Today in history

powerpoint with history happenings

2. Today in History
•August 24, 0079
•Mount Vesuvius erupts
burying the city of
Pompeii and
Hurculaneum, Italy in
Volcanic Ash and killing
all inhabitants.
•Pompeii was not
discovered until 1787

3. Today in History
•August 25,1910
•The Yellow Cab
Company was born.
•The first cabs with
meters installed were
Model J Fords

4. Today in History
•August 26, 1936
•Today was the first
televised Major League
Baseball game.
•The game was between
the Cincinnati Reds and
the Brooklyn Dodgers

5. Today in History
•August 27, 1962
•The United States
launched the Mariner
Space Probe
•The Probe was to
investigate the planet
Venus

6. Today in History
•August 28, 1963
•Today Martin Luther
King Jr. Gave his famous
“I have a dream” speech
•The speech was given at
the Lincoln Memorial in
front of Civil Rights
Protestors

7. Today in History
•August 31, 1997
•Britain's Princess Diana
was killed in an
automobile accident.
•Her death was blamed
on the photographers
who followed her every
move.

8. Today in History
•September 1, 1939
•Today was the beginning
of World War II
•The German army under
Adolph Hitler invaded
the country of Poland

9. Today in History
•September 2, 1789
•The United States
Treasury Department
was established
•The first Treasury
secretary was Alexander
Hamilton

10. Today in History
•September 3, 1783
•The treaty of Paris was
signed ending the
Revolutionary War
•The war that had started
in 1775 gave American
Freedom from Great
Britain

11. Today in History
•September 4, 1972
•American swimmer Mark
Spitz won his seventh
Olympic gold medal at the
Munich Olympic Games.
•His record stood until it was
broken by Michael Phelps in
the 2008 Olympics

12. Today in History
•September 8, 1900
•A category 4 hurricane
struck Galveston, Texas
•The death toll reached
8,000

13. Today in History
•September 9, 1956
•Singer Elvis Presley
appeared on the Ed
Sullivan Show
•This was the first time
the singer was on
television

14. Today in History
•On September 10, 1953
Swanson sells the first TV
Dinner.
•The first one came in
aluminum tray and had to be
heated in an oven as
microwaves were not yet
sold.
•The dinner had Turkey,
sweet potato and peas

15. Today in History
•On September 11, 2001
terrorist hijack American
Airliners and attack the
World Trade Center and the
Pentagon.
•The death toll 3,000 or more.

•This was the worst act of
terror on American Soil

16. Today in History
•September 14, 1901
•Today President William
McKinley died from a
gunshot wound Buffalo,
New York.
•His Vice President,
Theodore Roosevelt
became the President.

17. Today in History
•September 15, 1935 Nazi
Germany passed the
Nuremberg Laws.
•These laws took away
the citizenship of all Jews
in Germany
•The Swastika became the
official emblem of Nazi
Germany

18. Today in History
•September 12, 1992
•Dr. Mae Jamison became
the first African
American woman in
space.
•She was aboard the 50
th

shuttle mission on the
shuttle Endeavour.

19. Today in History
•On September 16,
1630, the
Massachusetts town
of Shawmut changed
its name to Boston
•Boston was founded
by the Puritan
religious group.
•Boston was the home
of many of America’s
famous
revolutionaries

20. Today in History
•September 17, 1862 marked
the bloodiest day in United
States Military History
•During the American Civil
War the battle of Antietam
took place in Virginia.
•More than 23,000 soldiers
were killed or wounded in
this battle alone.
•The seen of this battle has
been set aside as a National
Monument to those who
died there.

21. Today in History
•September 18, 1904, Mr.
and Mrs. Charles
Glidden become the first
people to cross the
Rocky Mountains in an
automobile.
•The couple drove from
Boston, MA to
Vancouver, Canada in a
24 horse power Napier.
•The trip was over 3,000
miles.

22. Today in History
•September 21, 1981
Philadelphia Phillies
pitcher Steve Carlton
gets his 3,118
th
strike out.
•This breaks the Major
League Baseball record
of Bob Gibson.
•Carlton’s record breaking
strikeout came in a game
with the Montréal
Expos.

23. Today in History
•September 22, 1776
•Nathan Hale, a
Revolutionary War hero,
was hanged by the
British as a spy.
•Hale was sent to get
information from the
British and when his true
mission was discovered
he was hanged.
•He is famous for his last
words, “I only regret that
I have but one life to
give for my country.”

24. Today in History
•September 24, 1991 Dr.
Seuss died at the age of
87.
•Dr. Seuss was really
Theodore Geisel and at
the time of his death he
had written forty-six
children’s books. His
books have been
translated into 20
languages including
Braille for the blind.

25. Today in History
•On September 23, 1846
a German astronomer
discovered the planet
Neptune.
•Johann Gottfried Galle
used calculations made
by other astronomers to
locate Neptune near
other known planets.
•Neptune remained
much of a mystery for
the next 100 years.

26. Today in History
•September 25, 1981
•Sandra Day O’Connor
was sworn in as the first
female Supreme Court
Justice.
•O’Connor was
nominated by President
Ronald Reagan and
served on the highest
court in America for 25
years.

27. Today in History
•On September 29, 1542
Portuguese explorer, Juan
Cabrillo arrived in present
day San Diego, California.
He arrived from Mexico where
he had participated in the
conquest of the Aztec
Empire.
The spot where he landed is
today Cabrillo National
Monument

28. Today in History
•September 29, 1988 The
space shuttle Discovery
was launched from
Kennedy Space Center
•This was the first
mission flown after the
Challenger Disaster in
January 1986.
•This shuttle launched the
Hubble Telescope into
space.

29. Today in History
•September 30, 1955 actor James
Dean was killed in a car crash on
a California highway.
•Dean became famous for
starring in the films and on the
Broadway stage. He won an
Academy Award after his death.
•Dean was so popular that the
world mourned his passing as
they did with Michael Jackson.

30. Today in History
October 1, 1971 Walt Disney
World opened in Orlando, Fl.
Also, on October 1, 1982 Epcot
Center opened at Walt Disney
World.
Although the Park was started by
Walt Disney, he did not live to
see it completed.
Disney World is the largest theme
park in the world.

31. Today in History
•October 2, 1950, the comic
strip Peanuts first appeared
in newspapers.
•The comic was created by
Charles M. Schulz and was
read by over 300 million
people in 75 countries.
•The World fell in love with
Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus
and their pet beagle, Snoopy.

32. Today in History
•October 5, 1947, the first
televised speech from the
White House was made by
President Harry S. Truman.
•In his speech he urged
Americans to stop eating
meat on Thursdays and
Chicken on Sundays to help
the starving people of the
world.

33. Today in History
•October 6, 1927 the first
full-length talking
motion pictured debuted
in movie theaters.
•The move, The Jazz
Singer, starred Al Jolson.
The film has been
remade several times
since, once starring Neil
Diamond.

34. Today in History
•October 7, 2003, the Governor
of California was removed from
office and actor, body builder,
Arnold Schwarzenegger was
elected for the office.
•Schwarzenegger was then re-
elected in November of 2006
and remains governor at the
present.

35. Today in History
•October 8, 1871, the great
Chicago Fire started. The
fire burned for 2 days and
killed hundreds of people.
The fire destroyed 4 square
miles of downtown Chicago.
History says that the fire was
started when Mrs. O’Leary’s
cow kicked over a lantern
and started the barn a blaze.

36. Today in History
•October 9, 1940 musician
John Lennon was born in
Liverpool. England.
•Lennon wrote most of the
beetles famous songs
•Lennon was shot and killed
by a mentally unstable fan in
1980.

37. Today in History
•October 12, 1942 was the
first time the pledge of
Allegiance was recited in
Public schools across
America.
•The Pledge was written by
Francis Bellamy to celebrate
Columbus Day.
•The words “In God we
trust” were added in 1954.

38. Today in History
•October 13, 1792 the
cornerstone for the
White House was laid in
Washington, DC
•The house was finished
in 1800 and John Adams
was the first president to
live in the house
•The name, White was
not used until 1901

39. Today in History
•October 14, 1947 U.S. Air Force,
pilot Chuck Yeager became the
first human to travel faster than
the speed of sound.
•Yeager went on to fly many
successful missions during
World War II and to win many
honors.

40. Today in History
•On October 15, 1951 the I
Love Lucy Show made its
debut on television.
•The show starred Lucille Ball
and her husband Desi Arnaz.
•In the show Lucy always
caused people to laugh by her
funny antics.
•The show lasted for six years,
but you can see Lucy any day
on cable Television.

41. Today in History
•On October 16, 1793 French
queen, Marie Antoinette was
convicted of treason against
the French government
• She was beheaded on the
guillotine in Versailles,
France
•Marie is famous for saying
“Let them Eat Cake”

42. Today in History
•October 19, 1957 Montreal
Canadiens hockey player
“Rocket” Richard became
the first National Hockey
League player to score 500
goals in his career.
•His 500
th
goal was scored in a
game against the Chicago
Blackhawks
•Rocket was known as the
Babe Ruth of Hockey

43. Today in History
•October 20, 1803 the
United States Senate
ratified the Louisiana
Purchase from France.
•This purchase of land
doubled the size of the
United States and
opened the west to
settlers

44. Today in History
•October 21, 1973 the Sydney
Opera House was finally opened
to the public
•The construction took fifteen
years and cost $80 million.
•The Opera House was dedicated
to Queen Elizabeth
•The first performance was War
and Peace

45. Today in History
•October 22, 1962 was the
beginning of the Cuban
Missile Crises.
•A U.S. spy plane discovered
Russian missiles in Cuba and
President Kennedy ordered a
blockade of Cuba by the
United States Navy.
•The crises lasted seven days
and finally the Russians
removed the missiles.

46. Today in History. . .
•October 23, 1915 over
25,000 women marched up
Fifth Ave in New York City
demanding the right to vote.
•The women known as
suffragettes finally won the
right to vote when the 19
th

Amendment to the
Constitution was passed in
1920.

47. Today in History
•October 26, 2005 the
Chicago White Sox
swept the Houston
Astros in the world
Series.
•This was the first World
Series win for the White
Sox in 88 years.

48. Today in History
•October 27, 1787 was the
date of publication of the
Federalist Papers. The
papers called for
ratification of the new
United States Constitution
•The papers were authored
by John Jay, Alexander
Hamilton and James
Madison.
•These three men were
important in the founding
of our government

49. Today in History
•October 28, 1886 was the date
for the dedication of the Statue of
Liberty.
•President Grover Cleveland
accepted the statue as a gift from
France and it was erected in New
York Harbor.
•The statue was created by
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and
cost the French people $250,000
to build.

50. Today in History
•October 29,1656 was the
birth date of Sir Edmund
Halley.
•Halley was a famous
astronomer and studied the
movement of the moon
and the stars.
•His most famous work was
on comets and he predicted
when a certain comet
would be visible
•This comet became known
as Halley’s Comet

51. Today in History
•November 2,1889
•South Dakota and North became
the 39
th
and 40
th
states of the
union.
•Both North and South Dakota
were discovered by the French.
The states were sold to the United
States in the Louisiana Purchase.
•Lewis and Clark explored both
states with their Corps of
Discovery.

52. Today in History
•November 3, 1992 Carol
Moseley-Braun became
the first African-American
woman elected to the U.S.
Senate.
•Braun was a resident of
Chicago and served as the
ambassador to New
Zealand after leaving the
Senate.

53. Today in History
•November 4, 1922 The tomb of
Egypt’s famous King
Tutankhamen was
discovered.
•Howard Carter, an English
Egyptologist, discovered the tomb
in the Valley of the Kings,
Luxor, Egypt.
•The contents of the tomb,
including the mummy are now on
display in Cairo, Egypt.

54. Today in History. . .
•November 5, 1994 George
Foreman became the oldest
Heavyweight boxer to win a
Championship title.
•He knocked out the other
boxer in the 10
th
round of
the match.
•George is most famous for
selling his grill design.
•He is also a minister.

55. Today in History
•November 6, 1869 the
first soccer game between
two college teams
(intercollegiate) took
place.
•This game was played in
New Jersey and was
between Princeton and
Rutgers Universities.
•The game was won by
Rutgers 6 to Princeton’s
4

56. Today in History
•November 9, 1938
•German Nazis looted and
burned Jewish businesses in
Austria and Germany.
•This became known as the
Kristallnacht, meaning
crystal night because of all the
broken glass in the streets.
•91 Jewish people were killed
and many more injured and
thousands of businesses and
synagogues were destroyed

57. Today in History
•November 10, 1969
Sesame Street premiered
on television.
•The show has won 122
Emmy Awards and is seen
in more than 120
countries and territories
around the world.

58. Today in History
•November 11, 1620 the Mayflower Compact was
signed by all men aboard the Mayflower
•The Compact was the first written form of self
government in the United States.
•The document stated that rules and laws would be
made for the good of all in the new colony.
•Our current constitution is based on this document

59. Today in History. . .
November 12, 1954 the Immigration
Station on Ellis Island stopped
accepting immigrants to America.
During its’ 62 years of operation
more than 20 million immigrants
passed through the station on
their way to a new life.
Ellis Island now houses a museum
honoring America’s immigrants.

60. Today in History
•November 13, 1940 Walt
Disney’s Fantasia
debuted in theaters.
•This animated film had
no dialogue and featured
classical music.
•The film only played in
12 theaters due to all of
the audio equipment it
took to project the film
in stereophonic sound, a
new innovation.

61. Today in History
•November 16, 1864 General
William Tecumseh Sherman and
his troops began their “March to
the Sea” through Georgia.
•They cut a deadly path from
Atlanta to Savannah and left
everything burned and destroyed
in between. This was an effort to
break the spirit of the south during
the American Civil War.

62. Today in History
•November 17, 1869 the
Suez Canal opened in
Egypt.
•This canal joined the Red
Sea with the
Mediterranean Sea.
•The canal makes it
possible for ships to
navigate through Egypt
without going around The
African Continent.

63. Today in History
•November 30, 1995 President Bill Clinton
became the first US president to visit
Northern Ireland.
•His visit was important because he urged the
Protestant and Catholics to settle their
differences after years of fighting.

64. Today in History
•December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks was asked to give
her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery,
Alabama
•Rosa refused to give her seat and was arrested
and put into the local jail.
•She suffered the loss of her job because of this
action and had to leave her home to find work.
•Her protest earned her a Congressional Medal of
Honor later in her life.

65. Today in History
December 2, 1982 Barney Clark was the
first person to receive an artificial heart
transplant. Clark was near death when
he received the heart invented by Dr.
Richard Jarvik. He lived for 112 hours
with the heart.

66. Today in History. . .
•December 3, 1609 Galileo Galilei, an
Italian mathematician, astronomer and
physicist, is credited with inventing the
first complete astronomical telescope.
He was the first to turn the telescope
to the skies. Galileo's telescope had a
power of 40, and he was able to view
mountains on the moon, Jupiter's
moons and many stars with it.

67. Today in History
•December 5, 1816 James
Madison was elected the fifth
President of the United States by
the electoral college.
•Madison was considered the
Father of the Constitution as he
created the plan for the current
form of government.
•He was president during the War
of 1812

68. Today in History
•On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked
the U.S. military bases in Pearl Harbor, HI.
•The air attack that would leave over 2,280
military personnel and sixty-eight civilians
dead and over 1,109 people wounded.
• Nineteen naval vessels were destroyed,
including eight battleships.
•The cause of the attack was a breakdown in
political talks between Japan and the US.
•The attack on Pearl Harbor led to the entry of
the U.S. into World War II.
•

69. Today in History
•December 8, 1980, former Beatles member John
Lennon was shot and killed in front of his
Manhattan apartment building.
•The shooter was an obsessed fan, Mark David
Chapman, to whom Lennon had given an
autograph earlier that day.
•John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison,
and Ringo Starr were the four members of the
Liverpool (England) rock band the Beatles.

70. Today in History. . .
•Doug Engelbart, inventor of the
computer mouse, gave the first
demonstration of the mouse on
December 9, 1968.
•The computer tasks that could
be accomplished using a mouse
paved the way for modern
interactive computers and the
development of Microsoft's
Windows operating systems.
Englebart was also a key figure
in the development of the
Internet.

71. Today in History
Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish chemist
and inventor, died on December 10,
1896. He invented several types of
explosives. Nobel sought to invent
a safer explosive following a
number of explosions that resulted
in many deaths.
In his will he wanted his money to be
used as awards to be given annually
in the areas of literature, physics,
chemistry, physiology or medicine,
and the promotion of international
peace.

72. Today in History
•December 15, 1903
•Italian immigrant Italo Marcioni invented the ice
cream cone.
•The cone became popular at the St. Louis World's
Fair in 1904, where several ice cream vendors sold
their wares in cones.
• Controversy surrounds the cone because an ice
cream vendor named Charles Menches also
independently "invented" it at the World's Fair

73. Today in History
•December 14, 1911
•Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, became
the first man to reach the South Pole
• Using dog sleds, which allowed him to travel
fifteen miles a day through sub-zero temperatures,
Amundsen arrived thirty-five days before another
explorer, Robert F. Scott
•He had decided to explore Antarctica once he
realized that Robert F. Perry had departed for the
North Pole

74. Today in History. . .
•December 16, 1773
•to protest the British import tax on tea, a group
of fifty to sixty "Sons of Liberty" dressed
themselves as Mohawk Indians, boarded three
British ships in Boston Harbor, and emptied
their cargoes (tea) into the water.
•The Boston Tea Party was one of several events
that led up to the American Revolution.

75. Today in History
December 17, 1903
As his brother Wilbur watched, Orville Wright
took off from a field in Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina. His plane was in the air twelve seconds,
flying 120 feet.
It was the first time anyone at all had left the
ground to fly in a heavier-than-air, self-powered
flying machine.

76. Today in History
•December 18, 1865:
•The thirteenth amendment, which
abolished slavery, had been ratified earlier
in December, 1865, and went into effect
on this date.
•The amendment states that, “neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude … shall
exist within the United States

77. Today in History
•January 4, 1996
•General Motors announced plans for a fall release
of the non-polluting EV-1, its first electric car to
be sold in the United States.
• GM sold the EV-1 through its Saturn dealerships
•The EV-1 became the best-selling electric
consumer car of its time.

78. Today in History
•January 5, 1914
•Henry Ford amazed the world when he
announced that he would pay his
automobile workers $5.00 per day plus a
share of $10 million from the previous year's
profits.
•According to U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the buying power of $1.00 in 1914
was like the buying power of $19.10 today
•That means, by today’s standards, Ford paid
his workers the equivalent of $95.50 per day

79. Today in History. . .
•January 6, 1963
•Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, with
Marlin Perkins, premiered on the
NBC television network
•It was one of the first wildlife series
on TV. The pioneering show took
viewers to the far corners of the
world and revealed wildlife in its
natural habitat
•Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom won
forty-one major awards, including
four Emmys

80. Today in History
. January 7, 1789
The United States of America held its
first election for president
No one knew who had won until a
month later.
After voters in each state chose only their
electors, they voted for president.
The votes cast by the electors were
counted by Congress.
The person with the most votes, George
Washington, won the first presidency

81. Today in History
•January 8, 1815
•The Battle Of New Orleans was the last
major land battle in the War of 1812,
the last war America ever fought against
the British
•General Andrew Jackson led his forces
into the Battle of New Orleans two
weeks after a peace treaty had already
been signed to end the war
•Although it was a great victory, this
battle that did not need to be fought.

82. Today in History
•.January 11, 1964
•U.S. Surgeon General announced the
results of a study that had found cigarette
smoking causes most lung cancer deaths
•It was America's first widely publicized
official recognition of the dangers of
cigarette smoking

83. Today in History
•January 12, 1773
•The first public museum in America opened
its doors to visitors in Charleston, South
Carolina
•The museum’s mission was to preserve the
history of South Carolina and the Carolina
Low Country.
•The museum still exists today in Charleston.

84. Today in History. . .
•January 13, 1886
•Kansas already had snow drifts piled
ten feet high from the heavy snows
when a blizzard hit.
•Up to a hundred people died due to
this storm and 80 percent of the
state’s cattle froze to death
•People who die in a blizzard usually
suffer hypothermia due to inadequate
shelter

85. Today in History
January 14, 1690
German instrument maker Johann
Denner created the first clarinet
Early clarinets had a limited range and
were used sparingly by composers
One hundred years later, the clarinet had
become a standard instrument in
European orchestras.

86. Today in History
•January 15, 1929 was born in
Atlanta, GA
•A civil-rights leader, the Reverend
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spent
a lifetime using nonviolent means
to campaign for civil and human
rights
•He led 200,000 people in the
August, 1963, civil rights march
on Washington, D.C., and won
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

87. Today in History
•January 19, 1966
•Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister
of India
•Indira Gandhi began fighting for Indian
independence from Great Britain at
around age 11, forming the Monkey
Brigade, which among other activities,
spied on the police
•When her father died she became the
leader of the democratic government of
India
•She was credited with India's increased
industrialization and food production

88. Today in History
•January 20, 1981
•Ronald Reagan became the oldest man to
take the office of President of the United
States.
•On this day of his inauguration he was 69
years and 349 days of age.
•Reagan was the 40
th
president to serve in the
United States. He was a former Hollywood
actor having made 50 films.
•Reagan was an avid horseman.

89. Today in History. . .
•January 21, 1954
•On this day the first nuclear powered
submarine, the USS Nautilus was launched.
•The sub was famous for traveling under the
polar ice cap and became the first vessel to
reach the North Pole.
•This trip under the ice cap was an effort to
explore a new trade route using submarines
for cargo.
•The Nautilus is now is a museum in
Groton, Connecticut.

90. Today in History
•January 25, 1858
•The marriage of Queen Victoria's
daughter and the Crown Prince of
Prussia helped popularize "The
Wedding March " when it was
played for that event.
•The piece had been written by
perhaps the greatest child prodigy
after Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn
• Today, his "Wedding March" is
still the traditional march played at
weddings as a recessional

91. Today in History
•January 26, 1905
•The world's largest diamond
was found in the Premier
Mine in Pretoria, South
Africa
•The Cullinan Diamond was
3,106 carats and considered
one of the most remarkable
stones ever found

92. Today in History
•February 3, 1959 is known as
“the day the music died”
•It was the day that some of
music’s biggest stars were
killed in a plane crash.
•The crash killed Buddy
Holley, The Big Bopper and
Ritchie Valens and happened
near Clear Lake, Iowa.
•The song American Pie is
about this event

93. Today in History
•February 4, 1789
•The First President and Vice
President of the United
States were elected
•George Washington and
John Adams were chosen in
the first election in America
after the revolution. This
was the first time the people
had chosen their leaders.

94. Today in History. . .
•February 5, 1952
•The first "Don't Walk" sign was
installed in New York City on this
day.
•These signs were created to help
minimize the number of people killed
by automobiles while crossing the
street.
•In New York City pedestrians are
subject to a $50 fine if they walk, or
run, when faced with a “Don't Walk”
sign.

95. Today in History
•On February 8, 1986, Spud Webb,
who at 5’7” was one of the shortest
players in the history of
professional basketball, wins the
NBA slam dunk contest, beating
his Atlanta Hawks teammate and
1985 dunk champ, the 6’8”
Dominique Wilkins.
•Webb dazzled the crowd with his
soaring dunks and it was the most
memorable moment of his career

96. Today in History
•February 9, 1965
•U.S. sends first combat troops
to South Vietnam
•This was the first commitment
of American combat troops in
South Vietnam
•President Johnson had ordered
this deployment to provide
protection for the key U.S.
airbase in Vietnam.

97. Today in History
February 10, 1763
This day was the beginning of the
French and Indian War.
The war lasted 7 years and in the end
the French lost Canada to the British
and Louisiana to the Spanish.
In the end the French got even with
the British by helping the Americans
win the Revolutionary War.

98. Today in History
•February 11, 1805
•Sacagawea, the Shoshone Indian
interpreter and guide to the Lewis
and Clark expedition, gives birth
to her first child.
•The child went with his mother on
her journey with the Corps of
Discovery and he was nicknamed
Pompey by Clark.
•After his education, he later
became an explorer of the
American West.

99. Today in History. . .
•February 12, 2002
•On this day in 2002, an Iranian
passenger jet crashes into the side of
a mountain, killing all 117 people on
board
•The plane dropped off the air-traffic
controllers’ radar screens. Witnesses
from a nearby village saw a huge
explosion as the plane crashed
straight into the snow-covered White
Mountain.
•

100. Today in History
•On February 16, 1984, Bill
Johnson becomes the first
American man to win an
Olympic gold medal in
downhill skiing, a sport long
dominated by European
athletes. Johnson quickly
became a national hero,
though his fame was short-
lived, and he never again
competed in the Olympics

101. Today in History
•February 17, 1972
•The 15,007,034th Volkswagen
Beetle rolled out of the factory in
Wolfsburg, Germany, passing the
Ford Model T's previous record to
become the most heavily produced
car in history.
•The Beetle or the "Strength
Through Joy" car, as the Germans
called it, was the brainchild of
Ferdinand Porsche.

102. Today in History
February 18, 2001
Dale Earnhardt Sr., one of the
greatest drivers in NASCAR history,
died on this day in a last-lap crash at
the Daytona 500
Earnhardt, a high-school dropout
from humble beginnings, said all he
ever wanted to do in life was race
cars.
He was 49

103. Today in History
•February 19, 1968
•The first airing of Mr. Rogers’
Neighborhood was broadcast on
PBS.
•The show ran for 895 episodes,
the final one airing in 2001.
•Mr. Rogers always cared about
children and tried to help them
believe in themselves.

104. Today in History. . .
•February 22, 1980
•U.S. hockey pulls off Miracle on Ice
•the U.S. men’s hockey team pulls off one of
the biggest upsets in sports history with a
4-3 victory over the heavily favored Soviet
Union at the Winter Olympics in Lake
Placid, New York.
•Two days later, the Americans went on to
beat Finland and take home the gold medal.

105. Today in History
•On this day in 1836, General
Antonio López de Santa Anna
marched his army against the
Texas rebels
• the Battle of the Alamo,
which took place after a siege
of nearly two weeks, that is
best remembered
•among those killed Jim Bowie,
Davy Crockett, and the
Alamo's commander William
Travis

106. Today in History
•February 24, 1981: Prince
Charles and Lady Diana
Spencer announce their
engagement
•Lady Diana was 19 at the
time, while the Prince was 32
years old.
•Their wedding was
scheduled for July of the
same year.
•Prince Charles is the next
King of England.

107. Today in History
February 25, 1901
John Pierpont Morgan (JP) founded
the U.S. Steel Corporation.
This corporation was the first billion
dollar corporation in America.
Morgan died a wealthy man and
shared his money with the arts

108. Today in History. . .
•February 29
•Bob Hope hosts the Oscar banquets
for the first time on this day in 1940.
•On that night Gone with the Wind
sweeps the awards wining Best
Picture of 1939, and its director,
Victor Fleming, wins Best Director.
Vivien Leigh won Best Actress, and
Hattie McDaniel won Best
Supporting Actress. McDaniel was
the first African-American performer
to win an Academy Award.

109. Today in History
•March 1
•On this day in 1932, in a crime that
captured the attention of the entire
nation, Charles Lindbergh III, the
20-month-old son of aviation hero
Charles Lindbergh, is kidnapped
from the family's new mansion in
Hopewell, New Jersey.
•After a search for the kidnapper,
and payment of the ransom money,
the baby’s body is found near the
Lindbergh home. He had been
killed the night he was kidnapped.

110. Today in History. . .
•On March 2, 1962, Philadelphia On March 2, 1962, Philadelphia
Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain
scores 100 points against the New scores 100 points against the New
York Knicks. York Knicks.
•It was the first time that a It was the first time that a
professional basketball player had professional basketball player had
scored 100 points in a single contest.scored 100 points in a single contest.
•Chamberlain sank 36 field goals and Chamberlain sank 36 field goals and
28 foul shots, both league records. 28 foul shots, both league records.

111. Today in History
•On March 3,1887 Anne On March 3,1887 Anne
Sullivan begins teaching six-Sullivan begins teaching six-
year-old Helen Keller, who lost year-old Helen Keller, who lost
her sight and hearing after a her sight and hearing after a
severe illness at the age of 19 severe illness at the age of 19
months.months.
•With Sullivan teaching her, With Sullivan teaching her,
Helen went from Helen went from
uncontrollable to well educated uncontrollable to well educated
and graduated from college to and graduated from college to
become an international become an international
speaker and activist.speaker and activist.

112. Today in History
March 4, 1789
The first session of the U.S.
Congress is held in New York
City as the U.S. Constitution
takes effect.
Only nine senators and 13
representatives showed up to
begin negotiations for the
approval of the first ten
amendments to the
Constitution.
It would be several months
before all congressmen would
ratify the Bill of Rights
Amendments

113. Today in History
•March 5
•On this day in 1963, the Hula-Hoop,
a hip-swiveling toy that became a
huge fad across America when it was
first marketed by Wham-O in 1958, is
patented by the company's co-
founder.
•The enormous popularity of the
Hula-Hoop was short-lived and
within a matter of months, the masses
were on to the next big thing.
However, the Hula-Hoop never faded
away completely and still has its fans
today

114. Today in History
•April 12, 1964 today was the
beginning of the Civil War When
the southern troops attacked Ft.
Sumter
•President Lincoln called for 75,000
troops to join the Union army.
•The Union Navy formed a blockade
of the Southern Ports in an effort to
starve the south and put a quick end
to the war.

115. Today in History. . .
•April 13, 1970- Apollo 13 announced
"Houston, we've got a problem,"
when an oxygen tank burst on the
way to the Moon.
•The three astronauts were forced to
survive in the space crippled space
craft until they could slingshot back
to earth using the gravity of the moon
to help control their re-entry into the
atmosphere.

116. Today in History
•April 14, 1865 President
Abraham Lincoln was shot by
John Wilkes Booth.
•Lincoln was enjoying a play at
the Ford Theater when he was
shot and he died the next
morning.
•Booth was later either killed by
law enforcement or took his
own life, it still remains unclear.

117. Today in History
April 15, 1912 the Titanic sank off
the coast of Newfoundland after
hitting an iceberg.
Of the 2,227 passengers only 705
survived the trip. The ship
remained lost at the bottom of the
Atlantic until it was discovered in
1985.
When it was built the ships boasted
that it was “unsinkable” due to the
new technologies used to build it.

118. Today in History
1972
»China sent President Nixon
two giant pandas as a gift.

119. Today in History
April 19 1897 the first Boston
Marathon was run.
The Boston Marathon is the
oldest and most prestigious
annual marathon in the world
The race attracts more than one
million spectators and 25,000
runners
The first race had only 15
runners that took to the
course.
This year’s race begins at
10:00am today

120. Today in History
On April 20, 1912
The Boston Red Sox played their
first game at Fenway Park.
They beat the N.Y.
Highlanders (who in 1913
would become known as the
Yankees) 7-6.
Fenway is the oldest baseball
field still in use in the United
States.
The Park is in the Fenway section
of Boston, Massachusetts.

121. Today in History
April 21, 1997
The ashes of 24 people were carried
into space for the first burial in
space.
Among those ashes was Gene
Roddenbury, the creator of Star
Trek.
The ashes are placed in a small capsule
and released into space by a Pegasus
rocket.
The capsules orbits the Earth and
eventually re-enter our atmosphere
to land in the Pacific ocean.

122. Today in History
April 22, 1970
The first Earth day was observed.
Earth Day is a day designed to
inspire awareness and
appreciation for the Earth's
environment
Similar Earth Day celebrations
are observed around the world
on various dates.

123. Today in History
April 23, 1985
The Coke company announced that it
would be changing its formula to
create New Coke.
The new formula was very unpopular
and the company lost many
customers.
Coca-cola changed the formula back to
the original less than three months
after New Coke was introduced.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

124. Today in History
April 26, 1964
The African Countries of Tanganyika
and Zanzibar joined to form
Tanzania.
Tanzania is the home of Mt
Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria, two
Africa’s famous landmarks.
The largest city is Dar es Salaam on the
coast of the Indian Ocean.
The Island of Zanzibar is across a 22
mile wide canal from the mainland.

125. Today in History
April 27, 1521 Ferdinand
Magellan was killed by the
natives of the Philippines.
Magellan was the first man to try
to circumnavigate the globe.
He was of Portuguese descent.
Although Magellan did not make
it back to Spain he is given
credit for the expedition.

126. Today in History
April 28, 1945 The Italian
dictator Benito Mussolini was
executed.
In 1939 Mussolini promised an
alliance with Adolf Hitler's
Nazi Germany.
Italy's failures in the war led to
Mussolini being removed from
government, and when the war
ended he was arrested, tried
and executed

127. Today in History
April 29, 1986 Pitcher Roger
Clemens set a major league
baseball record by striking out
20 batters in a regular nine-
inning game.
Clemens is the hard-throwing,
right-hander who has seven
times won the Cy Young
Award as the best pitcher in
the American League

128. Today in History
•April 30, 1812
•Louisiana became the 18th
state in the United States.
•The capital of the state is
Baton Rouge and the largest
city is New Orleans.
•The state was named in
honor of French King Louis
XIV.
•The state is most famous for
the Mardi Gras celebration
and Hurricane Katrina.

129. Today in History
May 3, 2003
New Hampshire’s symbol, the
granite Old Man of the
Mountain, collapsed in the
state’s Franconia Mountains.
The profile has been New
Hampshire's state emblem
since 1945. It was put on the
state's license plate, state
highway-route signs, and the
back of New Hampshire's
Statehood Quarter

130. Today in History
May 4, 1626
Peter Minuit landed in
Manhattan, which he later
bought for $24 worth of
cloth and brass buttons. He
purchased the land for the
Dutch and they later
founded New Amsterdam
(New York) as the center
of Manhattan.

131. Today in History
•May 5, 1961
•Alan Sheppard became the
first American in space.
•His flight was a suborbital
trip of 302 mi (486 km) down
the Atlantic missile range. He
reached a height of 115 mi
(185 km) and performed
several maneuvers of his
capsule, Freedom 7, during the
15-min flight

132. Today in History
May 6, 1937
The German airship Hindenburg
blew up and burst into flames
at Lakehurst, N.J.
Thirty-five people on board the
flight were killed (13
passengers and 22 crewmen),
along with one crewman on
the ground.
The disaster was called the
Titanic of the air.

133. Today in History
•May 7, 1945
•Germany unconditionally
surrendered to the allies in
Rheims, France
•Although Hitler was
already dead by suicide, his
military agreed to the
surrender to end World
War II in Europe.

134. Today in History
May 10,1869
The United States’ first
transcontinental railroad was
completed with a ceremony in
Promontory Summit, Utah
The Union Pacific Railroad build
from East and the Central
Pacific Railroad built from
California. When they met it
was in Utah and it meant that
the tracks went across the
United States.

135. Today in History
May 11, 1949
Siam changed its name to
Thailand.
The country is bordered by
Cambodia, Burma, and
Laos.
The country is a monarchy
and rules by a Head of
State instead of a king as in
the past.

136. Today in History
•May 12, 2008
•Tens of thousands were killed and
thousands injured when a 7.9
magnitude earthquake strikes
Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan
Provinces in western China.
•The earthquake left at least
5 million people without housing.
• Millions of livestock and a
significant amount of agriculture
were also destroyed,

137. Today in History
May 13, 1938
Louis Armstrong and his orchestra
recorded the New Orleans's jazz
classic, When the Saints Go Marching
In, on Decca Records.
Armstrong made this gospel song a
“hot” favorite with his jazz redition
This tune and often the words are
often used as a popular theme or
rallying song for a number of sports
teams

138. Today in History
•May 14,1904
•The Olympic Games were
held in the United States
for the first time, in St.
Louis, Missouri
•There were only 13
countries participating and
most of the medals were
won by Americans.

139. Today in History
May 17, 1875
The first Kentucky Derby was held at
Churchill Downs, in Louisville,
Kentucky
The winner of that first race was
Aristides
Running in one of the Triple Crown
races takes a special kind of athlete.
The Thoroughbred horses are trained
and conditioned from their second
birthday to compete.
Only 20 horses are chosen out of 400 or
more nominated to race.

140. Today in History
May 18, 1980
Mount St. Helens, in Washington state,
erupted after being dormant for 123
year. It was one of the largest volcanic
explosions in North American history
The disaster took 65 lives, wiped out
substantial populations of elk, deer,
bear, and coyote, and destroyed 230 sq
mi of vegetation.
Since the eruption the area has experienced
ecological succession to replace the
habitat destroyed.

141. Today in History
•May 19, 1994
•Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
died in New York.
•As first lady, Jacqueline
Kennedy planned and
conducted the restoration of
the White House and had
Congress declare the White
House a national museum.
•She is remembered for her
contributions to the arts and
historic preservation

142. Today in History
May 20, 1506
Christopher Columbus died in Spain.
At the time of his death he still
believed that he had reached Asia.
Columbus’s explorations changed
the course of western history. As a
result, he remains a controversial
figure.
While some admire his bravery and
consider him a hero, others
condemn his role in the
colonization of the Americas and
the genocide of native peoples

143. Today in History
•May 21, 1881.
•Clara Barton founded what became the
American Red Cross.
•She then established a service of
supplies for soldiers and nursed in army
camps and on the battlefields. She was
called the Angel of the Battlefield
•The Red Cross is an international
organization concerned with the
alleviation of human suffering and the
promotion of public health