Today in History

Today in History

1793 – The Louvre Museum, in Paris, opened to the public for the first time.

1805 – The 'Corps of Discovery' reached the Pacific Ocean. The expedition was led by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis. The journey had begun on May 14,

1804, with the goal of exploring the Louisiana Purchase territory.

1880 – French actress Sarah Bernhardt made her American stage debut in 'Adrienne Lecouvreur' in New York City.

1889 – Montana became the 41st U.S. state.

1895 – Wilhelm Roentgen while experimenting with electricity discovered the scientific principle involved and took the first X-ray pictures.

1910 – William H. Frost patented the insect exterminator.

1923 – Adolf Hitler made his first attempt at seizing power in Germany with a failed coup in Munich that came to be known as the 'Beer-Hall Putsch.'

1933 – The Civil Works Administration was created by executive order by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The organization was designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed people in the U.S.

1939 – 'Life With Father' premiered on Broadway in New York City.

1942 – The U.S. invaded Morocco and Algeria.

1942 – During World War II, Operation Torch began as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.

1950 – During the Korean conflict, the first jet-plane battle took place as U.S. Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15.

1954 – The American League approved the transfer of the Philadelphia Athletics baseball team to Kansas City, MO.

1956 – After turning down 18,000 names, the Ford Motor Company decided to name their new car the 'Edsel,' after Henry Ford's only son.

1959 – Elgin Baylor (Minneapolis Lakers) scored 64 points and set a National Basketball Association scoring record.

1965 – The soap opera 'Days of Our Lives' debuted on NBC-TV.

1966 – Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts became the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote.

1979 – The program, 'The Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage', premiered on ABC-TV. The show was planned to be temporary, but it evolved into 'Nightline' in March of 1980.

1979 – U.S. Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Mac Mathias (R-MD) introduced legislation to provide a site on the National Mall for the building of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

1980 – Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California announced that they had discovered a 15th moon orbiting the planet Saturn.

1981 – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek asserted that Egypt was 'an African State' that was 'neither East nor West'.

1985 – A letter signed by four American hostages in Lebanon was delivered to The Associated Press in Beirut. The letter, contained pleas from Terry Anderson, Rev. Lawrence Jenco, David Jacobsen and Thomas Sutherland to President Reagan to negotiate a release.

History