Monday, August 01, 2005

Monday, August 1

This Day In History

  • 1291   A pact was made to form the Swiss Confederation. The anniversary of this founding has been celebrated as National Day in Switzerland since 1891, the 600th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation.
  • 1790   The first U.S. census was completed, showing a population of nearly 4 million people.
  • 1873   Inventor Andrew S. Hallidie successfully tested a cable car he had designed for the city of San Francisco.
  • 1876   Colorado, the 38th state, entered the United States of America this day. It is the only state to enter the union in the one hundredth year after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Consequently, Colorado is called the Centennial State. The Rocky Mountains are Colorado’s most famous feature; which explains why the Rocky Mountain columbine is the state flower. The lark bunting is the state bird. Denver, Colorado’s largest city, is also the state capital.
  • 1943   Race-related rioting erupted in New York City's Harlem section, resulting in several deaths.
  • 1944   An uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation.
  • 1944   13-year-old Anne Frank made the last entry in her diary; a diary she had kept for two years while hiding with her family to escape Nazi deportation to a concentration camp. Three days later the Grune Polizei raided the secret annex in Amsterdam, Holland, where the Jewish family was in hiding. Anne died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at age 15.
  • 1946   President Harry S. Truman signed the Fulbright Program into law, establishing the scholarships named for Sen. J. William Fulbright.
  • 1946   The Atomic Energy Commission was established.
  • 1957   The United States and Canada reached agreement to create the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
  • 1958   After 26 years at 3 cents, the cost of mailing a first-class letter in the United States went up a penny.
  • 1966   Charles Joseph Whitman shot and killed 15 people at the University of Texas before he was gunned down by police.
  • 1978   Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak   the second longest in major league history   came to an end as the Cincinnati Reds star went hitless in a game against the Atlanta Braves.
  • 1981   The music video cable channel MTV made its debut.
  • 1995   Westinghouse Electric Corp. struck a deal to buy CBS for $5.4 billion.
  • 2001   Pro Bowl tackle Korey Stringer died of heat stroke, a day after collapsing at the Minnesota Vikings' training camp.
Happy Birthday To
  • 1770   William Clark (explorer: Lewis and Clark Expedition; died Sep 1, 1838)
  • 1779   Francis Scott Key (attorney, poet: The Star-Spangled Banner: U.S. national anthem; died Jan 11, 1843)
  • 1818   Maria Mitchell (astronomer: 1st woman to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; 1st U.S. woman to become a professor of astronomy; died June 28, 1889)
  • 1819   Herman Melville (author: Moby Dick, Redburn, Typee, Omoo, White-Jacket; died Sep 28, 1891)
  • 1843   Robert Todd Lincoln (son of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln; rescued from train accident by Edwin Booth, brother of man who assassinated President Lincoln; died July 26, 1926)
  • 1933   Dom Deluise (comedian, actor: Dean Martin Show, Loose Cannons, Cannonball Run 1 & 2, Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie, Smokey and the Bandit, Part 2, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; host: New Candid Camera)
  • 1936   Yves St. Laurent (Henry Mathieu) (fashion designer)

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