Post by MacBeth on Mar 30, 2009 5:55:57 GMT -5
In 315, the Donation of Constantine grants to the See of Rome dominion over all earthly thrones of Europe, a document made by that Roman emperor after his conversion to Christianity in return for being cured from leprosy. But in 1440, anachronisms in the document prove that it was really a fraud written around 752 AD, during the reign of and under orders of Pope Stephen II.
In 1822, Florida became a United States territory.
In 1842, Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Ga., first used ether as an anesthetic during a minor operation.
In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal roundly ridiculed as "Seward's Folly."
In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, giving all citizens the right to vote regardless of race, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. Texas was readmitted to the Union.
In 1909, the Queensboro Bridge, linking the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, opened.
In 1945, the Soviet Union invaded Austria during World War II.
In 1959, a narrowly divided U.S. Supreme Court, in Bartkus v. Illinois, ruled that a conviction in state court following an acquittal in federal court for the same crime did not violate the Constitution's protection against double jeopardy.
In 1964, John Glenn withdrew from the Ohio race for the U.S. Senate because of injuries suffered in a fall.
In 1979, Airey Neave, a leading member of the British Parliament, was killed in London by a bomb planted in his car by the Irish National Liberation Army.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty. While President Reagan undergoes surgery for his life-threatening gunshot wound, Secretary of State Alexander Haig announces to the press: "As of now, I am in control here, in the White House."
In 1999, Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic insisted that NATO attacks stop before he moved toward peace, declaring his forces ready to fight "to the very end." NATO answered with new resolve to wreck his military with a relentless air assault. A jury in Portland, Ore., ordered Philip Morris to pay $81 million to the family of a man who died of lung cancer after smoking Marlboros for four decades. (The U.S. Supreme Court twice struck down the punitive damages part of the award, which was repeatedly upheld by Oregon courts; the high court agreed in June 2008 to review the judgment a third time.)
In 2004, in a reversal, President George W. Bush agreed to let National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice testify publicly and under oath before an independent panel investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
In 2008, the Army said the remains of Sgt. Matt Maupin, captured in Iraq in 2004, had been found and identified. Chinese spectators cheered as Greece handed off the Olympic flame for its journey to Beijing and relay through 20 countries; but protesters brandishing Tibetan flags stole the limelight.
In 1822, Florida became a United States territory.
In 1842, Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Ga., first used ether as an anesthetic during a minor operation.
In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal roundly ridiculed as "Seward's Folly."
In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, giving all citizens the right to vote regardless of race, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. Texas was readmitted to the Union.
In 1909, the Queensboro Bridge, linking the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, opened.
In 1945, the Soviet Union invaded Austria during World War II.
In 1959, a narrowly divided U.S. Supreme Court, in Bartkus v. Illinois, ruled that a conviction in state court following an acquittal in federal court for the same crime did not violate the Constitution's protection against double jeopardy.
In 1964, John Glenn withdrew from the Ohio race for the U.S. Senate because of injuries suffered in a fall.
In 1979, Airey Neave, a leading member of the British Parliament, was killed in London by a bomb planted in his car by the Irish National Liberation Army.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty. While President Reagan undergoes surgery for his life-threatening gunshot wound, Secretary of State Alexander Haig announces to the press: "As of now, I am in control here, in the White House."
In 1999, Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic insisted that NATO attacks stop before he moved toward peace, declaring his forces ready to fight "to the very end." NATO answered with new resolve to wreck his military with a relentless air assault. A jury in Portland, Ore., ordered Philip Morris to pay $81 million to the family of a man who died of lung cancer after smoking Marlboros for four decades. (The U.S. Supreme Court twice struck down the punitive damages part of the award, which was repeatedly upheld by Oregon courts; the high court agreed in June 2008 to review the judgment a third time.)
In 2004, in a reversal, President George W. Bush agreed to let National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice testify publicly and under oath before an independent panel investigating the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
In 2008, the Army said the remains of Sgt. Matt Maupin, captured in Iraq in 2004, had been found and identified. Chinese spectators cheered as Greece handed off the Olympic flame for its journey to Beijing and relay through 20 countries; but protesters brandishing Tibetan flags stole the limelight.