Post by MacBeth on Jun 30, 2009 9:44:30 GMT -5
In 1520, after looting Tenochtitlan, Spaniards are attacked by an angry Aztec mob. Tied down by armor and treasure, they are no match for the natives and nearly half of Cortes' men lose their lives.
In 1837, England outlaws the use of the pillory.
In 1857, Charles Dickens reads from A Christmas Carol at St. Martin’s Hall in London–his first public reading.
In 1859, French acrobat Charles Blondin (born Jean Francois Gravelet) walked back and forth on a tightrope above the gorge of Niagara Falls as thousands of spectators watched.
In 1882, Charles Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield, is hanged. Tickets for the event went for as much as $300.
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.
In 1908, the Tunguska Event took place in Russia as an asteroid exploded above Siberia, leaving 800 square miles of scorched or blown-down trees.
In 1921, President Warren G. Harding nominated former President William Howard Taft to be chief justice of the United States, succeeding the late Edward Douglass White.
In 1934, Adolf Hitler carried out his "blood purge" of political and military rivals in Germany in what came to be known as "The Night of the Long Knives."
In 1936, the novel "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell was published in New York.
In 1958, the US Senate passed the Alaska statehood bill by a vote of 64-20.
In 1948, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley demonstrate their invention, the transistor, for the first time.
In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho, opens.
In 1963, Pope Paul VI was crowned the 262nd head of the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1971, a Soviet space mission ended in tragedy when three cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 11 were found dead inside their spacecraft after it had returned to Earth.
In 1984, John Turner was sworn in as Canada's 17th prime minister, succeeding Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
In 1985, 39 American hostages from a hijacked TWA jetliner were freed in Beirut after being held 17 days.
In 1997, in Hong Kong, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time over Government House as Britain prepared to hand the colony back to China after ruling it for 156 years.
In 1999, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in two years, boosting the target for the funds rate a quarter-point to five percent. On the day the independent counsel law expired, Kenneth Starr wrapped up the Whitewater phase of his $50 million investigation as presidential friend Webster Hubbell pleaded guilty to a felony and a misdemeanor.
In 2004, a federal appeals court approved an antitrust settlement Microsoft had negotiated with the Justice Department. The Iraqis took legal custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 of his top lieutenants, a first step toward the ousted dictator's expected trial for crimes against humanity. After nearly seven years of travel, the international Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit.
in 2005, Spain legalized gay marriage.
In 2008, President George W. Bush signed legislation to pay for the war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of his presidency and beyond, hailing the $162 billion plan as a rare product of bipartisan cooperation. The United States announced that it was charging Saudi Arabian Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri with "organizing and directing" the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in waters off Yemen - and would seek the death penalty.
In 1837, England outlaws the use of the pillory.
In 1857, Charles Dickens reads from A Christmas Carol at St. Martin’s Hall in London–his first public reading.
In 1859, French acrobat Charles Blondin (born Jean Francois Gravelet) walked back and forth on a tightrope above the gorge of Niagara Falls as thousands of spectators watched.
In 1882, Charles Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield, is hanged. Tickets for the event went for as much as $300.
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.
In 1908, the Tunguska Event took place in Russia as an asteroid exploded above Siberia, leaving 800 square miles of scorched or blown-down trees.
In 1921, President Warren G. Harding nominated former President William Howard Taft to be chief justice of the United States, succeeding the late Edward Douglass White.
In 1934, Adolf Hitler carried out his "blood purge" of political and military rivals in Germany in what came to be known as "The Night of the Long Knives."
In 1936, the novel "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell was published in New York.
In 1958, the US Senate passed the Alaska statehood bill by a vote of 64-20.
In 1948, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley demonstrate their invention, the transistor, for the first time.
In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho, opens.
In 1963, Pope Paul VI was crowned the 262nd head of the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1971, a Soviet space mission ended in tragedy when three cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 11 were found dead inside their spacecraft after it had returned to Earth.
In 1984, John Turner was sworn in as Canada's 17th prime minister, succeeding Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
In 1985, 39 American hostages from a hijacked TWA jetliner were freed in Beirut after being held 17 days.
In 1997, in Hong Kong, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time over Government House as Britain prepared to hand the colony back to China after ruling it for 156 years.
In 1999, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in two years, boosting the target for the funds rate a quarter-point to five percent. On the day the independent counsel law expired, Kenneth Starr wrapped up the Whitewater phase of his $50 million investigation as presidential friend Webster Hubbell pleaded guilty to a felony and a misdemeanor.
In 2004, a federal appeals court approved an antitrust settlement Microsoft had negotiated with the Justice Department. The Iraqis took legal custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 of his top lieutenants, a first step toward the ousted dictator's expected trial for crimes against humanity. After nearly seven years of travel, the international Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit.
in 2005, Spain legalized gay marriage.
In 2008, President George W. Bush signed legislation to pay for the war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of his presidency and beyond, hailing the $162 billion plan as a rare product of bipartisan cooperation. The United States announced that it was charging Saudi Arabian Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri with "organizing and directing" the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in waters off Yemen - and would seek the death penalty.