Today in history On Jan. 16, 1776, Gen. George Washington allowed the enlistment of free blacks. In 1777, the Independent Republic of Vermont requested recognition from the Continental Congress. In 1847, John C. Fremont was appointed governor of the new California Territory. In 1870, Virginia became the 8th state readmitted to the Union following the Civil War. In 1883, the Pendleton Act created the U.S. Civil Service System. In 1909, British explorer Ernest Shackleton discovered the magnetic South Pole. In 1919, the Volstead Act was passed, beginning prohibition in the U.S. In 1920, the first meeting of the League of Nations was held in Paris. In 1936, the first photo finish camera was installed at the Hialeah Race Track, in Hialeah, Fla. In 1939, the Superman comic book debuted.In 1941, the War Department formed the first U.S. Army Air Corps squadron for blacks. In 1944, U.S. Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied invasion forces in London. In 1962, shooting began for the James Bond film, Dr. No. In 1965, the last episode of The Outer Limits was aired on ABC. In 1972, the Dallas Cowboys won their first-ever Super Bowl, defeating the Miami Dolphins 24-3. In 1973, NBC aired the 440th (and final) episode of Bonanza. In 1976, The Donny and Marie Show premiered on ABC. In 1979, the last Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, fled to Egypt during the Iranian Revolution. In 1980, Paul McCartney was arrested in Tokyo for marijuana possession, and he spent 10 days in jail for the charge. In 1984, Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Barbados for possession of cannabis. In 1991, the U.S. and 27 Allied nations attacked Iran for its failure to withdraw from Kuwait. In 2001, U.S. President Bill Clinton awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor to former President Theodore Roosevelt for his actions in the Spanish-American War. In 2002, the U.N. Security Council unanimously voted to enact an arms embargo and the freezing of the assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban. In 2003, the U.S. space shuttle Columbia lifted off on what would be its last mission; the spacecraft disintegrated on re-entry, 16 days later. And in 2006, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf became the first-ever female African head of state when she was sworn in as the president of Liberia.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 00:03:04 +0000
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