Post by MacBeth on Aug 6, 2009 16:57:37 GMT -5
In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire went out of existence as Emperor Francis II abdicated.
In 1825, Upper Peru became the autonomous republic of Bolivia.
In 1859, the Australian passenger ship SS Admella, en route from Port Adelaide to Melbourne, struck a reef off South Australia and broke apart; of the 113 people on board, only 24 survived.
In 1866, a British Imperial statute unites Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland; the Island had originally been granted to the Hudson's Bay Company and became a colony in 1850.
In 1890, convicted murderer William Kemmler became the first person to be executed in the electric chair as he was put to death at Auburn State Prison in New York.
In 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia, and Serbia declared war against Germany at the outbreak of World War I.
In 1926, Gertrude Ederle of New York became the first woman to swim the English Channel, arriving in Kingsdown, England, from France in 14 1/2 hours. The Warner Brothers studio gives the first public exhibition of their Vitaphone system for showing talking motion pictures.
In 1945, during World War II, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.
In 1961, the Soviet Union astonishes the world by launching Major Gherman Titov into orbit for a whole day.
In 1962, Jamaica became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. The album "Help!" by the Beatles was released.
In 1970, 750 unkempt Yippies show up at Disneyland, hell-bent "to liberate Minnie Mouse, have free rein of the park and infiltrate Tom Sawyer's Island," according to Youth International Party leaflets. Instead, they wind up scuffling with Disney security and other patrons, eventually prompting Anaheim police to close the park early and forcibly eject the dirty longhairs.
In 1971, a British man becomes the first to sail the world non-stop in the "wrong" direction - east to west - against the prevailing winds and currents.
In 1986, William J. Schroeder died after living 620 days with the Jarvik 7 artificial heart.
In 1999, in Canton, Texas, a 36-year-old woman facing lifelong heart problems that she blamed on the diet drug combination fen-phen was awarded $23.3 million in the first such lawsuit to reach a jury. (The case was settled for less than a tenth of that amount during an appeal.)
In 2004, a court found two former top East German officials guilty of failing to stop the killing of people trying to escape across the Berlin Wall and sentenced them to probation.
In 2008, the government declared that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was solely responsible for the anthrax attacks that killed five and rattled the nation in 2001. (Ivins had committed suicide on July 29.)
In 1825, Upper Peru became the autonomous republic of Bolivia.
In 1859, the Australian passenger ship SS Admella, en route from Port Adelaide to Melbourne, struck a reef off South Australia and broke apart; of the 113 people on board, only 24 survived.
In 1866, a British Imperial statute unites Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland; the Island had originally been granted to the Hudson's Bay Company and became a colony in 1850.
In 1890, convicted murderer William Kemmler became the first person to be executed in the electric chair as he was put to death at Auburn State Prison in New York.
In 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia, and Serbia declared war against Germany at the outbreak of World War I.
In 1926, Gertrude Ederle of New York became the first woman to swim the English Channel, arriving in Kingsdown, England, from France in 14 1/2 hours. The Warner Brothers studio gives the first public exhibition of their Vitaphone system for showing talking motion pictures.
In 1945, during World War II, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.
In 1961, the Soviet Union astonishes the world by launching Major Gherman Titov into orbit for a whole day.
In 1962, Jamaica became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. The album "Help!" by the Beatles was released.
In 1970, 750 unkempt Yippies show up at Disneyland, hell-bent "to liberate Minnie Mouse, have free rein of the park and infiltrate Tom Sawyer's Island," according to Youth International Party leaflets. Instead, they wind up scuffling with Disney security and other patrons, eventually prompting Anaheim police to close the park early and forcibly eject the dirty longhairs.
In 1971, a British man becomes the first to sail the world non-stop in the "wrong" direction - east to west - against the prevailing winds and currents.
In 1986, William J. Schroeder died after living 620 days with the Jarvik 7 artificial heart.
In 1999, in Canton, Texas, a 36-year-old woman facing lifelong heart problems that she blamed on the diet drug combination fen-phen was awarded $23.3 million in the first such lawsuit to reach a jury. (The case was settled for less than a tenth of that amount during an appeal.)
In 2004, a court found two former top East German officials guilty of failing to stop the killing of people trying to escape across the Berlin Wall and sentenced them to probation.
In 2008, the government declared that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was solely responsible for the anthrax attacks that killed five and rattled the nation in 2001. (Ivins had committed suicide on July 29.)