Post by MacBeth on Feb 11, 2009 7:37:18 GMT -5
In 1812, Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting law favoring his party, giving rise to the term "gerrymandering."
In 1858, French teenager Bernadette Soubirous reported the first of 18 visions of a lady dressed in white in a grotto near Lourdes. (The Catholic Church later accepted that the visions were of the Virgin Mary.)
In 1861, President-elect Abraham Lincoln departed Springfield, Ill., for Washington.
In 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed, with Italy recognizing the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.
In 1937, a six-week-old sit-down strike against General Motors ended, with the company agreeing to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union.
In 1945, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement during World War II.
In 1972, McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. and Life magazine canceled plans to publish what turned out to be a fake autobiography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.
In 1975, Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party.
In 1979, followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran.
In 1989, the Rev. Barbara C. Harris became the first woman consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church, in a ceremony held in Boston.
In 1990, South African black activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced his choice of Miami prosecutor Janet Reno to be the nation's first female attorney general.
In 1999, a federal jury in New York found several gun makers responsible in three area shootings for letting guns fall into the hands of criminals and assessed damages; gun makers were found liable in six other instances, but no monetary damages were awarded. (However, the plaintiffs suffered a setback in 2001 when the New York Court of Appeals invalidated such claims.)
In 2004, Wesley Clark dropped out of the race for the White House. A car bomb at an army recruiting center in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 47 people. Cable TV giant Comcast Corp. launched a hostile bid to buy The Walt Disney Co. for more than $54 billion. (Comcast later dropped its bid). Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling arrested by the FBI. He is later found guilty of no less than 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud, making false statements and insider trading.
In 2006, During a quail hunting trip, Vice-President Dick Cheney takes aim at a small bird but instead manages to shoot his friend Harry Whittington in the face. As a result of being peppered with birdshot, Whittington has a minor heart attack but lives to apologize to his friend.
In 2008, the Defense Department charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other detainees at Guantanamo Bay with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks. (Charges against one were later dropped.) Yahoo Inc. rejected Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited takeover bid.
In 1858, French teenager Bernadette Soubirous reported the first of 18 visions of a lady dressed in white in a grotto near Lourdes. (The Catholic Church later accepted that the visions were of the Virgin Mary.)
In 1861, President-elect Abraham Lincoln departed Springfield, Ill., for Washington.
In 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed, with Italy recognizing the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.
In 1937, a six-week-old sit-down strike against General Motors ended, with the company agreeing to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union.
In 1945, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement during World War II.
In 1972, McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. and Life magazine canceled plans to publish what turned out to be a fake autobiography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.
In 1975, Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party.
In 1979, followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran.
In 1989, the Rev. Barbara C. Harris became the first woman consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church, in a ceremony held in Boston.
In 1990, South African black activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced his choice of Miami prosecutor Janet Reno to be the nation's first female attorney general.
In 1999, a federal jury in New York found several gun makers responsible in three area shootings for letting guns fall into the hands of criminals and assessed damages; gun makers were found liable in six other instances, but no monetary damages were awarded. (However, the plaintiffs suffered a setback in 2001 when the New York Court of Appeals invalidated such claims.)
In 2004, Wesley Clark dropped out of the race for the White House. A car bomb at an army recruiting center in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 47 people. Cable TV giant Comcast Corp. launched a hostile bid to buy The Walt Disney Co. for more than $54 billion. (Comcast later dropped its bid). Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling arrested by the FBI. He is later found guilty of no less than 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud, making false statements and insider trading.
In 2006, During a quail hunting trip, Vice-President Dick Cheney takes aim at a small bird but instead manages to shoot his friend Harry Whittington in the face. As a result of being peppered with birdshot, Whittington has a minor heart attack but lives to apologize to his friend.
In 2008, the Defense Department charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other detainees at Guantanamo Bay with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks. (Charges against one were later dropped.) Yahoo Inc. rejected Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited takeover bid.