General Chat

What an eventfull day throughout history!

1416 - Jerome of Prague was burned as a heretic by the Church. 1431 - Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, France, at the age of 19. 1527 - The University of Marburg was founded in Germany. 1539 - Hernando de Soto, the Spanish explorer, landed in Florida with 600 soldiers to search for gold. 1783 - The first daily newspaper was published in the U.S. by Benjamin Towner called 'The Pennsylvania Evening Post' 1814 - The First Treaty of Paris was declared, which returned France to its 1792 borders. 1848 - W.G. Young patented the ice cream freezer. 1854 - The U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established. 1868 - Memorial Day was observed for the first time in the U.S. 1879 - William Vanderbilt renamed New York City's Gilmore’s Garden to Madison Square Garden. 1883 - Twelve people were trampled to death in New York City in a stampede when a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge was in danger of collapsing occurred. 1889 - The brassiere was invented. 1896 - The first automobile accident occurred in New York City. 1903 - In Riverdale, NY, the first American motorcycle hill climb was held. 1911 - Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis Sweepstakes. The 500-mile auto race later became known as the Indianapolis 500. Harroun's average speed was 74.59 miles per hour. 1912 - The U.S. Marines were sent to Nicaragua to protect American interests. 1913 - The First Balkan War ended. 1921 - The U.S. Navy transferred the Teapot Dome oil reserves to the Department of the Interior. 1922 - The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC. 1933 - Sally Rand introduced her exotic and erotic fan dance to audiences at Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition. 1943 - American forces secured the Aleutian island of Attu from the Japanese during World War II. 1958 - Unidentified soldiers killed in World War II and the Korean conflicts were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 1967 - Daredevil Evel Knievel jumped 16 automobiles in a row in a motorcycle stunt at Ascot Speedway in Gardena, CA. 1967 - The state of Biafra seceded from Nigeria and Civil war erupted. 1971 - Mariner 9, the American deep space probe blasted off on a journey to Mars. 1982 - Spain became the 16th NATO member. Spain was the first country to enter the Western alliance since West Germany in 1955. 1989 - The 'Goddess of Democracy' statue (33 feet height) was erected in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators. 1996 - Britain's Prince Andrew and the former Sarah Ferguson were granted an uncontested decree ending their 10-year marriage. 1997 - Jesse K. Timmendequas was convicted in Trenton, NJ, of raping and strangling a 7-year-old neighbor, Megan Kanka. The 1994 murder inspired 'Megan's Law,' requiring that communities be notified when sex offenders move in. 1998 - A powerful earthquake hit northern Afghanistan killing up to 5,000.

hold