Today in History – 1790 – The District of Columbia is established and designated as the nation’s permanent capital by the U.S. Congress 1867 – Reinforced concrete is patented by Joseph Monier of Paris. 1926 – First underwater color photographs are taken off Tortuga; to be published by National Geographic. 1935 – The world’s first parking meter is installed at Oklahoma City. 1945 – The first atomic bomb is detonated near Alamogordo, New Mexico. 1951 – J.D. Salinger’s only novel, “The Catcher in the Rye” is published. 1956 – The last performance of Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus under a tent – the show goes to arenas. 1979 – Iraqi President Hasan al-Bakr resigned and was replaced by Saddam Hussein. 1990 – Phillippines Islands rocked by giant 7.7 earthquake; 2,000 dead or missing. 1994 – 100,000 mph giant comet collides with Jupiter in the biggest cosmic explosion ever witnessed. 1995 – Amazon website goes live – Earth’s Biggest Bookstore. 1999- John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her sister Lauren Bessette are killed in a plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. 2002 – President George W. Bush announces his plan for strengthening homeland security in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 10:41:00 +0000