Post by MacBeth on Aug 17, 2009 8:56:24 GMT -5
In 1590, John White, the leader of 117 colonists sent in 1587 to Roanoke Island (North Carolina) to establish a colony, returns from a trip to England to find the settlement deserted. No trace of the settlers is ever found.
In 1774, Juan Jose Perez Hernandez c l725-1775 discovers Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, four years before Captain Cook's arrival; the local Nootka people are skilled whalers and trappers of sea otters.
In 1775, Quebec legislative council meets for the first time.
In 1790, the federal capital of the United States moves from New York City to Philadelphia, where it will remain until it moves again to Washington, D.C., in 1800.
In 1807, Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat began heading up the Hudson River on its successful round-trip between New York and Albany.
In 1833, the first steam ship to cross the Atlantic entirely on its own power, the Canadian ship Royal William, begins her journey from Nova Scotia to The Isle of Wight.
In 1863, federal batteries and ships began bombarding Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor during the Civil War, but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding.
In 1896, Bridget Driscoll, a 44-year-old mother of two, becomes the world's first automobile fatality when she steps in front of a car outside the Crystal Palace in London. At the coroner's inquest, Arthur Edsall states he had been driving at only 4 mph. The motorist also claims that when he saw the pedestrian, he rang his bell and shouted "Stand back!" For whatever reason, the coroner accepts Edsall's preposterous story. Gold is discovered in Bonanza Creek in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory. A gold rush in the Klondike and nearby Alaska will begin the following year when news of the strike spreads.
In 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Ga., lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. (Frank, who'd maintained his innocence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986.)
In 1942, during World War II, U.S. 8th Air Force bombers attacked Rouen, France.
In 1943, the Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina.
In 1945, Indonesian nationalist leader Sukarno proclaims the country's independence from the Netherlands and becomes its first president.
In 1948, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard is arrested for bad checks in San Luis Obispo, California. In court a fortnight later, Hubbard pays the $25 fine. Former State Department official Alger Hiss faced his chief accuser, Whittaker Chambers, during a closed-door meeting of the House Un-American Activities Committee in New York. Hiss repeated his denial that he'd ever been a Communist agent.
In 1959, Oil first discovered in the Yukon.
In 1960, American Francis Gary Powers pleads guilty at his Moscow trial for spying over the Soviet Union in a U-2 plane.
In 1962, Peter Fechter, an 18-year-old East German attempting to escape to the West over the Berlin Wall, is shot and killed by East German guards, setting off mass demonstrations in West Berlin.
In 1969, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded near Bethel, N.Y.
In 1978, the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris.
In 1987, Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, died at Spandau prison in West Berlin at age 93, having apparently committed suicide by strangling himself with an electrical cord. He had been the only inmate at Spandau for 21 years.
In 1988, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel were killed in a mysterious plane crash.
In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey.
In 2004, British police charged eight terrorism suspects. (The leader of the group, al Qaeda operative Dhiren Barot, later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mass murder and was sentenced to life in prison, although the term was subsequently reduced to 30 years; the other seven received sentences ranging up to 26 years.)
In 2005, Israeli security forces began the forcible removal of Jews from four settlements in the Gaza Strip.
In 1774, Juan Jose Perez Hernandez c l725-1775 discovers Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, four years before Captain Cook's arrival; the local Nootka people are skilled whalers and trappers of sea otters.
In 1775, Quebec legislative council meets for the first time.
In 1790, the federal capital of the United States moves from New York City to Philadelphia, where it will remain until it moves again to Washington, D.C., in 1800.
In 1807, Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat began heading up the Hudson River on its successful round-trip between New York and Albany.
In 1833, the first steam ship to cross the Atlantic entirely on its own power, the Canadian ship Royal William, begins her journey from Nova Scotia to The Isle of Wight.
In 1863, federal batteries and ships began bombarding Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor during the Civil War, but the Confederates managed to hold on despite several days of pounding.
In 1896, Bridget Driscoll, a 44-year-old mother of two, becomes the world's first automobile fatality when she steps in front of a car outside the Crystal Palace in London. At the coroner's inquest, Arthur Edsall states he had been driving at only 4 mph. The motorist also claims that when he saw the pedestrian, he rang his bell and shouted "Stand back!" For whatever reason, the coroner accepts Edsall's preposterous story. Gold is discovered in Bonanza Creek in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory. A gold rush in the Klondike and nearby Alaska will begin the following year when news of the strike spreads.
In 1915, a mob in Cobb County, Ga., lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, whose death sentence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan had been commuted to life imprisonment. (Frank, who'd maintained his innocence, was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986.)
In 1942, during World War II, U.S. 8th Air Force bombers attacked Rouen, France.
In 1943, the Allied conquest of Sicily was completed as U.S. and British forces entered Messina.
In 1945, Indonesian nationalist leader Sukarno proclaims the country's independence from the Netherlands and becomes its first president.
In 1948, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard is arrested for bad checks in San Luis Obispo, California. In court a fortnight later, Hubbard pays the $25 fine. Former State Department official Alger Hiss faced his chief accuser, Whittaker Chambers, during a closed-door meeting of the House Un-American Activities Committee in New York. Hiss repeated his denial that he'd ever been a Communist agent.
In 1959, Oil first discovered in the Yukon.
In 1960, American Francis Gary Powers pleads guilty at his Moscow trial for spying over the Soviet Union in a U-2 plane.
In 1962, Peter Fechter, an 18-year-old East German attempting to escape to the West over the Berlin Wall, is shot and killed by East German guards, setting off mass demonstrations in West Berlin.
In 1969, 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair concluded near Bethel, N.Y.
In 1978, the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ended as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman landed their Double Eagle II outside Paris.
In 1987, Rudolf Hess, the last member of Adolf Hitler's inner circle, died at Spandau prison in West Berlin at age 93, having apparently committed suicide by strangling himself with an electrical cord. He had been the only inmate at Spandau for 21 years.
In 1988, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel were killed in a mysterious plane crash.
In 1999, more than 17,000 people were killed when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Turkey.
In 2004, British police charged eight terrorism suspects. (The leader of the group, al Qaeda operative Dhiren Barot, later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mass murder and was sentenced to life in prison, although the term was subsequently reduced to 30 years; the other seven received sentences ranging up to 26 years.)
In 2005, Israeli security forces began the forcible removal of Jews from four settlements in the Gaza Strip.
