On this day in history: August 7: 1782—George Washington orders the creation of the Purple Heart to honor soldiers wounded in battle 1789—the U.S. Department of War is created 1876—Dutch spy Mata Hari is born 1884—actress Billie Burke is born (Glinda the Good Witch) 1909—Alice Huyler Ramsey becomes the first woman to travel across the U.S. in an automobile. It took her 59 days 1942—the Battle of Guadalcanal begins 1942—singer B. J. Thomas is born 1944—IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator 1947—Thor Heyerdahl’s balsa wood raft, Kon Tiki, smashes into a reef in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 4300 mile journey across the Pacific in an attempt to prove that pre-historic Polynesians could have traveled from South America 1959—the Lincoln Memorial design on the U.S. penny replaces the “shaves of wheat” previously used 1975—actress Charlize Theron is born 1978—President Jimmy Carter declares a federal emergency at Love Canal located in Niagara Falls, New York, due to toxic waste 2005—journalist Peter Jennings dies
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 00:21:14 +0000
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