Post by MacBeth on Apr 27, 2009 5:59:02 GMT -5
In 1509, Pope Julius II placed the Republic of Venice under an interdict following its refusal to give up lands claimed by the Papal States. (The pope lifted the sanction the following year.)
In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.
In 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1805, during the First Barbary War, an U.S.-led force of Marines and mercenaries captured the city of Derna, on the shores of Tripoli, Libya.
In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln suspends habeas corpus inside a zone between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The government may now detain citizens indefinitely without ever filing charges. A year and a half later, Lincoln expands the scope of his order to the entire nation.
In 1865, the steamer Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn., killing more than 1,400 people, mostly freed Union prisoners of war.
In 1932, American poet Hart Crane, 32, drowned after jumping from a steamer into the Gulf of Mexico while en route to New York.
In 1940, Heinrich Himmler gives orders to construct a concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland. Only 14 months later, Auschwitz is complete.
In 1947, "Babe Ruth Day" at Yankee Stadium was held to honor the ailing baseball star.
In 1963, Comedian Lenny Bruce is arrested in Miami for illegal possession of hypodermic needles. They were, however, for legally-prescribed prescription drugs.
In 1967, Expo '67 was officially opened in Montreal by Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.
In 1973, acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned after it was revealed that he had handed over bureau files on the Watergate burglary to the Nixon White House.
In 1978, convicted Watergate defendant John D. Ehrlichman was released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months.
In 1982, John W. Hinckley Jr. went on trial in Washington, D.C., in the shooting of President Ronald Reagan. (He was acquitted by reason of insanity.)
In 1987, After determining that Kurt Waldheim had "assisted or otherwise participated in the persecution of persons" during his Nazi years, the Department of Justice places him on a watch list of undesirable aliens. As such, the sitting President of Austria is disallowed entry into the U.S. It is the first time that a foreign head of state is legally forbidden from visiting America.
In 1992, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed in Belgrade by the Republic of Serbia and its lone ally, Montenegro. Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics won entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
In 1999, a week after the Columbine High School massacre, President Bill Clinton called for new gun control measures, saying, "People's lives are at stake here."
In 2004, a ruptured pipeline began spilling 123,774 gallons of diesel fuel into Suisun Bay, east of San Francisco.
In 2005, Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Kremlin leader to visit Israel.
in 2008, Ashley Force, 25, became the first woman to win a national Funny Car race. She beat her father, drag-racing icon John Force, in the final round of the 28th annual Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.
In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.
In 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1805, during the First Barbary War, an U.S.-led force of Marines and mercenaries captured the city of Derna, on the shores of Tripoli, Libya.
In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln suspends habeas corpus inside a zone between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The government may now detain citizens indefinitely without ever filing charges. A year and a half later, Lincoln expands the scope of his order to the entire nation.
In 1865, the steamer Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn., killing more than 1,400 people, mostly freed Union prisoners of war.
In 1932, American poet Hart Crane, 32, drowned after jumping from a steamer into the Gulf of Mexico while en route to New York.
In 1940, Heinrich Himmler gives orders to construct a concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland. Only 14 months later, Auschwitz is complete.
In 1947, "Babe Ruth Day" at Yankee Stadium was held to honor the ailing baseball star.
In 1963, Comedian Lenny Bruce is arrested in Miami for illegal possession of hypodermic needles. They were, however, for legally-prescribed prescription drugs.
In 1967, Expo '67 was officially opened in Montreal by Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.
In 1973, acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned after it was revealed that he had handed over bureau files on the Watergate burglary to the Nixon White House.
In 1978, convicted Watergate defendant John D. Ehrlichman was released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months.
In 1982, John W. Hinckley Jr. went on trial in Washington, D.C., in the shooting of President Ronald Reagan. (He was acquitted by reason of insanity.)
In 1987, After determining that Kurt Waldheim had "assisted or otherwise participated in the persecution of persons" during his Nazi years, the Department of Justice places him on a watch list of undesirable aliens. As such, the sitting President of Austria is disallowed entry into the U.S. It is the first time that a foreign head of state is legally forbidden from visiting America.
In 1992, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed in Belgrade by the Republic of Serbia and its lone ally, Montenegro. Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics won entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
In 1999, a week after the Columbine High School massacre, President Bill Clinton called for new gun control measures, saying, "People's lives are at stake here."
In 2004, a ruptured pipeline began spilling 123,774 gallons of diesel fuel into Suisun Bay, east of San Francisco.
In 2005, Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Kremlin leader to visit Israel.
in 2008, Ashley Force, 25, became the first woman to win a national Funny Car race. She beat her father, drag-racing icon John Force, in the final round of the 28th annual Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.