This Day in History

[Rob]

Apr 21, 753 B.C.:
Rome founded

According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth originated sometime in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of Rome's founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in the first century B.C.

According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia, the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa. Alba Longa was a mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would become Rome. Before the birth of the twins, Numitor was deposed by his younger brother Amulius, who forced Rhea to become a vestal virgin so that she would not give birth to rival claimants to his title. However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber, but they survived and washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill, where they were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by the shepherd Faustulus.

Reared by Faustulus and his wife, the twins later became leaders of a band of young shepherd warriors. After learning their true identity, they attacked Alba Longa, killed the wicked Amulius, and restored their grandfather to the throne. The twins then decided to found a town on the site where they had been saved as infants. They soon became involved in a petty quarrel, however, and Remus was slain by his brother. Romulus then became ruler of the settlement, which was named "Rome" after him.

To populate his town, Romulus offered asylum to fugitives and exiles. Rome lacked women, however, so Romulus invited the neighboring Sabines to a festival and abducted their women. A war then ensued, but the Sabine women intervened to prevent the Sabine men from seizing Rome. A peace treaty was drawn up, and the communities merged under the joint rule of Romulus and the Sabine king, Titus Tatius. Tatius' early death, perhaps perpetrated by Romulus, left the Roman as the sole king again. After a long and successful rule, Romulus died under obscure circumstances. Many Romans believed he was changed into a god and worshipped him as the deity Quirinus. After Romulus, there were six more kings of Rome, the last three believed to be Etruscans. Around 509 B.C., the Roman republic was established.

Another Roman foundation legend, which has its origins in ancient Greece, tells of how the mythical Trojan Aeneas founded Lavinium and started a dynasty that would lead to the birth of Romulus and Remus several centuries later. In the Iliad, an epic Greek poem probably composed by Homer in the eighth century B.C., Aeneas was the only major Trojan hero to survive the Greek destruction of Troy. A passage told of how he and his descendants would rule the Trojans, but since there was no record of any such dynasty in Troy, Greek scholars proposed that Aeneas and his followers relocated.

In the fifth century B.C., a few Greek historians speculated that Aeneas settled at Rome, which was then still a small city-state. In the fourth century B.C., Rome began to expand within the Italian peninsula, and Romans, coming into greater contact with the Greeks, embraced the suggestion that Aeneas had a role in the foundation of their great city. In the first century B.C., the Roman poet Virgil developed the Aeneas myth in his epic poem the Aeneid, which told of Aeneas' journey to Rome. Augustus, the first Roman emperor and emperor during Virgil's time, and Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and predecessor as Roman ruler, were said to be descended from Aeneas.


Credit: The History Channel

[Rob]

April 22, 1970 - The first Earth Day

Earth Day, an event to increase public awareness of the world's environmental problems, is celebrated in the United States for the first time. Millions of Americans, including students from thousands of colleges and universities, participated in rallies, marches, and educational programs.

Earth Day was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, a staunch environmentalist who hoped to provide unity to the grassroots environmental movement and increase ecological awareness. "The objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political establishment out of its lethargy," Senator Nelson said, "and, finally, force this issue permanently onto the national political agenda." Earth Day indeed increased environmental awareness in America, and in July of that year the Environmental Protection Agency was established by special executive order to regulate and enforce national pollution legislation.

On April 22, 1990, the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, more than 200 million people in 141 countries participated in Earth Day celebrations.

Earth Day has been celebrated on different days by different groups internationally. The United Nations officially celebrates it on the vernal equinox, which usually occurs about March 21.

Credit: The History Channel

[Rob]

April 23, 1564: William Shakespeare Born

According to tradition, the great English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. It is impossible to be certain the exact day on which he was born, but church records show that he was baptized on April 26, and three days was a customary amount of time to wait before baptizing a newborn. Shakespeare's date of death is conclusively known, however: it was April 23, 1616. He was 52 years old and had retired to Stratford three years before.

Although few plays have been performed or analyzed as extensively as the 38 plays ascribed to William Shakespeare, there are few surviving details about the playwright's life. This dearth of biographical information is due primarily to his station in life; he was not a noble, but the son of John Shakespeare, a leather trader and the town bailiff. The events of William Shakespeare's early life can only be gleaned from official records, such as baptism and marriage records.

He probably attended the grammar school in Stratford, where he would have studied Latin and read classical literature. He did not go to university but at age 18 married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years his senior and pregnant at the time of the marriage. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born six months later, and in 1585 William and Anne had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet, Shakespeare's only son, died 11 years later, and Anne Shakespeare outlived her husband, dying in 1623. Nothing is known of the period between the birth of the twins and Shakespeare's emergence as a playwright in London in the early 1590s, but unfounded stories have him stealing deer, joining a group of traveling players, becoming a schoolteacher, or serving as a soldier in the Low Countries.

The first reference to Shakespeare as a London playwright came in 1592, when a fellow dramatist, Robert Greene, wrote derogatorily of him on his deathbed. It is believed that Shakespeare had written the three parts of Henry VI by that point. In 1593, Venus and Adonis was Shakespeare's first published poem, and he dedicated it to the young Henry Wriothesley, the 3rd earl of Southampton. In 1594, having probably composed, among other plays, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, and The Taming of the Shrew, he became an actor and playwright for the Lord Chamberlain's Men, which became the King's Men after James I's ascension in 1603. The company grew into England's finest, in no small part because of Shakespeare, who was its principal dramatist. It also had the finest actor of the day, Richard Burbage, and the best theater, the Globe, which was located on the Thames' south bank. Shakespeare stayed with the King's Men until his retirement and often acted in small parts.

By 1596, the company had performed the classic Shakespeare plays Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. That year, John Shakespeare was granted a coat of arms, a testament to his son's growing wealth and fame. In 1597, William Shakespeare bought a large house in Stratford. In 1599, after producing his great historical series, the first and second part of Henry IV and Henry V, he became a partner in the ownership of the Globe Theatre.

The beginning of the 17th century saw the performance of the first of his great tragedies, Hamlet. The next play, The Merry Wives of Windsor, was written at the request of Queen Elizabeth I, who wanted to see another play that included the popular character Falstaff. During the next decade, Shakespeare produced such masterpieces as Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, and The Tempest. In 1609, his sonnets, probably written during the 1590s, were published. The 154 sonnets are marked by the recurring themes of the mutability of beauty and the transcendent power of love and art.

Shakespeare died in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1616. Today, nearly 400 years later, his plays are performed and read more often and in more nations than ever before. In a million words written over 20 years, he captured the full range of human emotions and conflicts with a precision that remains sharp today. As his great contemporary the poet and dramatist Ben Jonson said, "He was not of an age, but for all time."

Credit: History Channel

[Rob]

May 9, 1950:
L. Ron Hubbard publishes Dianetics

On this day in 1950, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (1911-1986) publishes Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. With this book, Hubbard introduced a branch of self-help psychology called Dianetics, which quickly caught fire and, over time, morphed into a belief system boasting millions of subscribers: Scientology.

Hubbard was already a prolific and frequently published writer by the time he penned the book that would change his life. Under several pseudonyms in the 1930s, he published a great amount of pulp fiction, particularly in the science fiction and fantasy genres. In late 1949, having returned from serving in the Navy in World War II, Hubbard began publishing articles in the pages of Astounding Science Fiction, a magazine that published works by the likes of Isaac Asimov and Jack Williamson. Out of these grew the elephantine text known as Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.

In Dianetics, Hubbard explained that phenomena known as "engrams" (i.e. memories) were the cause of all psychological pain, which in turn harmed mental and physical health. He went on to claim that people could become "clear," achieving an exquisite state of clarity and mental liberation, by exorcising their engrams to an "auditor," or a listener acting as therapist.

Though discredited by the medical and scientific establishment, over 100,000 copies of Dianetics were sold in the first two years of publication, and Hubbard soon found himself lecturing across the country. He went on to write six more books in 1951, developing a significant fan base, and establishing the Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Despite his fast-growing popularity from books and touring, strife within his organization and Hubbard's own personal troubles nearly crippled his success. Several of his research foundations had to be abandoned due to financial troubles and he went through a divorce from his second wife.

By 1953, however, Hubbard was able to rebound from the widespread condemnation beginning to be heaped upon him, and introduced Scientology. Scientology expanded on Dianetics by bringing Hubbard's popular version of psychotherapy into the realm of philosophy, and ultimately, religion. In only a few years, Hubbard found himself at the helm of a movement that captured the popular imagination. As Scientology grew in the 1960s, several national governments became suspicious of Hubbard, accusing him of quackery and brainwashing his followers. Nonetheless, Hubbard built his religion into a multi-million dollar movement that continues to have a considerable presence in the public eye, due in part to its high profile in Hollywood.

The History Channel

[Rob]

May 10, 1869:
Transcontinental railroad completed

On this day in 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S. history. No longer would western-bound travelers need to take the long and dangerous journey by wagon train, and the West would surely lose some of its wild charm with the new connection to the civilized East.

Since at least 1832, both Eastern and frontier statesmen realized a need to connect the two coasts. It was not until 1853, though, that Congress appropriated funds to survey several routes for the transcontinental railroad. The actual building of the railroad would have to wait even longer, as North-South tensions prevented Congress from reaching an agreement on where the line would begin.

One year into the Civil War, a Republican-controlled Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act (1862), guaranteeing public land grants and loans to the two railroads it chose to build the transcontinental line, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. With these in hand, the railroads began work in 1866 from Omaha and Sacramento, forging a northern route across the country. In their eagerness for land, the two lines built right past each other, and the final meeting place had to be renegotiated.

Harsh winters, staggering summer heat, Indian raids and the lawless, rough-and-tumble conditions of newly settled western towns made conditions for the Union Pacific laborers--mainly Civil War veterans of Irish descent--miserable. The overwhelmingly immigrant Chinese work force of the Central Pacific also had its fair share of problems, including brutal 12-hour work days laying tracks over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On more than one occasion, whole crews would be lost to avalanches, or mishaps with explosives would leave several dead.

For all the adversity they suffered, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific workers were able to finish the railroad--laying nearly 2,000 miles of track--by 1869, ahead of schedule and under budget. Journeys that had taken months by wagon train or weeks by boat now took only days. Their work had an immediate impact: The years following the construction of the railway were years of rapid growth and expansion for the United States, due in large part to the speed and ease of travel that the railroad provided.

The History Channel

[Rob]

May 22, 1843:
Great Emigration departs for Oregon

A massive wagon train, made up of 1,000 settlers and 1,000 head of cattle, sets off down the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri. Known as the "Great Emigration," the expedition came two years after the first modest party of settlers made the long, overland journey to Oregon.

After leaving Independence, the giant wagon train followed the Sante Fe Trail for some 40 miles and then turned northwest to the Platte River, which it followed along its northern route to Fort Laramie, Wyoming. From there, it traveled on to the Rocky Mountains, which it passed through by way of the broad, level South Pass that led to the basin of the Colorado River. The travelers then went southwest to Fort Bridger, northwest across a divide to Fort Hall on the Snake River, and on to Fort Boise, where they gained supplies for the difficult journey over the Blue Mountains and into Oregon. The Great Emigration finally arrived in October, completing the 2,000-mile journey from Independence in five months.

In the next year, four more wagon trains made the journey, and in 1845 the number of emigrants who used the Oregon Trail exceeded 3,000. Travel along the trail gradually declined with the advent of the railroads, and the route was finally abandoned in the 1870s.

[Jake]

May 29

1765
Patrick Henry bitterly denounced the Stamp Act in the Virginia House of Burgesses.

1790
Rhode Island became the 13th state in the United States, the last of the original colonies to ratify the Constitution.

1848
Wisconsin became the 30th state in the United States.

1917
John F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Mass.

1942
Bing Crosby recorded his version of “White Christmas.” It would go on to sell over 30 million copies.

1953
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

1990
Boris Yeltsin was elected president of the Russian republic by the parliament.

[Jake]

Jun 4, 1942:
Battle of Midway begins



On this day in 1942, the Battle of Midway--one of the most decisive U.S. victories against Japan during World War II--begins. During the four-day sea-and-air battle, the outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese aircraft carriers while losing only one of its own, the Yorktown, to the previously invincible Japanese navy.

In six months of offensives prior to Midway, the Japanese had triumphed in lands throughout the Pacific, including Malaysia, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines and numerous island groups. The United States, however, was a growing threat, and Japanese Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto sought to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet before it was large enough to outmatch his own.

A thousand miles northwest of Honolulu, the strategic island of Midway became the focus of his scheme to smash U.S. resistance to Japan's imperial designs. Yamamoto's plan consisted of a feint toward Alaska followed by an invasion of Midway by a Japanese strike force. When the U.S. Pacific Fleet arrived at Midway to respond to the invasion, it would be destroyed by the superior Japanese fleet waiting unseen to the west. If successful, the plan would eliminate the U.S. Pacific Fleet and provide a forward outpost from which the Japanese could eliminate any future American threat in the Central Pacific. U.S. intelligence broke the Japanese naval code, however, and the Americans anticipated the surprise attack.

In the meantime, 200 miles to the northeast, two U.S. attack fleets caught the Japanese force entirely by surprise and destroyed three heavy Japanese carriers and one heavy cruiser. The only Japanese carrier that initially escaped destruction, the Hiryu, loosed all its aircraft against the American task force and managed to seriously damage the U.S. carrier Yorktown, forcing its abandonment. At about 5:00 p.m., dive-bombers from the U.S. carrier Enterprise returned the favor, mortally damaging the Hiryu. It was scuttled the next morning.

When the Battle of Midway ended, Japan had lost four carriers, a cruiser and 292 aircraft, and suffered an estimated 2,500 casualties. The U.S. lost the Yorktown, the destroyer USS Hammann, 145 aircraft and suffered approximately 300 casualties.

Japan's losses hobbled its naval might--bringing Japanese and American sea power to approximate parity--and marked the turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II. In August 1942, the great U.S. counteroffensive began at Guadalcanal and did not cease until Japan's surrender three years later.



Also on This Day

Lead Story
Battle of Midway begins, 1942
American Revolution
Lieutenant Colonel George Washington builds Fort Necessity, 1754
Automotive
Henry Ford test-drives his "Quadricycle", 1896
Civil War
Confederates evacuate Fort Pillow, 1862
Cold War
Tiananmen Square massacre takes place, 1989
Crime
Pollard admits to selling top-secret information to Israel, 1986
Disaster
Trains collide in Bangladesh, 1972
General Interest
Congress passes the 19th Amendment, 1919
Dunkirk evacuation ends, 1940
Angela Davis acquitted, 1972
Hollywood
Angelina Jolie born, 1975
Literary
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers is published, 1940
Music
Four dozen people witness "The gig that changed the world", 1976
Old West
Express train crosses the nation in 83 hours, 1876
Presidential
FDR asks for drought-relief funds, 1934
Sports
Celtics battle Suns through three overtimes in NBA Finals, 1976
Vietnam War
Kennedy and Khrushchev agree on neutrality for Laos, 1961
Walt takes command of 3rd Marine Division, 1965
World War I
Brusilov Offensive begins, 1916
World War II
The Battle of Midway begins, 1942

[Jake]

Jun 10, 1752:
Franklin flies kite during thunderstorm



On this day in 1752, Benjamin Franklin flies a kite during a thunderstorm and collects a charge in a Leyden jar when the kite is struck by lightning, enabling him to demonstrate the electrical nature of lightning. Franklin became interested in electricity in the mid-1740s, a time when much was still unknown on the topic, and spent almost a decade conducting electrical experiments. He coined a number of terms used today, including battery, conductor and electrician. He also invented the lightning rod, used to protect buildings and ships.

Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, to a candle and soap maker named Josiah Franklin, who fathered 17 children, and his wife Abiah Folger. Franklin's formal education ended at age 10 and he went to work as an apprentice to his brother James, a printer. In 1723, following a dispute with his brother, Franklin left Boston and ended up in Philadelphia, where he found work as a printer. Following a brief stint as a printer in London, Franklin returned to Philadelphia and became a successful businessman, whose publishing ventures included the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanack, a collection of homespun proverbs advocating hard work and honesty in order to get ahead. The almanac, which Franklin first published in 1733 under the pen name Richard Saunders, included such wisdom as: "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Whether or not Franklin followed this advice in his own life, he came to represent the classic American overachiever. In addition to his accomplishments in business and science, he is noted for his numerous civic contributions. Among other things, he developed a library, insurance company, city hospital and academy in Philadelphia that would later become the University of Pennsylvania.

Most significantly, Franklin was one of the founding fathers of the United States and had a career as a statesman that spanned four decades. He served as a legislator in Pennsylvania as well as a diplomat in England and France. He is the only politician to have signed all four documents fundamental to the creation of the U.S.: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), the Treaty of Paris (1783), which established peace with Great Britain, and the U.S. Constitution (1787).

Franklin died at age 84 on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. He remains one of the leading figures in U.S. history.


American Revolution
John Adams proposes a Continental Army, 1775
Automotive
Paul Newman finishes second in 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1979
Civil War
Confederates score victory at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads, 1864
Cold War
Eisenhower rejects calls for U.S. "isolationism", 1953
Crime
Doughnut truck thief arrested, 2002
Disaster
Evacuations save lives in the Philippines, 1991
General Interest
First Salem witch hanging, 1692
Alcoholics Anonymous founded, 1935
Norway surrenders to Germany, 1940
Mandela writes from prison, 1980
Hollywood
Last episode of The Sopranos airs, 2007
Literary
Tolstoy disguises himself as a peasant and leaves on a pilgrimage, 1881
“Where the Wild Things Are” author Maurice Sendak is born, 1928
Music
Luther Campbell and fellow 2LiveCrew members are arrested on obscenity charges, 1990
Old West
Arizona Deputy Sheriff Billy Daniels is killed, 1885
Presidential
JFK has busy day, 1963
Sports
Joe Nuxhall makes MLB debut at 15, 1944
Vietnam War
Battle begins at Dong Xoai, 1965
Westmoreland gives farewell press conference in Saigon, 1968
World War I
Italians renew battle on mountain-tops in Trentino, 1917
World War II
Italy declares war on France and Great Britain, 1940

[Jake]

Jun 11, 1979:
John Wayne dies



On this day in 1979, John Wayne, an iconic American film actor famous for starring in countless westerns, dies at age 72 after battling cancer for more than a decade.

The actor was born Marion Morrison on May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa, and moved as a child to Glendale, California. A football star at Glendale High School, he attended the University of Southern California on a scholarship but dropped out after two years. After finding work as a movie studio laborer, Wayne befriended director John Ford, then a rising talent. His first acting jobs were bit parts in which he was credited as Duke Morrison, a childhood nickname derived from the name of his beloved pet dog.

Wayne's first starring role came in 1930 with The Big Trail, a film directed by his college buddy Raoul Walsh. It was during this time that Marion Morrison became "John Wayne," when director Walsh didn't think Marion was a good name for an actor playing a tough western hero. Despite the lead actor's new name, however, the movie flopped. Throughout the 1930s, Wayne made dozens of mediocre westerns, sometimes churning out two movies a week. In them, he played various rough-and-tumble characters and occasionally appeared as "Singing Sandy," a musical cowpoke a la Roy Rogers.

In 1939, Wayne finally had his breakthrough when his old friend John Ford cast him as Ringo Kid in the Oscar-winning Stagecoach. Wayne went on to play larger-than-life heroes in dozens of movies and came to symbolize a type of rugged, strong, straight-shooting American man. John Ford directed Wayne in some of his best-known films, including Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Quiet Man (1952) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962).

Off-screen, Wayne came to be known for his conservative political views. He produced, directed and starred in The Alamo (1960) and The Green Berets (1968), both of which reflected his patriotic, conservative leanings. In 1969, he won an Oscar for his role as a drunken, one-eyed federal marshal named Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Wayne's last film was The Shootist (1976), in which he played a legendary gunslinger dying of cancer. The role had particular meaning, as the actor was fighting the disease in real life.

During four decades of acting, Wayne, with his trademark drawl and good looks, appeared in over 250 films. He was married three times and had seven children.

[Jake]

Jun 22, 1944:
FDR signs G.I. Bill



On this day in 1944, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the G.I. Bill, an unprecedented act of legislation designed to compensate returning members of the armed services--known as G.I.s--for their efforts in World War II.

As the last of its sweeping New Deal reforms, Roosevelt's administration created the G.I. Bill--officially the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944--hoping to avoid a relapse into the Great Depression after the war ended. FDR particularly wanted to prevent a repeat of the Bonus March of 1932, when 20,000 unemployed veterans and their families flocked in protest to Washington. The American Legion, a veteran's organization, successfully fought for many of the provisions included in the bill, which gave returning servicemen access to unemployment compensation, low-interest home and business loans, and--most importantly--funding for education.

By giving veterans money for tuition, living expenses, books, supplies and equipment, the G.I. Bill effectively transformed higher education in America. Before the war, college had been an option for only 10-15 percent of young Americans, and university campuses had become known as a haven for the most privileged classes. By 1947, in contrast, vets made up half of the nation's college enrollment; three years later, nearly 500,000 Americans graduated from college, compared with 160,000 in 1939.

As educational institutions opened their doors to this diverse new group of students, overcrowded classrooms and residences prompted widespread improvement and expansion of university facilities and teaching staffs. An array of new vocational courses were developed across the country, including advanced training in education, agriculture, commerce, mining and fishing--skills that had previously been taught only informally.

The G.I. Bill became one of the major forces that drove an economic expansion in America that lasted 30 years after World War II. Only 20 percent of the money set aside for unemployment compensation under the bill was given out, as most veterans found jobs or pursued higher education. Low interest home loans enabled millions of American families to move out of urban centers and buy or build homes outside the city, changing the face of the suburbs. Over 50 years, the impact of the G.I. Bill was enormous, with 20 million veterans and dependents using the education benefits and 14 million home loans guaranteed, for a total federal investment of $67 billion. Among the millions of Americans who have taken advantage of the bill are former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford, former Vice President Al Gore and entertainers Johnny Cash, Ed McMahon, Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood.

[Jake]

Jun 27, 1950:
Truman orders U.S. forces to Korea



On June 27, 1950, President Harry S. Truman announces that he is ordering U.S. air and naval forces to South Korea to aid the democratic nation in repulsing an invasion by communist North Korea. The United States was undertaking the major military operation, he explained, to enforce a United Nations resolution calling for an end to hostilities, and to stem the spread of communism in Asia. In addition to ordering U.S. forces to Korea, Truman also deployed the U.S. 7th Fleet to Formosa (Taiwan) to guard against invasion by communist China and ordered an acceleration of military aid to French forces fighting communist guerrillas in Vietnam.

At the Yalta Conference towards the end of World War II, the United States, the USSR, and Great Britain agreed to divide Korea into two separate occupation zones. The country was split along the 38th parallel, with Soviet forces occupying the northern zone and Americans stationed in the south. In 1947, the United States and Great Britain called for free elections throughout Korea, but the Soviets refused to comply. In May 1948 the Korean Democratic People's Republic--a communist state--was proclaimed in North Korea. In August, the democratic Republic of Korea was established in South Korea. By 1949, both the United States and the USSR had withdrawn the majority of their troops from the Korean Peninsula.

At dawn on June 25, 1950 (June 24 in the United States and Europe), 90,000 communist troops of the North Korean People's Army invaded South Korea across the 38th parallel, catching the Republic of Korea's forces completely off guard and throwing them into a hasty southern retreat. On the afternoon of June 25, the U.N. Security Council met in an emergency session and approved a U.S. resolution calling for an "immediate cessation of hostilities" and the withdrawal of North Korean forces to the 38th parallel. At the time, the USSR was boycotting the Security Council over the U.N.'s refusal to admit the People's Republic of China and so missed its chance to veto this and other crucial U.N. resolutions.

On June 27, President Truman announced to the nation and the world that America would intervene in the Korean conflict in order to prevent the conquest of an independent nation by communism. Truman was suggesting that the USSR was behind the North Korean invasion, and in fact the Soviets had given tacit approval to the invasion, which was carried out with Soviet-made tanks and weapons. Despite the fear that U.S. intervention in Korea might lead to open warfare between the United States and Russia after years of "cold war," Truman's decision was met with overwhelming approval from Congress and the U.S. public. Truman did not ask for a declaration of war, but Congress voted to extend the draft and authorized Truman to call up reservists.

On June 28, the Security Council met again and in the continued absence of the Soviet Union passed a U.S. resolution approving the use of force against North Korea. On June 30, Truman agreed to send U.S. ground forces to Korea, and on July 7 the Security Council recommended that all U.N. forces sent to Korea be put under U.S. command. The next day, General Douglas MacArthur was named commander of all U.N. forces in Korea.

In the opening months of the war, the U.S.-led U.N. forces rapidly advanced against the North Koreans, but Chinese communist troops entered the fray in October, throwing the Allies into a hasty retreat. In April 1951, Truman relieved MacArthur of his command after he publicly threatened to bomb China in defiance of Truman's stated war policy. Truman feared that an escalation of fighting with China would draw the Soviet Union into the Korean War.

By May 1951, the communists were pushed back to the 38th parallel, and the battle line remained in that vicinity for the remainder of the war. On July 27, 1953, after two years of negotiation, an armistice was signed, ending the war and reestablishing the 1945 division of Korea that still exists today. Approximately 150,000 troops from South Korea, the United States, and participating U.N. nations were killed in the Korean War, and as many as one million South Korean civilians perished. An estimated 800,000 communist soldiers were killed, and more than 200,000 North Korean civilians died.

The original figure of American troops lost--54,246 killed--became controversial when the Pentagon acknowledged in 2000 that all U.S. troops killed around the world during the period of the Korean War were incorporated into that number. For example, any American soldier killed in a car accident anywhere in the world from June 1950 to July 1953 was considered a casualty of the Korean War. If these deaths are subtracted from the 54,000 total, leaving just the Americans who died (from whatever cause) in the Korean theater of operations, the total U.S. dead in the Korean War numbers 36,516.

[Jake]

Jun 29, 1995:
U.S. space shuttle docks with Russian space station



On this day in 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station Mir to form the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.

This historic moment of cooperation between former rival space programs was also the 100th human space mission in American history. At the time, Daniel Goldin, chief of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), called it the beginning of "a new era of friendship and cooperation" between the U.S. and Russia. With millions of viewers watching on television, Atlantis blasted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida on June 27, 1995.

Just after 6 a.m. on June 29, Atlantis and its seven crew members approached Mir as both crafts orbited the Earth some 245 miles above Central Asia, near the Russian-Mongolian border. When they spotted the shuttle, the three cosmonauts on Mir broadcast Russian folk songs to Atlantis to welcome them. Over the next two hours, the shuttle's commander, Robert "Hoot" Gibson expertly maneuvered his craft towards the space station. To make the docking, Gibson had to steer the 100-ton shuttle to within three inches of Mir at a closing rate of no more than one foot every 10 seconds.

The docking went perfectly and was completed at 8 a.m., just two seconds off the targeted arrival time and using 200 pounds less fuel than had been anticipated. Combined, Atlantis and the 123-ton Mir formed the largest spacecraft ever in orbit. It was only the second time ships from two countries had linked up in space; the first was in June 1975, when an American Apollo capsule and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft briefly joined in orbit.

Once the docking was completed, Gibson and Mir's commander, Vladimir Dezhurov, greeted each other by clasping hands in a victorious celebration of the historic moment. A formal exchange of gifts followed, with the Atlantis crew bringing chocolate, fruit and flowers and the Mir cosmonauts offering traditional Russian welcoming gifts of bread and salt. Atlantis remained docked with Mir for five days before returning to Earth, leaving two fresh Russian cosmonauts on the space station. The three veteran Mir crew members returned with the shuttle, including two Russians and Norman Thagard, a U.S. astronaut who rode a Russian rocket to the space station in mid-March 1995 and spent over 100 days in space, a U.S. endurance record. NASA's Shuttle-Mir program continued for 11 missions and was a crucial step towards the construction of the International Space Station now in orbit.

[Jake]

Jul 2, 1964:
Johnson signs Civil Rights Act


On this day in 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law the historic Civil Rights Act in a nationally televised ceremony at the White House.

In the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. The 10 years that followed saw great strides for the African-American civil rights movement, as non-violent demonstrations won thousands of supporters to the cause. Memorable landmarks in the struggle included the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955--sparked by the refusal of Alabama resident Rosa Parks to give up her seat on a city bus to a white woman--and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech at a rally of hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C., in 1963.

As the strength of the civil rights movement grew, John F. Kennedy made passage of a new civil rights bill one of the platforms of his successful 1960 presidential campaign. As Kennedy's vice president, Johnson served as chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities. After Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, Johnson vowed to carry out his proposals for civil rights reform.

The Civil Rights Act fought tough opposition in the House and a lengthy, heated debate in the Senate before being approved in July 1964. For the signing of the historic legislation, Johnson invited hundreds of guests to a televised ceremony in the White House's East Room. After using more than 75 pens to sign the bill, he gave them away as mementoes of the historic occasion, according to tradition. One of the first pens went to King, leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), who called it one of his most cherished possessions. Johnson gave two more to Senators Hubert Humphrey and Everett McKinley Dirksen, the Democratic and Republican managers of the bill in the Senate.

The most sweeping civil rights legislation passed by Congress since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, the Civil Rights Act prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public places such as schools, buses, parks and swimming pools. In addition, the bill laid important groundwork for a number of other pieces of legislation--including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which set strict rules for protecting the right of African Americans to vote--that have since been used to enforce equal rights for women as well as all minorities.

[Jake]

Jul 7, 1930:
Building of Hoover Dam begins



On this day in 1930, construction of the Hoover Dam begins. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men would work ceaselessly to produce what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one of the largest manmade structures in the world.

Although the dam would take only five years to build, its construction was nearly 30 years in the making. Arthur Powell Davis, an engineer from the Bureau of Reclamation, originally had his vision for the Hoover Dam back in 1902, and his engineering report on the topic became the guiding document when plans were finally made to begin the dam in 1922.

Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States and a committed conservationist, played a crucial role in making Davis’ vision a reality. As secretary of commerce in 1921, Hoover devoted himself to the erection of a high dam in Boulder Canyon, Colorado. The dam would provide essential flood control, which would prevent damage to downstream farming communities that suffered each year when snow from the Rocky Mountains melted and joined the Colorado River. Further, the dam would allow the expansion of irrigated farming in the desert, and would provide a dependable supply of water for Los Angeles and other southern California communities.

Even with Hoover's exuberant backing and a regional consensus around the need to build the dam, Congressional approval and individual state cooperation were slow in coming. For many years, water rights had been a source of contention among the western states that had claims on the Colorado River. To address this issue, Hoover negotiated the Colorado River Compact, which broke the river basin into two regions with the water divided between them. Hoover then had to introduce and re-introduce the bill to build the dam several times over the next few years before the House and Senate finally approved the bill in 1928.

In 1929, Hoover, now president, signed the Colorado River Compact into law, claiming it was "the most extensive action ever taken by a group of states under the provisions of the Constitution permitting compacts between states."

Once preparations were made, the Hoover Dam's construction sprinted forward: The contractors finished their work two years ahead of schedule and millions of dollars under budget. Today, the Hoover Dam is the second highest dam in the country and the 18th highest in the world. It generates enough energy each year to serve over a million people, and stands, in Hoover Dam artist Oskar Hansen's words, as "a monument to collective genius exerting itself in community efforts around a common need or ideal."

[Role Model]

This Day in History for 27th February
837 - 15th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
1526 - Saxony & Hesse form League of Gotha (league of Protestant princes)
1531 - Evangelical German monarchy/towns form Schmalkaldische Union
1557 - 1st Russian Embassy arrives in London
1563 - William Byrd is appointed organist at Lincoln Cathedral
1594 - Henri IV crowned king of France
1626 - Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci.
1665 - Battle at Elmina, Gold Coast: Vice-adm De Ruyter beats English
1667 - Abraham Crijnssen conquerors Fort Willoughby (Zeelandia), Suriname
1670 - Jews expelled from Austria by order of Leopold I
1678 - Earl of Shaftesbury freed out of London Tower
1696 - English/Welsh nobles lay down Oath of Association
1700 - Pacific Island of New Britain discovered
1713 - French troops bomb Willemstad Curacao
1801 - Washington DC placed under Congressional jurisdiction
1803 - Great fire in Bombay, India
1813 - 1st federal vaccination legislation enacted
1813 - Congress authorizes use of steamboats to transport mail
1814 - Ludwig von Beethovens 8th Symphony in F, premieres
1816 - Dutch regain Suriname
1827 - 1st Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans
1844 - Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti (National Day)
1854 - Composer Robert Schumann saved from suicide attempt in Rhine
US President Abraham LincolnUS President Abraham Lincoln 1860 - Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
1861 - Russians shoot at Poles protesting Russian rule of Poland in Castle Square, Warsaw
1861 - US Congress authorizes 1st stamped newspaper wrappers for mailing
1864 - 6th & last day of battle at Dalton, Georgia (about 600 casualties)
1864 - Near Andersonville GA, rebels open a new POW camp "Camp Sumpter"
1865 - Civil War skirmish near Sturgeon, Missouri
1869 - John Menard is 1st black to make a speech in Congress
1871 - Meeting of Alabama claims commission
1872 - Charlotte Ray, 1st Black woman lawyer, graduated Howard University
1873 - Dutch socialist Samuel van Wooden demands law against child labor
1874 - Baseball 1st played in England, at Lord's Cricket Grounds
1877 - US Electoral College declares R Hayes winner presidential election
1879 - Constantine Fahlberg discovers saccharin (artificial sweetener)
1881 - Battle at Amajuba, S Afr: Boers vs Brit army under Gen Colley
1883 - Oscar Hammerstein patents 1st cigar-rolling machine
1890 - D Needham & P Kerrigan box 100 rounds (6 h 39 m), SF; match is draw
1900 - Battle at Pietershoogte
1900 - Boer General Cronjé surrenders to English in Pardenberg, South-Africa
1900 - British Labour Party forms
1901 - NL Rules Committee decrees that all fouls are to count as strikes except after two strikes
1906 - France & Britain agree to joint control of New Hebrides
1908 - Sacrifice fly adopted (repealed in 1931, reinstated 1954)
1908 - Star #46 was added to US flag for Oklahoma
1912 - Lord Kitchener opens Khartoum-El Obeid (Nyala) railway
1919 - 1st public performance of Holst's "Planets"
1919 - American Association for Hard of Hearing forms (NYC)
1921 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Theresa Weld Blanchard
1921 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Sherwin Badger
1921 - The International Working Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna.
31st US President Herbert Hoover31st US President Herbert Hoover 1922 - Commerce Sec Herbert Hoover convenes 1st National Radio Conference
1922 - G B Shaw's "Back to Methusaleh I/II," premieres in NYC
1922 - Supreme Court unanimously upheld 19th amend woman's right to vote
1924 - Belgium's Theunis government falls
1925 - Hitler's resurrects NSDAP political party in Munich
1925 - Test Cricket debut of Clarrie Grimmett, who took 5-45 & 6-37 v England
1927 - For 2nd Sunday in a row golfers in SC arrested for violating Sabbath
1929 - Turkey signs Litvinov-pact
1930 - Bouvet Island declared a Norwegian dependency
1932 - Explosion in coal mine Boissevain, Virginia, USA (38 dead)
1933 - German parliament building, Reichstag, destroyed by fire
1933 - Jean Genet's "Intermezzo," premieres in Paris
1933 - Nazis set fire to German parliament, blame it on Communists
1936 - Willy den Ouden swims world record 100 m free style (1:04.6)
1937 - Bradman scores 169 in 5th Test Cricket v England in 223 minutes
Spanish Dictator and General Francisco FrancoSpanish Dictator and General Francisco Franco 1938 - Britain & France recognize Franco government in Spain
1939 - Belgian government of Pierlot falls
1939 - English Spook house Borley Rectory destroyed in a fire
1939 - France recognizes Franco's regime in Spain
1939 - Supreme Court outlaws sit-down strikes
1940 - Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14
1942 - 1st transport of French Jews to nazi-Germany
1942 - Battle of Java Sea began 13 US warships sunk-2 Japanese
1942 - J S Hey discovers radio emissions from Sun
1943 - The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.
1943 - The Rosenstrasse protest starts in Berlin
1945 - Battle of US 94 Infantry
1945 - Lebanon declares Independence.
1946 - 4th "Road" film, "Road to Utopia" premieres (NYC)
1947 - Paul-Emile Victor French polar expeditions organized
Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1949 - Chaim Weizmann becomes 1st Israeli president
1950 - General Chiang Kai-shek elected president of Nationalist China
1951 - 22nd amendment ratified, limiting president to 2 terms
1955 - Betty Jameson wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open
1956 - Elvis Presley's releases "Heartbreak Hotel"
1956 - Female suffrage in Egypt
1957 - Mao's speech "On Correct Handling of Contradictions Among People"
1957 - Premiere of only prime-time network TV show beginning with an "X": "Xavier Cugat Show" on NBC (until X-Files)
1958 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1959 - Chicago Cards trade running back Ollie Matson to LA Rams for 9 players
1959 - Boston Celtic Bob Cousy sets NBA record with 28 assists Boston Celtics score 173 points against Minneapolis Lakers
1960 - Oil pipe line from Rotterdam to Ruhrgebied opens
1960 - US Olympic Ice Hockey Team beats USSR 3-2 en route to gold medal
1961 - The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
1962 - South-Vietnam pres Ngo Dinh Diem's palace bombed, 1st US killed
Singer & Cultural Icon Elvis PresleySinger & Cultural Icon Elvis Presley 1963 - Mickey Mantle of NY Yankees sign a baseball contract worth $100,000
1964 - "What Makes Sammy Run?" opens at 84th St Theater NYC for 540 perfs
1964 - The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
1965 - "High Spirits" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 375 performances
1965 - Dutch Marijnen government resigns
1965 - France performs Underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria
1966 - Ice Dance Championship at Davos won by Diane Towler/Bernard Ford GRB
1966 - Ice Pairs Championship at Davos won by Belousova & Protopopov of URS
1966 - Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Davos won by Peggy Fleming of US
1966 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Davos won by Emmerich Danzer AUT
1967 - Antigua & St Christopher-Nevis become associated states of UK
1967 - Dominica gains independence from England
1967 - Rio de la Plata Treaty
1969 - Gen Hafez al-Assad becomes head of Syria via milt coup
1969 - President Nixon visits West-Berlin
1970 - NY Times (falsely) reports US army has ended domestic surveillance
1971 - Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start to perform aborti provocati.
1972 - Pres Nixon & Chinese Premier Chou En-lai issued Shanghai Communique
1973 - American Indian Movement occupy Wounded Knee in South Dakota
1973 - Dick Allen signs a record $675,000 3-yr contract with White Sox
1973 - Members of American Indian Movement begin occupation of Wounded Knee
1973 - Pope Paul VI publishes constitution motu proprio Quo aptius
1973 - White Sox slugger Dick Allen signs 3-year $750,000 contract
1974 - "People" magazine begins sales
1974 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1975 - CDU-politician Peter Lorentz kidnapped in West Berlin
1975 - House of Reps pass $21.3 billion anti-recession tax-cut bill
37th US President Richard Nixon37th US President Richard Nixon 1976 - Final meeting between Mao tse Tung & Richard Nixon
1977 - Judy Rankin wins LPGA Bent Tree Golf Classic
1977 - Keith Richards gets suspended sentence for heroin possession, Canada
1978 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1980 - 22nd Grammy Awards: What a Fool Believe, Streisand-Diamond duet
1980 - Israel & Egypt exchange ambassadors
1980 - Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF wins elections in Zimbabwe
1980 - Terrorists occupies Dominican embassy in Bogota
1981 - Greatest passenger load on a commercial airliner-610 on Boeing 747
1981 - Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder record "Ebony & Ivory"
1982 - Dan Issel (NBA-Nuggets), hits on 63rd consecutive free throw
1982 - Earl Anthony becomes 1st pro bowler to win more than $1 million
1982 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1982 - Wayne Williams found guilty of murdering 2 of 28 blacks in Atlanta
1983 - Eamonn Coghlan set indoor mile record of 3:49.78
Musician & member of the Beatles Paul McCartneyMusician & member of the Beatles Paul McCartney 1983 - Jan Stephenson wins Tucson Conquistadores LPGA Golf Tournament
1984 - Carl Lewis jumps world record indoor (8,675 m)
1984 - WRC-AM in Washington DC changes call letters to WWRC
1984 - Worker's union leader Billy Nair freed in South Africa
1985 - Farmers converge in Washington to demand economic relief
1985 - Mauritania's new constitutional charter published
1985 - US dollar is worth Ÿ3.9355 (Netherlands)
1986 - The United States Senate allows its debates to be televised on a trial basis.
1987 - "Washington Week In Review," 20th anniversary on PBS
1987 - Donald Regan resigned as White House chief of staff
1987 - Mike Conley triple jumps world indoor record (17.76m)
1987 - NCAA cancels SMU's entire 1987 football schedule for gross violations of NCAA rules regarding athletic corruption
1988 - Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Orient Leasing Hawaiian Ladies Golf Open
1988 - Bonnie Blair (US) wins Olympic 500m speed skating in record 39.1
1988 - Gulfstream G-IV goes around the world 36:08:34
Olympic Sprinter and Long jumper Carl LewisOlympic Sprinter and Long jumper Carl Lewis 1988 - Katarina Witt (GDR) wins 2nd consecutive Olympic figure skating
1989 - German war criminals Aus der Funten/Fischer, freed in Holland
1989 - Venezuela is rocked by the riots of Caracazo.
1990 - Exxon Corp & Exxon Shipping are indicted on 5 criminal counts (Valdez)
1990 - No one elected to Hall of Fame for 2nd time in 3 years
1991 - Ben Elton's "Silly Cow," premieres in London
1991 - Gulf War ends after Iraqi troops retreat and Kuwait is re-taken by the US
1991 - Noureddine Morcelli set 1500m mark at 3:34:16
1991 - Singer James Brown is released from prison
1992 - Larry Smith, named 9th Commissioner of the CFL
1992 - Tiger Woods, 16, becomes youngest PGA golfer in 35 years
1993 - PBA National Championship Won by Ron Palombi Jr
1994 - 17th Winter Olympic games closes in Lillehammer, Norway
1994 - Maronite church near Beirut bombed, 10 killed
1995 - Car bomb explodes in Zakho, North-Iraq (54-80 killed)
Golfer Tiger WoodsGolfer Tiger Woods 1996 - Mark Waugh scores 126 in World Cup against India
1997 - "Last Night of Ballyhoo" opens at Helen Hayes Theater NYC
1997 - Singer Sade (Helen Folasade), arrest in Jamaica for disobeying a cop
1998 - Apple discontinues developing Newton computer
1998 - FBI arrests 10 most wanted suspected serial killer Tony Ray Amati
1998 - NE Patriot David Meggett arrested in Toronto on sex assault charges
1998 - Britain's House of Lords agree's to end 1,000 years of male preference by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first born son
1999 - Olusegun Obasanjo becomes Nigeria's first elected president since mid-1983.
1999 - Korea International School is founded by Soon-Il Chung. It is currently directed by Ann Clapper.
2002 - Godhra train burning, a Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya
2002 - Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire in London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair's handling of the evacuation.
2002 - 44th Grammy Awards: Walk On, Alicia Keys wins
2003 - Former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic is sentenced by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, to 11 years in prison
2003 - Rowan Williams is enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican church.
2004 - Former BPMC general secretary Ordrick Samuel launches a new party in Barbuda, Barbudans for a Better Barbuda.
Singer-songwriter Alicia KeysSinger-songwriter Alicia Keys 2004 - A bombing of a Superferry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines worst terrorist attack kills 116.
2007 - The general strike against Lansana Conté in Guinea ends.
2007 - The Chinese Correction: the Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in 10 years.
2010 - Central Chile is hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake.
2012 - Wikileaks begins disclosing 5 million emails from private intelligence company Stratfor
2013 - 20 people are killed in a market fire in Calcutta, India
2013 - 17 Afghan militia are killed by Taliban insurgents in an attack in the Andar District
2013 - Pope Benedict XVI presents his farewell address to Vatican City