealed-envelope system. The suspense--not to mention the red-carpet arrival of nominees and other stars wearing their most beautiful or outrageous evening wear--continues to draw international attention to the film industry's biggest night of the year.
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American Revolution

Georgia Patriot Button Gwinnett receives fatal wound in duel, 1777

Automotive

GM dedicates new technical center, 1956

Civil War

Union wins the Battle of Champion Hill, 1863

Cold War

U.S.-Soviet summit meeting collapses, 1960

Crime

A nurse steals another woman's unborn baby, 1975

Disaster

New York City establishes hospital for cholera victims, 1849

General Interest

Louis marries Marie Antoinette, 1770

Warsaw Ghetto uprising ends, 1943

Protests mount in France, 1968

Japanese woman scales Everest, 1975

Hollywood

First Academy Awards ceremony, 1929

Literary

Voltaire is imprisoned in the Bastille, 1717

Music

Mary Wells gives Motown Records its first #1 hit with "My Guy", 1964

Old West

Outlaw Dick Fellows is released, 1881

Presidential

Senate acquits Johnson of high crimes and misdemeanors, 1868

Sports

Magic plays center as a rookie, wins championship, 1980

Vietnam War

Accident at Bien Hoa kills 27 U.S. servicemen, 1965

Navy Corpsman receives Medal of Honor for action, 1968

U.S. bombing destroys main fuel line, 1972

World War I

U.S. Congress passes Sedition Act, 1918

World War II

As Brits launch Operation Chastise, Germans launch Operation Gypsy Baron, 1943

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Amaury · May 17, 2012

5/17/1954: Brown v. Board of Ed Is Decided

In a major civil rights victory, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down an unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, ruling that racial segregation in public educational facilities is unconstitutional. The historic decision, which brought an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, specifically dealt with Linda Brown, a young African American girl who had been denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because of the color of her skin.

In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that "separate but equal" accommodations in railroad cars conformed to the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. That ruling was used to justify segregating all public facilities, including elementary schools. However, in the case of Linda Brown, the white school she attempted to attend was far superior to her black alternative and miles closer to her home. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) took up Linda's cause, and in 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka reached the Supreme Court. African American lawyer (and future Supreme Court justice) Thurgood Marshall led Brown's legal team, and on May 17, 1954, the high court handed down its decision.

In an opinion written by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the nation's highest court ruled that not only was the "separate but equal" doctrine unconstitutional in Linda's case, it was unconstitutional in all cases because educational segregation stamped an inherent badge of inferiority on African American students. A year later, after hearing arguments on the implementation of their ruling, the Supreme Court published guidelines requiring public school systems to integrate "with all deliberate speed."

The Brown v. Board of Education decision served to greatly motivate the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and ultimately led to the abolishment of racial segregation in all public facilities and accommodations.
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American Revolution

Washington criticizes "taxation without representation", 1769

Automotive

Toyota announces plans for hybrid Camry, 2005

Civil War

Confederates defeated at the Battle of Big Black River, 1863

Cold War

Gorbachev meets with Lithuanian prime minister, 1990

Crime

LAPD raid leaves six SLA members dead, 1974

Disaster

Fire engulfs Honduras prison, 1994

General Interest

Heyerdahl sails papyrus boat, 1970

Televised Watergate hearings begin, 1973

First legal same-sex marriage performed in Massachusetts, 2004

Hollywood

Final episode of Beverly Hills 90210 airs, 2000

Literary

Dorothy Richardson, pioneer of stream of consciousness, is born, 1873

Music

The FBI Laboratory weighs in on the "dirty" lyrics of "Louie Louie", 1965

Old West

Geronimo flees Arizona reservation, 1885

Presidential

Andrew Johnson marries Eliza McCardle, 1827

Sports

Islanders win fourth consecutive Stanley Cup, 1983

Vietnam War

Operations continue in Cambodia, 1970

South Vietnamese reinforcements near An Loc, 1972

World War I

Henri Barbusse is born, 1873

World War II

The Memphis Belle flies its 25th bombing mission, 1943

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Amaury · May 18, 2012

5/18/1920: Pope John Paul II Born

On May 18, 1920, Karol Jozef Wojtyla is born in the Polish town of Wadowice, 35 miles southwest of Krakow. Wojtyla went on to become Pope John Paul II, history's most well-traveled pope and the first non-Italian to hold the position since the 16th century. After high school, the future pope enrolled at Krakow's Jagiellonian University, where he studied philosophy and literature and performed in a theater group. During World War II, Nazis occupied Krakow and closed the university, forcing Wojtyla to seek work in a quarry and, later, a chemical factory. By 1941, his mother, father, and only brother had all died, leaving him the sole surviving member of his family.

Although Wojtyla had been involved in the church his whole life, it was not until 1942 that he began seminary training. When the war ended, he returned to school at Jagiellonian to study theology, becoming an ordained priest in 1946. He went on to complete two doctorates and became a professor of moral theology and social ethics. On July 4, 1958, at the age of 38, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Krakow by Pope Pius XII. He later became the city's archbishop, where he spoke out for religious freedom while the church began the Second Vatican Council, which would revolutionize Catholicism. He was made a cardinal in 1967, taking on the challenges of living and working as a Catholic priest in communist Eastern Europe. Once asked if he feared retribution from communist leaders, he replied, "Iâ€™m not afraid of them. They are afraid of me."

Wojtyla was quietly and slowly building a reputation as a powerful preacher and a man of both great intellect and charisma. Still, when Pope John Paul I died in 1978 after only a 34-day reign, few suspected Wojtyla would be chosen to replace him. But, after seven rounds of balloting, the Sacred College of Cardinals chose the 58-year-old, and he became the first-ever Slavic pope and the youngest to be chosen in 132 years.

A conservative pontiff, John Paul II's papacy was marked by his firm and unwavering opposition to communism and war, as well as abortion, contraception, capital punishment, and homosexual sex. He later came out against euthanasia, human cloning, and stem cell research. He traveled widely as pope, using the eight languages he spoke (Polish, Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin) and his well-known personal charm, to connect with the Catholic faithful, as well as many outside the fold.

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot in St. Peter's Square by a Turkish political extremist, Mehmet Ali Agca. After his release from the hospital, the pope famously visited his would-be assassin in prison, where he had begun serving a life sentence, and personally forgave him for his actions. The next year, another unsuccessful attempt was made on the pope's life, this time by a fanatical priest who opposed the reforms of Vatican II.

Although it was not confirmed by the Vatican until 2003, many believe Pope John Paul II began suffering from Parkinson's disease in the early 1990s. He began to develop slurred speech and had difficulty walking, though he continued to keep up a physically demanding travel schedule. In his final years, he was forced to delegate many of his official duties, but still found the strength to speak to the faithful from a window at the Vatican. In February 2005, the pope was hospitalized with complications from the flu. He died two months later.

Pope John Paul II is remembered for his successful efforts to end communism, as well as for building bridges with peoples of other faiths, and issuing the Catholic Church's first apology for its actions during World War II. He was succeeded by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI. Benedict XVI began the process to beatify John Paul II in May 2005.
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American Revolution

United Empire Loyalists reach Canada, 1783

Automotive

Lotus makes Formula One debut, 1958

Civil War

The siege of Vicksburg commences, 1863

Cold War

One million protesters take to the streets in Beijing, 1989

Crime

Popular evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears, 1926

Disaster

Mount St. Helens erupts, 1980

General Interest

Lincoln nominated for presidency, 1860

Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896

India joins the nuclear club, 1974

Mount St. Helens erupts, 1980

Hollywood

Shrek released, 2001

Literary

Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe, 1593

Music

Ian Curtis of Joy Division commits suicide, 1980

Old West

Chief Satanta massacres teamsters, 1871

Presidential

Newspaper report criticizes Mrs. Lincoln, 1861

Sports

Randy Johnson throws perfect game at 40, 2004

Vietnam War

Laird charges, 1966

Communists attack Xuan Loc, 1969

World War I

U.S. Congress passes Selective Service Act, 1917

World War II

Hitler gives the order for Operation Alaric, 1943

Polish Corps takes Monte Cassino, 1944

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Amaury · May 19, 2012

5/19/1935: Lawrence of Arabia Dies

T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, dies as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living under an assumed name. The legendary war hero, author, and archaeological scholar succumbed to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident six days before.

Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in Tremadoc, Wales, in 1888. In 1896, his family moved to Oxford. Lawrence studied architecture and archaeology, for which he made a trip to Ottoman (Turkish)-controlled Syria and Palestine in 1909. In 1911, he won a fellowship to join an expedition excavating an ancient Hittite settlement on the Euphrates River. He worked there for three years and in his free time traveled and learned Arabic. In 1914, he explored the Sinai, near the frontier of Ottoman-controlled Arabia and British-controlled Egypt. The maps Lawrence and his associates made had immediate strategic value upon the outbreak of war between Britain and the Ottoman Empire in October 1914.

Lawrence enlisted in the war and because of his expertise in Arab affairs was assigned to Cairo as an intelligence officer. He spent more than a year in Egypt, processing intelligence information and in 1916 accompanied a British diplomat to Arabia, where Hussein ibn Ali, the emir of Mecca, had proclaimed a revolt against Turkish rule. Lawrence convinced his superiors to aid Hussein's rebellion, and he was sent to join the Arabian army of Hussein's son Faisal as a liaison officer.

Under Lawrence's guidance, the Arabians launched an effective guerrilla war against the Turkish lines. He proved a gifted military strategist and was greatly admired by the Bedouin people of Arabia. In July 1917, Arabian forces captured Aqaba near the Sinai and joined the British march on Jerusalem. Lawrence was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In November, he was captured by the Turks while reconnoitering behind enemy lines in Arab dress and was tortured and sexually abused before escaping. He rejoined his army, which slowly worked its way north to Damascus, which fell in October 1918.

Arabia was liberated, but Lawrence's hope that the peninsula would be united as a single nation was dashed when Arabian factionalism came to the fore after Damascus. Lawrence, exhausted and disillusioned, left for England. Feeling that Britain had exacerbated the rivalries between the Arabian groups, he appeared before King George V and politely refused the medals offered to him.

After the war, he lobbied hard for independence for Arab countries and appeared at the Paris peace conference in Arab robes. He became something of a legendary figure in his own lifetime, and in 1922 he gave up higher-paying appointments to enlist in the Royal Air Force (RAF) under an assumed name, John Hume Ross. He had just completed writing his monumental war memoir, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and he hoped to escape his fame and acquire material for a new book. Found out by the press, he was discharged, but in 1923 he managed to enlist as a private in the Royal Tanks Corps under another assumed name, T.E. Shaw, a reference to his friend, Irish writer George Bernard Shaw. In 1925, Lawrence rejoined the RAF and two years later legally changed his last name to Shaw.

In 1927, an abridged version of his memoir was published and generated tremendous publicity, but the press was unable to locate Lawrence (he was posted to a base in India). In 1929, he returned to England and spent the next six years writing and working as an RAF mechanic. In 1932, his English translation of Homer's Odyssey was published under the name of T.E. Shaw. The Mint, a fictionalized account of Royal Air Force recruit training, was not published until 1955 because of its explicitness.

In February 1935, Lawrence was discharged from the RAF and returned to his simple cottage at Clouds Hill, Dorset. On May 13, he was critically injured while driving his motorcycle through the Dorset countryside. He had swerved to avoid two boys on bicycles. On May 19, he died at the hospital of his former RAF camp. All of Britain mourned his passing.
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American Revolution

New Hampshire Patriot Josiah Bartlett dies, 1795

Automotive

Smart launches U.S. road show to introduce its microcar, 2007

Civil War

Battle of Spotsylvania concludes, 1864

Cold War

Soviets ratify treaty banning nuclear weapons from outer space, 1967

Crime

The early years of species protection, 1715

Disaster

Avian flu kills young boy, 1997

General Interest

Spanish Armada sets sail, 1588

Ohio Company chartered, 1749

Hollywood

The Da Vinci Code opens, 2006

Literary

Oscar Wilde is released from jail, 1897

Music

Pete Townshend writes "My Generation" on his 20th birthday, 1965

Old West

Cynthia Ann Parker is kidnapped, 1836

Presidential

Lincoln proposes equal treatment of soldiers' dependents, 1864

Sports

Gretzky and Messier lead Oilers to championship, 1984

Vietnam War

U.S. Air Force begins Operation Yankee Team, 1964

South Vietnamese fight to open road to An Loc, 1972

World War I

Britain and France conclude Sykes-Picot agreement, 1916

World War II

Churchill and FDR plot D-Day, 1943

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Amaury · May 20, 2012

5/20/1873: Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis Receive Patent for Blue Jeans

On this day in 1873, San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis are given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world's most famous garments: blue jeans.

Born Loeb Strauss in Buttenheim, Bavaria, in 1829, the young Strauss immigrated to New York with his family in 1847 after the death of his father. By 1850, Loeb had changed his name to Levi and was working in the family dry goods business, J. Strauss Brother & Co. In early 1853, Levi Strauss went west to seek his fortune during the heady days of the Gold Rush.

In San Francisco, Strauss established a wholesale dry goods business under his own name and worked as the West Coast representative of his family's firm. His new business imported clothing, fabric and other dry goods to sell in the small stores opening all over California and other Western states to supply the rapidly expanding communities of gold miners and other settlers. By 1866, Strauss had moved his company to expanded headquarters and was a well-known businessman and supporter of the Jewish community in San Francisco.

Jacob Davis, a tailor in Reno, Nevada, was one of Levi Strauss' regular customers. In 1872, he wrote a letter to Strauss about his method of making work pants with metal rivets on the stress points--at the corners of the pockets and the base of the button fly--to make them stronger. As Davis didn't have the money for the necessary paperwork, he suggested that Strauss provide the funds and that the two men get the patent together. Strauss agreed enthusiastically, and the patent for "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings"--the innovation that would produce blue jeans as we know them--was granted to both men on May 20, 1873.

Strauss brought Davis to San Francisco to oversee the first manufacturing facility for "waist overalls," as the original jeans were known. At first they employed seamstresses working out of their homes, but by the 1880s, Strauss had opened his own factory. The famous 501 brand jean--known until 1890 as "XX"--was soon a bestseller, and the company grew quickly. By the 1920s, Levi's denim waist overalls were the top-selling men's work pant in the United States. As decades passed, the craze only grew, and now blue jeans are worn by men and women, young and old, around the world.
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American Revolution

Battle of Barren Hill, Pennsylvania, 1778

Automotive

Street in front of the White House closed to traffic, 1995

Civil War

Union Congress passes the Homestead Act, 1862

Cold War

United States drops hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll, 1956

Crime

Mary Kay Letourneau marries former victim, 2005

Disaster

Plane crashes at Cairo airport, 1965

General Interest

Vasco da Gama reaches India, 1498

Christopher Columbus dies, 1506

The Homestead Act, 1862

Spirit of St. Louis departs, 1927

Battle for Hamburger Hill ends, 1969

Supreme Court defends rights of homosexuals, 1996

Hollywood

The Simpsons airs 400th episode, 2007

Literary

W.H. Auden becomes a U.S. citizen, 1946

Music

Frank Sinatra is laid to rest, 1998

Old West

Levi Strauss patents copper-riveted jeans, 1873

Presidential

Lincoln signs Homestead Act, 1862

Sports

Sunday Silence wins Preakness by a nose, 1989

Vietnam War

French see "light at the end of the tunnel" in Vietnam, 1953

Kennedy criticizes the "Hamburger Hill" battle, 1969

World War I

British renew attacks in Battle of Festubert, 1915

World War II

Germans break through to English Channel at Abbeville, France, 1940

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Llave · May 21, 2012

This Day in History- May 21st

Oh god I'm back... Well back to This Day in History!!

Lead Story:
May 21, 1881: American Red Cross founded

In Washington, D.C., humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons found the American National Red Cross, an organization established to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters in congruence with the International Red Cross.

Barton, born in Massachusetts in 1821, worked with the sick and wounded during the American Civil War and became known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" for her tireless dedication. In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln commissioned her to search for lost prisoners of war, and with the extensive records she had compiled during the war she succeeded in identifying thousands of the Union dead at the Andersonville prisoner-of-war camp.

She was in Europe in 1870 when the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and she went behind the German lines to work for the International Red Cross. In 1873, she returned to the United States, and four years later she organized an American branch of the International Red Cross. The American Red Cross received its first U.S. federal charter in 1900. Barton headed the organization into her 80s and died in 1912. (source)
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Also on This Day

AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Lenape Indians abduct Mary Campbell from western Pennsylvania, 1758

AUTOMOTIVE
Connecticut enacts first speed-limit law, 1901

CIVIL WAR
The Siege of Port Hudson begins, 1863

COLD WAR
Gorbachev consolidates power, 1988

CRIME
Leopold and Loeb gain national attention, 1924
Long Island Lolita is arrested, 1992
A veteran's flashback defense doesn't hold up in court, 1996

DISASTER
Huge earthquake hits Chile, 1960

GENERAL INTEREST
De Soto dies in the American wilderness, 1542
Lindbergh lands in Paris, 1927
Earhart completes transatlantic flight, 1932

HOLLYWOOD
Soap star Susan Lucci wins first Emmy after 19 nominations, 1999

LITERARY
Serialization of Colette's The Vagabond begins, 1910

MUSIC
Chuck Berry records "Maybellene", 1955

OLD WEST
Black Spanish explorer Estevan is reported killed, 1539

PRESIDENTIAL
Garfield's spine on display at museum, 2000

SPORTS
Nancy Lopez wins her first Coca-Cola Classic, 1978

VIETNAM WAR
Military spokesman defends "Hamburger Hill", 1969

WORLD WAR I
Second Moroccan Crisis, 1911

WORLD WAR II
Nazis kill "unfit" people in East Prussia, 1940
Thousands of Jews die in Nazi gas chambers; IG Farber sets up factory, 1942

source- History.com

Amaury · May 22, 2012

5/22/1843: Great Emigration Departs for Oregon

A massive wagon train, made up of 1,000 settlers and 1,000 head of cattle, sets off down the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri. Known as the "Great Emigration," the expedition came two years after the first modest party of settlers made the long, overland journey to Oregon.

After leaving Independence, the giant wagon train followed the Sante Fe Trail for some 40 miles and then turned northwest to the Platte River, which it followed along its northern route to Fort Laramie, Wyoming. From there, it traveled on to the Rocky Mountains, which it passed through by way of the broad, level South Pass that led to the basin of the Colorado River. The travelers then went southwest to Fort Bridger, northwest across a divide to Fort Hall on the Snake River, and on to Fort Boise, where they gained supplies for the difficult journey over the Blue Mountains and into Oregon. The Great Emigration finally arrived in October, completing the 2,000-mile journey from Independence in five months.

In the next year, four more wagon trains made the journey, and in 1845 the number of emigrants who used the Oregon Trail exceeded 3,000. Travel along the trail gradually declined with the advent of the railroads, and the route was finally abandoned in the 1870s.
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American Revolution

Patriot siege of Ninety Six, South Carolina, begins, 1781

Automotive

"Winning" released, stars Paul Newman as a race car driver, 1969

Civil War

Southern congressman attacks Northern senator, 1856

Cold War

Jimmy Carter reaffirms his commitment to human rights, 1977

Crime

Atlanta child murderer is questioned, 1981

Chandra Levy's remains found, 2002

Disaster

Belgian department store burns, 1967

General Interest

The War of the Roses, 1455

President Nixon in Moscow, 1972

Yemen united, 1990

Hollywood

Controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 wins Palme dâ€™Or, 2004

Literary

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is born, 1859

Music

Jerry Lee Lewis drops a bombshell in London, 1958

Old West

A thousand pioneers head West on the Oregon Trail, 1843

Presidential

Martha Washington dies, 1802

Sports

Sorenstam makes history, 2003

Vietnam War

Rusk warns North Vietnamese, 1964

Negotiators differ on diplomatic exchange, 1969

World War I

Crisis in Austria-Hungary, 1917

World War II

The Pact of Steel is signed; the Axis is formed, 1939

Operation Chattanooga Choo-Choo is launched, 1944

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Llave · May 23, 2012

This Day in History- May 23rd

Today's Lead Story intrigued me, certainly a good read. Let's get into it!

Lead Story:
May 23, 1934: Police kill famous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde

On this day in 1934, notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police while driving a stolen car near Sailes, Louisiana.

Bonnie Parker met the charismatic Clyde Barrow in Texas when she was 19 years old and her husband (she married when she was 16) was serving time in jail for murder. Shortly after they met, Barrow was imprisoned for robbery. Parker visited him every day, and smuggled a gun into prison to help him escape, but he was soon caught in Ohio and sent back to jail. When Barrow was paroled in 1932, he immediately hooked up with Parker, and the couple began a life of crime together.

After they stole a car and committed several robberies, Parker was caught by police and sent to jail for two months. Released in mid-1932, she rejoined Barrow. Over the next two years, the couple teamed with various accomplices to rob a string of banks and stores across five states--Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico and Louisiana. To law enforcement agents, the Barrow Gang--including Barrow's childhood friend, Raymond Hamilton, W.D. Jones, Henry Methvin, Barrow's brother Buck and his wife Blanche, among others--were cold-blooded criminals who didn't hesitate to kill anyone who got in their way, especially police or sheriff's deputies. Among the public, however, Parker and Barrow's reputation as dangerous outlaws was mixed with a romantic view of the couple as "Robin Hood"-like folk heroes.

Their fame was increased by the fact that Bonnie was a woman--an unlikely criminal--and by the fact that the couple posed for playful photographs together, which were later found by police and released to the media. Police almost captured the famous duo twice in the spring of 1933, with surprise raids on their hideouts in Joplin and Platte City, Missouri. Buck Barrow was killed in the second raid, and Blanche was arrested, but Bonnie and Clyde escaped once again. In January 1934, they attacked the Eastham Prison Farm in Texas to help Hamilton break out of jail, shooting several guards with machine guns and killing one.

Texan prison officials hired a retired Texas police officer, Captain Frank Hamer, as a special investigator to track down Parker and Barrow. After a three-month search, Hamer traced the couple to Louisiana, where Henry Methvin's family lived. Before dawn on May 23, Hamer and a group of Louisiana and Texas lawmen hid in the bushes along a country road outside Sailes. When Parker and Barrow appeared, the officers opened fire, killing the couple instantly in a hail of bullets.

All told, the Barrow Gang was believed responsible for the deaths of 13 people, including nine police officers. Parker and Barrow are still seen by many as romantic figures, however, especially after the success of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. (source)
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Also on This Day

AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Meigs Expedition claims sole Patriot victory on Long Island, 1777

AUTOMOTIVE
Outlaws Bonnie and Clyde shot to death in stolen Ford, 1934

CIVIL WAR
Fighting begins on the North Anna River, Virginia, 1864

COLD WAR
Federal Republic of Germany is established, 1949

CRIME
Bonnie and Clyde are killed by police, 1934

DISASTER
Tsunami hits Hawaii, 1960

GENERAL INTEREST
Captain Kidd walks the plank, 1701
Forgotten Civil War hero honored, 1900
New York Public Library dedicated, 1911
Eichmann captured, 1960

HOLLYWOOD
Joan Collins is born, 1933

LITERARY
Margaret Fuller is born, 1810

MUSIC
Tom Petty defies his record label and files for bankruptcy, 1979

OLD WEST
Curley is buried at Little Big Horn, 1923

PRESIDENTIAL
George W. Bush recovers from bicycle accident, 2004

SPORTS
Joe Louis beats Buddy Baer to retain heavyweight title, 1941

VIETNAM WAR
Congressman claims M-16 is defective, 1967
North Vietnamese infiltrators attack U.S. base, 1971
United States widens aerial campaign, 1972

WORLD WAR I
Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, 1915

WORLD WAR II
Lord Mountbatten, cousin to a king, sunk by German dive-bombers, 1941
Himmler commits suicide, 1945

source- History.com

Llave · May 24, 2012

This Day in History- May 24th

BROOKLYN RAAAAA- Bridge. Let's get into today.

Lead Story:
May 24, 1883: Brooklyn Bridge opens

After 14 years and 27 deaths while being constructed, the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River is opened, connecting the great cities of New York and Brooklyn for the first time in history. Thousands of residents of Brooklyn and Manhattan Island turned out to witness the dedication ceremony, which was presided over by President Chester A. Arthur and New York Governor Grover Cleveland. Designed by the late John A. Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge was the largest suspension bridge ever built to that date.

John Roebling, born in Germany in 1806, was a great pioneer in the design of steel suspension bridges. He studied industrial engineering in Berlin and at the age of 25 immigrated to western Pennsylvania, where he attempted, unsuccessfully, to make his living as a farmer. He later moved to the state capital in Harrisburg, where he found work as a civil engineer. He promoted the use of wire cable and established a successful wire-cable factory.

Meanwhile, he earned a reputation as a designer of suspension bridges, which at the time were widely used but known to fail under strong winds or heavy loads. Roebling is credited with a major breakthrough in suspension-bridge technology: a web truss added to either side of the bridge roadway that greatly stabilized the structure. Using this model, Roebling successfully bridged the Niagara Gorge at Niagara Falls, New York, and the Ohio River at Cincinnati, Ohio. On the basis of these achievements, New York State accepted Roebling's design for a bridge connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan--with a span of 1,595 feet--and appointed him chief engineer. It was to be the world's first steel suspension bridge.

Just before construction began in 1869, Roebling was fatally injured while taking a few final compass readings across the East River. A boat smashed the toes on one of his feet, and three weeks later he died of tetanus. He was the first of more than two dozen people who would die building his bridge. His 32-year-old son, Washington A. Roebling, took over as chief engineer. Roebling had worked with his father on several bridges and had helped design the Brooklyn Bridge.

The two granite foundations of the Brooklyn Bridge were built in timber caissons, or watertight chambers, sunk to depths of 44 feet on the Brooklyn side and 78 feet on the New York side. Compressed air pressurized the caissons, allowing underwater construction. At that time, little was known of the risks of working under such conditions, and more than a hundred workers suffered from cases of compression sickness. Compression sickness, or the "bends," is caused by the appearance of nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream that result from rapid decompression. Several died, and Washington Roebling himself became bedridden from the condition in 1872. Other workers died as a result of more conventional construction accidents, such as collapses and a fire.

Roebling continued to direct construction operations from his home, and his wife, Emily, carried his instructions to the workers. In 1877, Washington and Emily moved into a home with a view of the bridge. Roebling's health gradually improved, but he remained partially paralyzed for the rest of his life. On May 24, 1883, Emily Roebling was given the first ride over the completed bridge, with a rooster, a symbol of victory, in her lap. Within 24 hours, an estimated 250,000 people walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, using a broad promenade above the roadway that John Roebling designed solely for the enjoyment of pedestrians.

The Brooklyn Bridge, with its unprecedented length and two stately towers, was dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world." The connection it provided between the massive population centers of Brooklyn and Manhattan changed the course of New York City forever. In 1898, the city of Brooklyn formally merged with New York City, Staten Island, and a few farm towns, forming Greater New York. (source)
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Also on This Day

AMERICAN REVOLUTION
John Hancock becomes president of Congress, 1775

AUTOMOTIVE
"Thelma and Louise," featuring 1966 Ford Thunderbird, released, 1991

CIVIL WAR
Battle of North Anna continues, 1864

COLD WAR
John Foster Dulles dies, 1959

CRIME
Lori Ann Auker disappears from a parking lot, 1989

DISASTER
Riot erupts at soccer match, 1964

GENERAL INTEREST
Copernicus dies, 1543
What hath God wrought?, 1844

HOLLYWOOD
sex, lies and videotape wins top prize at Cannes, 1989

LITERARY
Joseph Brodsky is born, 1940

MUSIC
Duke Ellington dies, 1974

OLD WEST
Henry Plummer is elected sheriff of Bannack, Montana, 1863

PRESIDENTIAL
Thomas Jefferson inquires about a former flame, 1797

SPORTS
MLB holds first night game, 1935

VIETNAM WAR
Goldwater suggests using atomic weapons, 1964
Soldiers place controversial ad in antiwar newspaper, 1971

WORLD WAR I
British naval convoy system introduced, 1917

WORLD WAR II
The Bismarck sinks the Hood, 1941
Auschwitz gets a new doctor: "the Angel of Death", 1943

source- History.com

Amaury · May 25, 2012

5/25/1977: Star Wars Opens

On this day in 1977, Memorial Day weekend opens with an intergalactic bang as the first of George Lucas' blockbuster Star Wars movies hits American theaters.

The incredible success of Star Wars--it received seven Oscars, and earned $461 million in U.S. ticket sales and a gross of close to $800 million worldwide--began with an extensive, coordinated marketing push by Lucas and his studio, 20th Century Fox, months before the movie's release date. "It wasn't like a movie opening," actress Carrie Fisher, who played rebel leader Princess Leia, later told Time magazine. "It was like an earthquake." Beginning with--in Fisher's words--"a new order of geeks, enthusiastic young people with sleeping bags," the anticipation of a revolutionary movie-watching experience spread like wildfire, causing long lines in front of movie theaters across the country and around the world.

With its groundbreaking special effects, Star Wars leaped off screens and immersed audiences in "a galaxy far, far away." By now everyone knows the story, which followed the baby-faced Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) as he enlisted a team of allies--including hunky Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and the robots C3PO and R2D2--on his mission to rescue the kidnapped Princess Leia from an Evil Empire governed by Darth Vader. The film made all three of its lead actors overnight stars, turning Fisher into an object of adoration for millions of young male fans and launching Ford's now-legendary career as an action-hero heartthrob.

Star Wars was soon a bona-fide pop culture phenomenon. Over the years it has spawned five more feature films, five TV series and an entire industry's worth of comic books, toys, video games and other products. Two big-screen sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Return of the Jedi (1983), featured much of the original cast and enjoyed the same success--both critical and commercial--as the first film. In 1999, Lucas stretched back in time for the fourth installment, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, chronologically a prequel to the original movie. Two other prequels, Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005) followed.

The latter Star Wars movies featured a new cast--including Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen--and have generally failed to earn the same amount of critical praise as the first three films. They continue to score at the box office, however, with Revenge of the Sith becoming the top-grossing film of 2005 in the United States and the second worldwide.
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American Revolution

Constitutional Convention convenes in Philadelphia, 1787

Automotive

Pennsylvania man buried with his beloved Corvette, 1994

Civil War

Confederates score a victory at First Battle of Winchester, 1862

Cold War

Chinese government removes ban on Shakespeare, 1977

Crime

President Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus during the Civil War, 1861

Oscar Wilde is sent to prison for indecency, 1895

Disaster

DC-10 crashes, killing all aboard, 1979

General Interest

The English Restoration, 1660

Constitutional Convention begins, 1787

Catholic priest ordained in America, 1793

Worst air crash in U.S. history, 1979

Hollywood

Star Wars released, 1977

Literary

Thomas Mann visits the Lido in Venice, 1911

International best-selling thriller writer Robert Ludlum is born, 1927

Music

HMS Pinafore premieres in London, 1878

Old West

Grizzly bear is classified as a "threatened" species, 1975

Presidential

JFK asks Congress to support the space program, 1961

Sports

Babe Ruth hits last home run, 1935

Vietnam War

Communist launch new offensive, 1968

National Democratic Front formed in Saigon, 1969

World War I

Large-scale deportations of Armenians begin in Turkey, 1915

World War II

Operation Knight's Move is launched, 1944

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Llave · May 26, 2012

This Day in History- May 26th

Good golly we've been getting some classics these last two days. Here's another one!

Lead Story:
May 26, 1897: Dracula goes on sale in London

The first copies of the classic vampire novel Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker, appear in London bookshops on this day in 1897.

A childhood invalid, Stoker grew up to become a football (soccer) star at Trinity College, Dublin. After graduation, he got a job in civil service at Dublin Castle, where he worked for the next 10 years while writing drama reviews for the Dublin Mail on the side. In this way, Stoker met the well-respected actor Sir Henry Irving, who hired him as his manager. Stoker stayed in the post for most of the next three decades, writing Irving's voluminous correspondence for him and accompanying him on tours in the United States. Over the years, Stoker began writing a number of horror stories for magazines, and in 1890 he published his first novel, The Snake's Pass.

Stoker would go on to publish 17 novels in all, but it was his 1897 novel Dracula that eventually earned him literary fame and became known as a masterpiece of Victorian-era Gothic literature. Written in the form of diaries and journals of its main characters, Dracula is the story of a vampire who makes his way from Transylvania--a region of Eastern Europe now in Romania--to Yorkshire, England, and preys on innocents there to get the blood he needs to live. Stoker had originally named the vampire "Count Wampyr." He found the name Dracula in a book on Wallachia and Moldavia written by retired diplomat William Wilkinson, which he borrowed from a Yorkshire public library during his family's vacations there.

Vampires--who left their burial places at night to drink the blood of humans--were popular figures in folk tales from ancient times, but Stoker's novel catapulted them into the mainstream of 20th-century literature. Upon its release, Dracula enjoyed moderate success, though when Stoker died in 1912 none of his obituaries even mentioned Dracula by name. Sales began to take off in the 1920s, when the novel was adapted for Broadway. Dracula mania kicked into even higher gear with Universal's blockbuster 1931 film, directed by Tod Browning and starring the Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi. Dozens of vampire-themed movies, television shows and literature followed, though Lugosi, with his exotic accent, remains the quintessential Count Dracula. Late 20th-century examples of the vampire craze include the bestselling novels of American writer Anne Rice and the cult hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (source)
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Also on This Day

AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Colonel William Crawford proceeds toward the Ohio, 1782

AUTOMOTIVE
Last day of Model T production at Ford, 1927

CIVIL WAR
One of the last Confederate generals surrenders, 1865

COLD WAR
United States charges Soviets with espionage, 1960

CRIME
Murder charges dropped against Marine, 2005

DISASTER
Plane crashes in Thai jungle, 1991

GENERAL INTEREST
Pequot massacres begin, 1637
Montana Territory created, 1864
President Johnson acquitted, 1868
Czar Nicholas II crowned, 1896

HOLLYWOOD
Sidney Pollack dies, 2008

LITERARY
Bram Stoker's novel Dracula goes on sale in London, 1897

MUSIC
The British Invasion has an odd beginning, 1962

OLD WEST
John Wayne is born, 1907

PRESIDENTIAL
Coolidge signs stringent immigration law, 1924

SPORTS
Haddix pitches 12 perfect innings, but loses, 1959

VIETNAM WAR
Australian troops depart for Vietnam, 1965
North Vietnamese seize Snoul, Cambodia, 1971

WORLD WAR I
Gavrilo Princip sets out from Belgrade for Sarajevo, 1914

WORLD WAR II
Britain's Operation Dynamo gets underway as President Roosevelt makes a radio appeal for the Red Cross, 1940

source- History.com

Amaury · May 27, 2012

5/27/1941: Bismark Sunk by Royal Navy

On May 27, 1941, the British navy sinks the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic near France. The German death toll was more than 2,000.

On February 14, 1939, the 823-foot Bismarck was launched at Hamburg. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler hoped that the state-of-the-art battleship would herald the rebirth of the German surface battle fleet. However, after the outbreak of war, Britain closely guarded ocean routes from Germany to the Atlantic Ocean, and only U-boats moved freely through the war zone.

In May 1941, the order was given for the Bismarck to break out into the Atlantic. Once in the safety of the open ocean, the battleship would be almost impossible to track down, all the while wreaking havoc on Allied convoys to Britain. Learning of its movement, Britain sent almost the entire British Home Fleet in pursuit. On May 24, the British battle cruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales intercepted it near Iceland. In a ferocious battle, the Hood exploded and sank, and all but three of the 1,421 crewmen were killed. The Bismarck escaped, but because it was leaking fuel it fled for occupied France. On May 26, it was sighted and crippled by British aircraft, and on May 27 three British warships descended on the Bismarck and finished it off.
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American Revolution

Thomas Jefferson writes to John Adams, 1813

Automotive

Golden Gate Bridge opens, 1937

Civil War

Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus is challenged, 1863

Cold War

SALT agreements signed, 1972

Crime

Murder suspect spends third day perched on crane, 2005

Disaster

Tornado levels Texas subdivision, 1997

General Interest

St. Petersburg founded by Peter the Great, 1703

The Battle of Tsushima Strait, 1905

Golden Gate Bridge opens, 1937

Solzhenitsyn returns to Russia, 1994

Hollywood

Hollywood power couple welcomes child, 2006

Literary

Hard-boiled mystery writer Dashiell Hammett is born, 1894

Music

Dylan's breakthrough album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, is released, 1963

Old West

Commanche kill mountain man Jedediah Smith, 1831

Presidential

FDR proclaims an unlimited national emergency, 1941

Sports

Mark Donohue sets record at Indy 500, 1972

Vietnam War

U.S. warships begin bombardment of Viet Cong targets, 1965

Sweden announces support to Viet Cong, 1971

World War I

Third Battle of the Aisne begins, 1918

World War II

British evacuation of Dunkirk turns savage as Germans commit atrocity, 1940

U.S. Olympian Louie ZamperiniÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s plane goes down in the Pacific, 1943

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Amaury · May 28, 2012

5/28/1961: Appeal for Amnesty Campaign Launches

On this day in 1961, the British newspaper The London Observer publishes British lawyer Peter Benenson's article "The Forgotten Prisoners" on its front page, launching the Appeal for Amnesty 1961--a campaign calling for the release of all people imprisoned in various parts of the world because of the peaceful expression of their beliefs.

Benenson was inspired to write the appeal after reading an article about two Portuguese students who were jailed after raising their glasses in a toast to freedom in a public restaurant. At the time, Portugal was a dictatorship ruled by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. Outraged, Benenson penned the Observer article making the case for the students' release and urging readers to write letters of protest to the Portuguese government. The article also drew attention to the variety of human rights violations taking place around the world, and coined the term "prisoners of conscience" to describe "any person who is physically restrained (by imprisonment or otherwise) from expressingâ€¦any opinion which he honestly holds and does not advocate or condone personal violence."

"The Forgotten Prisoners" was soon reprinted in newspapers across the globe, and Berenson's amnesty campaign received hundreds of offers of support. In July, delegates from Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland met to begin "a permanent international movement in defense of freedom of opinion and religion." The following year, this movement would officially become the human rights organization Amnesty International.

Amnesty International took its mandate from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which holds that all people have fundamental rights that transcend national, cultural, religious and ideological boundaries. By the 10th anniversary of the Appeal for Amnesty 1961, the organization it spawned numbered over 1,000 voluntary groups in 28 countries, with those figures rising steadily. In 1977, the organization received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Amnesty International owes much of its success in promoting human rights to its impartiality and its focus on individuals rather than political systems. Today, Amnesty International continues to work toward its goals of ensuring prompt and fair trials for all prisoners, ending torture and capital punishment and securing the release of "prisoners of conscience" around the globe.
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American Revolution

Lieutenant Colonel George Washington begins the Seven Years' War, 1754

Automotive

Volkswagen is founded, 1937

Civil War

African-American regiment departs for combat, 1863

Cold War

Matthias Rust lands his plane in Red Square, 1987

Crime

The decision in a well-known securities fraud case is upheld, 1986

Disaster

Mine explosion kills hundreds in India, 1965

General Interest

First blood of the French and Indian War, 1754

Ethiopian capital falls to rebels, 1991

Hollywood

Comic Phil Hartman killed by wife, 1998

Literary

Tortilla Flat is published, 1935

Music

Irene Cara has a #1 pop hit with the Flashdance theme, 1983

Old West

The Virginian is published, 1902

Presidential

British soldier George Washington experiences combat for first time, 1754

Sports

Baseball owners allow Dodgers and Giants to move, 1957

Vietnam War

U.S. troops abandon "Hamburger Hill", 1969

World War I

U.S. troops score victory at Cantigny, 1918

World War II

Belgium surrenders unconditionally, 1940

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Llave · May 29, 2012

This Day in History- May 29th

Very interesting day for Mountain Climbing people.

Lead Story:
May 29, 1953: Hillary and Tenzing reach Everest summit

At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal, become the first explorers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which at 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest point on earth. The two, part of a British expedition, made their final assault on the summit after spending a fitful night at 27,900 feet. News of their achievement broke around the world on June 2, the day of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, and Britons hailed it as a good omen for their country's future.

Mount Everest sits on the crest of the Great Himalayas in Asia, lying on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Called Chomo-Lungma, or "Mother Goddess of the Land," by the Tibetans, the English named the mountain after Sir George Everest, a 19th-century British surveyor of South Asia. The summit of Everest reaches two-thirds of the way through the air of the earth's atmosphere--at about the cruising altitude of jet airliners--and oxygen levels there are very low, temperatures are extremely cold, and weather is unpredictable and dangerous.

The first recorded attempt to climb Everest was made in 1921 by a British expedition that trekked 400 difficult miles across the Tibetan plateau to the foot of the great mountain. A raging storm forced them to abort their ascent, but the mountaineers, among them George Leigh Mallory, had seen what appeared to be a feasible route up the peak. It was Mallory who quipped when later asked by a journalist why he wanted to climb Everest, "Because it's there."

A second British expedition, featuring Mallory, returned in 1922, and climbers George Finch and Geoffrey Bruce reached an impressive height of more than 27,000 feet. In another attempt made by Mallory that year, seven Sherpa porters were killed in an avalanche. (The Sherpas, native to the Khumbu region, have long played an essential support role in Himalayan climbs and treks because of their strength and ability to endure the high altitudes.) In 1924, a third Everest expedition was launched by the British, and climber Edward Norton reached an elevation of 28,128 feet, 900 vertical feet short of the summit, without using artificial oxygen. Four days later, Mallory and Andrew Irvine launched a summit assault and were never seen alive again. In 1999, Mallory's largely preserved body was found high on Everest--he had suffered numerous broken bones in a fall. Whether or not he or Irvine reached the summit remains a mystery.

Several more unsuccessful summit attempts were made via Tibet's Northeast Ridge route, and after World War II Tibet was closed to foreigners. In 1949, Nepal opened its door to the outside world, and in 1950 and 1951 British expeditions made exploratory climbs up the Southeast Ridge route. In 1952, a Swiss expedition navigated the treacherous Khumbu Icefall in the first real summit attempt. Two climbers, Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay, reached 28,210 feet, just below the South Summit, but had to turn back for want of supplies.

Shocked by the near-success of the Swiss expedition, a large British expedition was organized for 1953 under the command of Colonel John Hunt. In addition to the best British climbers and such highly experienced Sherpas as Tenzing Norgay, the expedition enlisted talent from the British Commonwealth, such as New Zealanders George Lowe and Edmund Hillary, the latter of whom worked as a beekeeper when not climbing mountains. Members of the expedition were equipped with specially insulated boots and clothing, portable radio equipment, and open- and closed-circuit oxygen systems.

Setting up a series of camps, the expedition pushed its way up the mountain in April and May 1953. A new passage was forged through the Khumbu Icefall, and the climbers made their way up the Western Cwm, across the Lhotse Face, and to the South Col, at about 26,000 feet. On May 26, Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon launched the first assault on the summit and came within 300 feet of the top of Everest before having to turn back because one of their oxygen sets was malfunctioning.

On May 28, Tenzing and Hillary set out, setting up high camp at 27,900 feet. After a freezing, sleepless night, the pair plodded on, reaching the South Summit by 9 a.m. and a steep rocky step, some 40 feet high, about an hour later. Wedging himself in a crack in the face, Hillary inched himself up what was thereafter known as the Hillary Step. Hillary threw down a rope, and Norgay followed. At about 11:30 a.m., the climbers arrived at the top of the world.

News of the success was rushed by runner from the expedition's base camp to the radio post at Namche Bazar, and then sent by coded message to London, where Queen Elizabeth II learned of the achievement on June 1, the eve of her coronation. The next day, the news broke around the world. Later that year, Hillary and Hunt were knighted by the queen. Norgay, because he was not a citizen of a Commonwealth nation, received the lesser British Empire Medal.

Since Hillary and Norgay's historic climb, numerous expeditions have made their way up to Everest's summit. In 1960, a Chinese expedition was the first to conquer the mountain from the Tibetan side, and in 1963 James Whittaker became the first American to top Everest. In 1975, Tabei Junko of Japan became the first woman to reach the summit. Three years later, Reinhold Messner of Italy and Peter Habeler of Austria achieved what had been previously thought impossible: climbing to the Everest summit without oxygen. Nearly two hundred climbers have died attempting to summit the mountain. A major tragedy occurred in 1996 when eight climbers from various nations died after being caught in a blizzard high on the slopes. (source)
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Also on This Day

AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Tarleton gives "quarter" in South Carolina, 1780

AUTOMOTIVE
Danica Patrick becomes first woman to lead Indy 500, 2005

CIVIL WAR
Union troops reach Totopotomoy Creek, Virginia, 1864

COLD WAR
Reagan arrives in Moscow for summit talks, 1988

CRIME
Woody Harrelson's father is arrested for murder, 1979

DISASTER
Ships crash in heavy fog, 1914

GENERAL INTEREST
Wisconsin enters the Union, 1848
The sinking of the Empress of Ireland, 1914
Bonus Marchers arrive in Washington, 1932

HOLLYWOOD
Bob Hope celebrates 100th birthday, 2003

LITERARY
T.H. White, author of The Once and Future King, is born, 1906

MUSIC
Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps makes its infamous world premiere, 1913

OLD WEST
Fremont begins his second western expedition, 1843

PRESIDENTIAL
John F. Kennedy is born, 1917

SPORTS
Supreme Court rules in favor of Major League Baseball, 1922

VIETNAM WAR
United States and USSR issue a joint communique, 1972

WORLD WAR I
Controversial ballet Le Sacre du printemps performed in Paris, 1913

WORLD WAR II
Jews in Paris are forced to sew a yellow star on their coats, 1942

source- History.com

Amaury · May 30, 2012

5/30/1431: Joan of Arc Martyred

At Rouen in English-controlled Normandy, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the savior of France, is burned at the stake for heresy.

Joan was born in 1412, the daughter of a tenant farmer at Domremy, on the borders of the duchies of Bar and Lorraine. In 1415, the Hundred Years War between England and France entered a crucial phase when the young King Henry V of England invaded France and won a series of decisive victories against the forces of King Charles VI. By the time of Henry's death in August 1422, the English and their French-Burgundian allies controlled Aquitaine and most of northern France, including Paris. Charles VI, long incapacitated, died one month later, and his son, Charles, regent from 1418, prepared to take the throne. However, Reims, the traditional city of French coronation, was held by the Anglo-Burgundians, and the Dauphin (heir apparent to the French throne) remained uncrowned. Meanwhile, King Henry VI of England, the infant son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI, was proclaimed king of France by the English.

Joan's village of Domremy lay on the frontier between the France of the Dauphin and that of the Anglo-Burgundians. In the midst of this unstable environment, Joan began hearing "voices" of three Christian saintsâ€”St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. When she was about 16, these voices exhorted her to aid the Dauphin in capturing Reims and therefore the French throne. In May 1428, she traveled to Vaucouleurs, a stronghold of the Dauphin, and told the captain of the garrison of her visions. Disbelieving the young peasant girl, he sent her home. In January 1429, she returned, and the captain, impressed by her piety and determination, agreed to allow her passage to the Dauphin at Chinon.

Dressed in men's clothes and accompanied by six soldiers, she reached the Dauphin's castle at Chinon in February 1429 and was granted an audience. Charles hid himself among his courtiers, but Joan immediately picked him out and informed him of her divine mission. For several weeks, Charles had Joan questioned by theologians at Poitiers, who concluded that, given his desperate straits, the Dauphin would be well-advised to make use of this strange and charismatic girl.

Charles furnished her with a small army, and on April 27, 1429, she set out for Orleans, besieged by the English since October 1428. On April 29, as a French sortie distracted the English troops on the west side of Orleans, Joan entered unopposed by its eastern gate. She brought greatly needed supplies and reinforcements and inspired the French to a passionate resistance. She personally led the charge in several battles and on May 7 was struck by an arrow. After quickly dressing her wound, she returned to the fight, and the French won the day. On May 8, the English retreated from Orleans.

During the next five weeks, Joan and the French commanders led the French into a string of stunning victories over the English. On July 16, the royal army reached Reims, which opened its gates to Joan and the Dauphin. The next day, Charles VII was crowned king of France, with Joan standing nearby holding up her standard: an image of Christ in judgment. After the ceremony, she knelt before Charles, joyously calling him king for the first time.

On September 8, the king and Joan attacked Paris. During the battle, Joan carried her standard up to the earthworks and called on the Parisians to surrender the city to the king of France. She was wounded but continued to rally the king's troops until Charles ordered an end to the unsuccessful siege. That year, she led several more small campaigns, capturing the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moitier. In December, Charles ennobled Joan, her parents, and her brothers.

In May 1430, the Burgundians laid siege to Compiegne, and Joan stole into the town under the cover of darkness to aid in its defense. On May 23, while leading a sortie against the Burgundians, she was captured. The Burgundians sold her to the English, and in March 1431 she went on trial before ecclesiastical authorities in Rouen on charges of heresy. Her most serious crime, according to the tribunal, was her rejection of church authority in favor of direct inspiration from God. After refusing to submit to the church, her sentence was read on May 24: She was to be turned over to secular authorities and executed. Reacting with horror to the pronouncement, Joan agreed to recant and was condemned instead to perpetual imprisonment.

Ordered to put on women's clothes, she obeyed, but a few days later the judges went to her cell and found her dressed again in male attire. Questioned, she told them that St. Catherine and St. Margaret had reproached her for giving in to the church against their will. She was found to be a relapsed heretic and on May 29 ordered handed over to secular officials. On May 30, Joan, 19 years old, was burned at the stake at the Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen. Before the pyre was lit, she instructed a priest to hold high a crucifix for her to see and to shout out prayers loud enough to be heard above the roar of the flames.

As a source of military inspiration, Joan of Arc helped turn the Hundred Years War firmly in France's favor. By 1453, Charles VII had reconquered all of France except for Calais, which the English relinquished in 1558. In 1920, Joan of Arc, one of the great heroes of French history, was recognized as a Christian saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Her feast day is May 30.
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Amaury · May 31, 2012

5/31/1859: Big Ben Goes into Operation in London

The famous tower clock known as Big Ben, located at the top of the 320-foot-high St. Stephen's Tower, rings out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, for the first time on this day in 1859.

After a fire destroyed much of the Palace of Westminster--the headquarters of the British Parliament--in October 1834, a standout feature of the design for the new palace was a large clock atop a tower. The royal astronomer, Sir George Airy, wanted the clock to have pinpoint accuracy, including twice-a-day checks with the Royal Greenwich Observatory. While many clockmakers dismissed this goal as impossible, Airy counted on the help of Edmund Beckett Denison, a formidable barrister known for his expertise in horology, or the science of measuring time.

Denison's design, built by the company E.J. Dent & Co., was completed in 1854; five years later, St. Stephen's Tower itself was finished. Weighing in at more than 13 tons, its massive bell was dragged to the tower through the streets of London by a team of 16 horses, to the cheers of onlookers. Once it was installed, Big Ben struck its first chimes on May 31, 1859. Just two months later, however, the heavy striker designed by Denison cracked the bell. Three more years passed before a lighter hammer was added and the clock went into service again. The bell was rotated so that the hammer would strike another surface, but the crack was never repaired.

The name "Big Ben" originally just applied to the bell but later came to refer to the clock itself. Two main stories exist about how Big Ben got its name. Many claim it was named after the famously long-winded Sir Benjamin Hall, the London commissioner of works at the time it was built. Another famous story argues that the bell was named for the popular heavyweight boxer Benjamin Caunt, because it was the largest of its kind.

Even after an incendiary bomb destroyed the chamber of the House of Commons during the Second World War, St. Stephen's Tower survived, and Big Ben continued to function. Its famously accurate timekeeping is regulated by a stack of coins placed on the clock's huge pendulum, ensuring a steady movement of the clock hands at all times. At night, all four of the clockâ€™s faces, each one 23 feet across, are illuminated. A light above Big Ben is also lit to let the public know when Parliament is in session.
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Amaury · Jun 1, 2012

6/1/1980: CNN Launches

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CNN was the brainchild of Robert "Ted" Turner, a colorful, outspoken businessman dubbed the "Mouth of the South." Turner was born on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and as a child moved with his family to Georgia, where his father ran a successful billboard advertising company. After his father committed suicide in 1963, Turner took over the business and expanded it. In 1970, he bought a failing Atlanta TV station that broadcast old movies and network reruns and within a few years Turner had transformed it into a "superstation," a concept he pioneered, in which the station was beamed by satellite into homes across the country. Turner later bought the Atlanta Braves baseball team and the Atlanta Hawks basketball team and aired their games on his network, TBS (Turner Broadcasting System). In 1977, Turner gained international fame when he sailed his yacht to victory in the prestigious America's Cup race.

In its first years of operation, CNN lost money and was ridiculed as the Chicken Noodle Network. However, Turner continued to invest in building up the network's news bureaus around the world and in 1983, he bought Satellite News Channel, owned in part by ABC, and thereby eliminated CNN's main competitor. CNN eventually came to be known for covering live events around the world as they happened, often beating the major networks to the punch. The network gained significant traction with its live coverage of the Persian Gulf War in 1991 and the network's audience grew along with the increasing popularity of cable television during the 1990s.

In 1996, CNN merged with Time Warner, which merged with America Online four years later. Today, Ted Turner is an environmentalist and peace activist whose philanthropic efforts include a 1997 gift of $1 billion to the United Nations.
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