1682 the French explorer Robert LaSalle reached the Mississippi River.
1740 Robert Jenkins loses an ear which begins war between Britain & Spain and which included the American Colonists fighting the Spanish with Britain.
1833 the first free publicly supported library was founded in Perterborough, NH.
1865 Robert E. Lee surrenders his army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. .
1872 Samuel Percy patented dried milk. Here’s more in Science history
1928 Mae West made her broadway debut in "Diamond Lil"
1912 the Boston Red Sox opened Fenway Park by defeating Harvard 2-0.in an exhibition game.
1914 The first full color film shown "The World, The Flesh & the Devil" (London)
1939 Marian Anderson performed a concert at the Lincoln Memorial after the DAR denied her access to Constitution Hall.
1942 American and Philippine forces surrender to the Japanese on Bataan. Then came the death march
1947 Branch Rickey purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson from Montreal.
1953 Warner Bros. Introduced 3-D motion pictures (in stereo) with the "House Of Wax" in NYC.
1953 "TV Guide" publishes its first national issue. 50% of the country had Televisions. The mininum wage was 75 cents. Cost of a house was $17,500.
1965 the so-called 8th wonder of The World opened up. The Houston Astrodome. Survived until March 30th, 2000 whenEnron Field opened with a retractable dome. It later became Minute Maid Park. Were they implying the ball or players were juiced?
1967 1st Boeing 737 rolls out
1969 1st flight of Concorde 002 (Filton-Bristol)
1977 Communist party is legally allowed in Spain after 40 years
1992 Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega (also a CIA asset) convicted on 8 of 10 drug & racketeering charges.
1996 National Poetry month established. By the Academy of American Poets.
1998 Tammy
Wynette [Virginia Wynette Pugh] country singer (Stand By Your Man), dies from a blot clot at 55
Notable Birthdays
1827 Maria Susanna Cummins writer of domestic fiction (The Lamplighter)
1837 Lucy Ellen Sewall involved in the women’s medical movement. Henry David Thoreau was smitten by Lucy.
1876 Dorothy Ann Hahn Hahn, Dorothy Anna, 1876-1950; chemist and college teacher. Mount Holyoke College faculty member, 1908-1941.
1888 Florence Beatrice Smith Price One of the first black women to write classical symphonies.
1888 Sol Hurok theatrical impresario who was also Marian Andersons Manager
1898 Paul Robeson. A 100 year centennial site of the black singer, actor , activist can be found at www.princeton.lib.nj.us/robeson/linkshtml
1926 Playboy founder Hugh Heffner. If you believe there’s a correlation between sexuality and astrology, click for his astrocartography
1932 Paul Krassner comic strip cartoonist (MAD Magazine)/founder of the Yippies
