Today in History

History

1789 – W.H. Brown’s “Power of Sympathy” was published. It was the first American novel to be published. The novel is also known as the “Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth”.

1793 – During the French Revolution, King Louis XVI was executed on the guillotine. He had been condemned for treason.

1812 – The Y-bridge in Zanesville, OH, was approved for construction.

1846 – The first issue of the “Daily News,” edited by Charles Dickens, was published.

1853 – Dr. Russell L. Hawes patented the envelope folding machine.

1861 – The future president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, resigned from the U.S. Senate. Four other Southerners also resigned.

1865 – An oil well was drilled by torpedoes for the first time.

1900 – Canadian troops set sail to fight in South Africa. The Boers had attacked Ladysmith on January 8, 1900.

1908 – In New York City, the Sullivan Ordinance was passed. It made smoking in public places by women illegal. The measure was vetoed by Mayor George B. McClellan Jr. two weeks later.

1911 – The first Monte Carlo car rally was held.

Seven days later it was won by Henri Rougier.

1915 – The first Kiwanis club was formed in Detroit, MI.

1924 – Soviet leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin died.

Joseph Stalin began a purge of his rivals for the leadership of the Soviet Union.

1927 – The first opera broadcast over a national radio network was presented in Chicago, IL. The opera was “Faust”.

1941 – The British communist newspaper, the “Daily Worker,” was banned due to wartime restrictions.

1946 – “The Fat Man” debuted on ABC radio.

1954 – The Nautilus was launched in Groton, CT. It was the first atomic-powered submarine. U.S.

First Lady Mamie Eisenhower broke the traditional bottle of champagne across the bow.

1954 – The gas turbine automobile was introduced in New York City.

1970 – The Boeing 747 made its first commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American.

1970 – ABC-TV presented “The Johnny Cash Show” in prime time.