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Posted by: Patch 03-Apr-2009, 09:17 AM
Today is Friday, April 3, the 93rd day of 2009. There are 272 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 3, 1860, the legendary Pony Express began service between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif.

On this date:

In 1776, George Washington received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Harvard College.

In 1865, Union forces occupied the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va.

In 1882, outlaw Jesse James was shot to death in St. Joseph, Mo., by Robert Ford, a member of James' gang.

In 1936, Bruno Hauptmann was electrocuted in Trenton, N.J., for the kidnap-murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr.

In 1946, Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible for the Bataan Death March, was executed by firing squad outside Manila, Philippines.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Marshall Plan, designed to help European allies rebuild after World War II and resist Communism.

In 1968, the day before he was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous ``mountaintop'' speech to a rally of striking sanitation workers. North Vietnam agreed to meet with U.S. representatives to set up preliminary peace talks.

In 1974, deadly tornadoes struck wide parts of the South and Midwest before jumping across the border into Canada; more than 300 fatalities resulted.

In 1979, Jane M. Byrne was elected mayor of Chicago, defeating Republican Wallace D. Johnson.

In 1996, an Air Force jetliner carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and American business executives crashed in Croatia, killing all 35 people aboard.

Ten years ago: NATO missiles struck downtown Belgrade for the first time, destroying the headquarters of security forces accused of waging a campaign against Kosovo Albanians.

Five years ago: Surrounded by police, five suspects in the Madrid railway bombings blew themselves up in a building outside the Spanish capital, also killing a special forces agent. Soccer player Freddy Adu, age 14, became the youngest athlete in a major American professional sport in well over a century as he entered a game between his team, D.C. United, and the San Jose Earthquakes (D.C. United won 2-1).

One year ago: NATO allies meeting in Bucharest, Romania, gave President George W. Bush strong support for a missile defense system in Europe and urged Moscow to drop its angry opposition to the program. Model Naomi Campbell was arrested at London Heathrow Airport after getting into an altercation with police during a dispute about lost luggage aboard a British Airways plane. (Campbell was later sentenced to 200 hours of community service and fined 2,300 pounds.) Ohio State defeated Massachusetts 92-85 for basketball's National Invitation Tournament title.

Today's Birthdays: Actress-singer Doris Day is 86. Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is 79. Actor William Gaunt is 72. Actor Eric Braeden is 68. Actress Marsha Mason is 67. Singer Wayne Newton is 67. Singer Billy Joe Royal is 67. Singer Tony Orlando is 65. Comedy writer Pat Proft is 62. Folk-rock singer Richard Thompson is 60. Country musician Curtis Stone (Highway 101) is 59. Blues singer-guitarist John Mooney is 54. Rock musician Mick Mars (Motley Crue) is 53. Actor Alec Baldwin is 51. Actor David Hyde Pierce is 50. Rock singer John Thomas Griffith (Cowboy Mouth) is 49. Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy is 48. Rock singer-musician Mike Ness (Social Distortion) is 47. Rock singer Sebastian Bach is 41. Rock musician James MacDonough is 39. Actress Jennie Garth is 37. Comedian Aries Spears is 34. Actress Cobie Smulders is 27. Minnesota Vikings star Jared Allen is 27. Rock-pop singer Leona Lewis is 24. Actress Amanda Bynes is 23.

Slàinte,    

Patch    


Posted by: InRi 03-Apr-2009, 09:54 AM
QUOTE (Patch @ 03-Apr-2009, 04:17 PM)
Today is Friday, April 3, the 93rd day of 2009. There are 272 days left in the year.


Some more today's highlights in history:

1919:
The Austrian National Assembly decide the abolishment of the nobility, the abolishment of capital punishment and the proprietary condemnation of the dethroned dynasty Habsburg-Lothringen.

1949:
In Konstanz (Germany) be uncovered the first case of drug smggling in Germany after WWII.

1984:
Rakes Sharma, goes together with two Soviet cosmonauts as first Indian into space

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 03-Apr-2009, 10:50 AM
The site I found deals with things that affected America. It would be interesting hear of similar historic events in countries around the world as those you posted. Our news paper posts a weekly article re: local events for that week over the years.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 03-Apr-2009, 03:06 PM
QUOTE (Patch @ 03-Apr-2009, 05:50 PM)
It would be interesting hear of similar historic events in countries around the world as those you posted. 

Hi Patch,

okay, I can do it. My newspaper posts daily (except Sundays) a short article about historic events - affected Austria but Europe and the world too.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 03-Apr-2009, 03:30 PM
Thank you, Mine may be sporadic. No one will be interested in area corn prices in 1918. The national and world info I will post.


Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patriot1776 03-Apr-2009, 03:58 PM
QUOTE (InRi @ 03-Apr-2009, 04:06 PM)
Hi Patch,

okay, I can do it. My newspaper posts daily (except Sundays) a short article about historic events - affected Austria but Europe and the world too.

Best regards

Ingo

Please do so. I'd like to also know what went happened in this day in history in other countries and Europe, besides my own.

Posted by: InRi 04-Apr-2009, 09:09 AM
What was happen on April-04 in the year

1854: Debut performance of "Faust, Part II" by J.W. Goethe in Hamburg (Germany)

1847: In Barcelona (Spain) opens the "Gran Teatre del Liceu" the second largest opera house worldwide.

1889: Austria enacts the law for the obligatory labor casualty insurance.

1968: Martin Luther King's assissination in Lorraine Motel Memphis (TN)

1975: Bill Gates and Paul Allen found in Albuquerque (NM) the software company "Microsoft".

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 05-Apr-2009, 03:30 PM

Today in History - April 5

Today is Palm Sunday, April 5, the 95th day of 2009. There are 270 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 5, 1621, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts on a monthlong return trip to England.

On this date:

In 1614, Pocahontas, daughter of the leader of the Powhatan tribe, married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia. (A convert to Christianity, she went by the name Lady Rebecca.)

In 1792, George Washington cast the first presidential veto, rejecting a congressional measure for apportioning representatives among the states.

In 1887, in Tuscumbia, Ala., teacher Anne Sullivan achieved a breakthrough as her blind and deaf pupil, Helen Keller, learned the meaning of the word ``water'' as spelled out in the Manual Alphabet. British historian Lord Acton wrote in a letter, ``Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.''

In 1895, Oscar Wilde lost his criminal libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry, who'd accused the writer of homosexual practices.

In 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death following their conviction in New York on charges of conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union; co-defendant Morton Sobell was sentenced to 30 years in prison. (He was released in 1969.)

In 1964, Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur died in Washington at age 84.

In 1975, nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek died at age 87.

In 1976, reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes died in Houston at age 70.

In 1986, two American servicemen and a Turkish woman were killed in the bombing of a West Berlin discotheque, an incident which prompted a U.S. air raid on Libya more than a week later.

In 1988, a 15-day hijacking ordeal began as gunmen forced a Kuwait Airways jumbo jet to land in Iran.

Ten years ago: NATO missiles and aircraft blasted Serbian targets inside Yugoslavia for a 13th straight day. The United Nations suspended sanctions against Libya after Moammar Gadhafi surrendered two suspected Libyan intelligence agents for trial in the 1988 Pan Am bombing. In Laramie, Wyo., Russell Henderson pleaded guilty to kidnapping and felony murder in the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student. (Henderson was later sentenced to life in prison.)

Five years ago: A U.S.-Canadian task force investigating the massive power blackout of Aug. 14, 2003, called for urgent approval of mandatory reliability rules to govern the electric transmission industry. Flash floods killed some three dozen people in northern Mexico. The Los Angeles Times won five Pulitzer Prizes; the Pulitzer for fiction went to Edward P. Jones for ``The Known World.'' The Connecticut Huskies defeated Georgia Tech 82-73 to win the men's NCAA basketball championship. Clyde Drexler was one of six former players, coaches and team executives announced as the newest members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

One year ago: President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin opened farewell talks at Putin's heavily wooded retreat on the Black Sea. Actor Charlton Heston, big-screen hero and later leader of the National Rifle Association, died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 84.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 06-Apr-2009, 06:39 AM

Today in History - April 6

Today is Monday, April 6, the 96th day of 2009. There are 269 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

One hundred years ago, on April 6, 1909, American explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson and four Inuits became the first men to reach the North Pole.

On this date:

In 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was organized by Joseph Smith in Fayette, N.Y.

In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Shiloh began in Tennessee as Confederate forces launched a surprise attack against Union troops, who beat back the Confederates the next day.

In 1896, the first modern Olympic games formally opened in Athens, Greece.

In 1917, Congress approved a declaration of war against Germany.

In 1954, after being criticized by newsman Edward R. Murrow on CBS' ``See It Now,'' Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., was given the opportunity to reply with a filmed response in which he charged that Murrow had in the past ``engaged in propaganda for Communist causes.''

In 1959, ``Gigi'' won the Academy Award for best picture of 1958; Susan Hayward was named best actress for ``I Want to Live!'' and David Niven was named best actor for ``Separate Tables.'' (To the embarrassment of the show's producers, the scheduled two-hour ceremony fell about 20 minutes short.)

In 1963, the United States signed an agreement to sell the Polaris missile system to Britain.

In 1965, the United States launched the Intelsat I, also known as the ``Early Bird'' communications satellite, into orbit.

In 1983, rock-and-roll fans reacted with outrage and dismay to a published report in The Washington Post that Interior Secretary James Watt had decided to exclude groups like the Beach Boys from Washington's 4th of July celebration - a stand he later reversed.

In 1994, the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi were killed in a mysterious plane crash near Rwanda's capital; widespread violence and killings erupted in Rwanda over claims the plane had been shot down.

Ten years ago: Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic declared a unilateral cease-fire in his campaign to crush rebels in Kosovo; Western leaders called the move a sham and pledged to press ahead with airstrikes.

Five years ago: Jordan's military court convicted eight Muslim militants and sentenced them to death for the 2002 killing of U.S. aid official Laurence Foley in a terror conspiracy linked to al-Qaida. Lawmakers ousted Lithuania's scandal-ridden president Rolandas Paksas for abuse of office. The University of Connecticut's women's basketball team beat Tennessee 70-61 to win a third consecutive NCAA title, a day after UConn also won the men's championship.

One year ago: President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, failed to overcome sharp differences over a U.S. missile defense system as they closed their seven-year relationship. Anti-China demonstrators caused chaos as the Olympic torch was relayed through London ahead of the Beijing games.

Today's Birthdays: Nobel Prize-winning scientist James D. Watson is 81. Composer-conductor Andre Previn is 80. Country singer Merle Haggard is 72. Actor Billy Dee Williams is 72. Actor Roy Thinnes is 71. Movie director Barry Levinson is 67. Actor John Ratzenberger is 62. Actress Marilu Henner is 57. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Janet Lynn is 56. Actor Michael Rooker is 54. Rock musician Warren Haynes is 49. Rock singer-musician Frank Black is 44. Author Vince Flynn is 43. Actress Ari Meyers is 40. Actor Paul Rudd is 40. Actor-producer Jason Hervey is 37. Rock musician Markku Lappalainen is 36. Actor Zach Braff is 34. Actress Candace Cameron Bure is 33. Actor Bret Harrison is 27.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: jedibowers 06-Apr-2009, 07:44 AM
You forgot the most important thing that happen on April 6th. In 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was signed saying that Scotland free from England. This declaration was referenced in 1776 when America was writting its Declaration of Independence.

In 1997, the United States celebrated it's first Tartan Day and it has been on the books ever since.

Posted by: InRi 06-Apr-2009, 09:09 AM
More today's highlights in history:

April-06

1789: George Washington is elected as 1st president of the United States.

1814: In Fontainebleau (France) emperor Napoleon I. undersigned his abdication document.

1939: Great Britain and Poland undersigned a mutual assistance pact.

1954: in the United States were born the first three children who was sired by deep frozen sperm.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 07-Apr-2009, 05:51 AM


Today in History - April 7

Today is Tuesday, April 7, the 97th day of 2009. There are 268 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 7, 1862, Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee.

On this date:

In 1199, King Richard I of England (also known as The Lion-Heart) died in the Limousin region of France at age 41 after being mortally wounded by an arrow.

In 1859, Walter Camp, the ``Father of American Football,'' was born in New Britain, Conn.

In 1927, an audience in New York watched as the image as well as voice of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover were transmitted live from Washington in the first successful long-distance demonstration of television.

In 1939, Italy invaded Albania, which was annexed less than a week later.

In 1949, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ``South Pacific'' opened on Broadway.

In 1953, the U.N. General Assembly elected Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden to be secretary-general.

In 1959, a referendum in Oklahoma repealed the state's ban on alcoholic beverages.

In 1969, the Supreme Court, in Stanley v. Georgia, unanimously struck down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced he was deferring development of the neutron bomb, a high-radiation weapon.

In 1983, space shuttle astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson took the first U.S. space walk in almost a decade as they worked in the open cargo bay of Challenger for nearly four hours.

Ten years ago: NATO stepped up its airstrikes in Yugoslavia after rejecting President Slobodan Milosevic's cease-fire declaration. Yugoslav authorities, meanwhile, closed the main exit route where a quarter-million ethnic Albanians had fled Kosovo.

Five years ago: Mounir el Motassadeq, the only Sept. 11 suspect ever convicted, was freed after a Hamburg, Germany, court ruled that the evidence was too weak to hold him pending a retrial.

One year ago: Anti-China protesters disrupted the Olympic torch relay in Paris, at times forcing Chinese organizers to put out the flame and take the torch onto a bus to secure it. Kansas won the NCAA championship, defeating Memphis 75-68. Coach Pat Riley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Adrian Dantley and broadcaster Dick Vitale were among those selected to Basketball's Hall of Fame.

Today's Birthdays: Actor R.G. Armstrong is 92. Sitar player Ravi Shankar is 89. Actor James Garner is 81. Country singer Cal Smith is 77. Actor Wayne Rogers is 76. Media commentator Hodding Carter III is 74. Country singer Bobby Bare is 74. Rhythm-and-blues singer Charlie Thomas (The Drifters) is 72. California Attorney General Jerry Brown is 71. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is 70. TV personality David Frost is 70. Singer Patricia Bennett (The Chiffons) is 62. Singer John Oates is 60. Singer Janis Ian is 58. Country musician John Dittrich is 58. Actor Jackie Chan is 55. Football Hall-of-Famer Tony Dorsett is 55. Actor Russell Crowe is 45. Rhythm-and-blues singer Mark Kibble (Take 6) is 45. Actor Bill Bellamy is 44. Rock musician Dave ``Yorkie'' Palmer (Space) is 44. Former football player-turned-analyst Tiki Barber is 34. Actress Heather Burns is 34. Actor Conner Rayburn is 10.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 07-Apr-2009, 08:46 AM
more todays highlights in history:

April-07

1348: King Karl IV. founded in Prague the "Alma Mater Carolina" as the first German university and the first high-school northwards of the Alps.

1919: In Munich (Germany) was proclaimed the "Bavarian republic of councils" which came to a sudden end by troops of the government on May-02.

1989In a hospital in Vienna-Lainz (Austria) started the clarification of a murder series on aged people.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: InRi 09-Apr-2009, 10:14 AM
Today is Thursday, April-09-2008.

What was happen in April-09 in ...

1667: In the Parisian "Salon du Louvre" is opend the first art exhibition worldwide. The French King Louis XIV. is such exalted, that from this point should happen such an exhibition in every year.

1865: Louis Pasteur presents his discovery, that a lot of diseases will caused by microorganisms. His method of short heating (to pasteurize) is killing the germs.

2003: In Baghdad U.S. troops caused high-publicity the great statue of Sadam Hussein to collapse. With this act the Iraq-war is finished officiary.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 09-Apr-2009, 11:18 AM
Unofficially the Iraq war continues.


Today in History - April 9

Today is Thursday, April 9, the 99th day of 2009. There are 266 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

Fifty years ago, on April 9, 1959, NASA announced the selection of America's first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton.

On this date:

In 1682, French explorer Robert de La Salle claimed the Mississippi River Basin for France.

In 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

In 1939, singer Marian Anderson performed a concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington after she was denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

In 1940, during World War II, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway.

In 1942, American and Philippine defenders on Bataan capitulated to Japanese forces; the surrender was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March which claimed thousands of lives.

In 1947, a series of tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas claimed 181 lives.

In 1959, American architect Frank Lloyd Wright died in Phoenix at age 91.

In 1965, the newly built Astrodome in Houston featured its first baseball game, an exhibition between the Astros and the New York Yankees. (The Astros won, 2-1, in 12 innings.)

In 1983, the Space Shuttle Challenger ended its first mission with a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1988, pro-Iranian Shiite Muslim hijackers who had seized a Kuwait Airways jetliner on April 5 killed one of their hostages as the plane sat on the ground in Larnaca, Cyprus.

Ten years ago: Niger's president, Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, was gunned down by members of his own Presidential Guard.

Five years ago: Four employees of Halliburton subsidiary KBR were killed in an attack on a fuel truck convoy near Baghdad; a U.S. soldier in the convoy, Sgt. Elmer Krause, was found dead weeks later. Four people went missing, including Army Specialist Keith M. Maupin, whose remains were found in 2008. The body of civilian truck driver Wiliam Bradley was found in January 2005; Thomas Hamill escaped his captors in May 2004; Timothy Bell remains unaccounted for.

One year ago: America's war commander in Iraq faced Congress for a second day; Army Gen. David Petraeus told lawmakers he was unlikely to endorse any fresh buildup of troops even if security in the country deteriorated. The Olympic torch was rerouted away from thousands of demonstrators and spectators who had crowded San Francisco's waterfront to witness the flame's symbolic journey to the Beijing Games during its only North American stop.

Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician Art Van Damme is 89. Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is 83. Naturalist Jim Fowler is 77. Actor Jean-Paul Belmondo is 76. Actress Michael Learned is 70. Country singer Margo Smith is 67. Country singer Hal Ketchum is 56. Actor Dennis Quaid is 55. Humorist Jimmy Tingle is 54. Golfer Severiano Ballesteros is 52. Country musician Dave Innis (Restless Heart) is 50. Actress-sports reporter Lisa Guerrero is 45. Actor Mark Pellegrino is 44. Actress-model Paulina Porizkova is 44. Actress Cynthia Nixon is 43. Rock singer Kevin Martin (Candlebox) is 40. Rock singer Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) is 32. Actress Keshia Knight Pulliam is 30. Football player Jeff Reed is 30. Rock musician Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes) is 29. Actor Ryan Northcott is 29. Actor Jay Baruchel is 27. Actor-singer Jesse McCartney is 22. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jazmine Sullivan is 22. Actress Kristen Stewart is 19. Actress Elle Fanning is 11.

Thought for Today: ``Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change.'' - Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect (1867-1959)

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 10-Apr-2009, 10:30 AM
QUOTE (Patch @ 09-Apr-2009, 06:18 PM)
Unofficially the Iraq war continues.

Therefore I wrote: officiary wink.gif

Today is Good Friday, April-10

What was happen in:

1849 The New Yorker Walter Hunt files a patent for the safety pin, that he contrived.

1979 In Vienna is opened the subway-station "Stephansplatz" (midst the city of Vienna)

1991 The very last car with the name "Wartburg" leaved the automobile manufactury in Eisenach/Thuringia (East-Germany). Cars with name "Wartburg" was made there since 1956.
(for better understanding check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wartburg_(car))

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: InRi 11-Apr-2009, 11:28 AM
Today is Saturday, April-11.

What was happen in

1963: Pope Johannes XXIII. publicized the peace encyclical "Pacem in terris". With this circular the pontifex the first time didn't accost the Catholics only but all "people of good will".

1979: The invasion of Tanzanian troops in Kampala finished the reign of terror by the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada which took eight years. During his reign lost nearly a half million people their life.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 11-Apr-2009, 11:59 AM


Today is Saturday, April 11, the 101st day of 2009. There are 264 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 blasted off on its ill-fated mission to the moon. (The astronauts managed to return safely).

On this date:

In 1689, William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain.

In 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated as Emperor of the French and was banished to the island of Elba.

In 1898, as tensions with Spain continued to rise, President William McKinley asked Congress to authorize military intervention in Cuba.

In 1899, the treaty ending the Spanish-American War was declared in effect.

In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the notorious Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald in Germany.

In 1951, President Harry S. Truman relieved Gen. Douglas MacArthur of his commands in the Far East.

In 1979, Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control.

In 1988, the hijackers of a Kuwait Airways jetliner killed a second hostage, dumping his body onto the ground in Larnaca, Cyprus.

In 1989, Mexican officials began unearthing the remains of victims of a drug-trafficking cult near Matamoros; one of the dead was University of Texas student Mark Kilroy, who had disappeared while on spring break. (Several cult members were later convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison.)

In 2001, ending a tense 11-day standoff, China agreed to free the 24 crew members of an American spy plane.

Ten years ago: The Justice Department reported that more than a third of the women in state prisons and jails said they were physically or sexually abused as children. Jose Maria Olazabal won the Masters by two shots over Davis Love III.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush defended his response to a briefing memo from August 2001 about possible terrorist plots against the United States, saying he was ``satisfied that some of the matters were being looked into'' and that there were no specific threats against New York and Washington. Pope John Paul II celebrated Easter Mass with calls for world leaders to resolve conflicts in Iraq, the Holy Land and Africa. Phil Mickelson's agonizing pursuit of a major ended at the Masters when he made an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

One year ago: Group of Seven financial officials meeting in Washington pledged to strengthen their regulation of banks and other financial institutions while anxiously hoping the credit crisis in the United States would be a short one. French troops captured six pirates after the pirates released 30 hostages who were aboard the French luxury yacht Le Ponant when it was seized off Somalia's coast.

Today's Birthdays: Former New York State Gov. Hugh Carey is 90. Ethel Kennedy is 81. Actor Johnny Sheffield is 78. Actor Joel Grey is 77. Actress Louise Lasser is 70. Syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman is 68. Movie writer-director John Milius is 65. Actor Peter Riegert is 62. Actor Meshach Taylor is 62. Movie director Carl Franklin is 60. Actor Bill Irwin is 59. Country singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is 52. Songwriter-producer Daryl Simmons is 52. Rock musician Nigel Pulsford is 48. Actor Lucky Vanous is 48. Country singer Steve Azar is 45. Singer Lisa Stansfield is 43. Rock musician Dylan Keefe (Marcy Playground) is 39. Actor Johnny Messner is 39. Actor Vicellous Shannon is 38. Rapper David Banner is 35. Actress Tricia Helfer is 35. Rock musician Chris Gaylor (The All-American Rejects) is 30. Singer Joss Stone is 22.

Thought for Today: ``We think in generalities, but we live in detail.'' - Alfred North Whitehead, British philosopher (1861-1947)

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 12-Apr-2009, 10:40 AM
Today is Easter Sunday, April 12, the 102nd day of 2009. There are 263 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began as Confederate forces bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

On this date:

In 1606, England's King James I decreed the design of the original Union Flag, which combined the flags of England and Scotland.

In 1877, the catcher's mask was first used in a baseball game, by James Tyng of Harvard in a game against the Lynn Live Oaks.

In 1908, fire devastated the city of Chelsea, Mass.

In 1934, ``Tender Is the Night'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first published in book form by Charles Scribner's Sons after being serialized in Scribner's Magazine.

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Ga., at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.

In 1955, the Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective.

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing.

In 1981, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on its first test flight.

In 1983, Chicagoans went to the polls to elect Harold Washington the city's first black mayor.

In 1989, former boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson died in Culver City, Calif., at age 67; radical activist Abbie Hoffman was found dead at his home in New Hope, Pa., at age 52.

Ten years ago: U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright cited President Bill Clinton for contempt of court, concluding that the president had lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky in a deposition in the Paula Jones case. A jury in Little Rock, Ark., acquitted Susan McDougal of obstructing Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's Whitewater inquiry and deadlocked on two other charges, causing a mistrial.

Five years ago: A federal judge allowed a nationwide ban on dietary supplements containing ephedra to take effect, turning aside a plea from two manufacturers. Abelardo Flores and Fatima Holloway pleaded guilty in Houston to taking part in a smuggling scheme that resulted in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants abandoned in a sweltering truck trailer. Barry Bonds hit his 660th home run to tie godfather Willie Mays for third on baseball's career list.

One year ago: Democrat Barack Obama conceded that comments he'd made privately during a fundraiser about bitter working class voters who ``cling to guns or religion'' were ill chosen. Boston College won the NCAA hockey championship, 4-1, over Notre Dame. The United States won its second women's world hockey championship, upsetting Canada 4-3 in Harbin, China.

Today's Birthdays: Country singer Ned Miller is 84. Actress Jane Withers is 83. Opera singer Montserrat Caballe is 76. Actor Charles Napier is 73. Jazz musician Herbie Hancock is 69. Actor Frank Bank (``Leave It to Beaver'') is 67. Rock singer John Kay (Steppenwolf) is 65. Actor Ed O'Neill is 63. Author Tom Clancy is 62. Actor Dan Lauria is 62. Talk show host David Letterman is 62. Author Scott Turow is 60. Singer David Cassidy is 59. Actor-playwright Tom Noonan is 58. Rhythm-and-blues singer JD Nicholas (The Commodores) is 57. Singer Pat Travers is 55. Actor Andy Garcia is 53. Movie director Walter Salles is 53. Country singer Vince Gill is 52. Actress Suzzanne (cq) Douglas is 52. Rock musician Will Sergeant (Echo & the Bunnymen) is 51. Rock singer Art Alexakis (Everclear) is 47. Country singer Deryl Dodd is 45. Folk-pop singer Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) is 45. Actress Alicia Coppola is 41. Rock singer Nicholas Hexum (311) is 39. Actor Nicholas Brendon is 38. Actress Shannen Doherty is 38. Actress Marley Shelton is 35. Actress Jordana Spiro is 32. Rock musician Guy Berryman (Coldplay) is 31. Actress Claire Danes is 30. Actress Jennifer Morrison is 30. Rock singer-musician Brendon Urie (Panic at the Disco) is 22. Actress Saoirse Ronan (``Atonement'') is 15.

Thought for Today: ``Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are.'' - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945)

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 13-Apr-2009, 06:34 PM
Today is Monday, April 13, the 103rd day of 2009. There are 262 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 13, 1743, the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was born in Shadwell, Va.

On this date:

In 1598, King Henry IV of France endorsed the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to the Protestant Huguenots. (The edict was abrogated in 1685 by King Louis XIV, who declared France entirely Catholic again.)

In 1742, Handel's ``Messiah'' was first performed publicly in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in New York. (The original museum opened in 1872.)

In 1909, author Eudora Welty was born in Jackson, Miss.

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial.

In 1958, American pianist Van Cliburn, 23, won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award, for ``Lilies of the Field.''

In 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)

In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited the Great Synagogue of Rome in the first recorded papal visit of its kind to a Jewish house of worship.

In 1992, the Great Chicago Flood took place as the city's century-old tunnel system and adjacent basements filled with water from the Chicago River.

Ten years ago: Right-to-die advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder in the lethal injection of a Lou Gehrig's disease patient. (Kevorkian ended up serving eight years.)

Five years ago: Conceding a couple of ``tough weeks in Iraq,'' President George W. Bush signaled he was ready to put more American troops on the front lines and use decisive force if necessary to restore order despite ``gut-wrenching'' televised images of fallen Americans. Barry Bonds hit his 661st homer, passing Willie Mays to take sole possession of third place on baseball's career list. Swimmer Michael Phelps won the 2003 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete.

One year ago: World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged immediate action to deal with mounting food prices that had caused hunger and deadly violence in several countries. Trevor Immelman won the Masters, becoming the first South African to wear a green jacket in 30 years. A construction worker's bid to curse the New York Yankees by planting a Boston Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled when the home team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot. Physicist John A. Wheeler, who coined the term ``black holes,'' died in Hightstown, N.J., at age 96.

Today's Birthdays: Movie director Stanley Donen is 85. Former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., is 76. Actor Lyle Waggoner is 74. Actor Edward Fox is 72. Playwright Lanford Wilson is 72. Actor Paul Sorvino is 70. Movie and TV composer Bill Conti is 67. Rock musician Jack Casady is 65. Actor Tony Dow is 64. Singer Al Green is 63. Actor Ron Perlman is 59. Actor William Sadler is 59. Singer Peabo Bryson is 58. ``Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' bandleader/rock musician Max Weinberg is 58. Bluegrass singer-musician Sam Bush is 57. Rock musician Jimmy Destri is 55. Singer-musician Louis Johnson (The Brothers Johnson) is 54. Comedian Gary Kroeger is 52. Actress Saundra Santiago is 52. Rock musician Joey Mazzola (Sponge) is 48. Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov is 46. Actress Page Hannah is 45. Actress-comedian Caroline Rhea is 45. Rock musician Lisa Umbarger is 44. Rock musician Marc Ford is 43. Reggae singer Capleton is 42. Actor Ricky Schroder is 39. Rock singer Aaron Lewis (Staind) is 37. Actor Bokeem Woodbine is 36. Singer Lou Bega is 34. Actor-producer Glenn Howerton is 33. Basketball player Baron Davis is 30. Actress Courtney Peldon is 28. Pop singer Nellie McKay is 27.

Thought for Today: ``The excursion is the same when you go looking for your sorrow as when you go looking for your joy.''

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 14-Apr-2009, 01:05 PM
some more today's highlights in history:

April-14 in:

754: In the treaty of Quierzy the Frankish king Pippin promised to give the town of Ravenna to Pope Stephan II. This gift is the basement for the Papal states.

1759: The composer G.F. Händel passed away in his house in the London Brook street. He wrote down 40 operas and 25 oratorios (among other the "Messiah")

1919: The Austrian (Ex-) emperor Karl and his family leaved the castle Eckertsau and went to exile to Switzerland.

1929: In Monaco the first time happend a car racing for the Grand Prix of Monaco.

1939: By the so called "Ostmark-law" were liquidated the Austrian Federal Lands and changed into (German) "Reichsgau"-areas.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 15-Apr-2009, 06:49 AM
Today is Wednesday, April 15, the 105th day of 2009. There are 260 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

In the early hours of April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. Some 1,500 people died.

On this date:

In 1817, the first American school for the deaf opened in Hartford, Conn.

In 1850, the city of San Francisco was incorporated.

In 1861, three days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina, President Abraham Lincoln declared a state of insurrection and called out Union troops.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln died, several hours after being shot at Ford's Theater in Washington by John Wilkes Booth. Andrew Johnson became the nation's 17th president.

In 1945, during World War II, British and Canadian troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson, baseball's first black major league player, made his official debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day. (The Dodgers defeated the Boston Braves, 5-3.)

In 1959, Cuban leader Fidel Castro arrived in Washington to begin a goodwill tour of the United States. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles resigned for health reasons. (He was succeeded by Christian A. Herter).

In 1986, the United States launched an air raid against Libya in response to the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin on April 5th; Libya said 37 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

In 1989, 96 people died in a crush of soccer fans at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. Students in Beijing launched a series of pro-democracy protests; the demonstrations culminated in a government crackdown at Tiananmen Square.

In 1998, Pol Pot, the notorious leader of the Khmer Rouge, died at age 73, evading prosecution for the deaths of 2 million Cambodians.

Ten years ago: A gunman opened fire at the Mormon Family History Library in Salt Lake City, killing two people and wounding four others before being shot to death by police.

Five years ago: In a videotape, a man identifying himself as Osama bin Laden offered a ``truce'' to European countries that did not attack Muslims, saying it would begin when their soldiers left Islamic nations. Iraqi militants freed three Japanese hostages after holding them about a week. In the finale to the first edition of the NBC reality show ``The Apprentice,'' Donald Trump ``hired'' Bill Rancic over Kwame Jackson during a segment that was telecast live.

One year ago: Pope Benedict XVI stepped onto U.S. soil for the first time as pontiff as he was greeted at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington by President George W. Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna. Bombings blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq tore through market areas in Baghdad and outside the capital, killing nearly 60 people. Actress Hazel Court, who'd costarred with Boris Karloff and Vincent Price in horror movies of the 1950s and '60s, died near Lake Tahoe, Calif., at age 82.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Michael Ansara is 87. Country singer Roy Clark is 76. Rock singer-guitarist Dave Edmunds is 65. Actress Lois Chiles is 62. Writer-producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason is 62. Actress Amy Wright is 59. Columnist Heloise is 58. Actress-screenwriter Emma Thompson is 50. Bluegrass musician Jeff Parker is 48. Singer Samantha Fox is 43. Rock musician Ed O'Brien (Radiohead) is 41. Actor Flex Alexander is 39. Actor Danny Pino is 35. Actor-writer Seth Rogen is 27. Actress Alice Braga is 26. Rock musician De'Mar Hamilton (Plain White T's) is 25. Football player Antonio Cromartie is 25. Actress Emma Watson is 19

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 15-Apr-2009, 11:55 AM
Hi Patch,

two of my points you wrote down already - but one I still have:

April-15 in 1951: In Imst/Tyrol (Austria) Hermann Gmeiner founded the first SOS-Children's Village. The house obtained the name "Peace". The organization SOS-Children's Village is active today in 132 countries worldwide.
If you're interested, watch also the http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/pages/default.aspx too.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 16-Apr-2009, 06:54 AM
Today is Thursday, April 16, the 106th day of 2009. There are 259 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 16, 1789, President-elect George Washington left Mount Vernon, Va., for his inauguration in New York.

On this date:

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia.

In 1879, St. Bernadette, who'd described seeing visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, died in Nevers, France.

In 1912, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

In 1917, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returned to Russia after years of exile.

In 1935, the radio comedy program ``Fibber McGee and Molly'' premiered on the NBC Blue Network.

In 1947, the French ship Grandcamp blew up at the harbor in Texas City, Texas; another ship, the High Flyer, exploded the following day. The blasts and resulting fires killed nearly 600 people.

In 1962, Walter Cronkite succeeded Douglas Edwards as anchorman of ``The CBS Evening News.''

In 1972, Apollo 16 blasted off on a voyage to the moon.

In 1996, Britain's Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah, the Duchess of York, announced they were in the process of getting a divorce.

In 2007, in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech before taking his own life.

Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton defended NATO airstrikes against Serbian targets during visits to Michigan and Massachusetts, saying U.S. involvement in Kosovo was a moral imperative. Wayne Gretzky announced his retirement from hockey.

Five years ago: Videotape broadcast on the Arab TV station Al-Jazeera showed Army Pfc. Keith M. Maupin, abducted during an attack on a fuel truck convoy near Baghdad a week earlier. (Arab television reported June 29th, 2004, that Maupin had been killed; his remains were recovered last year.) President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, meeting in Washington, endorsed giving the United Nations broad control over Iraq's political future.

One year ago: The Supreme Court upheld the most widely used method of lethal injection, allowing states to resume executions after a seven-month halt. Pope Benedict XVI was welcomed by President George W. Bush as only the second pope to visit the White House and the first in 29 years. Mathematician-meteorologist Edward Lorenz, the father of ``chaos theory,'' died in Cambridge, Mass., at age 90.

Today's Birthdays: Pope Benedict XVI is 82. Actor Peter Mark Richman is 82. Singer Bobby Vinton is 74. Denmark's Queen Margrethe II is 69. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 62. Singer Gerry Rafferty is 62. Football coach Bill Belichick is 57. Rock singer-turned-politician Peter Garrett is 56. Actress Ellen Barkin is 55. Rock musician Jason Scheff (Chicago) is 47. Singer Jimmy Osmond is 46. Rock singer David Pirner (Soul Asylum) is 45. Actor-comedian Martin Lawrence is 44. Actor Jon Cryer is 44. Rock musician Dan Rieser is 43. Actor Peter Billingsley is 38. Actor Lukas Haas is 33.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 16-Apr-2009, 11:52 AM
...some more today's highlights in history:

April-16 in

1521: Martin Luther arrived in Worms. He shall - after the intercession by Elector Friedrich III. of Saxony - explain and plead his theses in front of the Diet of Worms within the following two days once more.
For further informations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther

1947: The American politician Bernard Baruch used the term "cold war" first time within a speech to a major audience and manifest it thereby.

1964: The Austrian Federal President Adolf Schärf opened the "Viennese International horticultural show" and also the 252m high "Danube-Tower". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donauturm are some informations about the tower

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 18-Apr-2009, 05:11 PM
Today is Saturday, April 18, the 108th day of 2009. There are 257 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: On April 18, 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires; estimates of the final death toll range between 3,000 and 6,000.

On this date: In 1775, Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Mass., warning American colonists that the British were coming.

In 1907, San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel opened, a year to the day after the earthquake.

In 1934, 75 years ago, the first laundromat (called a ``washateria'') opened, in Fort Worth, Texas.

In 1942, an air squadron from the USS Hornet led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities.

In 1945, famed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, 44, was killed by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima, off Okinawa.

In 1946, the League of Nations went out of business. In 1949, the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed.

In 1978, the Senate approved the Panama Canal Treaty, providing for the complete turnover of control of the waterway to Panama on the last day of 1999.

In 1980, the independent nation of Zimbabwe, formerly Zimbabwe Rhodesia, came into being.

In 1983, 63 people, including 17 Americans, were killed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, by a suicide bomber.

Ten years ago: NATO launched its most active day of airstrikes in its assault on Yugoslavia, pummeling refineries, bridges and dozens of other targets in the 25th straight day of attacks. Wayne Gretzky played his last National Hockey League game as his New York Rangers lost to Pittsburgh 2-1 in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

Five years ago: Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero ordered a withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq, fulfilling a campaign pledge and trying to calm his uneasy nation after bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid.

One year ago: Addressing the United Nations, Pope Benedict XVI said international cooperation needed to solve urgent problems was ``in crisis'' because decisions rested in the hands of a few powerful nations. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gave birth to her fifth child, a son named Trig.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Barbara Hale is 88. Actor Clive Revill is 79. Actor James Drury is 75. Actor Robert Hooks is 72. Actress Hayley Mills is 63. Actor James Woods is 62. Actress-director Dorothy Lyman is 62. Actress Cindy Pickett is 62. Country musician Walt Richmond (The Tractors) is 62. Country musician Jim Scholten (Sawyer Brown) is 57. Actor Rick Moranis is 56. Actress Melody Thomas Scott is 53. Actor Eric Roberts is 53. Actor John James is 53. Rock musician Les Pattinson (Echo and the Bunnymen) is 51. Author-journalist Susan Faludi is 50. Actress Mary Birdsong is 48. Actress Jane Leeves is 48. Talk show host Conan O'Brien is 46. Bluegrass singer-musician Terry Eldredge is 46. Actor Eric McCormack is 46. Actress Maria Bello is 42. Rock musician Greg Eklund (The Oolahs) is 39. Actor David Tennant is 38. Country musician Marvin Evatt is 35. Rhythm-and-blues singer Trina (Trina and Tamara) is 35. Actress Melissa Joan Hart is 33. Actor Sean Maguire is 33. Actress America Ferrera is 25. Actress Alia Shawkat is 20. Actor Moises Arias (``Hannah Montana'') is 15.

Thought for Today: ``Imagination is more important than knowledge.'' - Albert Einstein (1879-1955).

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 19-Apr-2009, 12:16 AM
Today is Sunday, April 19, the 108th day of 2009. There are 256 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 19, 1775, the American Revolutionary War began with the battles of Lexington and Concord.

On this date:

In 1897, the first Boston Marathon was held; winner John J. McDermott ran the course in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds.

In 1933, the United States went off the gold standard.

In 1939, Connecticut became the last of the original 13 colonies to ratify the Bill of Rights, 147 years after it took effect.

In 1943, during World War II, tens of thousands of Jews living in the Warsaw Ghetto began a valiant but futile battle against Nazi forces.

In 1951, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, relieved of his Far East command by President Harry S. Truman, bid farewell in an address to Congress in which he quoted a line from a ballad: ``Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.''

In 1982, astronauts Sally K. Ride and Guion S. Bluford Jr. became the first woman and first African-American to be tapped for U.S. space missions.

In 1989, 47 sailors were killed when a gun turret exploded aboard the USS Iowa in the Caribbean. (The Navy initially suspected that a dead crew member, Clayton Hartwig, had deliberately sparked the blast, but later said there was no proof of that.)

In 1989, Trisha Meili, a jogger in New York's Central Park, was brutally beaten and raped. (Five teenagers were convicted of the crime; all served prison time. But they were cleared in 2002 after another man, Matias Reyes, confessed.)

In 1993, the 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ended as fire destroyed the structure after federal agents began smashing their way in; dozens of people, including leader David Koresh, were killed.

In 1995, a truck bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. (Timothy McVeigh was later convicted of federal murder charges and executed.)

Ten years ago: The German parliament inaugurated its new home in the restored Reichstag in Berlin, its prewar capital. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a federal law aimed at limiting e-mail smut did not violate free-speech rights. Joseph Chebet of Kenya won the Boston Marathon, in 2 hours, nine minutes, 52 seconds; Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia won the women's race in 2 hours, 23 minutes, 25 seconds.

Five years ago: A Russian rocket soared into space carrying an American, a Russian and a Dutchman to the international space station on the third manned mission since the halt of the U.S. shuttle program. Catherine Ndereba won the Boston Marathon for the third time, finishing in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 27 seconds; Timothy Cherigat won the men's race in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 37 seconds to complete a Kenyan sweep.

One year ago: President George W. Bush wrapped up two days of talks at Camp David with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. A Russian capsule carrying South Korea's first astronaut, Yi So-yeon, touched down 260 miles off target in northern Kazakhstan after hurtling through the atmosphere in a bone-jarring descent from the international space station.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Hugh O'Brian is 84. Actress Elinor Donahue is 72. Rock musician Alan Price (The Animals) is 67. Actor Tim Curry is 63. Pop singer Mark ``Flo'' Volman (The Turtles; Flo and Eddie) is 62. Actor Tony Plana (``Ugly Betty'') is 57. Former tennis player Sue Barker is 53. Recording executive Suge Knight is 44. Singer-songwriter Dar Williams is 42. Actress Ashley Judd is 41. Singer Bekka Bramlett is 41. Latin pop singer Luis Miguel is 39. Jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux is 35. Actor James Franco is 31. Actress Kate Hudson is 30. Actor Hayden Christensen is 28. Actress Catalina Sandino Moreno is 28. Actor Courtland Mead is 22. Tennis player Maria Sharapova is 22.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 20-Apr-2009, 10:51 AM
Today is Monday, April-20-2009.

What happened on April-20 in

1887: In France happened the first car racing worldwide. The Route was gone from Paris to Versailles and the victorious Steam-tricycle! The reached average speed was 23 km/h (14 mph).

1999: During a gun rampage on the Columbine High School in Littleton/Colorado died 12 pupils (14-18 years) one teacher and the both culprits Dylan Klebold (17) and Eric Harris (18).

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: InRi 21-Apr-2009, 11:11 AM
Today is Tuesday April-21-2009.

What was happend on April-21 in

1509: Henry VIII. , the founder of the Anglican National Church became King of England and followed his late father Henry VII. who was founder of the Tudor-dynasty.

1856: Stonemasons and building workers eked out in Melbourne (Australia) the worldwide first eight-hour-day.

1944: The exile government of free France enacted per decret the voting right for women, which realized after the victory in WWII.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: InRi 22-Apr-2009, 12:15 PM
Today is Wednesday, April-22-2009.

What was happened on April-21 in

1401: A Hanseatic league armada conquered the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victual_Brothers in a naval battle ahead Helgoland (North Sea). The leader of the pirates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_St%C3%B6rtebeker has been placed to the Hanseatic flagship "Bunte Kuh" (Checkered Cow).

1964: The New York World Exhibition was opened below the giant globe "Unisphere".

1994: The Norwegian Boerge Ousland arrived as the first human after a march of 52 days alone and by foot the North Pole.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: InRi 23-Apr-2009, 12:01 PM
Today is Thursday, April-23-2009.

What was happened on April-23 in

1909:The Italian Isotta Fraschini engineers the first fully functional front-wheel-brake for cars. His company built racing-cars and luxury cars such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotta_Fraschini_Tipo_8.

1929: The theater director Max Reinhardt opened in Vienna (Austria) the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Reinhardt_Seminar with a four years training.

1990: A popular vote (76% majority) entailed the re-naming of Karl-Marx-Stadt (Karl-Marx-City) to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemnitz.

For further informations use the links.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 23-Apr-2009, 01:07 PM
My source appears to have dried up!

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 25-Apr-2009, 08:20 AM
Today is Saturday, April 25, the 115th day of 2009. There are 250 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 25, 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany's defenses.

On this date:

In 1507, German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller named a huge land mass in the Western Hemisphere ``America,'' in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci.

In 1792, highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier became the first person under French law to be executed by the guillotine.

In 1859, ground was broken for the Suez Canal.

In 1898, the United States formally declared war on Spain.

In 1901, New York Gov. Benjamin Barker Odell Junior signed an automobile registration bill which imposed a 15 mph speed limit on highways.

In 1915, during World War I, Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Ottoman Empire out of the war.

In 1945, delegates from some 50 countries met in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.

In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping.

In 1983, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov invited Samantha Smith to visit his country after receiving a letter in which the Manchester, Maine, schoolgirl expressed fears about nuclear war.

In 1990, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was inaugurated as president of Nicaragua, ending 11 years of leftist Sandinista rule.

Ten years ago: On the third and final day of their Washington summit, NATO leaders promised military protection and economic aid to Yugoslavia's neighbors for standing with the West against Slobodan Milosevic. More than 70,000 mourners gathered in Littleton, Colo., to remember the victims of the Columbine High School massacre. Lord Killanin, former president of the International Olympic Committee, died in Dublin at age 84.

Five years ago: Hundreds of thousands of abortion-rights supporters marched in Washington, D.C. to protest Bush administration policies.

One year ago: Three New York police detectives were acquitted in the 50-shot killing of Sean Bell, an unarmed groom-to-be, on his wedding day. Triathlete David Martin, 66, was killed by a great white shark in the waters off San Diego County.

Today's Birthdays: Movie director-writer Paul Mazursky is 79. Songwriter Jerry Leiber is 76. Actor Al Pacino is 69. Rock musician Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 64. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA) is 64. Actress Talia Shire is 63. Actor Jeffrey DeMunn is 62. Rock musician Michael Brown (The Left Banke) is 60. Rock musician Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 59. Country singer-songwriter Rob Crosby is 55. Actor Hank Azaria is 45. Rock singer Andy Bell (Erasure) is 45. Rock musician Eric Avery (Jane's Addiction) is 44. Country musician Rory Feek (Joey + Rory) is 44. TV personality Jane Clayson is 42. Actress Renee Zellweger is 40. Actress Gina Torres is 40. Actor Jason Lee is 39. Actor Jason Wiles is 39. Actress Emily Bergl is 34. Actress Marguerite Moreau is 32. Singer Jacob Underwood is 29. Actress Sara Paxton is 21

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 25-Apr-2009, 11:15 AM
One I have yet:

1974: In Portugal started the "carnations revolution" which stopped a 44 years dictatorship in this land.

QUOTE (Patch @ 25-Apr-2009, 03:20 PM)
On April 25, 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany's defenses.

In every year happens in Torgau (the town near the place where linked the forces) a great festivity in memorian this ongoing. Lots of people every year gather near the Torgau Elbe bridge to commemorate and celebrate by the slogan "down by the riverside". Over the years more and more people come to Torgau to experience this day there. A couple of years I lived near Torgau and of course I was very often there...
By the way, did you know that one of the involved American soldiers (Joe Polowsky) is buried in Torgau?
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Elbe-Day somebody made a wonderful videoclip. Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY4eWUstWHs.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 26-Apr-2009, 02:58 AM
Today is Sunday, April 26, the 116th day of 2009. There are 249 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 26, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, was surrounded by federal troops near Bowling Green, Va., and killed.

On this date:

In 1607, English colonists went ashore at present-day Cape Henry, Va., on an expedition to establish the first permanent English settlement in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1909, Abdul Hamid II was deposed as sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1937, planes from Nazi Germany raided the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

In 1945, Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, the head of France's Vichy government during World War II, was arrested.

In 1964, the African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania.

In 1968, the United States exploded beneath the Nevada desert a 1.3 megaton nuclear device called ``Boxcar.''

In 1970, the Stephen Sondheim musical ``Company'' opened at the Alvin Theatre in New York.

In 1986, the world's worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union.

In 1989, actress-comedian Lucille Ball died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at age 77.

In 2000, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean signed the nation's first bill allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions.

Ten years ago: The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Cornelio Sommaruga, met with three U.S. soldiers held captive by Yugoslavia. BBC anchorwoman Jill Dando, host of a crime-fighting program, was fatally shot on the steps of her London home. (Barry George was convicted in July 2001 of killing Dando; however, he was acquitted in a retrial.)

Five years ago: Following conservative criticism of his anti-war activities during the Vietnam era, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry accused President George W. Bush of failing to prove whether he'd fulfilled his commitment to the National Guard during the same period. The government unveiled its new, colorized $50 bill. Author Hubert Selby Jr. died in Los Angeles at age 75.

One year ago: Police in Austria arrested Josef Fritzl, freeing his daughter Elisabeth and her six children, whom he had fathered while holding her captive in a cellar for 24 years. (Fritzl was later sentenced to life in a psychiatric ward.) Yossi Harel, the ship commander whose attempt to bring Holocaust survivors to Palestine aboard the Exodus 1947 built support for Israel's founding, died in Tel Aviv at age 90. Avant-garde composer Henry Brant died in Santa Barbara, Calif., at age 94.

Today's Birthdays: Actress-comedian Carol Burnett is 76. R&B singer Maurice Williams is 71. Songwriter-musician Duane Eddy is 71. Singer Bobby Rydell is 67. Rock musician Gary Wright is 66. Actor Giancarlo Esposito is 51. Rock musician Roger Taylor (Duran Duran) is 49. Actress Joan Chen is 48. Rock musician Chris Mars is 48. Actor-singer Michael Damian is 47. Actor Jet Li is 46. Rock musician Jimmy Stafford (Train) is 45. Actor-comedian Kevin James is 44. Actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste is 42. Country musician Joe Caverlee (Yankee Grey) is 41. Rapper T-Boz (TLC) is 39. Country musician Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flats) is 38. Country musician Michael Jeffers (Pinmonkey) is 37. Rock musician Jose Pasillas (Incubus) is 33. Actor Jason Earles (``Hannah Montana'') is 32. Actor Tom Welling is 32. Actress Jordana Brewster is 29. Actress Marnette Patterson is 29. Actor Channing Tatum is 29. Actor Aaron Weeks is 23.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 27-Apr-2009, 03:23 AM
Today is Monday, April 27, the 117th day of 2009. There are 248 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

Five hundred years ago, on April 27, 1509, Pope Julius II placed the Republic of Venice under an interdict following its refusal to give up lands claimed by the Papal States. (The pope lifted the sanction the following year.)

On this date:

In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.

In 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1805, during the First Barbary War, an U.S.-led force of Marines and mercenaries captured the city of Derna, on the shores of Tripoli, Libya.

In 1822, the 18th president of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio.

In 1865, the steamer Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn., killing more than 1,400 people, mostly freed Union prisoners of war.

In 1932, American poet Hart Crane, 32, drowned after jumping from a steamer into the Gulf of Mexico while en route to New York.

In 1965, broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow died in Pawling, N.Y., two days after turning 57.

In 1967, Expo '67 was officially opened in Montreal by Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.

In 1973, acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray resigned after it was revealed that he had handed over bureau files on the Watergate burglary to the Nixon White House.

In 1978, convicted Watergate defendant John D. Ehrlichman was released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months. Fifty-one construction workers plunged to their deaths when a scaffold inside a cooling tower at the Pleasants Power Station site in West Virginia fell 168 feet to the ground.

Ten years ago: A week after the Columbine High School massacre, President Bill Clinton called for new gun control measures, saying, ``People's lives are at stake here.'' Jazz trumpeter Al Hirt died in New Orleans at 76.

Five years ago: Iraqi police moved into the streets of the besieged city of Fallujah following hours of pounding by U.S. warplanes and artillery on Sunni insurgents. A ruptured pipeline began spilling 123,774 gallons of diesel fuel into Suisun Bay, east of San Francisco. Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania beat back a tough primary threat, barely defeating conservative Congressman Pat Toomey.

One year ago: Afghan President Hamid Karzai escaped an attempt on his life during a ceremony in Kabul marking Afghanistan's victory over Soviet occupation in the 1980s; three other people were killed in the shooting. Ashley Force, 25, became the first woman to win a national Funny Car race. She beat her father, drag-racing icon John Force, in the final round of the 28th annual Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Jack Klugman is 87. Actress Anouk Aimee is 77. Announcer Casey Kasem is 77. Actress Judy Carne is 70. R&B singer Cuba Gooding Sr. is 65. Singer Ann Peebles is 62. Rock singer Kate Pierson (The B-52's) is 61. R&B singer Herbie Murrell (The Stylistics) is 60. Actor Douglas Sheehan is 60. Rock musician Ace Frehley is 58. Pop singer Sheena Easton is 50. Actor James Le Gros is 47. Rock musician Rob Squires (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) is 44. Singer Mica Paris is 40. Actress Sally Hawkins is 33. Rock singer-musician Travis Meeks (Days of the New) is 30. Actress Ari Graynor is 26. Rock singer-musician Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy) is 25. Actor William Moseley is 22.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 28-Apr-2009, 03:15 AM
Today is Tuesday, April 28, the 118th day of 2009. There are 247 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 28, 1789, there was a mutiny on HMS Bounty as the crew of the British ship set Capt. William Bligh and 18 sailors adrift in a launch in the South Pacific. (Bligh and most of the men with him managed to reach Timor in 47 days.)

On this date:

In 1758, the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, was born in Westmoreland County, Va.

In 1788, Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1918, Gavrilo Princip, the assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the archduke's wife, Sophie, died in prison of tuberculosis.

In 1945, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were executed by Italian partisans as they attempted to flee the country.

In 1952, war with Japan officially ended as a treaty signed in San Francisco the year before took effect.

In 1958, the United States conducted the first of 35 nuclear test explosions in the Pacific Proving Ground as part of Operation Hardtack I. Vice President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, began a goodwill tour of Latin America that was marred by hostile mobs in Lima, Peru, and Caracas, Venezuela.

In 1967, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the Army, the same day Gen. William C. Westmoreland told Congress the U.S. ``would prevail in Vietnam.''

In 1969, French President Charles de Gaulle resigned. (He was succeeded by Georges Pompidou.)

In 1988, a flight attendant was killed and more than 60 people injured when part of the roof of an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 tore off during a flight from Hilo to Honolulu.

In 1996, a man armed with a semiautomatic rifle opened fire on tourists on the Australian island of Tasmania, killing 35 people; Martin Bryant was captured by police after a 12-hour standoff at a guest cottage. (Bryant is serving a life sentence.)

Ten years ago: In a sharp repudiation of President Bill Clinton's policies, the House rejected, on a tie vote of 213-213, a measure expressing support for NATO's five-week-old air campaign against Yugoslavia; the House also voted 249-180 to limit the president's authority to use ground forces in Yugoslavia. Actor Rory Calhoun died in Burbank, Calif., at 76.

Five years ago: First photos of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal were shown on CBS' ``60 Minutes II.'' A Spanish judge indicted Amer Azizi, a Moroccan fugitive, on charges of helping to plan the Sept. 11th hijackings. The U.N. Security Council put terrorists, black marketeers and crooked scientists on notice that they faced punishment for trafficking in weapons of mass destruction. Cable giant Comcast Corp. dropped its two-month-old unsolicited bid for The Walt Disney Co.

One year ago: The first tax rebates were direct-deposited into bank accounts from a $168 billion stimulus package. In a defiant appearance at the National Press Club in Washington, Democrat Barack Obama's longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, said criticism surrounding his fiery sermons was an attack on black churches, and he rejected those who'd labeled him unpatriotic.

Today's Birthdays: Author Harper Lee is 83. Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III is 79. Actress-singer Ann-Margret is 68. Actress Marcia Strassman is 61. Actor Paul Guilfoyle (``CSI'') is 60. ``Tonight Show'' host Jay Leno is 59. Rock musician Chuck Leavell is 57. Actress Mary McDonnell is 56. Rock singer-musician Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) is 56. Rapper Too Short is 43. Actress Simbi Khali is 38. Actress Bridget Moynahan is 38. Actor Chris Young is 38. Rapper Big Gipp is 36. Actor Jorge Garcia is 36. Actress Elisabeth Rohm is 36. Actress Penelope Cruz is 35. Football player Jamal Williams is 33. Actor Nate Richert is 31. Actress Jessica Alba is 28. Actress Aleisha Allen is 18.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 28-Apr-2009, 11:06 AM
There are two more...

April-28 in

1939: Germany cancelled the non-aggression-pact with Poland and the German-British naval pact.

1994: The Protestant-Luthern pastor Mrs. Gertraud Knoll became the first female superintendent of the Protestant-Lutheran church in Austria.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 29-Apr-2009, 08:49 AM
Today is Wednesday, April 29, the 119th day of 2009. There are 246 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 29, 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp; the same day, Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun and designated Adm. Karl Doenitz president.
GOOGLE INC
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On this date:

In 1429, Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a French victory over the English.

In 1798, Joseph Haydn's oratorio ``The Creation'' was rehearsed in Vienna, Austria, before an invited audience.

In 1861, Maryland's House of Delegates voted against seceding from the Union.

In 1901, Japanese Emperor Hirohito was born in Tokyo.

In 1916, the Easter Rising in Dublin collapsed as Irish nationalists surrendered to British authorities.

In 1946, 28 former Japanese officials went on trial in Tokyo as war criminals; seven ended up being sentenced to death.

In 1968, the counterculture musical ``Hair'' opened on Broadway following limited engagements off-Broadway.

In 1974, President Richard M. Nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of some secretly made White House tape recordings related to Watergate.

In 1983, Harold Washington was sworn in as the first black mayor of Chicago.

In 1992, deadly rioting erupted in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley, Calif., acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King.

Ten years ago: Yugoslavia filed World Court cases against 10 alliance members, including the United States, claiming their bombing campaign breached international law. (The World Court ended up rejecting Yugoslavia's request for an immediate cease-fire.) The Rev. Jesse Jackson arrived in Belgrade on a mission to win freedom for three American POWs held by Yugoslavia.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney met behind closed doors with the Sept. 11th commission. A national monument to the 16 million U.S. men and women who'd served during World War II opened to the public in Washington, D.C. Internet search engine leader Google Inc. filed its long-awaited IPO plans.

One year ago: Democrat Barack Obama angrily denounced his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for what he termed ``divisive and destructive'' remarks on race. Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, the discoverer of LSD, died in Burg im Leimental, Switzerland, at 102.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Celeste Holm is 92. R&B singer Carl Gardner (The Coasters) is 81. Poet Rod McKuen is 76. Actor Keith Baxter is 76. Bluesman Otis Rush is 75. Conductor Zubin Mehta is 73. Pop singer Bob Miranda (The Happenings) is 67. Country singer Duane Allen (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 66. Singer Tommy James is 62. Movie director Phillip Noyce is 59. Country musician Wayne Secrest (Confederate Railroad) is 59. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 55. Actor Leslie Jordan is 54. Actress Kate Mulgrew is 54. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 52. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer is 51. Actress Eve Plumb is 51. Rock musician Phil King is 49. Country singer Stephanie Bentley is 46. Singer Carnie Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 41. Actress Uma Thurman is 39. Tennis player Andre Agassi is 39. Rapper Master P is 39. Country singer James Bonamy is 37. Gospel/R&B singer Erica Campbell (Mary Mary) is 37. Rock musician Mike Hogan (The Cranberries) is 36. Actor Tyler Labine is 31. Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris is 26. Actor Zane Carney is 24.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 29-Apr-2009, 09:55 AM
One I have yet:

April-29 in

1991: The Bangladesh-cyclone impact with a windspeed of 260km/h (161mph) the South-East of Bangladesh. The cyclone breed a 6 m (19 ft) high flood wave - 138.000 people die, 10 million people become homeless.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 30-Apr-2009, 04:47 AM

Today is Thursday, April 30, the 120th day of 2009. There are 245 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

One hundred and fifty years ago, on April 30, 1859, the Charles Dickens novel ``A Tale of Two Cities'' was first published in serial form in the premiere issue of All the Year Round, a literary magazine owned by Dickens. (The novel was presented in 31 weekly installments.)

On this date:

In 1789, George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States.

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million.

In 1812, Louisiana became the 18th state of the Union.

In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened in St. Louis.

In 1909, Juliana, queen of the Netherlands from 1948 to 1980, was born in The Hague.

In 1939, the New York World's Fair officially opened with a ceremony that included an address by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1945, as Russian troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun.

In 1948, the Charter of the Organization of American States was signed in Bogota, Colombia.

In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon announced the U.S. was sending troops into Cambodia, an action that sparked widespread protest.

In 1973, Nixon announced the resignations of top aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, along with Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean.

Ten years ago: A bomb exploded at a gay pub in London, killing three people and injuring more than 70. (David Copeland, a white supremacist, was later convicted of murder for a series of bombings in London and sentenced to six life sentences.) The Rev. Jesse Jackson met with each of the three U.S. soldiers being held prisoner by Yugoslavia.

Five years ago: Arabs expressed outrage at graphic photographs of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by U.S. military police; President George W. Bush condemned the mistreatment of prisoners, saying ``that's not the way we do things in America.'' On ABC's ``Nightline,'' Ted Koppel read aloud the names of 721 U.S. servicemen and women killed in the Iraq war (the Sinclair Broadcast Group refused to air the program on seven ABC stations). Michael Jackson pleaded not-guilty in Santa Maria, Calif., to a grand jury indictment that expanded the child molestation case against him. (Jackson was acquitted at trial.) Former NBA star Jayson Williams was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in the shotgun slaying of a limousine driver at his New Jersey mansion, but found guilty of trying to cover up the shooting. (Williams faces retrial on a reckless manslaughter count.)

One year ago: The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for a seventh straight time, reducing the federal funds rate a quarter-point to 2 percent. An avalanche in Italy's northwestern Alps killed five French ski-mountaineers.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Cloris Leachman is 83. Singer Willie Nelson is 76. Actor Gary Collins is 71. Actor Burt Young is 69. Singer Bobby Vee is 66. Actress Jill Clayburgh is 65. Movie director Allan Arkush is 61. Actor Perry King is 61. Singer Merrill Osmond is 56. Movie director Jane Campion is 55. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is 50. Actor Paul Gross is 50. FIU coach Isiah Thomas is 48. Country musician Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks) is 47. Actor Adrian Pasdar is 44. Rapper Turbo B (Snap) is 42. Rock musician Clark Vogeler is 40. R&B singer Chris ``Choc'' Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 38. Rock musician Chris Henderson (3 Doors Down) is 38. Country singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson is 38. Actress Lisa Dean Ryan is 37. R&B singer Akon is 36. R&B singer Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) is 36. Actor Johnny Galecki is 34. Singer-musician Cole Deggs (Cole Deggs and the Lonesome) is 33. Rapper Lloyd Banks is 27. Actress Kirsten Dunst is 27. Country singer Tyler Wilkinson (The Wilkinsons) is 25

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 01-May-2009, 11:07 PM
Today is Saturday, May 2, the 122nd day of 2009. There are 243 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 2, 1945, the Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin, and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.

On this date:

In 1519, artist Leonardo da Vinci died at Cloux, France, at 67.

In 1670, the Hudson Bay Company was chartered by England's King Charles II.

In 1863, Confederate Gen. Thomas ``Stonewall'' Jackson was accidentally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, Va.; he died eight days later.

In 1890, the Oklahoma Territory was organized.

In 1908, the original version of ``Take Me Out to the Ball Game,'' with music by Albert Von Tilzer and lyrics by Jack Norworth, was copyrighted by Von Tilzer's York Music Co.

In 1936, ``Peter and the Wolf,'' a symphonic tale for children by Sergei Prokofiev, had its world premiere in Moscow.

In 1957, Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, the controversial Republican from Wisconsin, died at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

In 1960, Caryl Chessman, who became a best-selling author while on death row for kidnapping, robbery and sexual offenses, was executed at San Quentin Prison in California.

In 1965, Intelsat 1, also known as the Early Bird satellite, was first used to transmit television pictures across the Atlantic.

In 1972, J. Edgar Hoover died in Washington at age 77 after serving 48 years as head of the FBI.

Ten years ago: Yugoslav authorities handed over to the Rev. Jesse Jackson three American prisoners of war who'd been held for a month. Actor Oliver Reed died in Malta at age 61 while making the movie ``Gladiator.''

Five years ago: American truck driver Thomas Hamill escaped from his kidnappers in Iraq; that same day, nine U.S. servicemen were killed across the country. Martin Torrijos, the son of a former dictator, won Panama's first presidential vote since the handover of the Panama Canal in December 1999.

One year ago: President George W. Bush sent lawmakers a $70 billion request to fund U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into the following spring. Al-Jazeera TV cameraman Sami al-Haj was released from U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and returned home to Sudan after six years in prison. Tropical Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, leading to an eventual official death toll of 84,537, with 53,836 listed as missing. Mildred Loving, a black woman whose challenge to Virginia's ban on interracial marriage led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down such laws across the United States, died in Milford, Va., at age 68.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Theodore Bikel is 85. Singer Engelbert Humperdinck is 73. Actress and political activist Bianca Jagger is 64. Country singer R.C. Bannon is 64. Singer Lesley Gore is 63. Actor David Suchet is 63. Singer-songwriter Larry Gatlin is 61. Rock singer Lou Gramm (Foreigner) is 59. Actress Christine Baranski is 57. Singer Angela Bofill is 55. Movie director Steven Daldry (``The Reader'') is 49. Actress Elizabeth Berridge is 47. Country singer Ty Herndon is 47. Rock musician Todd Sucherman (Styx) is 40. Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne ``The Rock'' Johnson is 37. Soccer star David Beckham is 34. Actress Jenna Von Oy is 32. Actor Gaius Charles (``Friday Night Lights'') is 26. Pop singer Lily Allen is 24. Olympic gold medal skater Sarah Hughes is 24. Rock musician Jim Almgren (Carolina Liar) is 23. Actress Kay Panabaker is 19.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 02-May-2009, 11:57 AM
Today is May-02-2009.
Exactly 20 years ago on May-02-1989 began Hungarian soldiers to demolish the Iron Curtain. As they cut open the border became apparent disruptions in the socialist part of the world.

I want to remind of this important day in the European history.

Of course there was no accident that the demolition of the Iron Curtain began in Hungary. This country staged already decades before a variation of socialism, named as "goulash-socialism". This special position within the Eastern bloc started in the 1960's as Hungary realized economic reforms and since the middle of the 1980's Hungary began to open into Western direction steadily.
The then Soviet state president Mikhail Gorbatshov signalized apparent goodwill as in 1989 the reforms reached a phase, where Hungary complete frankly aimed for a close cooperation with the Western countries.
That also included the compilance of international agreements such as the UN Convention of Human Rights in spirit and letters. Hungary stopped the partial "Eastern way" of interpretation these documents.
On May-02-1989 finally occured a something revolutionary - Hungarian soldiers started the demolition of the electronic border protection (spring-guns) and the barbwire entangelments.
Hungary herewith gave notice to withdrawal the solidarity of the East-Bloc countries and the principle of the Iron Curtain was queried the first time.
The Soviet Union kept still anymore and so occured on June-26-1989 near St. Margarethen a symbolic political act. The then Hungarian foreign minister Gyula Horn and his Austrian counterpart Alois Mock proved themselves as "border cutting craftsmen" - a picture that went round the world...
As I said - a symbolical act - because although the curtain was fallen the border was still closed. Soldiers patroled with loaded weapons but all over the border opened loopholes through the borderline and especially citziens of GDR tried to use these to get away to the West. The Hungarians didn't counter this very resolutely.
Already in August got away hundreds of East-Germans to the West. More tan 600 in one fell swoop got away on August-19 during the legendary Pan-European picinic near Sopron.
This meeting was planned as a peace demonstration. With the acceptance of both countries (Hungary and Austria) should opened a border gate on the old Bratislavian country road between St. Margarethen (Austria) and Sopronkohida (Hungary) in a timeframe of three hours.
Between the GDR-citziens, which waited for an ability to escape, this news spreaded like wildfire. A lot of escape willing people appeared, but not everybody had the heart to escape. Thousands of people waited a bit apart for their chance to cross the border but because they held off they missed their chance. But anyway 600 determined GDR-citziens succeed the escape to Austria.
In defiance of the effective firing order and on the base of a "standstill-agreement" by States minister, Interior Minister and the chief of the Hungarian border patrols the Hungarian soldiers "looked the other way" while this rush.
This "look the other way" considered as a test by the Hungarian government in which extent Moscow will accept the Hungarian proceeding. Today remind near St. Margarethen a statue by Hungarian performing artists in form of an opening door of this occurence.
The Pan-European picnic considers as an essential milestone on the way to the end of GDR und to the German Re-Union in 1990. By the way: The patrons of this "picnic" was the then delegate of the European parliament Otto von Habsburg and the Hungarian States minister and reformer Imre Pozsgay.
A lot of East Germans escaped not only while this massive escape, but during lots of solo attempts. The most of them reached Austria where they received assistance by the Austrian citziens. Via the embassy in Vienna they reached the then German Federal Republic. A bit later should be a lot easier. On September-10-1989 the Hungarian television informed, that the government will open the Western border for GDR-refugees. One day later they opened the border really....

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 03-May-2009, 02:05 AM

Today in History - May 3

Today is Sunday, May 3, the 123rd day of 2009. There are 242 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 3, 1909, a wireless news dispatch was transmitted from The New York Times to the Chicago Tribune in the first such communication between the two cities.

On this date:

In 1469, political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy.

In 1802, Washington, D.C., was incorporated as a city.

In 1916, Irish nationalist Padraic Pearse and two others were executed by the British for their roles in the Easter Rising.

In 1933, Nellie T. Ross became the first female director of the U.S. Mint.

In 1944, U.S. wartime rationing of most grades of meats ended.

In 1945, during World War II, Allied forces captured Rangoon, Burma, from the Japanese.

In 1948, the Supreme Court, in Shelley v. Kraemer, ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks or members of other racial groups were legally unenforceable.

In 1978, ``Sun Day'' fell on a Wednesday as thousands of people extolling the virtues of solar energy held events across the country.

In 1979, Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher was chosen to become Britain's first female prime minister as the Tories ousted the incumbent Labor government in parliamentary elections.

In 1986, in NASA's first post-Challenger launch, an unmanned Delta rocket lost power in its main engine shortly after liftoff, forcing safety officers to destroy it by remote control.

Ten years ago: Some 70 tornadoes roared across Oklahoma and Kansas, killing 46 people and injuring hundreds. The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 11,000, just 24 trading days after passing 10,000. Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi met with President Bill Clinton at the White House during the first official U.S. visit by a Japanese premier in 12 years.

Five years ago: The U.S. military said it had reprimanded seven officers in the abuse of inmates at Baghdad's notorious Abu Ghraib prison, the first known punishments in the case; two of the officers were relieved of their duties. Former postmaster general Marvin Runyon died in Nashville, Tenn., at age 79.

One year ago: Barack Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton by seven votes in the Guam Democratic presidential caucuses, meaning the candidates split the pledged delegate votes. Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby by 4 3/4 lengths. (Filly Eight Belles finished second and then broke both front ankles; she was euthanized on the track.)

Today's Birthdays: Folk singer Pete Seeger is 90. Actress Ann B. Davis is 83. Singer Frankie Valli is 75. Sports announcer Greg Gumbel is 63. Pop singer Mary Hopkin is 59. Singer Christopher Cross is 58. Country musician Cactus Moser (Highway 101) is 52. Rock musician David Ball (Soft Cell) is 50. Country singer Shane Minor is 41. Actor Bobby Cannavale is 39. Music and film producer-actor Damon Dash is 38. Country musician John Hopkins (Zac Brown Band) is 38. Country-rock musician John Neff (Drive-By Truckers) is 38. Country singer Brad Martin is 36. Actor Dule Hill is 34. Country singer Eric Church is 32. Colts running back Joseph Addai is 26. Dancer Cheryl Burke (TV: ``Dancing with the Stars'') is 25. Actress Jill Berard is 19.


Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 04-May-2009, 02:02 AM
Today is Monday, May 4, the 124th day of 2009. There are 241 days left in the year.
    
Today's Highlight in History:

Fifty years ago, on May 4, 1959, the first-ever Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Domenico Modugno won Record of the Year and Song of the Year for ``Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)''; Henry Mancini won Album of the Year for ``The Music from Peter Gunn.''

On this date:

In 1626, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.

In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an eight-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.

In 1904, the United States took over construction of the Panama Canal.

In 1916, responding to a demand from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare, thereby averting a diplomatic break with Washington. (However, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare the following year.)

In 1932, mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)

In 1945, during World War II, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agreed to surrender.

In 1946, a two-day riot at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco Bay ended, the violence having claimed five lives.

In 1961, a group of ``Freedom Riders'' left Washington, D.C., for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.

In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

In 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley, wife of actor Robert Blake, was shot to death as she sat in a car in Los Angeles. (Blake, accused of the killing, was acquitted in a criminal trial but was found liable by a civil jury and ordered to pay damages.)

Ten years ago: Work crews struggled to restore electricity across Serbia after NATO strikes on major power grids left Belgrade and other cities in the dark. Five New York City police officers went on trial for the torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima. (One officer later pleaded guilty to civil rights violations; a second later pleaded guilty to perjury; the remaining three were acquitted of brutality charges. Two of those three were later convicted of conspiring to obstruct justice; those convictions were overturned.) Tornadoes roared across the Plains for a second straight day.

Five years ago: The Army disclosed that the deaths of 10 prisoners and abuse of 10 more in Iraq and Afghanistan were under criminal investigation, as U.S. commanders in Baghdad announced interrogation changes. The United States walked out of a U.N. meeting to protest its decision minutes later to give Sudan a third term on the Human Rights Commission.

One year ago: President George W. Bush visited Greensburg, Kan., where he hailed the resilience of the town and its tiny high school graduating class, one year after a tornado barreled through with astonishing fury. A river boat sank in a remote Amazon region in northern Brazil, killing at least 48 people. Iraq's first lady, Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed, escaped unharmed from a bomb attack in downtown Baghdad that struck her motorcade.

Today's Birthdays: The president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, is 81. Opera singer Roberta Peters is 79. Jazz musician Ron Carter is 72. Rock musician Dick Dale is 72. Singer-songwriter Nick Ashford is 67. Pop singer Peggy Santiglia (The Angels) is 65. Actor Richard Jenkins is 62. Country singer Stella Parton is 60. Actor-turned-clergyman Hilly Hicks is 59. Irish musician Darryl Hunt (The Pogues) is 59. Singer Jackie Jackson (The Jacksons) is 58. R&B singer Oleta Adams is 56. R&B singer Sharon Jones is 53. Country singer Randy Travis is 50. Actress Mary McDonough is 48. Comedian Ana Gasteyer is 42. Actor Will Arnett is 39. Rock musician Mike Dirnt (Green Day) is 37. Contemporary Christian singer Chris Tomlin is 37. TV personality and fashion designer Kimora Lee Simmons is 34. Rock musician Jose Castellanos is 32. Singer Lance Bass ('N Sync) is 30. Actor Alexander Gould is 15.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patriot1776 04-May-2009, 05:39 AM
I liked the tidbit on the first Grammy Awards being held on this day in 1959. I'm hoping this resurgence of the LP gramophone record endures for years and years, and that records will become the format of prestige and honor again. I know it won't ever regain the stature it had before the CD came along, but hopefully it'll become the dominant physical format again.

Randy Travis is 50? I think I need to see if I can get an original copy of his album 'Storms of Life'.

Posted by: InRi 04-May-2009, 10:13 AM
Today is Monday, May-04-2009
There are some more today's highlights in history:

1814: Napoleon Bonaparte goes into exile to Elba island.

1979: After the election victory of the Conservatives in Great Britain Margaret Thatcher become Prime Minister.

1980: Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavian haed of the government, pass away. The Yugoslavian breakup began.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: InRi 05-May-2009, 09:22 AM
Today is Tuesday May-05-2009.
What was happen in

1789: First time since 1614 convenes in Versailles the assembly of the estates because the parlous financial situation in France.

1888: In the encyclical "In plurimis" compliments Pope Leo XIII. the abolishment of slavery in Brazil and makes an argument for its worldwide abolishment.

1949: Ten European countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy Norway and Sweden) found the Council of Europe.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 06-May-2009, 05:50 AM
Today's Highlight in History:

On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled German airship Hindenburg burned and crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 35 of the 97 people on board and a Navy crewman on the ground.

On this date:

In 1859, Georgia miner John H. Gregory discovered a lode of gold in Colorado.

In 1861, Arkansas seceded from the Union.

In 1889, the Paris Exposition formally opened, featuring the just-completed Eiffel Tower.

In 1910, Britain's King Edward VII died; he was succeeded by George V.

In 1942, during World War II some 15,000 Americans and Filipinos on Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese.

In 1954, medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, in three minutes, 59.4 seconds.

In 1960, Britain's Princess Margaret married Antony Armstrong-Jones, a commoner, at Westminster Abbey. (They divorced in 1978.)

In 1981, Yale architecture student Maya Ying Lin was named winner of a competition to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

In 1994, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand formally opened the Channel Tunnel between their countries.

In 2002, right-wing Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was shot and killed in Hilversum, Netherlands. (Volkert van der Graaf was later convicted of killing Fortuyn and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.)

Ten years ago: Russia and the major Western powers set aside their differences over NATO airstrikes and drafted a joint plan to end the Kosovo conflict. President Bill Clinton met with Kosovo refugees in Germany, listening to chilling stories of murder, rape and terror and promising them, ``You will go home again in safety and in freedom.'' Reversing decades of overwhelming loyalty to Britain's governing Labor Party, Scottish and Welsh voters elected strong nationalist oppositions to their first separate assemblies of modern times.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush apologized for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers, calling it ``a stain on our country's honor''; he rejected calls for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. The FBI arrested Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield as part of the investigation into the Madrid train bombings; however, the bureau later said Mayfield's arrest had been a mistake, and apologized. An estimated 51.1 million people tuned in for the final first-run episode of ``Friends'' on NBC.

One year ago: Barack Obama swept to a convincing victory in the North Carolina Democratic primary while Hillary Rodham Clinton eked out a win in Indiana. A Georgia man who'd killed his live-in girlfriend was executed; William Earl Lynd was the first inmate put to death since the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injections. Kobe Bryant won his first MVP award after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference.

Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays is 78. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is 75. Rock singer Bob Seger is 64. Singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore is 64. Gospel singer-comedian Lulu Roman is 63. Actor Alan Dale is 62. Actor Ben Masters is 62. Actor Gregg Henry is 57. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is 56. TV personality Tom Bergeron is 54. Actress Roma Downey is 49. Rock singer John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants) is 49. Actor George Clooney is 48. Actor Clay O'Brien is 48. Rock singer-musician Tony Scalzo (Fastball) is 45. Actress Leslie Hope is 44. Rock musician Mark Bryan (Hootie and the Blowfish) is 42. Rock musician Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters) is 38. Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is 27. Actress Adrianne Palicki is 26.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 06-May-2009, 11:20 AM
There are still two more...

On May-06 in

1849: The catholic priest Adolph Kolping founded the "Journeymen Association of Cologne" as a social and religious home for craftsmen.
For further information use the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_Kolping.

1974: After a five years mandate as German Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt stepped down because of the "Guillaume-affair". He stays in office anyway as chairman of the German Socialdemocratic Party.
For further information use the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnter_Guillaume.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 07-May-2009, 06:00 AM
Today is Thursday, May 7, the 127th day of 2009. There are 238days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 7, 1915, nearly 1,200 people died when a German torpedo sank the British liner RMS Lusitania off the Irish coast.

On this date:

In 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of President George Washington and his wife, Martha.

In 1833, composer Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany.

In 1840, composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, Russia.

In 1909, Edwin H. Land, inventor of polarizing filters and Polaroid instant photography, was born in Bridgeport, Conn.

In 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France.

In 1954, the 55-day Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam ended with Vietnamese insurgents overrunning French forces.

In 1960, Leonid Brezhnev replaced Marshal Kliment Voroshilov as president of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford formally declared an end to the ``Vietnam era.'' In Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon - the Viet Cong celebrated its takeover.

In 1977, Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby, the first of his Triple Crown victories. (On this date in 2002, Seattle Slew died.)

In 1984, a $180 million out-of-court settlement was announced in the Agent Orange class-action suit brought by Vietnam veterans who charged they'd suffered injury from exposure to the defoliant.

Ten years ago: NATO jets struck the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three people and injuring 20; President Bill Clinton called the attack a ``tragic mistake.'' A jury in Pontiac, Mich., ordered ``The Jenny Jones Show'' to pay $25 million to the family of Scott Amedure, a gay man who was shot to death after revealing a crush on Jonathan Schmitz, a fellow guest on the talk show. (However, the Michigan Court of Appeals later overturned the award, and the Michigan Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal.)

Five years ago: Army Pfc. Lynndie England, shown in photographs smiling and pointing at naked Iraqi prisoners, was charged by the military with assaulting the detainees and conspiring to mistreat them. (England was later convicted of conspiracy, mistreating detainees and committing an indecent act, and sentenced to 36 months; she served half that term.) Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld offered ``my deepest apology'' to abused Iraqi prisoners and warned that videos and photos yet to come could further inflame worldwide outrage.

One year ago: President George W. Bush, addressing the Council of Americas, said Cuba's post-Fidel Castro leadership had made only ``empty gestures at reform'' as he rejected calls for easing of U.S. restrictions on the communist island. Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in as Russia's president.

Today's Birthdays: Former Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is 77. Singer Jimmy Ruffin is 70. Singer Johnny Maestro is 70. Actress Robin Strasser is 64. Singer-songwriter Bill Danoff is 63. R&B singer Thelma Houston is 63. Rock musician Bill Kreutzmann (The Dead) is 63. Rock musician Prairie Prince is 59. Actor Robert Hegyes is 58. Movie writer-director Amy Heckerling is 55. Actor Michael E. Knight is 50. Rock musician Phil Campbell (Motorhead) is 48. Country musician Rick Schell is 46. Rock singer-musician Chris O'Connor (Primitive Radio Gods) is 44. Actress Traci Lords is 40. Singer Eagle-Eye Cherry is 38. Actor Breckin Meyer is 35. Rock musician Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys) is 23. Actor Taylor Abrahamse is 18.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 07-May-2009, 12:43 PM
Two I have yet:

On May-07 in

1874: The German Reich press law proclaimed the freedom of the press in Germany.

1984: Several (Austrian) prominents amongst others Günther Nenning, Freda Meissner-Blau, Jörg Mauthe, Hubert Gorbach, Peter Turrini, Othmar Karas and some environmentalists hold (disguisedly as animals) a press conference of animals to initiate a public opinion poll for a work stoppage of the power plant Hainburg.

Best regards

Ingo


Posted by: InRi 08-May-2009, 10:35 AM
Today is Friday May-08-2009. What was happen in

1429: A French host under the guidance of the 18 years farmers daughter Joan of Arc free the by English troops besieged town Orléans.

1914: The American Congress declared the Motherday as an official festive day.

1945: With the surrender of the German troops end the WWII in Europe.

1959: In the north of Cairo (Egypt) overturned on the Nil a steamboat which was fivefold overloaded. 150 people were drowned.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: InRi 09-May-2009, 01:35 PM
Today is Saturday May-09-2009. What was happen in

1901: Four months after the foundation of the Australian Confederation the parliament convened in Melbourne the first time.

1994: In South Africa occured the first democratic elections. After the election victory of ANC, Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: InRi 11-May-2009, 09:44 AM
Today is Monday May-11-2009.

What was happen in

868: In China was realesed the "Diamant-Sutra" as a blackboard-print. It is the oldest print product in the Human history.

1919: The citziens of Vorarlberg (a federal land in Austria) voted with a great majority for claim to integration to Switzerland.
Bern refused...

1949: During the regency of king Bhumipol Siam changed his name into Thailand. In the national language means the name "Prathet Thai" nearly "land of the free people"

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 11-May-2009, 11:04 AM
oday is Monday, May 11, the 131st day of 2009. There are 234days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 11, 1946, the first CARE packages arrived in Europe, at Le Havre, France.

On this date:

In 1502, Christopher Columbus left Cadiz, Spain, on his fourth and final trip to the Western Hemisphere.

In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam to become governor of New Netherland.

In 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state of the Union.

In 1910, Glacier National Park in Montana was established.

In 1944, Allied forces launched a major offensive against German lines in Italy.

In 1949, Siam changed its name back to Thailand.

In 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg for his role in the ``Pentagon Papers'' case were dismissed by Judge William M. Byrne, who cited government misconduct.

In 1981, legendary reggae artist Bob Marley died in a Miami hospital at age 36.

In 1985, 56 people died when a flash fire swept a jam-packed soccer stadium in Bradford, England.

In 1996, an Atlanta-bound ValuJet DC-9 caught fire shortly after takeoff from Miami and crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board.

Ten years ago: Stung by an espionage scandal, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said he would halt the Clinton administration's aggressive declassification of Cold War-era nuclear documents. In Beijing, protests outside the U.S. Embassy over NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade eased after state-run television aired U.S. and NATO apologies for the attack.

Five years ago: A video on an al-Qaida-linked Web site showed the beheading of businessman Nick Berg, an American who'd been kidnapped in Iraq. Six Israeli soldiers were killed when their armored personnel carrier was blown up by Palestinian militants in Gaza City. Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant pleaded not guilty in a Colorado court to a rape charge. (Prosecutors later dropped the case.)

One year ago: Serbia's pro-Western president, Boris Tadic, declared victory in parliamentary elections - a stunning upset over ultranationalists. A cease-fire ended weeks of bloody fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City district. Parvati Shallow was the last woman standing on CBS' ``Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites.'' (Shallow had previously come in sixth place on ``Survivor: Cook Islands.'')

Today's Birthdays: Comedian Mort Sahl is 82. Rock singer Eric Burdon (The Animals; War) is 68. Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo is 57. Actress Frances Fisher is 57. Actor Boyd Gaines is 56. Country musician Mark Herndon (Alabama) is 54. Actress Martha Quinn is 50. Country singer-musician Tim Raybon (The Raybon Brothers) is 46. Actor Jeffrey Donovan is 41. Country musician Keith West (Heartland) is 41. Actor Coby Bell is 34. Cellist Perttu Kivilaakso is 31. Actor Jonathan Jackson is 27.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 12-May-2009, 02:58 AM
Today is Tuesday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2009. There are 233days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 12, 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade, which the Western powers had succeeded in circumventing with their Berlin Airlift.

On this date:

In 1870, an act creating the Canadian province of Manitoba was given royal assent, to take effect in July.

In 1907, actress Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford, Conn.

In 1932, the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, N.J.

In 1937, Britain's King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

In 1943, during World War II, Axis forces in North Africa surrendered.

In 1958, the United States and Canada signed an agreement to create the North American Air Defense Command (later the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD).

In 1970, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.

In 1975, the White House announced the new Cambodian government had seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters.

In 1978, the Commerce Department said hurricanes would no longer be given only female names.

In 1982, in Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who was trying to reach Pope John Paul II.

Ten years ago: Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin announced he was leaving his post in July (he was succeeded by his deputy, Lawrence Summers). Russian President Boris Yeltsin dismissed Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and the Cabinet.

Five years ago: Members of Congress expressed outrage after they were privately shown fresh pictures and videos of Iraqi prisoners being abused by U.S. troops. NBC completed a merger with the Universal television and entertainment businesses to create a major media conglomerate.

One year ago: A devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province killed some 70,000 people. Nearly 400 workers were arrested in an immigration raid at a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. Irena Sendler, credited with saving some 2,500 Jewish children from the Holocaust, died in Warsaw, Poland, at age 98. Pop artist Robert Rauschenberg died on Captiva Island, Fla., at age 82. Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in major league history during the second game of a doubleheader against Toronto. NBC announced that Jimmy Fallon would succeed Conan O'Brien as host of ``Late Night.''

Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra is 84. Critic John Simon is 84. Composer Burt Bacharach is 81. Actress Millie Perkins is 71. R&B singer Jayotis Washington is 68. Country singer Billy Swan is 67. Actress Linda Dano is 66. Musician Ian McLagan is 64. Actress Lindsay Crouse is 61. Singer-musician Steve Winwood is 61. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 59. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 59. Singer Billy Squier is 59. Country singer Kix Brooks is 54. Actress Kim Greist is 51. Actor Ving Rhames is 50. Rock musician Billy Duffy is 48. Actor Emilio Estevez is 47. Actress April Grace is 47. Actress Vanessa A. Williams (``Melrose Place'') is 46. Country musician Eddie Kilgallon is 44. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 43. Actor Scott Schwartz is 41. Actress Kim Fields is 40. Actress Samantha Mathis is 39. Actress Jamie Luner is 38. Actor Christian Campbell is 37. Actor Mackenzie Astin is 36. Actress Malin Akerman is 31. Actor Jason Biggs is 31. Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith is 30. Actress Emily VanCamp is 23. Actor Malcolm David Kelley is 17. Actors Sawyer and Sullivan Sweeten (``Everybody Loves Raymond'') are 14.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 12-May-2009, 10:08 AM
There are some more today's highlights in history:

On May-12 in:

1364: The university of Cracow was founded with papal authorization.

1797: The last doge of Venice, Ludovico Manin, abdicated and the Great Council of Venice hold its last meeting.

1997: The Russian president Bois Yelzin and the Chechen president Aslan Mazhadov undersigned a treaty of peace. Therewith end the first Chechen war.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 13-May-2009, 05:27 AM
Today is Wednesday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2009. There are 232days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 13, 1918, the first U.S. airmail stamps, featuring a picture of a Curtiss JN-4 biplane, were issued to the public with a face value of 24 cents. (On a few of the stamps, the biplane was inadvertently printed upside-down; the ``inverted Jenny'' stamp instantly became a collector's item.)

On this date:

In 1607, English colonists arrived by ship at the site of what became the Jamestown settlement in Virginia (the colonists went ashore the next day).

In 1846, the United States declared that a state of war already existed with Mexico.

In 1917, three shepherd children near Fatima, Portugal, reported seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary.

In 1940, in his first speech as prime minister of Britain, Winston Churchill told the House of Commons, ``I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.''

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Act. The musical play ``The Pajama Game'' opened on Broadway.

In 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, were spat upon and their limousine battered by rocks thrown by anti-U.S. demonstrators in Caracas, Venezuela.

In 1968, a one-day general strike took place in France in support of student protesters.

In 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter's Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca.

In 1985, a confrontation between Philadelphia authorities and the radical group MOVE ended as police dropped an explosive onto the group's headquarters; 11 people died in the resulting fire.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton nominated federal appeals Judge Stephen G. Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Harry A. Blackmun.

Ten years ago: Russian lawmakers opened hearings on whether President Boris Yeltsin should be impeached. (The lower chamber of parliament ended up rejecting all five charges raised against Yeltsin, including one accusing him of starting the Chechen War.) Pulitzer Prize-winning editor and columnist Meg Greenfield died in Washington at age 68.

Five years ago: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld visited the Abu Ghraib prison camp in Iraq, where he insisted the Pentagon did not try to cover up abuses there. During a campaign swing in West Virginia, President George W. Bush said he felt ``disgraced'' by the images of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners, but reminded his listeners that actions of a handful of Americans should not sully the nation's military. TV anchorman Floyd Kalber died in Burr Ridge, Ill., at age 79.

One year ago: An embattled Hillary Rodham Clinton trounced Barack Obama in the West Virginia Democratic primary. Seven bombs hit crowded markets and streets outside Hindu temples in Jaipur, India, killing 80. LPGA great Annika Sorenstam announced she would retire at the end of the season. Actor John Phillip Law died in Los Angeles at age 70.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Buck Taylor is 71. Actor Harvey Keitel is 70. Author Charles Baxter is 62. Actor Franklyn Ajaye is 60. Actress Zoe Wanamaker is 60. Singer Stevie Wonder is 59. Former NBA player Dennis Rodman is 48. Actor-comedian Stephen Colbert is 45. Actor Tom Verica is 45. Country singer Lari White is 44. Singer Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish) is 43. Actress Susan Floyd is 41. Contemporary Christian musician Andy Williams (Casting Crowns) is 37. Actress Samantha Morton is 32. Rock musician Mickey Madden (Maroon 5) is 30. Actor Hunter Parrish is 22.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 14-May-2009, 05:22 AM
Today's Highlight in History:

On May 14, 1948, according to the current-era calendar, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv.

On this date:

In 1509, the Republic of Venice suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of French forces in the Battle of Agnadello.

In 1643, Louis XIV became King of France at age 4 upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.

In 1787, delegates were to gather in Philadelphia for a convention to draw up the U.S. Constitution. (However, only a few of the delegates had arrived by this time, and the convention did not get under way until May 25.)

In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner succeeded in inoculating 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter.

In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory as well as the Pacific Northwest left camp near present-day Hartford, Ill.

In 1900, the Olympic Games opened in Paris, held as part of the 1900 World's Fair.

In 1942, Congress voted to establish the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps. Aaron Copland's ``Lincoln Portrait'' was first performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

In 1973, the United States launched Skylab 1, its first manned space station.

In 1988, 27 people, mostly teens, were killed when their church bus collided with a pickup truck going the wrong way on a highway near Carrollton, Ky. (Truck driver Larry Mahoney served 9 1/2 years in prison for manslaughter.)

In 1998, singer-actor Frank Sinatra died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 82. The hit sitcom ``Seinfeld'' aired its final episode after nine years on NBC.

Ten years ago: His previous calls rebuffed, President Bill Clinton finally got through to Chinese President Jiang Zemin; Clinton expressed hope the two countries could repair the damage to their relations since the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

Five years ago: Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper published a front-page apology after photographs purportedly showing British forces abusing Iraqi prisoners turned out to be fakes. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to step in and block gay marriages in Massachusetts. A South Korean court reinstated impeached President Roh Moo-hyun. Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik married Australian commoner Mary Donaldson. Actress Anna Lee died at age 91.

One year ago: President Bush opened a celebratory visit to Israel, which was marking the 60th anniversary of its birth. John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination during a surprise appearance at a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich. The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species because of the loss of Arctic sea ice. Justine Henin, 25, became the first woman to retire from tennis while atop the WTA rankings.

Today's Birthdays: Opera singer Patrice Munsel is 84. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is 67. Rock singer-musician Jack Bruce (Cream) is 66. Movie producer George Lucas is 65. Actress Meg Foster is 61. Rock singer David Byrne (Talking Heads) is 57. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 57. Actor Tim Roth is 48. Rock singer Ian Astbury (The Cult) is 47. Rock musician C.C. (aka Cecil) DeVille is 47. Actor Danny Huston is 47. Rock musician Mike Inez (Alice In Chains) is 43. Fabrice Morvan (ex-Milli Vanilli) is 43. R&B singer Raphael Saadiq is 43. Actress Cate Blanchett is 40. Singer Danny Wood (New Kids on the Block) is 40. Movie writer-director Sofia Coppola is 38. Singer Natalie Appleton (All Saints) is 36. Singer Shanice is 36. Rock musician Henry Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 31. Rock musician Mike Retondo (Plain White T's) is 28. Actress Amber Tamblyn is 26. Actress Miranda Cosgrove is 16.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 14-May-2009, 05:30 AM
QUOTE (Patriot1776 @ 04-May-2009, 07:39 AM)
I liked the tidbit on the first Grammy Awards being held on this day in 1959. I'm hoping this resurgence of the LP gramophone record endures for years and years, and that records will become the format of prestige and honor again. I know it won't ever regain the stature it had before the CD came along, but hopefully it'll become the dominant physical format again.

Randy Travis is 50? I think I need to see if I can get an original copy of his album 'Storms of Life'.

I have relatives who were in the music (juke box) and gaming business and my Aunt kept a collection of two each of every record that was ever on one of their machines. There are tens of thousands of them that now belong to her son.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 14-May-2009, 11:26 AM
...one I have yet:

1970: The German terrorist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Baader was liberated by violence from prison. That was considered as the hour of birth of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Army_Faction

For further information use the links

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 14-May-2009, 10:36 PM
Today is Friday, May 15, the 135th day of 2009. There are 230days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 15, 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the breakup of Standard Oil Co., ruling it was a monopoly in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

On this date:

In 1859, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Pierre Curie was born in Paris.

In 1909, actor James Mason was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England.

In 1929, a fire at the Cleveland Clinic claimed 123 lives.

In 1930, registered nurse Ellen Church, the first airline stewardess, went on duty aboard an Oakland-to-Chicago flight operated by Boeing Air Transport (a forerunner of United Airlines).

In 1942, wartime gasoline rationing went into effect in 17 Eastern states, limiting sales to three gallons a week for nonessential vehicles.

In 1948, hours after declaring its independence, the new state of Israel was attacked by Transjordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

In 1963, astronaut L. Gordon Cooper blasted off aboard Faith 7 on the final mission of the Project Mercury space program.

In 1969, Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigned amid a controversy over his past legal fees.

In 1972, George C. Wallace was shot by Arthur Bremer and left paralyzed while campaigning in Laurel, Md., for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1975, U.S. forces invaded the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and recaptured the American merchant ship Mayaguez. (All 40 crew members had already been released safely by Cambodia; some 40 U.S. servicemen were killed in the operation.)

Ten years ago: Russian President Boris Yeltsin triumphed over his Communist foes, surviving an impeachment vote in the Russian parliament. Charismatic won the Preakness, finishing 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Menifee.

Five years ago: A 40-ton steel girder dropped from a freeway overpass construction site into morning traffic in Golden, Colo., crushing one car and killing a family of three. Col. Robert Morgan, commander of the famed Memphis Belle B-17 bomber that flew combat missions over Europe during World War II, died in Asheville, N.C., at age 85. Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones posted a record 11 1/2 length victory in the Preakness (however, the horse failed to win the Belmont Stakes).

One year ago: President George W. Bush, addressing the Israeli Knesset, gently urged Mideast leaders to ``make the hard choices necessary for peace'' and condemned what he called ``the false comfort of appeasement.'' California's Supreme Court declared gay couples in the state could marry - a victory for the gay rights movement that was overturned by the passage of Proposition 8 the following November. Emmy-winning composer Alexander ``Sandy'' Courage, who created the otherworldly theme for the original ``Star Trek'' TV series, died in Los Angeles at age 88.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Joseph Wiseman is 91. Playwright Sir Peter Shaffer (``Amadeus'') is 83. Actress-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti is 73. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 73. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is 72. Singer Trini Lopez is 72. Singer Lenny Welch is 71. Actress-singer Lainie Kazan is 69. Actor-director Paul Rudd (``Knots Landing'') is 69. Country singer K.T. Oslin is 67. Singer-songwriter Brian Eno is 61. Actor Nicholas Hammond (``The Sound of Music'') is 59. Actor Chazz Palminteri is 57. Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett is 56. Musician-composer Mike Oldfield (``Tubular Bells'') is 56. Actor Lee Horsley is 54. TV personality Giselle Fernandez is 48. Dallas Cowboys great Emmitt Smith is 40. Singer-rapper Prince Be (PM Dawn) is 39. Actor Brad Rowe is 39. Actor David Charvet is 37. Rock musician Ahmet Zappa is 35. Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is 34. Olympic gold-medal gymnast Amy Chow is 31. Actor David Krumholtz (``Numb3rs'') is 31. Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler is 28. Rock musician Nick Perri is 25.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 15-May-2009, 11:54 AM
...two I have yet:

1625: The Bavarian proconsul (in today's Upper Austria) Adam Earl of Herberstorff let play dice 36 alleged ringleaders of a recently broken out rebellion by pairs for dear life. The losers was executed directly.
The "Frankenburg game of dice" is the reason for the peasant war in the following year.

1955: In signing the Austrian treaty, Austria retrieved his independence and pledged oneself to an everlasting neutrality.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 16-May-2009, 09:12 AM
On May 16, 1929, the first Academy Awards were presented during a banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The movie ``Wings'' won ``best production,'' while Emil Jannings and Janet Gaynor were named best actor and best actress.

On this date:

In 1770, Marie Antoinette, age 14, married the future King Louis XVI of France, who was 15.

In 1866, Congress authorized minting of the first 5-cent piece, also known as the ``Shield nickel.''

In 1868, the Senate failed by one vote to convict President Andrew Johnson as it took its first ballot on the 11 articles of impeachment against him.

In 1920, Joan of Arc was canonized by Pope Benedict XV.

In 1939, the government began its first food stamp program in Rochester, N.Y.

In 1948, CBS News correspondent George Polk, who'd been covering the Greek civil war between Communist and nationalist forces, was found slain in Solonica Harbor.

In 1960, a Big Four summit conference in Paris collapsed on its opening day as the Soviet Union leveled spy charges against the U.S. in the wake of the U-2 incident.

In 1975, Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

In 1984, comedian Andy Kaufman died in Los Angeles at age 35.

In 1989, during his visit to Beijing, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev met with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, formally ending a 30-year rift between the two Communist powers.

Ten years ago: The Justice Department said preliminary figures from the FBI indicated a decline in serious crime in 1998 for the seventh consecutive year.

Five years ago: The United States announced a new initiative to speed up the approval process for new combination AIDS drugs that was designed to bring cheap, easy-to-use treatment to millions of people in Africa and the Caribbean. Pope John Paul II named six new saints, including Gianna Beretta Molla, revered by abortion foes because she'd refused to end her pregnancy despite warnings it could kill her. (Beretta Molla, an Italian pediatrician, died in 1962 at age 39, a week after giving birth to her fourth child.)

One year ago: President George W. Bush visited Saudi Arabia, where he failed to win help from Saudi leaders to relieve skyrocketing American gas prices. Osama bin Laden said in an audio statement that al-Qaida would continue its holy war against Israel and its allies until the liberation of Palestine. U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Tyrone L. Hadnott, accused of raping a 14-year-old Japanese girl in Okinawa, Japan, was found guilty of abusive sexual conduct by a U.S. military court and sentenced to four years in prison. Robert Mondavi, the patriarch of California wine country, died in Yountville at age 94.

Today's Birthdays: Actor George Gaynes is 92. Actor Harry Carey Jr. is 88. Jazz musician Billy Cobham is 65. Actor Bill Smitrovich is 62. Actor Pierce Brosnan is 56. Actress Debra Winger is 54. Soviet-born gymnast Olga Korbut is 54. Actress Mare Winningham is 50. Rock musician Boyd Tinsley (The Dave Matthews Band) is 45. Rock musician Krist Novoselic is 44. Singer Janet Jackson is 43. Country singer Scott Reeves (Blue County) is 43. Actor Brian F. O'Byrne is 42. R&B singer Ralph Tresvant (New Edition) is 41. Actor David Boreanaz is 40. Political correspondent Tucker Carlson is 40. Actress Tracey Gold is 40. Retired tennis star Gabriela Sabatini is 39. Country singer Rick Trevino is 38. Musician Simon Katz is 38. Actress Tori Spelling is 36. Actress Melanie Lynskey is 32. Actress Megan Fox is 23. Actor Marc John Jefferies is 19. Actor Miles Heizer is 15.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 17-May-2009, 11:36 AM
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down racially segregated public schools in its Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision.

On this date:

In 1792, the New York Stock Exchange had its origins as a group of brokers met under a tree on Wall Street.

In 1814, Norway's constitution was signed, providing for a limited monarchy.

In 1849, fire erupted in St. Louis, resulting in the loss of three lives, more than 400 buildings and some two dozen steamships.

In 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was run; the winner was Aristides.

In 1938, Congress passed the Second Vinson Act, providing for a strengthened U.S. Navy. The radio quiz show ``Information, Please!'' made its debut on the NBC Blue Network.

In 1939, Britain's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived in Quebec on the first visit to Canada by reigning British sovereigns.

In 1946, President Harry S. Truman seized control of the nation's railroads, delaying - but not preventing - a threatened strike by engineers and trainmen.

In 1973, the Senate began its televised hearings into the Watergate scandal.

In 1980, rioting that claimed 18 lives erupted in Miami's Liberty City after an all-white jury in Tampa acquitted four former Miami police officers of fatally beating black insurance executive Arthur McDuffie.

In 1987, 37 American sailors were killed when an Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S. Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf. (Iraq and the U.S. called the attack a mistake.)

Ten years ago: The Supreme Court banned states from paying lower welfare benefits to newcomers as opposed to longtime residents. Labor Party leader Ehud Barak unseated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israeli elections. Makah Indians in Washington state harpooned a gray whale for the first time in 70 years.

Five years ago: Massachusetts became the first state to allow legal same-sex marriages. Abdel-Zahraa Othman, also known as Izzadine Saleem, head of the Iraqi Governing Council, was killed in a suicide car bombing in Baghdad. More than 100 people were killed in a prison fire in northern Honduras. Transsexuals were cleared to compete in the Olympics for the first time. Actor Tony Randall died in New York at age 84.

One year ago: Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was flown to a Boston hospital after suffering a seizure at his Cape Cod home. (He was later diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor.) Nearing the end of his five-day Mideast trip, President George W. Bush held a rapid-fire series of diplomatic meetings at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik in Egypt. Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown ran away with the Preakness. (However, the horse's Triple Crown quest ended three weeks later when he finished last in the Belmont Stakes.)

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 18-May-2009, 04:51 AM
On May 18, 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Plessy v. Ferguson, endorsed ``separate but equal'' racial segregation, a concept the court renounced 58 years later with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

On this date:

In 1642, Montreal was founded by French colonists.

In 1804, the French Senate proclaimed Napoleon Bonaparte emperor.

In 1920, Pope John Paul II was born Karol Wojtyla in Wadowice, Poland.

In 1926, evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson vanished while visiting a beach in Venice, Calif.; she reappeared more than a month later, claiming to have been kidnapped.

In 1927, a schoolhouse in Bath, Mich., was blown up with explosives planted by local farmer Andrew Kehoe, who then set off a dynamite-laden automobile; the attacks killed 38 children and six adults, including Kehoe, who'd earlier killed his wife.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces finally occupied Monte Cassino in Italy after a four-month struggle that claimed some 20,000 lives.

In 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier as she piloted a Canadair F-86 Sabre jet over Rogers Dry Lake, Calif.

In 1969, astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, Thomas P. Stafford and John W. Young blasted off aboard Apollo 10 on a mission to orbit the moon.

In 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state exploded, leaving 57 people dead or missing.

Ten years ago: Georgette Smith, a 42-year-old Florida woman left paralyzed from the neck down after being shot by her elderly mother, won the right to be taken off life support. (Smith died the next day, shortly after being removed from a ventilator; her mother, Shirley Egan, was later acquitted of attempted murder.) Two Serb soldiers held as prisoners of war by the U.S. military were turned over to Yugoslav authorities.

Five years ago: Former New York City fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen and former police chief Bernard Kerik came under harsh criticism for what some members of the Sept. 11 commission said was an initial lack of cooperation between their departments on 9/11. Stunning her supporters, Sonia Gandhi announced she would ``humbly decline'' to be the next prime minister of India. Randy Johnson, at age 40, became the oldest pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game; the lefty retired all 27 batters to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Atlanta Braves 2-0.

One year ago: President George W. Bush lectured the Arab world about everything from political repression to the denial of women's rights in a speech at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheik. Kenny Chesney was named entertainer of the year by the Academy of Country Music for the fourth straight time. Russia won its first title at the world hockey championships since 1993 with a 5-4 win over Canada.

Slàinte,    

Patch    



Posted by: InRi 18-May-2009, 09:42 AM
...two I have yet:

1848: In the Frankfurt/Main St.Pauls church the National assembly concregated the first time, thus exist the first time a democratic elected parliament for Germany.

1897: In London is released the novel "Dracula" by the Irish author Bram Stoker.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: greenldydragon 18-May-2009, 09:48 PM
1860: Lincoln nominated for Presidency
1783: The first United Empire Loyalists, known to American Patriots as Tories, arrive in Canada to take refuge under the British crown in Parrtown, Saint John, Nova Scotia (now New Brunswick), Canada. Most of the refugees came from New York, which had been under royal control throughout most of the War for Independence.
1861: Arkansas admitted to Confederate States of America
1593: Scholars believe an arrest warrant was issued on this day for Christopher Marlowe, after fellow writer Thomas Kyd accused Marlowe of heresy.
1917: the US Congress passed the Selective Service Act
(These are from the History Channel's "This Day in History" Section)

Posted by: InRi 19-May-2009, 09:57 AM
Today is Tuesday May-19-2009.

What was happen in

1883: William Frederick Cody known as "Buffalo Bill" performed his Wild West Show in Omaha (Nebraska) the first time and and began to tour thereafter.

1935: The first section of "Reichsautobahn" was opened between Frankfurt/Main and Darmstadt (Germany)

1997: A heavy cyclone in Bangladesh put more than 500 people to dead. There are thousands of injured people and r.a. 2.5 million people became homeless.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 22-May-2009, 05:00 AM
On May 22, 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 10, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, flew to within nine miles of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.

On this date:

In 1813, composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany.

In 1859, author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

In 1868, a major train robbery took place near Marshfield, Ind., as members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in loot.

In 1907, actor-director Laurence Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England.

In 1939, the foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a ``Pact of Steel'' committing the two countries to a military alliance.

In 1947, the Truman Doctrine was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.

In 1968, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)

In 1972, President Richard Nixon began a visit to the Soviet Union, during which he and Kremlin leaders signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The island nation of Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka.

In 1979, Canadians voted in parliamentary elections that put the Progressive Conservatives in power, ending the 11-year tenure of Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC's ``Tonight Show'' for the last time.

Ten years ago: Columbine High School seniors wearing blue-and-silver gowns marched single file in a graduation ceremony that mixed celebration of the day with sorrow for victims of the recent massacre.

Five years ago: In Tunisia, Arab leaders convened their annual summit, but the opening session was overshadowed by the walkout of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who criticized peace efforts. Filmmaker Michael Moore's ``Fahrenheit 9/11,'' a scathing indictment of Bush White House actions after the Sept. 11 attacks, won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Samuel C. Johnson Jr., who'd built the family's S.C. Johnson Wax company into a consumer products giant, died at age 76.

One year ago: A Texas appeals court said the state had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist sect's ranch. (After the Texas Supreme Court upheld the ruling, the children were returned to their parents.) Britain's Conservative Party won a special election that was viewed as a barometer of the popularity of Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Gordon Brown. Indiana Jones returned to the big screen in ``Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.''

Today's Birthdays: Movie reviewer Judith Crist is 87. Singer Charles Aznavour is 85. Actor Michael Constantine is 82. Conductor Peter Nero is 75. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 71. Actor Frank Converse is 71. Actor Michael Sarrazin is 69. Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw is 69. Actress Barbara Parkins is 67. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 59. Actor-producer Al Corley is 53. Singer Morrissey is 50. Actress Ann Cusack is 48. Country musician Dana Williams (Diamond Rio) is 48. Rock musician Jesse Valenzuela is 47. R&B singer Johnny Gill (New Edition) is 43. Rock musician Dan Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) is 42. Actress Brooke Smith is 42. Model Naomi Campbell is 39. Actress Anna Belknap is 37. Actress Alison Eastwood is 37. Singer Donell Jones is 36. Actress A.J. Langer is 35. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is 27.

Slàinte,    

Patch    


Posted by: InRi 22-May-2009, 09:10 AM
one I have yet...

1629: The treaty of Lübeck ended the participance of Denmark in the Thirty Years War as a warring party.

Best Regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 22-May-2009, 07:22 PM
On May 22, 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 10, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, flew to within nine miles of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing. On this date: In 1813, composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany. In 1859, author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

In 1868, a major train robbery took place near Marshfield, Ind., as members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in loot.

In 1907, actor-director Laurence Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England.

In 1939, the foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a ``Pact of Steel'' committing the two countries to a military alliance.

In 1947, the Truman Doctrine was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.

In 1968, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)

In 1972, President Richard Nixon began a visit to the Soviet Union, during which he and Kremlin leaders signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The island nation of Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka. In

1979, Canadians voted in parliamentary elections that put the Progressive Conservatives in power, ending the 11-year tenure of Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. In

1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC's ``Tonight Show'' for the last time.

Ten years ago: Columbine High School seniors wearing blue-and-silver gowns marched single file in a graduation ceremony that mixed celebration of the day with sorrow for victims of the recent massacre.

Five years ago: In Tunisia, Arab leaders convened their annual summit, but the opening session was overshadowed by the walkout of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who criticized peace efforts. Filmmaker Michael Moore's ``Fahrenheit 9/11,'' a scathing indictment of Bush White House actions after the Sept. 11 attacks, won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Samuel C. Johnson Jr., who'd built the family's S.C. Johnson Wax company into a consumer products giant, died at age 76.

One year ago: A Texas appeals court said the state had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist sect's ranch. (After the Texas Supreme Court upheld the ruling, the children were returned to their parents.) Britain's Conservative Party won a special election that was viewed as a barometer of the popularity of Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Gordon Brown. Indiana Jones returned to the big screen in ``Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.''

Today's Birthdays: Movie reviewer Judith Crist is 87. Singer Charles Aznavour is 85. Actor Michael Constantine is 82. Conductor Peter Nero is 75. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 71. Actor Frank Converse is 71. Actor Michael Sarrazin is 69. Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw is 69. Actress Barbara Parkins is 67. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 59. Actor-producer Al Corley is 53. Singer Morrissey is 50. Actress Ann Cusack is 48. Country musician Dana Williams (Diamond Rio) is 48. Rock musician Jesse Valenzuela is 47. R&B singer Johnny Gill (New Edition) is 43. Rock musician Dan Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) is 42. Actress Brooke Smith is 42. Model Naomi Campbell is 39. Actress Anna Belknap is 37. Actress Alison Eastwood is 37. Singer Donell Jones is 36. Actress A.J. Langer is 35. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is 27

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 23-May-2009, 10:48 AM
Today is Sturday May-23-2009.

What was happen in

1887: Pope Leo XIII. accepted for the Chatholic Church in the German Empire the civil marriage, the governmental school supervising and the prohibition of political actuation for priests.

1934: On a country road in Ruston (Louisiana) died the gangster couple Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow, known as Bonnie and Clyde, after a chase in a hail of bullets by police.
Both commited with their gang a lot of murders and bank robberies.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 25-May-2009, 07:14 AM
On May 25, 1979, 273 people died when an American Airlines DC-10 crashed on takeoff from Chicago's O'Hare airport. Six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared while on his way to a school bus stop in lower Manhattan; his fate has never been determined.

On this date:

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention began meeting in Philadelphia after enough delegates had shown up for a quorum.

In 1810, Argentina began its revolt against Spanish rule.

In 1895, playwright Oscar Wilde was convicted of a morals charge in London; he was sentenced to two years in prison.

In 1916, the Chicago Tribune published an interview with Henry Ford in which the American industrialist was quoted as saying, ``History is more or less bunk.''

In 1935, Babe Ruth hit the 714th and final home run of his career, for the Boston Braves, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 1946, Transjordan (now Jordan) became a kingdom as it proclaimed its new monarch, Abdullah I.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy, addressing Congress, called on the nation to work toward putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

In 1968, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis was dedicated by Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Interior Secretary Stewart Udall.

In 1969, the motion picture ``Midnight Cowboy,'' starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, opened in New York.

In 1986, an estimated 7 million Americans participated in ``Hands Across America,'' forming a line across the country to raise money for the nation's hungry and homeless.

Ten years ago: A bipartisan congressional report said China's two-decade effort to steal U.S. weapons technology continued well into the Clinton administration; President Bill Clinton responded that his administration was already ``moving aggressively to tighten security.''

Five years ago: The Boston Archdiocese said it would close 65 of 357 parishes, an offshoot of the clergy sex abuse scandal. Peace activist David Dellinger, one of the ``Chicago Seven'' defendants, died in Montpelier, Vt., at age 88. Publisher Roger W. Straus Jr. died in New York at age 87.

One year ago: A tornado tore through Parkersburg, Iowa, killing eight people. NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander arrived to begin searching for water on the Red Planet. Seven crashes and spinouts marred the first Indianapolis 500 since the two warring open-wheel series (CART and IRL) came together under the IndyCar banner; Scott Dixon stayed ahead of the trouble to win the race. The French film ``The Class'' won top honors at the Cannes Film Festival. J.R. Simplot, Idaho's billionaire potato king, died in Boise at age 99.

Today's Birthdays: Lyricist Hal David is 88. Former White House news secretary Ron Nessen is 75. Country singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall is 73. Actor Sir Ian McKellen is 70. Actress Dixie Carter is 70. Country singer Jessi Colter is 66. Actress-singer Leslie Uggams is 66. Movie director and Muppeteer Frank Oz is 65. Actress Karen Valentine is 62. Rock singer Klaus Meine (The Scorpions) is 61. Actress Patti D'Arbanville is 58. Actress Connie Sellecca is 54. Rock singer-musician Paul Weller is 51. Actor-comedian Mike Myers is 46. Actor Matt Borlenghi is 42. Actor Joseph Reitman is 41. Rock musician Glen Drover is 40. Actress Anne Heche is 40. Actresses Lindsay and Sidney Greenbush (``Little House on the Prairie'') are 39. Actor-comedian Jamie Kennedy is 39. Actor Justin Henry is 38. Rapper Daz Dillinger is 36. Actress Molly Sims is 36. Singer Lauryn Hill is 34. Actor Cillian Murphy is 33. Actor Ethan Suplee is 33. Rock musician Todd Whitener is 31. Actor Corbin Allred is 30. San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young is 30. San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman is 25. Actress-singer Lauren Frost is 24.



Posted by: InRi 25-May-2009, 09:04 AM
in addition...

1809: In the battle on the "Berg Isel" near Innsbruck (Tyrol) the Tyroleans under the leadership of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andreas_Hofer beated the French and the Bavarians.

1932: Goofy had his first performance in the animated movie "Mickey's revue".

1977: World premiere of "Star Wars" by George Lucas.

1989: Mikhail Gorbachev becames Russian president.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: InRi 26-May-2009, 10:37 AM
Today is Tuesday, May-26-2009.

What was happen in:

1896: On the New York stock exchange was announced the Dow-Jones-Index the first time

2008: The spacecraft "Phoenix" landed on Mars. On Nov-02-2008 sent "Phoenix" the last data and on Nov-10 ended the mission officially. "Phoenix" was started on Aug-04-2007 from Earth.

Best regards

Ingo


Posted by: InRi 27-May-2009, 10:47 AM
Today is Wednesday, May-27-2009

What was happen in:

1937: Opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in San FRancisco

1941: Within the North-Atlantic the German battleship "Bismarck" was sank by its own crew. 1947 people died.

1972: The German TV broadcasted the first episode of "Star Trek".

Best regards

Ingo


Posted by: Patch 28-May-2009, 05:42 AM
On May 28, 1934, the Dionne quintuplets - Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie and Yvonne - were born to Elzire Dionne at the family farm in Ontario, Canada.

On this date:

In 1533, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declared the marriage of England's King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn valid.

In 1863, the first black regiment from the North left Boston to fight in the Civil War.

In 1892, the Sierra Club was organized in San Francisco.

In 1918, the Battle of Cantigny began during World War I as American troops captured the French town from the Germans.

In 1929, the first all-color talking picture, ``On with the Show,'' opened in New York.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington signaling that vehicular traffic could begin crossing the just-opened Golden Gate Bridge in California. Neville Chamberlain became prime minister of Britain.

In 1959, the U.S. Army launched Able, a rhesus monkey, and Baker, a squirrel monkey, aboard a Jupiter missile for a suborbital flight which both primates survived.

In 1972, Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the English throne to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson, died in Paris at age 77.

In 1977, 165 people were killed when fire raced through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Ky.

In 1987, Mathias Rust, a 19-year-old West German pilot, landed a private plane in Moscow's Red Square.

Ten years ago: Russia's Balkan envoy, Viktor Chernomyrdin met with Slobodan Milosevic for nine hours, declaring the Yugoslav president key to a Kosovo peace plan despite complications caused by Milosevic's indictment for war crimes.

Five years ago: The Iraqi Governing Council chose Iyad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, to become prime minister of Iraq's interim government. Some three dozen people were killed by a powerful earthquake in northern Iran.

One year ago: The White House reacted angrily to a highly critical memoir by President George W. Bush's former press secretary, Scott McClellan, who wrote that Bush had relied on an aggressive ``political propaganda campaign'' instead of the truth to sell the Iraq war. Nepal's lawmakers abolished the monarchy and declared the country a republic, ending 239 years of royal rule.

Today's Birthdays: Rockabilly singer-musician Sonny Burgess is 80. Actress Carroll Baker is 78. Producer-director Irwin Winkler is 78. Actor John Karlen is 76. Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry West is 71. Actress Beth Howland is 68. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is 65. Singer Gladys Knight is 65. Singer Billy Vera is 65. Singer John Fogerty is 64. Actress-director Sondra Locke is 62. Country musician Jerry Douglas (Alison Krauss and Union Station) is 53. Actor Brandon Cruz (``The Courtship of Eddie's Father'') is 47. Country singer Phil Vassar is 47. Actress Christa Miller is 45. Singer-musician Chris Ballew (Presidents of the USA) is 44. Rapper Chubb Rock is 41. Singer Kylie Minogue is 41. Actor Justin Kirk is 40. Television personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck (``The View'') is 32. Actor Jesse Bradford is 30. Actress Monica Keena is 30. Pop singer Colbie Caillat is 24. Actress Carey Mulligan is 24. Actor Joseph Cross is 23.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 29-May-2009, 11:53 AM
Today is Friday May-29-2009.

What was happen in

1453: Doom of the East-Roman Empire. The Ottomans conquered Byzantium.

1919: First experimental proof of the theory of relativity: Arthur Eddington measured during a solar eclipse the deflexion of starlight by gravitational force.

1953: First ascent of Mt. Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 30-May-2009, 09:05 AM
May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen, France.

In 1854, the territories of Nebraska and Kansas were established.

In 1883, 12 people were trampled to death when a rumor that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge in New York was in imminent danger of collapsing triggered a stampede.

In 1909, the ``king of swing,'' Benny Goodman, was born in Chicago.

In 1911, Indianapolis saw its first long-distance auto race; Ray Harroun was the winner.

In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington in a ceremony attended by President Warren G. Harding, Chief Justice William Howard Taft and lawyer Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd.

In 1937, 10 people were killed when police fired on steelworkers demonstrating near the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago.

In 1943, American forces secured the Aleutian island of Attu from the Japanese during World War II.

In 1958, unidentified American service members killed in World War II and the Korean War were interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

In 1959, Louisiana Gov. Earl K. Long was committed to a psychiatric center in Galveston, Texas, after apparently suffering a mental breakdown.

In 1971, the American space probe Mariner 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., on a journey to Mars.

Ten years ago: Astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery rigged cranes and other tools to the exterior of the international space station during a spacewalk; then, the astronauts entered the orbiting outpost for three days of making repairs and delivering supplies. Kenny Brack won the crash-marred Indianapolis 500, driving a car owned by racing legend A.J. Foyt.

Five years ago: Saudi commandos drove al-Qaida militants from a housing complex in the kingdom's oil hub, ending a shooting and hostage-taking rampage that had left 22 dead, most of them foreigners. Gunmen in Pakistan killed a senior pro-Taliban Sunni cleric (Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai), sparking riots. Ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide left Jamaica for South Africa, saying it would be his ``temporary home'' until he could return to Haiti. Buddy Rice won the Indianapolis 500 in the rain.

One year ago: A construction crane snapped and smashed into an apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, killing two workers in the city's second such tragedy in 2 1/2 months. Diplomats from 111 nations meeting in Dublin formally adopted a landmark treaty banning cluster bombs. (The United States and other leading cluster bomb makers - Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan - boycotted the talks.) Lorenzo Odone, whose parents' battle to save him from the rare nerve disease ALD inspired ``Lorenzo's Oil,'' died in Fairfax, Va., a day after his 30th birthday.

Today's Birthdays: Country musician Johnny Gimble is 83. Actor Clint Walker is 82. Actor Keir Dullea is 73. Actress Ruta Lee is 73. Actor Michael J. Pollard is 70. Rock musician Lenny Davidson (The Dave Clark Five) is 65. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky is 58. Actor Colm Meaney is 56. Actor Ted McGinley is 51. Actor Ralph Carter is 48. Actress Tonya Pinkins is 47. Country singer Wynonna Judd is 45. Rock musician Tom Morello (Audioslave; Rage Against The Machine) is 45. Movie director Antoine Fuqua is 44. Rock musician Patrick Dahlheimer (Live) is 38. Actress Idina Menzel is 38. Actor Trey Parker is 37. Rapper Cee-Lo is 35. Rapper Remy Ma is 29. Actor Blake Bashoff is 28. Christian rock musician James Smith is 27.

Slàinte,    

Patch    



Posted by: Patch 30-May-2009, 11:30 PM
On May 31, 1889, more than 2,000 people perished when a dam break sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pa.

On this date:

In 1809, composer Franz Joseph Haydn died in Vienna at age 77.

In 1819, poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, N.Y.

In 1910, the Union of South Africa was founded.

In 1916, during World War I, British and German fleets fought the naval Battle of Jutland off Denmark; there was no clear-cut victor, although the British suffered heavier losses.

In 1949, former State Department official Alger Hiss went on trial in New York, charged with perjury. (The jury ended up deadlocked, but Hiss was convicted in a second trial.)

In 1961, South Africa became an independent republic.

In 1970, tens of thousands of people died in an earthquake in Peru.

In 1977, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, three years in the making, was completed.

In 1989, House Speaker Jim Wright, dogged by questions about his ethics, announced he would resign. (Tom Foley later succeeded him.)

In 1994, the United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.

Ten years ago: During a Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery, President Bill Clinton asked Americans to reconsider their ambivalence about Kosovo, calling it ``a very small province in a small country. But it is a big test of what we believe in.'' In Turkey, the treason trial of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan opened. (Ocalan was later convicted and sentenced to death, but the death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2002.)

Five years ago: In Memorial Day tributes, President George W. Bush declared that ``America is safer'' because of its fighting forces while Sen. John Kerry visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A bomb ripped through a Shiite Muslim mosque in Karachi, Pakistan, during evening prayers, killing at least 19 people. Alberta Martin, one of the last widows of a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, died in Enterprise, Ala., at age 97.

One year ago: Space shuttle Discovery and a crew of seven blasted into orbit, carrying a giant Japanese lab addition to the international space station.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Elaine Stewart is 80. Actor-director Clint Eastwood is 79. Singer Peter Yarrow is 71. Former Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite is 70. Singer-musician Augie Meyers is 69. Actress Sharon Gless is 66. Football Hall of Famer Joe Namath is 66. Actor Tom Berenger is 59. Actor Gregory Harrison is 59. Actress Roma Maffia is 51. Comedian Chris Elliott is 49. Actor Kyle Secor is 49. Actress Lea Thompson is 48. Singer Corey Hart is 47. Actor Hugh Dillon is 46. Rapper DMC is 45. Actress Brooke Shields is 44. Country musician Ed Adkins (The Derailers) is 42. Jazz musician Christian McBride is 37. Actor Colin Farrell is 33. Rock musician Scott Klopfenstein (Reel Big Fish) is 32. Actor Eric Christian Olsen is 32. Rock musician Andy Hurley (Fall Out Boy) is 29. Actor Jonathan Tucker is 27. Actor Curtis Williams Jr. is 22.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 01-Jun-2009, 01:33 AM
On June 1, 1813, the mortally wounded commander of the U.S. frigate Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence, said, ``Don't give up the ship'' during a losing battle with a British frigate, the HMS Shannon, during the War of 1812.

On this date:

In 1533, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was crowned as Queen Consort of England.

In 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state of the union.

In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state.

In 1868, James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, died near Lancaster, Pa., at age 77.

In 1909, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition opened in Seattle. (The fair closed the following October.)

In 1943, a civilian flight from Portugal to England was shot down by the Germans during World War II, killing all 17 people aboard, including actor Leslie Howard.

In 1958, Charles de Gaulle became premier of France, marking the beginning of the end of the Fourth Republic.

In 1979, the short-lived state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia came into existence.

In 1980, CNN made its debut.

In 1989, former Sunday school teacher John E. List, sought for almost 18 years in the slayings of his mother, wife and three children in Westfield, N.J., was arrested in Richmond, Va. (List was later sentenced to life in prison; he died March 21, 2008.)

Ten years ago: An American Airlines MD-82 landed off-center during a severe thunderstorm in Little Rock, Ark., and barreled off the end of the runway, breaking apart and catching fire; 11 people, including the captain, died. President Bill Clinton ordered a government investigation into whether - and how - the entertainment business was marketing violence to children. (In a report released in September 2000, federal regulators said the movie, video game and music industries aggressively marketed to underage youths violent products that carried adult ratings.)

Five years ago: A federal judge declared the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act unconstitutional, saying the measure infringed on women's right to choose. (The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law in April 2007.) Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, a powerful Sunni Muslim tribal leader and critic of the U.S.-led occupation, was named president of Iraq's incoming government. Historian-biographer William Manchester died in Middletown, Conn., at age 82.

One year ago: Hillary Rodham Clinton won a lopsided, but largely symbolic, victory in Puerto Rico's presidential primary. Fire ripped through a lot at Universal Studios. At least eight people suffocated at an overcrowded stadium in Monrovia during a soccer match between host Liberia and Gambia. NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander took its first practice scoop of Martian soil. Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent died in Paris at age 71.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Richard Erdman is 84. Actor Andy Griffith is 83. Actor Edward Woodward is 79. Singer Pat Boone is 75. Actor-writer-director Peter Masterson is 75. Actor Morgan Freeman is 72. Actor Rene Auberjonois is 69. Opera singer Frederica von Stade is 64. Actor Brian Cox is 63. Rock musician Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones) is 62. Actor Jonathan Pryce is 62. Actor Powers Boothe is 61. Actress Gemma Craven is 59. Blues-rock musician Tom Principato is 57. Country singer Ronnie Dunn (Brooks and Dunn) is 56. Actress Lisa Hartman Black is 53. Singer-musician Alan Wilder is 50. Rock musician Simon Gallup (The Cure) is 49. Country musician Richard Comeaux (River Road) is 48. Actor-comedian Mark Curry is 48. Actor-singer Jason Donovan is 41. Actress Teri Polo is 40. Basketball player-turned-coach Tony Bennett is 40. Model-actress Heidi Klum is 36. Singer Alanis Morissette is 35. Washington Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss is 30. TV personality Damien Fahey is 29. Pop singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile is 28. Actor Taylor Handley is 25.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 02-Jun-2009, 05:40 AM
On June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain was crowned in Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI.

On this date:

In 1886, President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in a White House ceremony.

In 1897, Mark Twain, 61, was quoted by the New York Journal as saying from London that ``the report of my death was an exaggeration.''

In 1924, Congress passed a measure that was then signed by President Calvin Coolidge granting American citizenship to all U.S.-born American Indians.

In 1941, Lou Gehrig, baseball's ``Iron Horse,'' died in New York of a degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; he was 37.

In 1946, Italy held a referendum which resulted in the Italian monarchy being abolished in favor of a republic.

In 1966, the U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface.

In 1969, the American destroyer USS Frank E. Evans was struck and cut in two by the Australian aircraft carrier Melbourne during naval exercises in the South China Sea; 74 crew members from the Frank E. Evans were killed.

In 1975, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller said his commission had found no widespread pattern of illegal activities at the CIA.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II arrived in his native Poland on the first visit by a pope to a Communist country.

In 1986, for the first time, the public could watch the proceedings of the U.S. Senate on television as a six-week experiment of televised sessions began.

Ten years ago: South Africans went to the polls in their second post-apartheid election, giving the African National Congress a decisive victory; retiring president Nelson Mandela was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki.

Five years ago: Three foreign aid workers and two Afghans were shot and killed in an ambush in northwestern Afghanistan in an attack claimed by resurgent Taliban militants. Software engineer Ken Jennings began his 74-game winning streak on the syndicated TV game show ``Jeopardy!''

One year ago: Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy underwent 3 1/2 hours of risky and delicate surgery to cut out as much of his cancerous brain tumor as possible. Polygamist sect children began to be reunited with their parents two months after Texas removed the children from the sect's ranch. The space shuttle Discovery linked up with the international space station, and the 10 space travelers immediately got ready to install the Japanese lab Kibo. Bo Diddley, 79, a founding father of rock 'n' roll, died in Archer, Fla., at age 79. Actor-director Mel Ferrer died in Santa Barbara, Calif., at age 90.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Milo O'Shea is 84. Actress-singer Sally Kellerman is 72. Actor Ron Ely is 71. Actor Stacy Keach is 68. Rock musician Charlie Watts is 68. Singer William Guest (Gladys Knight & The Pips) is 68. Actor Charles Haid is 66. Composer Marvin Hamlisch is 65. Movie director Lasse Hallstrom is 63. Actor Jerry Mathers is 61. Actress Joanna Gleason is 59. Actor Dennis Haysbert is 55. Comedian Dana Carvey is 54. Actor Gary Grimes is 54. Rock singer Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) is 49. Singer Merril Bainbridge is 41. Rapper B-Real (Cypress Hill) is 39. Actress Paula Cale is 39. Actor-comedian Wayne Brady is 37. Actor Wentworth Miller is 37. Rock musician Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane) is 33. Actor Zachary Quinto is 32. Actor Dominic Cooper is 31. Actress Nikki Cox is 31. Actor Justin Long is 31. Actor Deon Richmond is 31. R&B singer Irish Grinstead (702) is 29. Rock musician Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes) is 29. Country singer Dan Cahoon (Marshall Dyllon) is 26.

Thought for Today: ``Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn't.'' - Mark Twain (1835-1910).

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 03-Jun-2009, 01:14 AM
On June 3, 1808, Jefferson Davis - the first and only president of the Confederate States of America - was born in Christian County, Ky.

On this date:

In 1621, the Dutch West India Company received its charter for a trade monopoly in parts of the Americas and Africa.

In 1888, the poem ``Casey at the Bat,'' by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, was first published, in the San Francisco Daily Examiner.

In 1935, the French liner Normandie set a record on its maiden voyage, arriving in New York after crossing the Atlantic in just four days.

In 1937, the Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the British throne, married Wallis Warfield Simpson in Monts, France.

In 1948, the 200-inch reflecting Hale Telescope at the Palomar Mountain Observatory in California was dedicated.

In 1963, Pope John XXIII died at age 81; he was succeeded by Pope Paul VI.

In 1965, astronaut Edward White became the first American to ``walk'' in space, during the flight of Gemini 4.

In 1968, pop artist Andy Warhol was shot and critically wounded in his New York film studio, known as ``The Factory,'' by Valerie Solanas, an actress and self-styled militant feminist.

In 1983, Gordon Kahl, a militant tax protester wanted in the slayings of two U.S. marshals in North Dakota, was killed in a gun battle with law-enforcement officials near Smithville, Ark.

In 1989, Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died. Chinese army troops began their sweep of Beijing to crush student-led pro-democracy demonstrations. SkyDome (now called Rogers Centre) opened in Toronto.

Ten years ago: Caving in to Russian and Western demands, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic accepted a peace plan for Kosovo designed to end mass expulsions of ethnic Albanians and 11 weeks of NATO airstrikes.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush announced the resignation of CIA Director George Tenet amid a controversy over intelligence lapses about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Frances Shand Kydd, the mother of the late Princess Diana, died at her home near Oban, Scotland, at age 68. Julio Franco became, at age 45, the oldest player in major league history to hit a grand slam, connecting in Atlanta's 8-4 victory over Philadelphia.

One year ago: Barack Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, making him the first black candidate to lead his party. Astronauts installed a 37-foot-long Japanese lab at the international space station. Health officials said an outbreak of salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes was reported in nine states.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Tony Curtis is 84. TV producer Chuck Barris is 80. Actress Irma P. Hall is 74. Author Larry McMurtry is 73. Rock singer Ian Hunter (Mott The Hoople) is 70. Singer Eddie Holman is 63. Musician Too Slim (Riders in the Sky) is 61. Rock musician Richard Moore is 60. Singer Suzi Quatro is 59. Singer Deneice Williams is 58. Singer Dan Hill is 55. Actor Scott Valentine is 51. Rock musician Kerry King (Slayer) is 45. Rock singer-musician Mike Gordon is 44. CNN host Anderson Cooper is 42. Country singer Jamie O'Neal is 41. Singers Ariel and Gabriel Hernandez (No Mercy) are 38. Tennis player Rafael Nadal is 23. Actress-singer Lalaine (``Lizzie McGuire'') is 22

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 04-Jun-2009, 05:56 AM
On June 4, 1942, the Pacific Battle of Midway began during World War II; three days later, American naval forces claimed a decisive victory over the Japanese.

On this date:

In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers first publicly demonstrated their hot-air balloon, which did not carry any passengers, over Annonay, France.

In 1784, opera singer Elizabeth Thible became the first woman to fly aboard a Montgolfier hot-air balloon, over Lyon, France.

In 1892, the Sierra Club was incorporated in San Francisco.

In 1896, Henry Ford made a successful pre-dawn test run of his horseless carriage, called a ``quadricycle,'' through the streets of Detroit.

In 1919, Congress approved the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing citizens the right to vote regardless of their gender, and sent it to the states for ratification.

In 1939, the German ocean liner St. Louis, carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees from Germany, was turned away from the Florida coast by U.S. officials.

In 1940, the Allied military evacuation from Dunkirk, France, ended.

In 1954, French Premier Joseph Laniel and Vietnamese Premier Buu Loc signed treaties in Paris according ``complete independence'' to Vietnam.

In 1979, Joe Clark of the Progressive Conservatives became the 16th prime minister of Canada.

In 1989, Chinese army troops stormed Beijing to crush a pro-democracy movement, killing hundreds, possibly thousands, of people. ``Jerome Robbins' Broadway'' won best musical at the 43rd annual Tony Awards; ``The Heidi Chronicles'' by Wendy Wasserstein won best play.

Ten years ago: Using a provision of the Constitution allowing him to bypass the Senate, President Bill Clinton appointed openly gay San Francisco businessman James C. Hormel ambassador to Luxembourg while Congress was in recess. On the 10th anniversary of China's crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests, tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong held a candlelight vigil.

Five years ago: A powerful bomb blast ripped through a crowded outdoor market in central Russia, killing at least 11 people. President George W. Bush nominated former Missouri Sen. John Danforth to be America's U.N. ambassador.

One year ago: Barack Obama, having clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, picked Caroline Kennedy to help him choose a running mate. Police in Hartford, Conn., released a surveillance video showing a 78-year-old man being struck by a hit-and-run driver on a busy city street and being ignored by most passers-by. (The victim, Angel Acre Torres, was removed from life support on May 11, 2009.) The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 seasons with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the finals.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Bruce Dern is 73. Musician Roger Ball is 65. Actress-singer Michelle Phillips is 65. Jazz musician Anthony Braxton is 64. Singer Gordon Waller (Peter and Gordon) is 64. Rock musician Danny Brown (The Fixx) is 58. Actor Parker Stevenson is 57. Actor Keith David is 53. Actress Julie Gholson is 51. Actor Eddie Velez is 51. Singer-musician El DeBarge is 48. Actress Julie White is 48. Tennis player Andrea Jaeger is 44. Actor Scott Wolf is 41. Comedian Horatio Sanz is 40. Actor Noah Wyle is 38. Rock musician Stefan Lessard (The Dave Matthews Band) is 35. Actor-comedian Russell Brand is 34. Actress Angelina Jolie is 34. Rock musician JoJo Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 29. Model Bar Refaeli is 24. Rock musician Zac Farro is 19.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 05-Jun-2009, 02:21 AM
On June 5, 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel after claiming victory in California's Democratic presidential primary. Gunman Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was immediately arrested.

On this date:

In 1884, Civil War hero Gen. William T. Sherman refused the Republican presidential nomination, saying, ``I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected.''

In 1916, the Arab Revolt against Turkish Ottoman rule began during World War I.

In 1917, about 10 million American men began registering for the draft in World War I.

In 1933, the United States went off the gold standard.

In 1940, during the World War II Battle of France, Germany attacked French forces along the Somme line.

In 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall gave a speech at Harvard University in which he outlined an aid program for Europe that came to be known as The Marshall Plan.

In 1967, war erupted in the Mideast as Israel raided military aircraft parked on the ground in Egypt; Syria, Jordan and Iraq entered the conflict.

In 1976, 14 people were killed when the Teton Dam in Idaho burst.

In 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that five homosexuals in Los Angeles had come down with a rare kind of pneumonia; they were the first recognized cases of what later became known as AIDS.

In 1993, country star Conway Twitty died in Springfield, Mo., at age 59.

Ten years ago: Jazz and pop singer Mel Torme died in Los Angeles at age 73. Pope John Paul II began a 13-day pilgrimage to his native Poland. Charismatic failed in his bid to win racing's Triple Crown, finishing third behind Lemon Drop Kid and Vision and Verse in the Belmont Stakes. Steffi Graf won her sixth French Open title, beating top-ranked Martina Hingis 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, the first devoted to any women's sport, opened in Knoxville, Tenn.

Five years ago: Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died in Los Angeles at age 93 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. The nuclear submarine USS Jimmy Carter was christened in Groton, Conn., in the presence of the former president and his wife, Rosalynn, who cracked a bottle of champagne against the sail. Smarty Jones lost his Triple Crown bid when 36-to-1 shot Birdstone ran him down near the finish of a thrilling Belmont Stakes. Anastasia Myskina beat Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-2 to win the French Open.

One year ago: Defense Secretary Robert Gates ousted Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, holding them to account in a historic Pentagon shake-up after embarrassing nuclear mix-ups. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton met privately at the Washington home of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the first such get-together since Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the reputed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, told a military judge at his arraignment he welcomed the death penalty as a way to martyrdom and ridiculed the proceedings as an ``inquisition.'' Astronauts opened up Japan's new billion-dollar space station lab, Kibo, aboard the international space station.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-singer Bill Hayes is 84. Broadcast journalist Bill Moyers is 75. Author Margaret Drabble is 70. Country singer Don Reid (The Statler Brothers) is 64. Rock musician Fred Stone (Sly and the Family Stone) is 63. Rock singer Laurie Anderson is 62. Country singer Gail Davies is 61. Author Ken Follett is 60. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, is 58. Rock musician Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) is 57. Jazz musician Kenny G is 53. Rock singer Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs) is 53. Actor Jeff Garlin is 47. Actress Karen Sillas is 46. Actor Ron Livingston is 42. Singer Brian McKnight is 40. Rock musician Claus Norreen (Aqua) is 39. Actor Mark Wahlberg is 38. Actor Chad Allen is 35. Rock musician P-Nut (311) is 35. Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Torry Holt is 33. Actress Navi Rawat is 32. Actress Liza Weil is 32. Rock musician Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) is 30. Rock musician Seb Lefebvre (Simple Plan) is 28. Actress Amanda Crew is 23.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Camac 05-Jun-2009, 08:29 AM
Patch;

To-day ( 5 June 1944) in History was suppose to be D-Day but it was set back by bad weather. Eisenhower also composed two statements for the press, one announcing the success of the landings and one announcing the failure and his resignation as Supreme Allied Commander. Luckily the latter merely became a footnote in History.


Camac

Posted by: piobmhorpiper 06-Jun-2009, 04:53 AM
Seeing as the D Day thread is locked I will post my message here. Today is the 65th anniversary of D Day where Canadian, British, American and other allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy. Here is a little info one the Canadian contribution. Lest We Forget

The Canadian 3rd. Infantry Division were given the unenviable task of securing the stretch of Normandy coastline including, Vaux, Coucelles sur Mer, Bernieres sur Mer and St.Aubin sur Mer, this area was code named "JUNO BEACH".
The Canadian contingent was made up of men not only from Canada but also volunteers from Ireland, Scotland, French Canadians, Poles and quite a few Americans all of which wanted to fight for the freedom they believed in.
Accompanying the 3rd. Infantry at Juno was the No 48 Royal Marine Commando, who were given the objective of linking up with the No 41 Royal Marine Commando, who were coming ashore from Sword Beach.

After heavy bombardment from offshore the Canadians prepared for their run-in, the wind and tides were so strong that most of the landing craft were out of position, and had to be re-assembled before the final approach! this caused them to be at least 10 mins. behind schedule, the tide had risen on the beach covering most of the obstacles!! which led to severe problems.
The picture to the left, shows men of the 48 R.M. Commando landing on Juno, note the mini-motorcycle being unloaded.

The first wave saw the 7th. Brigade Group coming ashore, 50% of the D-D tanks which had been launched to give them cover when they hit the beach had sunk before firing a shot! The tides were horrific, many men died as soon as the landing craft doors opened. The German defences were virtually intact!!
Ten minutes later the 8th. Brigade landed, this time the D-D tanks were transported to the beach on the landing craft, but this caused them to come in late, leaving the infantry without cover for some time, and therefore adding to the casualty rate.

The 7th. Brigade Group, under the command of Brigadier H. W. Foster fought heroically to secure their beach head. With only a few tanks in support the battle became murderous. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles suffered catastrophic losses before their position was secured.
The 8th. Brigade Group, under the command of Brigadier K. G. Blackader, landed to the east, again against tremendous German resistance, the D-D tanks came in behind the infantry and without their fire-power the defenders had the advantage, The Queens Own Rifles suffered the loss of 143 men alone.
For quite a long time the men on the beach thought the landing had been a failure, the losses were so great, but slowly the Germans began to back off and the Canadians pushed forward, all the time the sea was coming in and the beach was getting narrower and narrower.

Canadians landing on Juno Beach, each soldier was given a bicycle to carry ashore, the idea being that once ashore they would cycle down the road to Caen! If only it was so easy..
Obviously the bicycles were soon discarded when the enormity of the situation was realised.





Posted by: Camac 06-Jun-2009, 10:15 AM
History is subjective, with each Nation looking at events from it's own perspective. There are however a few events that some Nations share. 65 years ago this day 6 June 1944 is one such event. At 06:30 a.m. on a dark stormy dawn 155,000 boots kicked in the front door of Europe on the Normandy Beaches. To the Americans, their attention is focused on the latch at the right side or Western beaches of Omaha and Utah. To the British, they are focused partly on the hinges at the left, Sword Beach and part of the centre panel Gold Beach. To us Canadians, we are focused on the other part of the centre panel, Juno Beach. Here 14,000 of our Grandfathers stormed ashore to help with the Liberation of Europe. Here within the first few hours 350 of those young men lay dead and by the end of the Normandy Campaign a few months later 9,000 would lie to rest eternally in the soil of France.Compared to the Americans who lost 3,000 on Omaha Beach alone this does not seem excessive but when you take into account that 25,00 Canadians compared to 100,000 plus Americans took part in the campaign it is a sobering amount. As I said History is subjective but the one thing most will agree on is that this the Second World War was one that had to be fought and won. To date it is the last justifiable war. The young Americans, Brits, and Canucks would fight on for the next 11 months through France, Belgium, Holland, and into Germany itself where in May 1945, Germany surrendered. Each of the Allies, France, Britain, Russia, Canada, and America has its own stories to tell and each find it hard to be objective but the one thing they all can agree on is that it was necesssary and hard won.


LEST WE FORGET.

ALL HONOUR TO THE FALLEN


Camac.

Posted by: Patch 06-Jun-2009, 07:34 PM
On June 6, 1944, the ``D-Day'' invasion of Europe took place during World War II as Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France.

On this date:

In 1809, Sweden adopted a new constitution.

In 1844, the Young Men's Christian Association was founded in London.

In 1918, American Marines suffered heavy casualties as they launched their eventually successful counteroffensive against German troops in the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood in France.

In 1925, Walter Percy Chrysler founded the Chrysler Corp.

In 1934, the Securities and Exchange Commission was established.

In 1966, black activist James Meredith was shot and wounded as he walked along a Mississippi highway to encourage black voter registration.

In 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, a day after he was shot by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan.

In 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, a primary ballot initiative calling for major cuts in property taxes.

In 1982, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon to drive Palestine Liberation Organization fighters out of the country. (The Israelis withdrew in June 1985.)

In 1989, burial services were held for Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Washington state Democrat Tom Foley succeeded Jim Wright as House speaker.

Ten years ago: The space shuttle Discovery returned from a 10-day mission that included a visit to the international space station. At the Tony Awards, Arthur Miller's ``Death of a Salesman'' was named best revival; ``Side Man'' won best play; ``Fosse'' was awarded best musical. In tennis, Andre Agassi won the French Open, defeating Andrei Medvedev 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, while in golf, Juli Inkster shot a final-round 1-under 71 for a 16-under 272 total to win the U.S. Women's Open.

Five years ago: World leaders, including President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac, put aside their differences to commemorate the D-Day invasion that broke Nazi Germany's grip on continental Europe. ``Avenue Q'' won best musical at the Tony Awards, while ``I Am My Own Wife'' was named best play; Phylicia Rashad, who starred in a revival of ``A Raisin in the Sun,'' became the first black actress to win a Tony for a leading dramatic role. Unseeded Gaston Gaudio upset Guillermo Coria 0-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 8-6 to win the French Open.

One year ago: The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 394.64 points to 12,209.81, its worst loss in more than a year. Crude futures made their biggest single-day jump ever, soaring nearly $11 for the day to $138.54 a barrel. Actor Bob Anderson, who played young George Bailey (James Stewart) in ``It's a Wonderful Life,'' died in Palm Springs, Calif., at age 75.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Billie Whitelaw is 77. Civil rights activist Roy Innis is 75. Singer-songwriter Gary ``U.S.'' Bonds is 70. Country singer Joe Stampley is 66. Actor Robert Englund is 60. Folk singer Holly Near is 60. Singer Dwight Twilley is 58. Playwright-actor Harvey Fierstein is 55. Comedian Sandra Bernhard is 54. Tennis player Bjorn Borg is 53. Actress Amanda Pays is 50. Comedian Colin Quinn is 50. Record producer Jimmy Jam is 50. Rock musician Steve Vai is 49. Rock singer-musician Tom Araya (Slayer) is 48. Actor Jason Isaacs is 46. Rock musician Sean Yseult (White Zombie) is 43. Actor Max Casella is 42. Actor Paul Giamatti is 42. R&B singer Damion Hall (Guy) is 41. Rock musician Bardi Martin is 40. Rock musician James ``Munky'' Shaffer (Korn) is 39. TV correspondent Natalie Morales is 37. Country singer Lisa Brokop is 36. Rapper-rocker Uncle Kracker is 35. Actress Sonya Walger is 35. Actress Staci Keanan is 34.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: InRi 08-Jun-2009, 08:15 AM
Today is Monday June-08-2009.

What was happen in:

632:Mohammed, the founder of Islam passed away in Medina.

1849: Imperial edict about the formation of the Genadrmerie (police) in Austria-Hungary.

1937: World premiere of "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff in Frankfurt/Main (Germany)

1986: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Waldheim became Federal President in Austria

Best regards

Ingo

Posted by: Patch 08-Jun-2009, 06:50 PM
On June 8, A.D. 632, the prophet Muhammad died in Medina.

On this date:

In 1845, Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, died in Nashville, Tenn.

In 1861, Tennessee seceded from the Union.

In 1864, Abraham Lincoln was nominated for another term as president during the National Union (Republican) Party's convention in Baltimore.

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt offered to act as a mediator in the Russo-Japanese War.

In 1915, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned in a disagreement with President Woodrow Wilson over U.S. handling of the sinking of the Lusitania.

In 1948, the ``Texaco Star Theater'' made its debut on NBC-TV with Milton Berle guest-hosting the first program. (Berle was later named the show's permanent host.)

In 1966, a merger was announced between the National and American Football Leagues, to take effect in 1970.

In 1967, 34 U.S. servicemen were killed when Israeli forces raided the Liberty, a Navy ship stationed in the Mediterranean. (Israel called the attack a tragic mistake.)

In 1978, a jury in Clark County, Nev., ruled the so-called ``Mormon will,'' purportedly written by the late billionaire Howard Hughes, was a forgery.

In 1998, the National Rifle Association elected Charlton Heston its president.

Ten years ago: The United States, Russia and six leading democracies authorized a text calling for a peacekeeping force in Kosovo. President Bill Clinton announced new restrictions aimed at making it tougher for teens to sneak into R-rated movies.

Five years ago: The U.N. Security Council gave unanimous approval to a resolution endorsing the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq's new government by the end of June. Three Italians and a Polish contractor who'd been abducted in Iraq were freed by U.S. special forces. An American who worked for a U.S. defense contractor was shot and killed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In a celestial rarity, Venus lined up between the sun and the Earth.

One year ago: Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, and Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, were shot to death along a country road near Weleetka, Okla., in a killing that remains unsolved. A man went on a knifing rampage in Tokyo, killing seven people. The average price of regular gas crept up to $4 a gallon. Rafael Nadal won his fourth consecutive French Open title in a rout, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, again spoiling Roger Federer's bid to complete a career Grand Slam. Yani Tseng of Taiwan became the first rookie in 10 years to win a major, beating Maria Hjorth on the fourth hole of a playoff with a 5-foot birdie on the 18th hole to win the LPGA Championship.


Slàinte,    

Patch    


Posted by: Patch 10-Jun-2009, 07:29 AM



Today's Highlight in History:

On June 10, 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio.

On this date:

In 1865, the Richard Wagner opera ``Tristan und Isolde'' premiered in Munich.

In 1907, 11 men in five cars set out from the French embassy in Beijing on a race to Paris. (Prince Scipione Borghese of Italy was the first to arrive in the French capital two months later.)

In 1940, Italy declared war on France and Britain; Canada declared war on Italy.

In 1942, the Gestapo massacred 173 male residents of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in retaliation for the killing of a Nazi official.

In 1964, the Senate voted to limit further debate on a proposed civil rights bill, shutting off a filibuster by Southern senators.

In 1967, the Middle East War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a U.N.-mediated cease-fire.

In 1977, James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., escaped from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Tennessee with six others; he was recaptured June 13.

In 1978, Affirmed won the Belmont Stakes and with it, horse racing's Triple Crown.

In 1982, the play ``Torch Song Trilogy,'' by Harvey Fierstein, opened on Broadway.

In 1985, socialite Claus von Bulow was acquitted by a jury in Providence, R.I., at his retrial on charges he'd tried to murder his heiress wife, Martha ``Sunny'' von Bulow.

Ten years ago: Yugoslav troops departed Kosovo, prompting NATO to suspend its punishing 11-week air war. The Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that Chicago went too far in its fight against street gangs by ordering police to break up groups of loiterers.

Five years ago: Singer-musician Ray Charles, known for such hits as ``What'd I Say,'' ``Georgia on My Mind'' and ``I Can't Stop Loving You,'' died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 73.

One year ago: A Sudanese jetliner skidded off a runway and crashed into airport lights after landing in Khartoum, killing 30 people.

Today's Birthdays: Britain's Prince Philip is 88. Columnist Nat Hentoff is 84. Actor-director Lionel Jeffries is 83. Author Maurice Sendak is 81. Attorney F. Lee Bailey is 76. Actress Alexandra Stewart is 70. Singer Shirley Alston Reeves (The Shirelles) is 68. Actor Jurgen Prochnow is 68. Media commentator Jeff Greenfield is 66. Country singer-songwriter Thom Schuyler is 57. Former Sen. John Edwards is 56. Actor Andrew Stevens is 54. Singer Barrington Henderson is 53. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is 50. Rock musician Kim Deal is 48. Singer Maxi Priest is 48. Actress Gina Gershon is 47. Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn is 46. Rock musician Jimmy Chamberlin is 45. Actress Kate Flannery is 45. Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley is 44. Rock musician Joey Santiago is 44. Actor Doug McKeon is 43. Rock musician Emma Anderson is 42. Country musician Brian Hofeldt (The Derailers) is 42. Rapper The D.O.C. is 41. Rock singer Mike Doughty is 39. R&B singer JoJo is 38. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is 38. R&B singer Faith Evans is 36. Actor Hugh Dancy is 34. R&B singer Lemisha Grinstead (702) is 31. Actor DJ Qualls is 31. Actor Shane West is 31. Singer Hoku is 28. Actress Leelee Sobieski is 27. Olympic gold medal figure skater Tara Lipinski is 27. Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber is 26

Slàinte,    

Patch        


Posted by: Patch 12-Jun-2009, 05:23 AM
On June 12, 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers, 37, was fatally shot in front of his home in Jackson, Miss. (In 1994, Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of murdering Evers and sentenced to life in prison; he died in 2001.)

On this date:

In 1665, England installed a municipal government in New York, formerly the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam.

In 1776, Virginia's colonial legislature became the first to adopt a Bill of Rights.

In 1898, Philippine nationalists declared independence from Spain.

In 1909, New York's Queensboro Bridge was formally dedicated, more than two months after it had opened to the public.

In 1929, Holocaust diarist Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt.

In 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, N.Y.

In 1967, the Supreme Court, in Loving v. Virginia, struck down state laws prohibiting interracial marriages.

In 1979, 26-year-old cyclist Bryan Allen flew the manpowered Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan, during a visit to a divided Berlin, publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to ``tear down this wall.''

In 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were slashed to death outside her Los Angeles home. (O.J. Simpson was later acquitted of the killings in a criminal trial, but was eventually held liable in a civil action.)

Ten years ago: Thousands of NATO peacekeeping troops poured into Kosovo by air and by land; but in a surprising move, a Russian armored column entered Pristina before dawn to a heroes' welcome from Serb residents.

Five years ago: Gunmen firing from a car killed Iraqi deputy foreign minister Bassam Salih Kubba. Suspected militants killed an American in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Former President Ronald Reagan's body was sealed inside a tomb at his presidential library in Simi Valley, Calif., following a week of mourning and remembrance by world leaders and regular Americans.

One year ago: In a stinging rebuke to President George W. Bush's anti-terror policies, a deeply divided Supreme Court ruled that foreign detainees held for years at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba had the right to appeal to U.S. civilian courts to challenge their indefinite imprisonment without charges. Three heavily armed robbers stole two Pablo Picasso prints, ``The Painter and the Model'' and ``Minotaur, Drinker and Women,'' from a museum in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (The prints were later recovered.) Taiwan and China agreed to set up permanent offices in each other's territory for the first time in nearly six decades.


Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 14-Jun-2009, 08:44 AM


On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the Stars and Stripes as the national flag.

On this date:

In 1775, the Continental Army, forerunner of the U.S. Army, was created.

In 1801, former American Revolutionary War general and notorious turncoat Benedict Arnold died in London.

In 1846, a group of U.S. settlers in Sonoma proclaimed the Republic of California.

In 1909, actor and folk singer Burl Ives was born in Hunt City, Ill.

In 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown embarked on the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. (Flying a Vickers Vimy biplane bomber, they took off from St. Johns, Newfoundland, and arrived 16 1/2 hours later in Clifden, Ireland.)

In 1940, German troops entered Paris during World War II; the same day, the Nazis opened the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.

In 1943, the Supreme Court, in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, ruled that children in public schools could not be forced to salute the U.S. flag.

In 1954, the words ``under God'' were added to the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1967, the space probe Mariner 5 was launched from Cape Kennedy, Fla., on a flight that took it past Venus.

In 1985, the 17-day hijack ordeal of TWA Flight 847 began as a pair of Lebanese Shiite Muslim extremists seized the jetliner shortly after takeoff from Athens, Greece.

Ten years ago: About 15,000 NATO peacekeepers spread out across Kosovo, including a convoy of about 1,200 U.S. Marines. The Supreme Court opened the door to full broadcast advertising of casino gambling, ruling a federal ban aimed at protecting compulsive gamblers violated free-speech rights.

Five years ago: A car bomb exploded during rush hour on a busy street in Baghdad, killing 12 people - five of them foreigners working to rebuild Iraq's power plants. The Supreme Court allowed schoolchildren to keep affirming loyalty to one nation ``under God,'' but dodged the underlying question of whether the Pledge of Allegiance was an unconstitutional blending of church and state.

One year ago: Iran rejected a six-nation offer of incentives to stop enriching uranium, prompting President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to jointly warn Tehran anew during a news conference in Paris against proceeding toward a nuclear bomb.


Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 17-Jun-2009, 06:22 AM
On June 17, 1775, the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill took place near Boston. The battle (which actually occurred on Breed's Hill) was a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses while dislodging the rebels.

On this date:

In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere.

In 1928, Amelia Earhart embarked on a trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Wales with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, becoming the first woman to make the trip as a passenger.

In 1944, the republic of Iceland was established.

In 1957, mob underboss Frank Scalice was shot to death at a produce market in the Bronx, N.Y.

In 1959, a British court awarded American entertainer Liberace 8,000 pounds (the equivalent of $22,400) in his libel suit against the Daily Mirror over an article that Liberace charged implied he was a homosexual.

In 1961, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris.

In 1969, the raunchy musical review ``Oh! Calcutta!'' opened in New York.

In 1971, the United States and Japan signed a treaty under which Okinawa would revert to Japanese control.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon's eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic national headquarters in Washington, D.C.'s Watergate complex.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan announced the retirement of Chief Justice Warren Burger, who was succeeded by William Rehnquist.

Ten years ago: The Republican-controlled House narrowly voted to loosen restrictions on sales at gun shows, marking a victory for the National Rifle Association. Joseph Stanley Faulder, a former auto mechanic who'd killed a woman during a 1975 burglary, became the first Canadian to be executed in the United States in almost half a century as he was lethally injected in Huntsville, Texas.

Five years ago: A bipartisan report found that officials, blindsided by terrorists and beset by poor communications, were so slow to react on Sept. 11, 2001, that the last of four hijacked planes had crashed by the time Vice President Dick Cheney ordered hostile aircraft shot down. President George W. Bush disputed the Sept. 11 commission's finding that Saddam Hussein had no strong ties to al-Qaida. A sport utility vehicle packed with artillery shells slammed into a crowd waiting to volunteer for the Iraqi military, killing 35 people.

One year ago: Hundreds of same-sex couples got married across California on the first full day that gay marriage became legal by order of the state's highest court. (However, California voters later approved Proposition 8, which restricted nuptials to a union between a man and a woman.) A truck bombing in Baghdad killed 63 people. Four British soldiers were killed by an explosive in Afghanistan's Helmand province. The Boston Celtics won their 17th NBA title with a stunning 131-92 blowout over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6. Igor Larionov and Glenn Anderson were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame along with former linesman Ray Scapinello and junior hockey builder Ed Chynoweth. Actress-dancer Cyd Charisse died in Los Angeles at age 86.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Peter Lupus is 77. Singer Barry Manilow is 63. Comedian Joe Piscopo is 58. Actor Mark Linn-Baker is 55. Musician Philip Chevron (The Pogues) is 52. Actor Jon Gries is 52. Movie producer-director-writer Bobby Farrelly is 51. Actor Thomas Haden Church is 48. Actor Greg Kinnear is 46. Actress Kami Cotler (``The Waltons'') is 44. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Dan Jansen is 44. Actor Jason Patric is 43. R&B singer Kevin Thornton is 40. Actor-comedian Will Forte is 39. Latin pop singer Paulina Rubio is 38. Tennis player Venus Williams is 29. Washington Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth is 28. Actor-rapper Herculeez (Herculeez and Big Tyme) is 26. Actor Damani Roberts is 13.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: MacDonnchaidh 17-Jun-2009, 09:40 AM
June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 197 days remaining until the end of the year.


1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia.

1497 – Battle of Deptford Bridge – forces under King Henry VII defeat troops led by Michael An Gof.

1565 – Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.

1579 – Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England.

1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, then spends more than 20 years building her tomb, the Taj Mahal.

1773 – Cúcuta, Colombia is founded by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar

1775 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Bunker Hill

1789 – In France, the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.

1839 – In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the Edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace is later established as a result.

1863 – Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.

1876 – Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud – 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook's forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory.

1877 – Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon – the Nez Perce defeat the US Cavalry at White Bird Canyon in the Idaho Territory.

1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.

1898 – The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.

1901 – The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.

1930 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law.

1932 – Bonus Army: around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.

1933 – Union Station Massacre: in Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash were gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash.

1939 – Last public guillotining in France. Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the prison Saint-Pierre.

1940 – World War II: Operation Ariel begins – Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany's takeover of Paris and most of the nation.

1940 – World War II: sinking of the RMS Lancastria by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France.

1940 – World War II: the British Army's 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.

1940 – The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.

1944 – Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.

1948 – A Douglas DC-6 carrying United Airlines Flight 624 crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board.

1953 – Workers Uprising: in East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion.

1958 – The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing being built connecting Vancouver and North Vancouver, Canada, collapses into the Burrard Inlet, killing many of the ironworkers and injuring others.

1958 – The Wooden Roller Coaster at Playland, which is in the Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver, Canada opens. It is still open today.

1961 – The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded with the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress.

1963 – The United States Supreme Court rules 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against allowing the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.

1972 – Watergate scandal: five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of the Republican party to illegally wiretap the opposition.

1987 – With the death of the last individual, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.

1991 – Apartheid: the South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act, which had required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.

1992 – A 'Joint Understanding' agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).

1994 – Following a televised low-speed highway chase , O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Posted by: Patch 18-Jun-2009, 06:15 AM
On June 18, 1940, during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to conduct themselves in a manner that would prompt future generations to say, ``This was their finest hour.''

On this date:

In 1778, American forces entered Philadelphia as the British withdrew during the Revolutionary War.

In 1812, the United States declared war against Britain.

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte met his Waterloo as British and Prussian troops defeated the French in Belgium.

In 1873, suffragist Susan B. Anthony was found guilty by a judge in Canandaigua, N.Y., of breaking the law by casting a vote in the 1872 presidential election. (The judge fined Anthony $100, but she never paid the penalty.)

In 1908, William Howard Taft was nominated for president by the Republican national convention in Chicago.

In 1945, William Joyce, known as ``Lord Haw-Haw,'' was charged in London with high treason for his English-language wartime broadcasts on German radio. (He was hanged the following January.)

In 1959, actress Ethel Barrymore died in Los Angeles at age 79.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter and Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev signed the SALT II strategic arms limitation treaty in Vienna.

In 1983, astronaut Sally K. Ride became America's first woman in space as she and four colleagues blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

In 1984, Alan Berg, a Denver radio talk show host, was shot to death outside his home. (Two white supremacists were later convicted of civil rights violations in the slaying.)

Ten years ago: The House rejected gun control legislation, 280-147, with many Democrats rebelling against National Rifle Association-backed provisions in the bill. The Group of 7 nations opened a three-day summit in Cologne, Germany. Arsonists struck three synagogues in the Sacramento, Calif., area. (Two white supremacist brothers were later convicted of federal charges and received sentences of 21 to 30 years in prison.)

Five years ago: An al-Qaida cell in Saudi Arabia beheaded American engineer Paul M. Johnson Jr., posting grisly photographs of his severed head; hours later, Saudi security forces tracked down and killed the alleged mastermind of the kidnapping and murder. European Union leaders agreed on the first constitution for the bloc's 25 members.

One year ago: With gasoline topping $4 a gallon, President George W. Bush urged Congress to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, saying the United States needed to increase its energy production; Democrats quickly rejected the idea. French filmmaker Jean Delannoy died in Guainville, France, at age 100.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 19-Jun-2009, 04:41 AM

On June 19, 1865, Union troops commanded by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over, and that all remaining slaves in Texas were free.

On this date:

In 1862, slavery was outlawed in U.S. territories.

In 1910, Father's Day was celebrated for the first time, in Spokane, Wash.

In 1917, during World War I, King George V ordered the British royal family to dispense with German titles and surnames; the family took the name ``Windsor.''

In 1934, the Federal Communications Commission was created; it replaced the Federal Radio Commission.

In 1938, four dozen people were killed when a railroad bridge in Montana collapsed, sending a train known as the ``Olympian'' hurtling into Custer Creek.

In 1952, the celebrity-panel game show ``I've Got A Secret'' made its debut on CBS-TV with Garry Moore as host.

In 1953, Julius Rosenberg, 35, and his wife, Ethel, 37, convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, N.Y.

In 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved by the Senate, 73-27, after surviving a lengthy filibuster.

In 1977, Pope Paul VI proclaimed a 19th-century Philadelphia bishop, John Neumann, the first male U.S. saint.

In 1986, University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias, the first draft pick of the Boston Celtics, suffered a fatal cocaine-induced seizure.

Ten years ago: Author Stephen King was seriously injured when he was struck by a van driven by Bryan Smith on a two-lane highway in North Lovell, Maine. Britain's Prince Edward married commoner Sophie Rhys-Jones in Windsor, England. The Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in triple overtime by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in Game 6. Turin, Italy, was chosen as the site of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Five years ago: The U.S. military stepped up its campaign against militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, launching an airstrike that pulverized a suspected hideout in Fallujah, Iraq.

One year ago: President George W. Bush surveyed the aftermath of devastating floods during a quick tour of the Midwest, assuring residents and rescuers alike that he was listening to their concerns and understood their exhaustion. Democrat Barack Obama announced he would bypass public financing for the presidential election, even though Republican John McCain was accepting it.


Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 20-Jun-2009, 02:41 PM
On June 20, 1893, a jury in New Bedford, Mass., found Lizzie Borden not guilty of the ax murders of her father and stepmother.

On this date:

In 1782, Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States.

In 1837, Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV.

In 1863, West Virginia became the 35th state.

In 1909, actor Errol Flynn was born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

In 1943, race-related rioting erupted in Detroit; federal troops were sent in two days later to quell the violence that resulted in more than 30 deaths.

In 1947, Benjamin ``Bugsy'' Siegel was shot dead at the Beverly Hills, Calif., mansion of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, apparently at the order of mob associates.

In 1963, the United States and Soviet Union signed an agreement to set up a ``hot line'' between the two superpowers.

In 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. (Ali's conviction was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court).

In 1979, ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart was shot to death in Managua, Nicaragua, by a member of President Anastasio Somoza's national guard.

In 2001, Houston resident Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the family bathtub, then called police. (Yates was later convicted of murder, but had her conviction overturned; she was acquitted in a retrial.)

Ten years ago: As the last of 40,000 Yugoslav troops rolled out of Kosovo, NATO declared a formal end to its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. Payne Stewart won his second U.S. Open title, by one stroke over Phil Mickelson.

Five years ago: The Arab satellite TV network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape from al-Qaida-linked militants showing a South Korean hostage begging for his life and pleading with his government to withdraw troops from Iraq. (The hostage, Kim Sun-il, was beheaded two days later.) Retief Goosen captured his second U.S. Open in four years at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island.

One year ago: Lightning began sparking more than 2,000 fires across northern and central California, eventually burning over a million acres.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 21-Jun-2009, 03:49 PM
On June 21, 1788, the U.S. Constitution went into effect as New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.

On this date:

In 1834, Cyrus Hall McCormick received a patent for his reaping machine.

In 1932, heavyweight Max Schmeling lost a title fight rematch in New York by decision to Jack Sharkey, prompting Schmeling's manager, Joe Jacobs, to exclaim: ``We was robbed!''

In 1948, the Republican national convention opened in Philadelphia. (The delegates ended up choosing Thomas E. Dewey to be their presidential nominee.)

In 1963, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini was chosen to succeed the late Pope John XXIII; the new pope took the name Paul VI.

In 1964, civil rights workers Michael H. Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James E. Chaney disappeared in Philadelphia, Miss.; their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam six weeks later.

In 1973, the Supreme Court, in Miller v. California, ruled that states may ban materials found to be obscene according to local standards.

In 1982, a jury in Washington found John Hinckley Jr. not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings of President Ronald Reagan and three other men.

In 1985, scientists announced that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were those of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.

In 1989, a sharply divided Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag as a form of political protest is protected by the First Amendment.

In 1990, an estimated 50,000 Iranians were killed by an earthquake.

Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton visited Slovenia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, where he publicly urged Serbs to reject Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic. NATO and the Kosovo Liberation Army, meanwhile, signed an accord providing for the demilitarization of the KLA.

Five years ago: The SpaceShipOne rocket plane punched through Earth's atmosphere, then glided to a landing in California's Mojave Desert in the first privately financed manned spaceflight. Connecticut Gov. John Rowland resigned effective July 1, 2004, amid graft allegations and a federal investigation. (Rowland, who ended up serving 10 months in prison, was succeeded by Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell.)

One year ago: A ferry carrying more than 800 people capsized as Typhoon Fengshen battered the Philippines; only about four dozen people survived. The body of a pregnant Army soldier, Spc. Megan Touma, 23, was found submerged in a motel room bathtub in Fayetteville, N.C. (Sgt. Edgar Patino, said by police to be the unborn baby's father, was charged with first-degree murder.) Scott Kalitta died when his Funny Car burst into flames and crashed at the end of the track during the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 23-Jun-2009, 01:20 AM
June 23, 1969, Warren E. Burger was sworn in as chief justice of the United States by the man he was succeeding, Earl Warren.

In 1757, forces of the East India Company led by Robert Clive won the Battle of Plassey, which effectively marked the beginning of British colonial rule in India.

In 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for his ``Type-Writer.''

In 1931, aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from New York on a round-the-world flight that lasted eight days and 15 hours.

In 1938, the Civil Aeronautics Authority was established.

In 1947, the Senate joined the House in overriding President Harry S. Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act, designed to limit the power of organized labor.

In 1956, Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin held the first of two meetings at Glassboro State College in New Jersey.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman discussed a plan to use the CIA to obstruct the FBI's Watergate investigation. (Revelation of the tape recording of this conversation sparked Nixon's resignation in 1974.)

In 1985, all 329 people aboard an Air India Boeing 747 were killed when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland, after a bomb widely believed to have been planted by Sikh separatists exploded.

In 1989, the Supreme Court refused to shut down the ``dial-a-porn'' industry, ruling Congress had gone too far in passing a law banning all sexually oriented phone message services.

Ten years ago: A divided Supreme Court dramatically enhanced states' rights in a trio of decisions that eroded Congress' power. U.S. Marines in Kosovo killed one person and wounded two others after coming under fire; no Marines were injured. Two months after his retirement, Wayne Gretzky was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame along with former referee Andy Van Hellemond and Ian (Scotty) Morrison in the builder category.

Five years ago: In a major retreat, the United States abandoned an attempt to win a new exemption for American troops from international prosecution for war crimes - an effort that had faced strong opposition because of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.

One year ago: Outraged at the turmoil in Zimbabwe, the U.N. Security Council declared that a fair presidential vote was impossible because of a ``campaign of violence'' waged by President Robert Mugabe's government. Seattle's Felix Hernandez hit the first grand slam by an American League pitcher in 37 years, then departed with a sprained ankle before he could qualify for a win in the Mariners' 5-2 victory over the New York Mets.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 24-Jun-2009, 06:10 AM
Five hundred years ago, on June 24, 1509, Henry VIII was crowned king of England; his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was crowned queen consort.

On this date:

In 1314, the forces of Scotland's King Robert I defeated the English in the Battle of Bannockburn.

In 1497, the first recorded sighting of North America by a European took place as explorer John Cabot spotted land, probably in present-day Canada.

In 1793, the first republican constitution in France was adopted.

In 1807, a grand jury in Richmond, Va., indicted former Vice President Aaron Burr on charges of treason and high misdemeanor. (He was later acquitted).

In 1908, the 22nd and 24th presidents of the United States, Grover Cleveland, died in Princeton, N.J., at age 71.

In 1940, France signed an armistice with Italy during World War II.

In 1948, Communist forces cut off all land and water routes between West Germany and West Berlin, prompting the western allies to organize the Berlin Airlift. The Republican National Convention, meeting in Philadelphia, nominated New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey for president.

In 1968, ``Resurrection City,'' a shantytown constructed as part of the Poor People's March on Washington, D.C., was closed down by authorities.

In 1975, 113 people were killed when an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 crashed while attempting to land during a thunderstorm at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger - carrying America's first woman in space, Sally K. Ride - coasted to a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Ten years ago: Union organizers claimed victory after workers at six Fieldcrest Cannon mills in North Carolina voted to be represented by the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees. (Fieldcrest Cannon's parent company, Pillowtex, went bankrupt in 2003.) Testimony wound to an end after 76 days in the landmark Microsoft antitrust trial.

Five years ago: Federal investigators questioned President George W. Bush for more than an hour in connection with the news leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. A federal appeals court struck down an FCC effort to make sweeping changes in media ownership rules. In a bizarre conclusion to a huge upset, the chair umpire called the wrong score in the second tiebreaker, and Venus Williams fell 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) to Karolina Sprem in the second round at Wimbledon.

One year ago: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe refused to give into pressure from Africa and the West, saying the world can ``shout as loud as they like'' but he would not cancel an upcoming runoff election even though his opponent had quit the race. Leonid Hurwicz, who shared the Nobel Prize in economics in 2007, died in Minneapolis at age 90.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 25-Jun-2009, 06:10 AM
On June 25, 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.

On this date:

In 1788, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.

In 1868, Congress passed an Omnibus Act allowing for the readmission of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina to the Union.

In 1876, Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.

In 1906, architect Stanford White was shot to death atop New York's Madison Square Garden, which he had designed, by millionaire Harry K. Thaw, the jealous husband of Evelyn Nesbit. (Thaw was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity.)

In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was enacted.

In 1942, some 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers raided Bremen, Germany, during World War II.

In 1959, spree killer Charles Starkweather, 20, was put to death in Nebraska's electric chair. Eamon de Valera was inaugurated as president of Ireland.

In 1962, the Supreme Court, in Engel v. Vitale, ruled that recital of a state-sponsored prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional.

In 1973, former White House Counsel John W. Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee.

In 1996, a truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.

Ten years ago: During a news conference, President Bill Clinton said the people of Serbia had to ``get out of denial'' about the atrocities blamed on Slobodan Milosevic and decide if he was fit to remain president of Yugoslavia. The San Antonio Spurs won their first title as they defeated the New York Knicks 78-77 in Game 5 of the NBA finals.

Five years ago: Republican Jack Ryan withdrew from the U.S. Senate race in Illinois after allegations of sex-club visits with his then-wife, actress Jeri Ryan. President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, opened a European trip as they arrived in Ireland. Taliban fighters killed up to 16 men after learning they had registered for Afghanistan's U.S.-backed national elections.

One year ago: A divided Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that allowed capital punishment for people convicted of raping children under 12; the ruling also invalidated laws in five other states that allowed executions for child rape that did not result in the death of the victim. A jury in Woburn, Mass., convicted Neil Entwistle of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife, Rachel, 27, and their 9-month-old baby, Lillian Rose. (Entwistle was sentenced the next day to two life prison terms without possibility of parole.) Wesley N. Higdon, 25, shot and killed five workers and himself at a western Kentucky plastics plant; a sixth victim survived.

Slàinte,   

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 26-Jun-2009, 02:09 AM
On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he expressed solidarity with the city's residents by declaring: ``Ich bin ein Berliner'' (I am a Berliner).

In 1870, the first section of Atlantic City's Boardwalk was opened to the public in New Jersey.

In 1919, the New York Daily News was first published.

In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.

In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman authorized the Air Force and Navy to enter the Korean conflict.

In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower joined Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway. Swedish boxer Ingemar Johansson knocked out Floyd Patterson in the third round of their match at New York's Yankee Stadium to win the heavyweight title.

In 1973, former White House counsel John W. Dean told the Senate Watergate Committee about an ``enemies list'' kept by the Nixon White House.

In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tenn.

In 1988, three people were killed when a new Airbus A320 jetliner carrying more than 130 people crashed into a forest during an air show demonstration flight in Mulhouse, France.

In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty may be imposed for murderers who committed their crimes as young as age 16, and for mentally retarded killers as well.

Ten years ago: An advance contingent of Russian troops flew into Kosovo to help reopen a strategic airport and join an uneasy alliance with NATO peacekeepers.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush won support from the 25-nation European Union for an initial agreement to help train Iraq's armed forces. A memorial service was held in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., for Paul M. Johnson Jr., an engineer slain by kidnappers in Saudi Arabia.

One year ago: The Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, that an individual right to gun ownership existed. Juan Alvarez, who triggered a 2005 rail disaster in Glendale, Calif., by parking an SUV on the tracks, was convicted of 11 counts of first-degree murder. (Alvarez was later sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms.)

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 27-Jun-2009, 03:07 PM
June 27,

In 1846, New York and Boston were linked by telegraph wires.

In 1893, the New York stock market crashed.

In 1944, during World War II, American forces completed their capture of the French port of Cherbourg from the Germans.

In 1950, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North.

In 1957, more than 500 people were killed when Hurricane Audrey slammed through coastal Louisiana and Texas.

In 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village; patrons fought back in clashes considered the birth of the gay rights movement.

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In 1977, the Supreme Court, in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, struck down state laws and bar association rules that prohibited lawyers from advertising their fees for routine services. The Republic of Djibouti became independent of France.

In 1984, the Supreme Court ended the NCAA's monopoly on controlling college football telecasts, ruling such control violated antitrust law.

In 1986, the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled that the United States had broken international law and violated the sovereignty of Nicaragua by aiding the contras.

In 1988, 57 people were killed in a train collision in Paris.

Ten years ago: George Papadopoulos, the head of Greece's 1967-74 military dictatorship, died of cancer in Athens at age 80. Juli Inkster shot a 6-under 65 to win the LPGA Championship, becoming the second woman to win the modern career Grand Slam (the first was Pat Bradley). The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-2 in the final game at the Kingdome.

Five years ago: NATO leaders gathered in Turkey closed ranks on a pledge to take a bigger military role in Iraq; President George W. Bush declared that the alliance was poised to ``meet the threats of the 21st century.'' Insurgents threatened to behead Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, a U.S. Marine who'd vanished in Iraq, in a videotape that aired on Arab television. (However, Hassoun contacted American officials in his native Lebanon the following month; after being reunited with his family in Utah, Hassoun disappeared in December 2004.)

One year ago: North Korea destroyed the most visible symbol of its nuclear weapons program, the cooling tower at its main atomic reactor at Yongbyon. (However, North Korea announced in September 2008 that it was restoring its nuclear facilities.) In Zimbabwe, roaming bands of government supporters heckled, harassed or threatened people into voting in a runoff election in which President Robert Mugabe was the only candidate.



Posted by: Patch 30-Jun-2009, 02:49 AM
On June 29, 1776, the Virginia state constitution was adopted, and Patrick Henry was made governor. On this date: In 1767, the British Parliament approved the Townshend Acts, which imposed import duties on certain goods shipped to America. (Colonists bitterly protested, prompting Parliament in 1770 to repeal the duties on all goods, except tea.) In 1946, authorities in British-ruled Palestine arrested more than 2,700 Jews in an attempt to stamp out extremists. In 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission voted against reinstating Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer's access to classified information. In 1959, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down a New York State obscenity ban on exhibiting a French movie version of the D.H. Lawrence novel ``Lady Chatterley's Lover.'' In 1966, the United States bombed fuel storage facilities near the North Vietnamese cities of Hanoi and Haiphong. In 1967, Jerusalem was reunified as Israel removed barricades separating the Old City from the Israeli sector. In 1970, the United States ended a two-month military offensive into Cambodia. In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty as it was being meted out could constitute ``cruel and unusual punishment.'' (The ruling prompted states to revise their capital punishment laws.) In 1988, the Supreme Court upheld the independent counsel law. In 2003, actress Katharine Hepburn died in Old Saybrook, Conn., at age 96. Ten years ago: Urging the biggest expansion in Medicare's history, President Bill Clinton proposed that the government help older Americans pay for prescription drugs. Some 10,000 demonstrators rallied in central Serbia, demanding the resignation of President Slobodan Milosevic. Abdullah Ocalan, leader of Turkey's rebel Kurds, was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. (The sentence was later commuted to life in prison.) Five years ago: A United Nations helicopter crashed in Sierra Leone, killing all 24 peacekeepers, aid workers and others on board. The Supreme Court blocked a law meant to shield Web-surfing children from online pornography. Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks became the fourth pitcher to record 4,000 career strikeouts. (However, his team lost to the San Diego Padres, 3-2). One year ago: Zimbabwe's longtime ruler Robert Mugabe was sworn in as president for a sixth term after a widely discredited runoff in which he was the only candidate. Two weeks away from her 20th birthday, Inbee Park became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Open by closing with a 2-under 71 at Interlachen in Edina, Minn. Spain won the European Championship 1-0 over Germany for its first major title in 44 years.


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Posted by: Patch 30-Jun-2009, 02:51 AM
On June 30, 1859, French acrobat Charles Blondin (born Jean Francois Gravelet) walked back and forth on a tightrope above the gorge of Niagara Falls as thousands of spectators watched.

On this date:

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.

In 1908, the Tunguska Event took place in Russia as an asteroid exploded above Siberia, leaving 800 square miles of scorched or blown-down trees.

In 1921, President Warren G. Harding nominated former President William Howard Taft to be chief justice of the United States, succeeding the late Edward Douglass White.

In 1934, Adolf Hitler carried out his ``blood purge'' of political and military rivals in Germany in what came to be known as ``The Night of the Long Knives.''

In 1936, the novel ``Gone with the Wind'' by Margaret Mitchell was published in New York.

In 1958, the U.S. Senate passed the Alaska statehood bill by a vote of 64-20.

In 1963, Pope Paul VI was crowned the 262nd head of the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1971, a Soviet space mission ended in tragedy when three cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 11 were found dead inside their spacecraft after it had returned to Earth.

In 1984, John Turner was sworn in as Canada's 17th prime minister, succeeding Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

In 1985, 39 American hostages from a hijacked TWA jetliner were freed in Beirut after being held 17 days.

Ten years ago: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in two years, boosting the target for the funds rate a quarter-point to five percent. On the day the independent counsel law expired, Kenneth Starr wrapped up the Whitewater phase of his investigation as presidential friend Webster Hubbell pleaded guilty to a felony and a misdemeanor.

Five years ago: A federal appeals court approved an antitrust settlement Microsoft had negotiated with the Justice Department. The Iraqis took legal custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 of his top lieutenants, a first step toward the ousted dictator's expected trial for crimes against humanity. After nearly seven years of travel, the international Cassini spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit.

One year ago: President George W. Bush signed legislation to pay for the war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of his presidency and beyond, hailing the $162 billion plan as a rare product of bipartisan cooperation. The United States announced that it was charging Saudi Arabian Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri with ``organizing and directing'' the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in waters off Yemen - and would seek the death penalty.

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Posted by: Patch 04-Jul-2009, 05:27 PM
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

On this date:

In 1802, the United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, N.Y.

In 1826, 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died.

In 1831, the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, died in New York City.

In 1872, the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, was born in Plymouth, Vt.

In 1919, Jack Dempsey won the world heavyweight boxing title by defeating Jess Willard in Toledo, Ohio.

In 1939, baseball's ``Iron Horse,'' Lou Gehrig, said farewell to his fans at New York's Yankee Stadium.

In 1959, America's 49-star flag, honoring Alaskan statehood, was officially unfurled.

In 1960, America's 50-star flag, honoring Hawaiian statehood, was officially unfurled.

In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act, which went into effect the following year.

In 1976, Israeli commandos raided Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing almost all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by pro-Palestinian hijackers.

Ten years ago: White supremacist Benjamin Nathaniel Smith shot himself to death as police closed in on him in southern Illinois, hours after he'd apparently shot and killed a Korean man outside a church in Bloomington, Ind.; authorities believe Smith was also responsible for killing former college basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong during a three-day rampage targeting minorities. Pete Sampras and Lindsay Davenport won the singles titles at Wimbledon, defeating Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.

Five years ago: A 20-ton slab of granite, inscribed to honor ``the enduring spirit of freedom,'' was laid at the World Trade Center site as the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower skyscraper that will replace the destroyed twin towers. Defending the war in Iraq, President George W. Bush told a cheering crowd outside the West Virginia state capitol that America was safer because Saddam Hussein was in a prison cell. Roger Federer overcame Andy Roddick's power game to win his second straight Wimbledon title, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Meg Mallon won the Women's U.S. Open with a 6-under 65.

One year ago: Former Sen. Jesse Helms, an unyielding champion of the conservative movement who'd spent three combative and sometimes caustic decades in Congress, died in Raleigh, N.C., at age 86. Dara Torres completed her improbable Olympic comeback at age 41, making the U.S. team for the fifth time by winning the 100 freestyle at the trials in Omaha, Neb. Actress Evelyn Keyes died in Montecito, Calif., at age 91.

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Posted by: Patch 05-Jul-2009, 02:41 PM
On July 5, 1865, William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London On this date:

In 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.

In 1830, the French occupied the North African city of Algiers.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act.

In 1940, during World War II, Britain and the Vichy government in France broke off diplomatic relations.

In 1946, the bikini, designed by Louis Reard, made its debut during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris.

In 1947, Larry Doby made his debut with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black player in the American League.

In 1948, Britain's National Health Service Act went into effect, providing government-financed medical and dental care.

In 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors.

In 1978, a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft touched down safely in Soviet Kazakhstan with its two-member crew, including the first Polish space traveler, Maj. Miroslaw Hermaszewski.

In 1984, the Supreme Court weakened the 70-year-old ``exclusionary rule,'' deciding that evidence seized in good faith with defective court warrants could be used against defendants in criminal trials.

Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton began a four-day, cross-country tour to promote a plan for drawing jobs and investment to poverty-stricken areas that had not shared in the prosperity of the 1990s.

Five years ago: In a stinging rebuke, Mexican President Vicente Fox's chief of staff, Alfonso Durazo, resigned.

One year ago: Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, beating younger sister Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 in the final. Gas station owner Kent Couch flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons more than 200 miles across the Oregon desert, landing in a field in Cambridge, Idaho.

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Posted by: Patch 06-Jul-2009, 12:14 AM
On July 6, 1944, an estimated 168 people died in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn. (Among the survivors was future actor Charles Nelson Reilly, then age 13.)

On this date:

In 1535, St. Thomas More was executed in England for high treason.

In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga in New York.

In 1809, French troops arrested Pope Pius VII, who had excommunicated Emperor Napoleon I.

In 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur successfully tested an anti-rabies vaccine on a boy who had been bitten by an infected dog.

In 1917, during World War I, Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence and Auda Abu Tayi captured the port of Aqaba from the Turks.

In 1928, the first all-talking feature, ``Lights of New York,'' had its gala premiere in New York.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order establishing the Medal of Freedom.

In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2.

In 1988, 167 North Sea oil workers were killed when a series of explosions and fires destroyed a drilling platform.

In 1989, the U.S. Army destroyed its last Pershing IA missiles at an ammunition plant in Karnack, Texas, under terms of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Ten years ago: Ehud Barak took office as prime minister of Israel, pledging to seek peace with neighboring Arab countries.

Five years ago: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry chose former rival John Edwards to be his running mate. A U.S. fighter pilot who'd mistakenly bombed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, killing four, was found guilty in New Orleans of dereliction of duty; Maj. Harry Schmidt was reprimanded and docked a month's pay.

One year ago: The U.S. launched an airstrike at combatants in Afghanistan's Nuristan province; the Afghan government later said 47 civilians died. President George W. Bush arrived in Japan for his eighth and final G8 summit, where he emphasized the urgency of providing aid to Africa. Rafael Nadal won a riveting five-set Wimbledon final, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7, denying Roger Federer a sixth straight title in a match that lasted 4 hours, 48 minutes.

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Posted by: Patch 07-Jul-2009, 06:47 AM
In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.

In 1908, the Democratic national convention, which nominated William Jennings Bryan for president, opened in Denver.

In 1919, the first Transcontinental Motor Convoy, in which a U.S. Army convoy of motorized vehicles crossed the United States, departed Washington, D.C. (The trip ended in San Francisco on Sept. 6, 1919.)

In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam).

In 1948, six female reservists became the first women to be sworn into the regular U.S. Navy.

In 1969, Canada's House of Commons gave final approval to the Official Languages Act, making French equal to English throughout the national government.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1983, 11-year-old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, left for a visit to the Soviet Union at the personal invitation of Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov.

In 2005, suicide terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 victims and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II.

Ten years ago: In the first class-action lawsuit by smokers to go to trial, a jury in Miami held cigarette makers liable for making a defective product that caused emphysema, lung cancer and other illnesses. (The jury later ordered the tobacco industry to pay $145 billion in punitive damages, but the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 voided the award, saying each smoker's case had to be decided individually.) President Bill Clinton became the first chief executive since Franklin D. Roosevelt to visit an Indian reservation as he toured the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Five years ago: Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay was indicted on criminal charges related to the energy company's collapse. (Lay was later convicted of fraud and conspiracy, but died in July 2006 before he could be sentenced.) Jeff Smith, public television's popular ``Frugal Gourmet'' until a sex scandal ruined his career, died at age 65.

One year ago: A suicide bomber struck the Indian Embassy in Kabul, killing at least 60 people. President George W. Bush met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for the first time at the G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan. Actress Nicole Kidman gave birth to a girl; she and her husband, country star Keith Urban, named their daughter Sunday Rose Kidman Urban.

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Posted by: Patch 08-Jul-2009, 03:12 AM
On July 8, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson received a tumultuous welcome in New York City after his return from the Versailles Peace Conference in France; Wilson then headed back to Washington, arriving around midnight.

On this date:

In 1663, King Charles II of England granted a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.

In 1776, Col. John Nixon gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, in Philadelphia.

In 1853, an expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Yedo Bay, Japan, on a mission to seek diplomatic and trade relations with the Japanese.

In 1889, The Wall Street Journal was first published.

In 1907, Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first ``Follies,'' on the roof of the New York Theater.

In 1947, demolition work began in New York City to make way for the new permanent headquarters of the United Nations.

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman named Gen. Douglas MacArthur commander in chief of U.N. forces in Korea.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower began a visit to Canada, where he conferred with Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and addressed the Canadian Parliament.

In 1989, Carlos Saul Menem was inaugurated as president of Argentina in the country's first transfer of power from one democratically elected civilian leader to another in six decades.

In 1994, Kim Il Sung, North Korea's communist leader since 1948, died at age 82.

Ten years ago: An Air Force cargo jet took off from McChord Air Force Base in Washington on a dangerous mission to Antarctica to drop medicine for Dr. Jerri Nielsen, a physician at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Center who had discovered a lump in her breast. (The mission was successful; Nielsen was evacuated in October 1999.) Astronaut Charles ``Pete'' Conrad Jr., the third man to walk on the moon, died after a motorcycle accident near Ojai, Calif.; he was 69.

Five years ago: Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas and his son Timothy were convicted in New York of looting the cable company and deceiving investors. (John Rigas was sentenced to 12 years in prison; Timothy Rigas, 17.) A Swedish appeals court threw out a life prison sentence for the convicted killer of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, ruling that Mijailo Mijailovic should receive treatment for his ``significant psychiatric problems.''

One year ago: A bipartisan group chaired by former secretaries of state James Baker III and Warren Christopher released a study saying the next time the president goes to war, Congress should be consulted and vote on whether it agrees. A well-organized assault by gunmen on horseback on a U.N.-African Union patrol in Darfur left seven peacekeepers dead and 22 wounded.

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Posted by: Patch 10-Jul-2009, 04:07 AM
Five hundred years ago, on July 10, 1509, French theologian John Calvin, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation, was born Jean Cauvin in Noyon, Picardy, France.

On this date:

In 1890, Wyoming became the 44th state.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson personally delivered the Treaty of Versailles to the Senate, and urged its ratification. (However, the Senate rejected it.)

In 1929, American paper currency was reduced in size as the government began issuing bills that were approximately 25 percent smaller.

In 1940, during World War II, the Battle of Britain began as Nazi forces began attacking southern England by air. (The Royal Air Force was ultimately victorious.)

In 1951, armistice talks aimed at ending the Korean War began at Kaesong.

In 1962, the Telstar 1 communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

In 1973, the Bahamas became fully independent after three centuries of British colonial rule.

In 1979, conductor Arthur Fiedler, who had led the Boston Pops orchestra for a half-century, died in Brookline, Mass., at age 84.

In 1989, Mel Blanc, the ``man of a thousand voices,'' including such cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, died in Los Angeles at age 81.

In 1991, Boris N. Yeltsin took the oath of office as the first elected president of the Russian republic.

Ten years ago: The United States women's soccer team won the World Cup, beating China 5-4 on penalty kicks after 120 minutes of scoreless play at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush said in his weekly radio address that legalizing gay marriage would redefine the most fundamental institution of civilization, and that a constitutional amendment was needed to protect traditional marriage.

One year ago: President George W. Bush signed a bill overhauling rules about government eavesdropping and granting immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the U.S. spy on Americans in suspected terrorism cases. The Senate handily confirmed Gen. David Petraeus as the top commander in the Middle East. Former White House adviser Karl Rove defied a congressional subpoena, refusing to testify about allegations of political pressure at the Justice Department.

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Posted by: Patch 10-Jul-2009, 11:24 PM
On July 11, 1859, Big Ben, the great bell inside the famous London clock tower, chimed for the first time. (The clock itself had been keeping time since May 31.)

On this date:

In 1767, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, was born in Braintree, Mass.

In 1798, the U.S. Marine Corps was formally re-established by a congressional act that also created the U.S. Marine Band.

In 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a pistol duel in Weehawken, N.J.

In 1864, Confederate forces led by Gen. Jubal Early began an abortive invasion of Washington, turning back the next day.

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first incumbent chief executive to travel through the Panama Canal.

In 1952, the Republican national convention, meeting in Chicago, nominated Dwight D. Eisenhower for president and Richard M. Nixon for vice president.

In 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy swore in its first class of cadets at its temporary quarters, Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado.

In 1978, 216 people were immediately killed when a tanker truck overfilled with propylene gas exploded on a coastal highway south of Tarragona, Spain.

In 1979, the abandoned U.S. space station Skylab made a spectacular return to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere and showering debris over the Indian Ocean and Australia.

In 1989, actor and director Laurence Olivier died in Steyning, West Sussex, England, at age 82.

Ten years ago: A U.S. Air Force cargo jet, braving Antarctic winter, swept down over the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Center to drop off emergency medical supplies for Dr. Jerri Nielsen, a physician at the center who had discovered a lump in her breast.

Five years ago: Japan's largest opposition party experienced strong gains in upper house elections, while Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling bloc held on to a majority. The International AIDS Conference opened in Bangkok, with U.N. chief Kofi Annan challenging world leaders to do more to combat the raging global epidemic. Joe Gold, the founder of the original Gold's Gym in 1965, died in Los Angeles at age 82.

One year ago: Oil prices reached a record high of $147.27 a barrel. IndyMac Bank's assets were seized by federal regulators. A North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist at a northern mountain resort, further straining relations between the two Koreas. Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, the cardiovascular surgeon who pioneered such procedures as bypass surgery, died in Houston at 99.

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Posted by: Patch 12-Jul-2009, 02:04 AM
On July 12, 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale announced he'd chosen U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be his running-mate; Ferraro was the first woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket.

In 1543, England's King Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr.

In 1690, forces led by William of Orange defeated the army of James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.

In 1812, United States forces led by Gen. William Hull entered Canada during the War of 1812 against Britain. (However, Hull retreated shortly thereafter to Detroit.)

In 1862, Congress authorized the Medal of Honor.

In 1908, comedian Milton Berle was born Mendel Berlinger in New York City.

In 1909, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, allowing for a federal income tax, and submitted it to the states. (It was declared ratified in February 1913.)

In 1948, the Democratic national convention, which nominated President Harry S. Truman for a second term of office, opened in Philadelphia.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter defended Supreme Court limits on government payments for poor women's abortions, saying, ``There are many things in life that are not fair.''

In 1988, Democratic presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis tapped Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running-mate.

In 1993, some 200 people were killed when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck northern Japan and triggered a tsunami.

Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton and Republican congressional leaders held their first face-to-face budget meeting of the year; the talk was described afterward as positive.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush defended the Iraq war during a visit to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, saying the invasion had made America safer. Wall Street brokerage Morgan Stanley settled a sex discrimination suit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, agreeing to pay $54 million.

One year ago: Former White House press secretary Tony Snow died in Washington at age 53. Former All-Star outfielder and longtime Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer died in Oklahoma City at age 62. Angelina Jolie gave birth to twins Knox and Vivienne, making a family of eight with Brad Pitt.

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Posted by: Patch 13-Jul-2009, 09:58 AM
In 1787, Congress enacted an ordinance governing the Northwest Territory.

In 1863, deadly rioting against the Civil War military draft erupted in New York City. (The insurrection was put down three days later.)

In 1878, the Treaty of Berlin amended the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano, which had ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78.

In 1886, Father Edward Joseph Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, was born in County Roscommon, Ireland.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination at his party's convention in Los Angeles.

In 1972, George McGovern claimed the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Miami Beach, Fla.

In 1977, a blackout lasting 25 hours hit the New York City area.

In 1978, Lee Iacocca was fired as president of Ford Motor Co. by chairman Henry Ford II.

In 1979, four Palestinian guerrillas stormed the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, killing two guards and taking some 20 hostages. (The guerrillas surrendered 45 hours later.)

In 1985, ``Live Aid,'' an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, took place to raise money for Africa's starving people.

Ten years ago: Angel Maturino Resendiz, suspected of being the ``Railroad Killer,'' surrendered in El Paso, Texas. (Resendiz was executed in 2006.) In Tehran, police fired tear gas to disperse 10,000 demonstrators on the sixth day of protests against Iranian hard-liners. The American League won the All-Star Game for the third straight time, defeating the National League 4-1 at Boston's Fenway Park. Stanley Kubrick's final film, ``Eyes Wide Shut'' starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, had its premiere in Los Angeles. (The movie opened in wide release three days later.)

Five years ago: A confidant of Osama bin Laden's (Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harbi) surrendered to Saudi diplomats in Iran and was flown to Saudi Arabia. The American League cruised past the National League 9-4 in the All-Star game at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

One year ago: An assault by militants on a remote U.S. base in Afghanistan close to the Pakistan border killed nine American soldiers and wounded 15. Anheuser-Busch agreed to a takeover by giant Belgian brewer InBev SA. Talk show host Les Crane died in Greenbrae, Calif., at age 74

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Posted by: Patch 15-Jul-2009, 12:57 AM
On July 15, 1971, President Richard Nixon startled the country by announcing he would visit the People's Republic of China.

In 1606, Dutch painter Rembrandt was born in Leiden, Netherlands.

In 1870, Georgia became the last Confederate state readmitted to the Union. Manitoba entered confederation as the fifth Canadian province.

In 1916, Boeing Co., originally known as Pacific Aero Products Co., was founded in Seattle.

In 1918, the Second Battle of the Marne, resulting in an Allied victory, began during World War I.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman was nominated for another term of office by the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered U.S. Marines to Lebanon, at the request of that country's president, Camille Chamoun, in the face of a perceived threat by Muslim rebels. (The Americans withdrew in October 1958.)

In 1964, Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona was nominated for president by the Republican national convention in San Francisco.

In 1976, a 36-hour kidnap ordeal began for 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver as they were abducted near Chowchilla, Calif., by three gunmen and imprisoned in an underground cell. (The captives escaped unharmed.)

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered his ``malaise'' speech in which he lamented what he called a ``crisis of confidence'' in America.

In 1997, fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot dead outside his Miami home; suspected gunman Andrew Phillip Cunanan was found dead eight days later.

Ten years ago: The government acknowledged for the first time that thousands of workers were made sick while making nuclear weapons and announced a plan to compensate many of them. China declared that it had invented its own neutron bomb. The Seattle Mariners played their first game in their new home, Safeco Field, losing to the San Diego Padres 3-2.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush signed into law a measure imposing mandatory prison terms for criminals who use identity theft in committing terrorist acts and other offenses. The Senate approved a plan to pay tobacco farmers $12 billion to give up federal quotas propping up their prices. Retired Air Force Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, who'd piloted the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki in the final days of World War II, died in Boston at age 84.

One year ago: President George W. Bush said the nation's troubled financial system was ``basically sound,'' and he urged lawmakers to quickly enact legislation to prop up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A judge in Los Angeles sentenced Helen Golay, 77, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, to two consecutive life terms each for murdering two indigent men to collect insurance policies taken out on their lives. In an All-Star game that began at dusk and ended at 1:37 a.m. the next morning, the American League defeated the National League 4-3 in 15 innings at Yankee stadium.

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Posted by: Patch 16-Jul-2009, 08:10 AM
On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin ``Buzz'' Aldrin Jr. and Michael Collins, blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon.

In 1790, a site along the Potomac River was designated the permanent seat of the U.S. government; the area became Washington.

In 1862, David G. Farragut became the first rear admiral in the United States Navy.

In 1909, the Audi auto company was founded in Zwickau, Germany, by August Horch under the name Horch Automobil-Werke. (A legal dispute resulted in Horch renaming the company Audiwerke the following year.)

In 1945, the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb, in the desert of Alamogordo, N.M.

In 1957, Marine Maj. John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record by flying a jet from California to New York in three hours, 23 minutes and eight seconds.

In 1964, as he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco, Barry M. Goldwater said ``extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice'' and that ``moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.''

In 1973, during the Senate Watergate hearings, former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield publicly revealed the existence of President Richard Nixon's secret taping system.

In 1979, Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq.

In 1989, conductor Herbert von Karajan died near Salzburg, Austria, at age 81.

In 1994, the first of 21 pieces of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter, to the joy of astronomers awaiting the celestial fireworks.

Ten years ago: John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when their single-engine plane, piloted by Kennedy, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Mass.

Five years ago: Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement by a federal judge in New York for lying about a stock sale. Some 90 children were killed in a school fire in southern India. Former Georgia Gov. George Busbee died in Savannah at age 76.

One year ago: Republican John McCain addressed the annual convention of the NAACP, telling the civil rights group in Cincinnati he would expand education opportunities, partly through vouchers for low-income children to attend private school. Israel freed notorious Lebanese militant Samir Kantar and four others after Hezbollah guerrillas handed over the bodies of two Israeli soldiers. Band singer Jo Stafford died in Century City, Calif., at age 90.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

Posted by: Patch 20-Jul-2009, 06:28 PM
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin ``Buzz'' Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after landing their lunar module. As he set foot on the lunar surface, Armstrong spoke his famous line, ``That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'' Aldrin, who followed, described the scene as ``magnificent desolation.''

In 1810, Colombia declared independence from Spain.

In 1861, the Congress of the Confederate States began holding sessions in Richmond, Va.

In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as a Canadian province.

In 1917, the draft lottery in World War I went into operation.

In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion at Hitler's Rastenburg headquarters only wounded the Nazi leader. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented fourth term of office at the Democratic convention in Chicago.

In 1954, the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into northern and southern entities.

In 1976, America's Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.

In 1977, a flash flood hit Johnstown, Pa., killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage.

In 1982, Irish Republican Army bombs exploded in two London parks, killing 11 soldiers, along with seven horses belonging to the Queen's Household Cavalry.

In 1988, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis received the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Atlanta.

Ten years ago: After 38 years at the bottom of the Atlantic, astronaut Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 Mercury capsule was lifted to the surface.

Five years ago: Former national security adviser Sandy Berger quit as an informal adviser to Democrat John Kerry's presidential campaign after disclosure of a criminal investigation into whether he had mishandled classified terrorism documents. Iraqi militants freed a Filipino truck driver after the Philippines government gave in to their demands to withdraw troops from Iraq. The head of slain American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr. was found in a raid in Saudi Arabia. The U.N. General Assembly demanded that Israel tear down the barrier it was building to seal off the West Bank; Israel vowed to continue construction.

One year ago: Pope Benedict XVI wrapped up a six-day World Youth Day Festival in Sydney by challenging young people to shed the greed and cynicism of their time to create a new age of hope for humankind. Padraig Harrington became the first European in more than a century to win the British Open two years in a row.

Slàinte,    

Patch    

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