1483 Martin Luther (born), German monk and priest, leader of the Protestant Reformation (died 1546)
1619 René Descartes has the dreams that inspire his Meditations on First Philosophy.
1775 The United States Marine Corps is founded at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia by Samuel Nicholas.
1801 Samuel Gridley Howe (born), American physician and activist (died 1876)
1810 George Jennings (born), English plumber and engineer, invented the flush toilet (died 1882)
1865 Major Henry Wirz, the superintendent of a prison camp in Andersonville, Georgia, is hanged, becoming the only American Civil War soldier executed for war crimes.
1871 Henry Morton Stanley locates missing explorer and missionary, Dr. David Livingstone in Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika, famously greeting him with the words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”.
1888 Andrei Tupolev (born), Russian engineer and designer, founded the Tupolev Company (died 1972)
1919 The first national convention of the American Legion is held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ending on November 12.
1951 Direct-dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.
1954 U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicates the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima memorial) in Arlington National Cemetery.
1958 The Hope Diamond is donated to the Smithsonian Institution by New York diamond merchant Harry Winston.
1969 National Educational Television (the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service) in the United States debuts the children’s television program Sesame Street.
1970 Vietnam War: Vietnamization For the first time in five years, an entire week ends with no reports of American combat fatalities in Southeast Asia.
1971 In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge forces attack the city of Phnom Penh and its airport, killing 44, wounding at least 30 and damaging nine aircraft.
1972 Southern Airways Flight 49 from Birmingham, Alabama is hijacked and, at one point, is threatened with crashing into the nuclear installation at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After two days, the plane lands in Havana, Cuba, where the hijackers are jailed by Fidel Castro.
1982 Leonid Brezhnev (died), Soviet general and politician (born 1906)
1984 The first Breeders’ Cup takes place at Hollywood Park Racetrack.
1997 WorldCom and MCI Communications announce a $37 billion merger (the largest merger in US history at the time).
2006 The National Museum of the Marine Corps is opened and dedicated by U.S. President George W. Bush and announces that Marine Corporal Jason Dunham will receive the Medal of Honor in Quantico, Virginia.
EO Smith
Latest posts by EO Smith (see all)
- Patriotism - 4 July, 2017
- The Super Sucker Bowl - 10 February, 2017
- Alternative Facts and Science - 24 January, 2017