Post by MacBeth on Jul 7, 2009 5:23:51 GMT -5
In 1348, the Black Death makes its first appearance in England.
In 1665, King Charles II and his entourage flee London, a city suffering the ravages of the black plague. At this point, about 2,000 Londoners are dying weekly.
In 1795, Thomas Paine defends the principal of universal suffrage at the Constitutional Convention in Paris.
In 1814, Sir Walter Scott’s novel Waverly is published anonymously so as not to damage his reputation as a poet.
In 1846, U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.
In 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C., after being convicted of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.
In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.
In 1905, the International Workers of the World found their labor organization in Chicago
In 1908, the Democratic national convention, which nominated William Jennings Bryan for president, opened in Denver.
In 1919, the first Transcontinental Motor Convoy, in which a U.S. Army convoy of motorized vehicles crossed the United States, departed Washington, D.C. (The trip ended in San Francisco on Sept. 6, 1919.)
In 1927, Christopher Stone becomes the first British ‘disc jockey’ when he plays records for the BBC.
In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam).
In 1942, Himmler gives the go-ahead for sterilization experiments at Auschwitz.
In 1946, Italian-born Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized as the first American saint.
In 1948, six female reservists became the first women to be sworn into the regular U.S. Navy.
In 1954, Elvis Presley made his radio debut when Memphis, Tenn., station WHBQ played his first recording for Sun Records, "That's All Right."
In 1969, the Canadian government, led by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, designates English and French as the official languages of the country.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1983, 11-year-old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, left for a visit to the Soviet Union at the personal invitation of Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov.
In 1987, Lt. Col. Oliver North began his public testimony at the Iran-Contra hearing, telling Congress that he had "never carried out a single act, not one" without authorization.
In 1999, In the first class-action lawsuit by smokers to go to trial, a jury in Miami held cigarette makers liable for making a defective product that caused emphysema, lung cancer and other illnesses. (The jury later ordered the tobacco industry to pay $145 billion in punitive damages, but the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 voided the award, saying each smoker's case had to be decided individually.) President Bill Clinton became the first chief executive since Franklin D. Roosevelt to visit an Indian reservation as he toured the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
In 2004, former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay was indicted on criminal charges related to the energy company's collapse. (Lay was later convicted of fraud and conspiracy, but died in July 2006 before he could be sentenced.)
In 2008, President George W. Bush met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time at the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan.
In 1665, King Charles II and his entourage flee London, a city suffering the ravages of the black plague. At this point, about 2,000 Londoners are dying weekly.
In 1795, Thomas Paine defends the principal of universal suffrage at the Constitutional Convention in Paris.
In 1814, Sir Walter Scott’s novel Waverly is published anonymously so as not to damage his reputation as a poet.
In 1846, U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.
In 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C., after being convicted of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.
In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.
In 1905, the International Workers of the World found their labor organization in Chicago
In 1908, the Democratic national convention, which nominated William Jennings Bryan for president, opened in Denver.
In 1919, the first Transcontinental Motor Convoy, in which a U.S. Army convoy of motorized vehicles crossed the United States, departed Washington, D.C. (The trip ended in San Francisco on Sept. 6, 1919.)
In 1927, Christopher Stone becomes the first British ‘disc jockey’ when he plays records for the BBC.
In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam).
In 1942, Himmler gives the go-ahead for sterilization experiments at Auschwitz.
In 1946, Italian-born Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized as the first American saint.
In 1948, six female reservists became the first women to be sworn into the regular U.S. Navy.
In 1954, Elvis Presley made his radio debut when Memphis, Tenn., station WHBQ played his first recording for Sun Records, "That's All Right."
In 1969, the Canadian government, led by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, designates English and French as the official languages of the country.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1983, 11-year-old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, left for a visit to the Soviet Union at the personal invitation of Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov.
In 1987, Lt. Col. Oliver North began his public testimony at the Iran-Contra hearing, telling Congress that he had "never carried out a single act, not one" without authorization.
In 1999, In the first class-action lawsuit by smokers to go to trial, a jury in Miami held cigarette makers liable for making a defective product that caused emphysema, lung cancer and other illnesses. (The jury later ordered the tobacco industry to pay $145 billion in punitive damages, but the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 voided the award, saying each smoker's case had to be decided individually.) President Bill Clinton became the first chief executive since Franklin D. Roosevelt to visit an Indian reservation as he toured the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
In 2004, former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay was indicted on criminal charges related to the energy company's collapse. (Lay was later convicted of fraud and conspiracy, but died in July 2006 before he could be sentenced.)
In 2008, President George W. Bush met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time at the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan.