Today in History

Today in History

1496 – References in Leonardo da Vinci notebooks suggested that he tested his flying machine. The test didn't succeed and he didn't try to fly again for several years.

1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther.

1777 – The Battle of Princeton took place in the War of Independence, in which George Washington defeated the British forces, led by Cornwallis.

1815 – By secret treaty, Austria, Britain, and France formed a defensive alliance against Prusso-Russian plans to solve the Saxon and Polish problems.

1823 – Stephen F. Austin received a grant from the Mexican government and began colonization in the region of the Brazos River in Texas.

1825 – The first engineering college in the U.S. , Rensselaer School, opened in Troy, NY. It is now known as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

1833 – Britain seized control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. About 150 years later, Argentina seized the islands from the British, but Britain took them back after a 74-day war.

1868 – The Shogunate was abolished in Japan and Meiji dynasty was restored.

1871 – Henry W. Bradley patented oleomargarine.

1888 – The drinking straw was patented by Marvin C. Stone.

1924 – English explorer Howard Carter discovered the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor, Egypt.

1925 – In Italy, Mussolini announced that he would take dictatorial powers.

1938 – The first broadcast of 'Woman in White' was presented on the NBC Red network. The program remained on radio for 10 years.

11947 – U.S. Congressional proceedings were televised for the first time. Viewers in Washington, Philadelphia and New York City saw some of the opening ceremonies of the 80th Congress. 1947 – In Trenton, NJ, Al Herrin, passed away at age

92. He had claimed that he had not slept at all during his life.

1951 – NBC-TV debuted 'Dragnet.'

1953 – Frances Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, became the first mother-son combination to serve at the same time in the U.S. Congress.

1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduced the first electric watch.

1959 – In the U.S., Alaska became the 49th state.

1961 – The U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba.

1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicated Cuban prime minister Fidel Castro.

1967 – Jack Ruby died in a Dallas, TX, hospital.

1973 – The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) sold the New York Yankees to a 12-man syndicate headed by George Steinbrenner for $10 million.

1980 – Conservationist Joy Adamson, author of 'Born Free,' was killed in northern Kenya by a servant.

1983 – Tony Dorsett (Dallas Cowboys) made the longest run from scrimmage in NFL history. Dorsett ran

99 yards in a game against the Minnesota Vikings.

1984 – A woman died at Disneyland after falling from a ride. She had apparently unfastened her seatbelt while on the Matterhorn bobsled.

1988 – Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving British Prime Minister in the 20th century.

1990 – Ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican's diplomatic mission.

1991 – The British government announced that seven Iraqi diplomats, another embassy staff member and 67 other Iraqis were being expelled from Britain.

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