Today in History

127 – Greek astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy began his observations of the heavens (until 141 AD)

1804 – Congress ordered the removal of Indians east of Mississippi to Louisiana

1804 – Territory of Orleans organized in Louisiana Purchase

1845 – Patent awarded for adhesive medicated plaster, precursor of band-aid

1937 – Joe DiMaggio took Ty Cobb’s advice and replaced his 40 oz. bat with a 36 oz. one

1943 – Elsie S. Ott was 1st woman to be awarded US Air Force Medal

1945 – The Raising of the Flag on Iwo Jima.  Allies led by US Marine Corps secured the island of Iwo Jima from Imperial Japanese Army, after 18,000 Japanese & 6,000 Americans killed

1953 – Dr. Jonas Salk announced that he had successfully tested a vaccine to prevent polio, clinical trials began the next year

1955 – “Ballad of Davy Crockett” version recorded by Hill Hayes became the #1 record in US

1970 – 500th nuclear explosion announced by the US since 1945

1971 – “Benny Hill Show” topped TV ratings

1973 – TV Soap “The Young & the Restless” premiered on CBS

1976 – Wings released “Wings at the Speed of Sound” album

1982 – Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder released the single “Ebony & Ivory” in the UK

1986 – Geffen records signed Guns & Roses

1987 – National Federation of State High School Associations adopted the college 3 point shot (21 feet)

1997 – Thirty-nine bodies found in the Heaven’s Gate cult suicides

1999 – The “Melissa worm” infected Microsoft word processing and e-mail systems around the world.

2005 – “Doctor Who” returned to BBC TV after 16 years with the debut of Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose

2018 – “The Black Panther” became the highest grossing superhero film in America earning $630.9m

2019 – Stolen Pablo Picasso painting “Buste de Femme” (Dora Maar) (1938) recovered after 20 years by Dutch art detective


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