Post by MacBeth on Feb 19, 2009 6:26:38 GMT -5
In 1803, Congress voted to accept Ohio's borders and constitution.
In 1846, the Texas state government was formally installed in Austin, with J. Pinckney Henderson taking the oath of office as governor.
In 1878, Thomas Edison received a patent for his phonograph.
In 1881, Kansas prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.
In 1909, the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, a precursor to Mental Health America, was founded by Clifford W. Beers.
In 1934, the U.S. Army Air Corps began delivering mail after President Franklin D. Roosevelt canceled private contracts that had come under suspicion. (The hastily arranged, ill-equipped military flights claimed the lives of a dozen pilots, sparking a public outcry before they were dropped several months later.)
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the military to relocate and intern U.S. residents, including native-born Americans, of Japanese ancestry. Japanese warplanes raided the Australian city of Darwin; at least 243 people were killed.
In 1945, during World War II, some 30,000 U.S. Marines began landing on Iwo Jima, where they commenced a successful monthlong battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.
In 1959, an agreement was signed by Britain, Turkey and Greece granting Cyprus its independence.
In 1986, the US Senate approved a treaty outlawing genocide, 37 years after the pact had first been submitted for ratification.
In 1995, Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee married. Video hijinks ensue.
In 1997, Deng Xiaoping, the last of China's major Communist revolutionaries, died at age 92.
In 1998, Lt. Col. Larry Wayne Harris (Aryan Nations) and William Leavitt are arrested in Henderson, NV for possession of the biological toxin anthrax, military grade, enough to kill an entire city. Their Mercedes is hermetically sealed by authorities and brought to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada for hazmat.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton posthumously pardoned Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point, whose military career had been tarnished by a racially motivated discharge.
In 2002, Vonetta Flowers became the first black athlete ever to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics when she and Jill Bakken took top honors in bobsledding in Salt Lake City.
In 2004, former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was charged in court with fraud, insider trading and other crimes in connection with the energy trader's colossal collapse. (Skilling was later convicted of 19 counts and sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison; a federal appeals court upheld his convictions, but vacated the prison term and ordered that he be resentenced.) After sanctioning more than 2,800 gay marriages, the city of San Francisco sued the state of California, challenging its ban on same-sex marriages.
In 2007, New Jersey became the third US state to offer civil unions to gay couples.
In 2008, an ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power; his brother Raul was later named to succeed him. President George W. Bush, visiting Rwanda, pleaded with the global community for decisive action to stop grisly ethnic violence plaguing other African nations like Kenya and Sudan. Barack Obama cruised past Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Wisconsin primary and Hawaii caucuses. Toshiba, creator of the HD DVD, conceded to Sony's rival Blu-ray format.
In 1846, the Texas state government was formally installed in Austin, with J. Pinckney Henderson taking the oath of office as governor.
In 1878, Thomas Edison received a patent for his phonograph.
In 1881, Kansas prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.
In 1909, the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, a precursor to Mental Health America, was founded by Clifford W. Beers.
In 1934, the U.S. Army Air Corps began delivering mail after President Franklin D. Roosevelt canceled private contracts that had come under suspicion. (The hastily arranged, ill-equipped military flights claimed the lives of a dozen pilots, sparking a public outcry before they were dropped several months later.)
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the military to relocate and intern U.S. residents, including native-born Americans, of Japanese ancestry. Japanese warplanes raided the Australian city of Darwin; at least 243 people were killed.
In 1945, during World War II, some 30,000 U.S. Marines began landing on Iwo Jima, where they commenced a successful monthlong battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.
In 1959, an agreement was signed by Britain, Turkey and Greece granting Cyprus its independence.
In 1986, the US Senate approved a treaty outlawing genocide, 37 years after the pact had first been submitted for ratification.
In 1995, Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee married. Video hijinks ensue.
In 1997, Deng Xiaoping, the last of China's major Communist revolutionaries, died at age 92.
In 1998, Lt. Col. Larry Wayne Harris (Aryan Nations) and William Leavitt are arrested in Henderson, NV for possession of the biological toxin anthrax, military grade, enough to kill an entire city. Their Mercedes is hermetically sealed by authorities and brought to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada for hazmat.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton posthumously pardoned Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of West Point, whose military career had been tarnished by a racially motivated discharge.
In 2002, Vonetta Flowers became the first black athlete ever to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics when she and Jill Bakken took top honors in bobsledding in Salt Lake City.
In 2004, former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was charged in court with fraud, insider trading and other crimes in connection with the energy trader's colossal collapse. (Skilling was later convicted of 19 counts and sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison; a federal appeals court upheld his convictions, but vacated the prison term and ordered that he be resentenced.) After sanctioning more than 2,800 gay marriages, the city of San Francisco sued the state of California, challenging its ban on same-sex marriages.
In 2007, New Jersey became the third US state to offer civil unions to gay couples.
In 2008, an ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power; his brother Raul was later named to succeed him. President George W. Bush, visiting Rwanda, pleaded with the global community for decisive action to stop grisly ethnic violence plaguing other African nations like Kenya and Sudan. Barack Obama cruised past Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Wisconsin primary and Hawaii caucuses. Toshiba, creator of the HD DVD, conceded to Sony's rival Blu-ray format.