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1635 - Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for theological differences. Ironically, the Massachusetts Bay Colony had been founded by people who were banished from the U.K. for their unorthodox religious views.

1701 - Yale University was founded under a different name.

1776 - Spanish missionaries settled in the location of present-day San Francisco, California.

- Jim

1888 -For the first time the public was admitted to the Washington Monument.

1930 -Aviator Laura Ingalls became the first woman to make a solo transcontinental flight across the United States.

1975 -Soviet scientist Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end the nuclear arms race.

Russell wrote:2009 - U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after only 9 months in office.

Joe received his CHL.

joe817 wrote:Joe received his CHL.

Good thing Wal-Mart is open 24/7.

- Jim

joe817 wrote:Joe received his CHL.

a truly historic event

On this day in 1862, Union forces took control of the U.S. Custom House in Galveston.


http://galvestondailynews.com/story/353382" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Galveston was taken back and forth during the War Between the States, being the most significant port on the Texas coast during those years.

The Custom House is still there, not much changed, though no longer a federal facility. It is the headquarters of the Galveston Historical Foundation now.

- Jim

1967 - Che Guevara forced to permanently retire from his career as a totalitarian thug.


On a more buoyant note:

2012 - Felix Baumgartner bunny-hopped out of the gondola of his balloon at 120,000 feet into supersonic freefall, then activated his parachute at 5000 feet, breaking the record for the highest jump and and becoming the first man to break the sound barrier without using an airplane...

Oh wait, that is still future, but with any luck, by the end of the day it will be true: http://www.redbullstratos.com/live/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

UPDATE: Still future history, the attempt was just cancelled for today due to gusty winds at the launch site. The balloon is fragile and needs winds less than 2 mph to launch. Bummer.

1940 - John Lennon was born.

1944 - John Entwistle was born.

1976 - My wife was born

1962 - Nick Holonyak demonstrated the first visible-light LED to General Electric management.

1855 - Joshua Stoddard patented the calliope. It was originally intended to replace the bells in church towers but it found its way onto river boats. It is not a very elegant instrument because it has 44 notes or less and there is no volume control. It plays every note LOUD. But there is a charm to the calliope on a carousel. The last carousel that I rode on that had a real steam calliope was in Dorney Park, just South of Allentown, PA. The electronic versions are just not the same.

1936 - Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to LA I often wonder if a project like the Hoover Dam could ever be done again. With all of the regulations, it would take longer to get required approvals than to complete the work. Somewhere between 96 and 112 workers died during its construction. I suspect that OSHA would have had a fit.

chasfm11 wrote:...

1936 - ... I often wonder if a project like the Hoover Dam could ever be done again. ....

Not under current management:

...as Joel Kotkin noted in late 2010 in the Politico:

Today’s liberals don’t show enthusiasm for airports or dams — or anything that may kick up some dirt. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior Deanna Archuleta, for example, promised a Las Vegas audience: “You will never see another federal dam.”

http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/153322/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ELB wrote:1967 - Che Guevara forced to permanently retire from his career as a totalitarian thug.


On a more buoyant note:

2012 - Felix Baumgartner bunny-hopped out of the gondola of his balloon at 120,000 feet into supersonic freefall, then activated his parachute at 5000 feet, breaking the record for the highest jump and and becoming the first man to break the sound barrier without using an airplane...

Oh wait, that is still future, but with any luck, by the end of the day it will be true: http://www.redbullstratos.com/live/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

UPDATE: Still future history, the attempt was just cancelled for today due to gusty winds at the launch site. The balloon is fragile and needs winds less than 2 mph to launch. Bummer.

Here's the video. He did succeed, and he did cross Mach 1. He jumped from 128,000 feet and hit 834 M.P.H. Pretty amazing.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/spac ... -jump.html