| Rome was a city on the south-east bank of the Tiber River, in the region called Latium. Roma was
often called Roma, which is the proper name for the city. The site was prominently situated on the seven hills.
Romulus was the legendary founder of Rome. Romulus was descendant of Dardanian or Trojan hero, Aeneas, one of two surviving leaders to escape the fall of Troy. |
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| In the English colony of Maryland, a law was issued by Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baron of Baltimore ( Lord Baltimore), the governor of the colony, banning criticism of various forms of Christianity and allowing people to practice their Christian religion freely. It was the first law establishing freedom of religion (or at least, Christianity) in North America. The law, the Maryland Toleration Act, helped set the stage for the freedom of religion that would mark the independent United States 140 years later. |
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| In its history Ellis Island was also known as Dyre's Island, Bucking Island, and Gibbet Island
before permanently acquiring the name of Ellis Island from Samuel Ellis, a New York City merchant who was the island's
last private owner from the mid to late eighteenth century. From 1794 to 1890 Ellis Island was used for military purposes by the U.S. Government after it purchased the island from the family of the late Samuel Ellis in 1808 for $10,000 through condemnation procedures. Fort Gibson was completed by the U.S. Army on the eve of the War of 1812 to aid in the coastal defense of New York, and was in use as a powder magazine by the U.S. Navy until the late nineteenth century. |
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| The main forces of the Texas army totaled about 750 men. They faced over 1500 of the enemy, secure
and flushed with pride at the offense they had enjoyed for the previous few weeks against the Texans. Early in the
morning, Houston sent Deaf Smith, the celebrated Texas spy, with two or three men, to destroy Vince's bridge over
which the Mexican army had passed, thus cutting off their only available escape.
When Houston's long awaited order to advance was given, the Texans did not hesitate. When within seventy yards the word "fire" was given, the Texan shouts of "Remember the Alamo" and "Remember Goliad" rang along the entire line. Within a short time, 700 Mexicans were slain, with another 730 taken as prisoners. The battle for Texas was won. |
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| Because of the steamboat monopoly on transportation of goods, prices were high. When the first bridge across the Mississippi was built at Rock Island,IL to Davenport IA, Steamboat Packet companies definitely felt their livelihood threatened. |  |
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| This lady definitely wore a hoop with this dress, and the yoke at the back of its skirt suggests she also wore a small pad or bustle. Women from this time period wanted their skirts to be bell-shaped. Unfortunately the small of the back caused "a falling in at the waist" that marred the silhouette they desired. The bustle's purpose was to help fill out that area and keep the skirt rounded at the top. |  |
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| Established by an Act of Congress on April 21, 1862, the Denver Mint opened for business in 1863 as a United States Assay Office. Operations began in the facilities of Clark, Gruber & Company, a private mint then located at 16th and Market Streets and acquired by the Government for $25,000. |
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| The train would essentially retrace the 1,654 mile route Mr. Lincoln had traveled as President-elect in 1861 The Lincoln Special, whose engine had Mr. Lincoln's photograph over the cowcatcher, carried approximately 300 mourners. Willie Lincoln's coffin was also on board. |  |
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| As fire stations developed into 2-story buildings, the second floor was used for sleeping and relaxation. When the alarm sounded the men charged down spiral staircases made of iron. Several stations had sliding chutes. Chicagoan David Kenyon of Engine Company No. 21 felt a would be faster than a chute. He built a wooden pole three inches in diameter and carefully sanded it and oiled it. The chief needed to be convinced Kenyon’s idea would work. He gave permission for a hole to be cut for the pole, but the inventor had to promise to repair it if the pole failed. It was first used in 1878 and was very successful. In 1880, the first brass pole was built in Worchester, Massachusetts by Charles Allen of Engine Company No. 1. |
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| Brothers Otway and Gray Latham and their father Woodville demonstrated the Eidoloscope, a movie projector they built with the help of W. K. Dickson, who worked with Thomas Edison. In probably the first movie show in America, they showed scenes of boys playing in a park and a man smoking a pipe. |  |
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| On April 21 President McKinley orders a blockade of Cuba and four days later the U.S. declares war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. |  |
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| Canadian Capt. Roy Brown led a flight fifteen Sopwith Camels flying cover for some photo planes.
When some Fokkers and Albatroses jumped the camera planes, a huge dogfight ensued, over thirty planes twisting,
shooting, and tearing at each other. A scarlet Albatros got behind a young Canadian, Lt. Wilford May. Seeing his
plight, Capt. Brown went after the Baron, firing his Lewis gun.
The low-key Captain Brown never officialy claimed the kill; and some Australian gunners did. To this day, no one knows for sure who brought down the greatest ace of The Great War. He was credited with 80 kills in less than two years, flying a red Fokker triplane. |
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| The format of Take It or Leave It was fairly straightforward: participants would be asked a
series of questions, arranged by difficulty. The first question was worth one dollar; the total doubled with each
successive question. The seventh and final question was worth $64. After each correct answer, contestants could
“take” their winnings and walk away or “leave it” in the hopes of answering another question and doubling their
money. Questions often came from the fields of music, sports, history or science.
Audience participation was an integral part of Take It or Leave It’s success; it wasn’t uncommon for the crowd to coach a contestant or call out “You’ll be sorrrreeeee” when a player chose to risk their winnings by moving on to the next question. |
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| Les Paul made his mark as a jazz-pop musician extraordinaire, recording as a duo with his wife,
Mary Ford. Their biggest hits included "How High the Moon" (1951) and "Vaya Con Dios" (1953), both reaching #1. The
recordings of Les Paul and Mary Ford are noteworthy for Paul's pioneering use of overdubbing - i.e., layering guitar
parts one atop another, a technique also referred to as multitracking or "sound on sound" recording. In 1952, Les Paul introduced the first eight-track tape recorder and, more significantly, the solid-body electric guitar that bears his name. |
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| Daniel E. Lewitt Associates also called the play "living drama rather than a period piece" and said Inherit "has significance to students because it illuminates a fragment of America's scholastic past and espouses important ideas dramatically" |  |
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| RCA bought Elvis' contract for $40,000, a huge sum for that time. In February of 1956 Elvis recorded his first five songs for RCA. Among these was Heartbreak Hotel, which quickly rose to the top of the charts to become Elvis' first Number 1 hit. |  |
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| Featuring a smooth sophisticated sound and the superb lead tenor of Tony Williams, the Platters
were among the most successful black vocal groups of the '50s. One of the first such groups regularly to ascend the
pop charts and enjoy massive popularity with white audiences, the Platters helped launch doo wop music and influenced
generations of vocal groups with their harmonies and arrangements.
In 1958 they introduced "Twilight Time" on Dick Clark's American Bandstand Saturday night TV show. A film of the Platters performing the song was used for promotion and might have been the first music video. |
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| Alf Dean's Great White is not the largest Australian shark caught on rod and reel. But larger
fish came on line heavier than the IGFA maximum 130 pound test or were otherwise disqualified. Aussies seem at war
with the sharks that swarm off swimming beaches and surfing areas. So Alf Dean's catch got plenty of publicity. At
2,664 pounds it smashed the old record and was Dean's forth time in succession to have held the Australian record.
Dean and his boatman, Ken Puckridge, had chummed for hours without seeing a shark. At about 3:30 in the morning the big shark bumped their boat. Only careful husbanding of chum kept the shark interested until first light, about 7 a.m. -- you don't mess with two ton sharks in the dark. It only took 50 minutes for the experienced pair to muscle the shark to the boat. After it was gaffed and tail roped, they returned to a mob scene at the weighing station. The shark measured 16 feet, 10 inches and more than nine feet in girth. |
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| After the craft's 57,000 lb thrust YLR-99 engine was installed, he flew it to a speed of 2,275 mph in February 1961, setting an unofficial world speed record. Over the next eight months, he became the first human to fly an aircraft at Mach 4 and then at Mach 5. |  |
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| Good Luck Charm reached number 1 on the Hot 100 chart and stayed on this chart for 13 weeks. Anything That's Part of You reached number 31 on the Hot 100 chart and stayed on this chart for 8 weeks. |  |
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| In the 1950s, De Bakey devised plastic tubing for repairing blood vessels, a treatment he applied to prevent recurring strokes, and kidney failure, and to restore circulation to limbs which might otherwise have been amputated. In 1963, De Bakey made history by installing an artificial pump to assist a patient's damaged heart. |  |
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| Released in 1973, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" became Orlando's biggest hit yet, and was named the top-selling single of the year. Long after its original success, the song re-entered the public consciousness with renewed force in 1981, becoming something of anthem during the Iranian hostage crisis as American citizens regularly tied yellow ribbons around trees as a symbol of their hopes and prayers for the hostages' safe return. |
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| Yankee manager Billy Martin, faced with a 2-8 slump in the past 10 games, draws his lineup out of a hat. Chris Chambliss, batting 8th, drives in five runs on two doubles and a homer and New York beats Toronto, 86. Ken Holtzman is the winner. |  |
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| Andrea McArdle was a shining star in the title role. "Annie" continued on the Great White Way
until January 2, 1983. An orphan, Annie, and her dog Sandy are placed in the lap of luxury for a week as a part of a publicity campain for the rich and sometimes heartless Oliver Warbucks. However, Annie's stay turns out to be much more than anyone had bargained for as she works her way into everyone's heart and learns a few things for herself. |
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| Stewart’s first record was called 'You Really Touch My Heart'. But her official entrance into the world of music; the golden age of 'disco' was at the end of 1977 with 'Knock On Wood'. Selling more than 8 million copies it is still recognized as one the most original and exticing songs to come out of the disco era. The album, equally successful was followed by 'Paradise Bird' where she started to use more influxes of 'Pop'. |  |
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| America’s oldest long-distance race, the Boston Marathon, was touched by scandal this day. Actually, the race was sullied, tarnished and disgraced when Rosie Ruiz, a 26-year-old office worker, stunned the sports world when she crossed the finish line in a record time of 2 hours, 31 minutes and 56 seconds. Later, after an investigation, she was stripped of the honor of winning the marathon when evidence showed that she had not run the entire race. |
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| In 1985 Footloose earned oscars for Best Music and Original Song. Loggins produced many hit songs for movie soundtracks. This began with "I'm Alright" from ''Caddyshack''. Hits followed with "Footloose" from the film of the same name, "Meet Me Halfway" from ''Over the Top'', and "Danger Zone", from ''Top Gun''. All of these songs remain an integral part of American popular culture. |
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| Phil Collins had written "Against All Odds" in 1981 for his first solo album, "Face Value", and the song was originally entitled, "How Can You Just Sit There". Phil Collins left the song off of the album because he felt he had too many ballads on "Face Value" already. After Phil Collins's contact with Taylor Hackford, he recorded the song in two days, one day in New York, the other in Los Angeles. |  |
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| In 1986 he hosted the nationally-broadcast special, The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault. With dramatic flair, he fired a submachine gun through the wall of the second floor gymnasium at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, with the potential discovery of dead bodies, jewels, or historical artifacts. Inside the vault was a pile of dirt and one beer bottle. |
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| Sinead returned to London to record her second album in 1989. The first single from the album was a cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U." Released in January 1990, it went to #1 in 17 countries, including Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. |  |
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| Rose pled guilty to two charges of filing false income tax returns not showing income he received from selling autographs and baseball memorabilia. Rose was sentenced to five months in federal prison, three months in a halfway house, ordered to serve 1,000 hours of community service and fined $50,000 on July 20. He was released 1/07/1991 after having paid $366,041 in back taxes and interest on $354,968 of unreported income. |  |
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| Bob Engel, the National League umpire suspended indefinitely after being accused of stealing
baseball cards from a Target store in Bakersfield, Calif., faces a new charge of trying to shoplift cards from
another store in Bakersfield, his hometown. The umpire pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to misdemeanor counts of stealing
seven boxes containing 4,180 Score baseball cards from the Target store and of attempting to steal 50 packs of
baseball cards from Costco in January.
The Kern County District Attorney's office amended the original complaint to add the Costco count. The complaint listed the total value of the cards at less than $200. Engel, a major league umpire since 1966, was placed on indefinite suspension on April 24, after the charge involving Target was filed |
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| The Chicago Bulls wrapped up the most successful regular season in NBA history with their 72nd
victory, getting 26 points from Michael Jordan in a 103-93 decision over Washington.
Winning 18 games in a row in one stretch, the Bulls became the first team in NBA history to win 70 games and finished at 72-10. They led the league in scoring at 105.2 ppg and were third in defense at 92.9 ppg for a spectacular +12.2 point differential. They lost only two home games all season, and they won more road games, 33, than any team in NBA history. |
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| A portion of their ashes, and those of 22 other people, are tucked under the belly of an airplane scheduled to take off on Monday from the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain. The Pegasus rocket propelling them into orbit was launched horizontally from the plane while it's in flight. The main mission was a joint project between the University of California-Berkeley and a Spanish aerospace institute was to launch Spain's first research satellite. |
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0753 BC Traditional date of the foundation of
Rome
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1649 The Maryland Toleration Act passed by the Maryland assembly.
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1794 NYC formally declares coast of Ellis Island
publically owned
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1836 Battle of San Jacinto, in which Texas wins
independence from Mexico
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1856 First railroad bridge across Mississippi
River
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1857 Alexander Douglas patents the bustle
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1862 Congress establishes US Mint in Denver CO
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1865 Abraham Lincoln's funeral train leaves Washington
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1878 New York installs first firehouse pole
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1895 Woodville Latham demonstrated the first use
of a moving picture.
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1898 Spanish-American War begins
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1918 Red Baron (Manfred von Richtofen) was shot down and killed
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1931 Ester Kiefer received a patent for ornamental
paper.
1940 First $64 Question, "Take It or Leave
It", on CBS Radio
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1945 Allied troops occupy German nuclear laboratory
1951 "How High the Moon" by Les Paul
& Mary Ford topped the charts
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1955 Jerome Lawrence & Robert E Lee's "Inherit
the Wind", premieres in NYC
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1956 Elvis Presley's first hit record, "Heartbreak
Hotel", becomes #1
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1956 Leonard Ross, age 10, became the youngest
prizewinner on a big time quiz program. The youngster won $100,000 on "The
Big Surprise" for knowing about his specialty: stocks!
1958 "Twilight Time" by Platters topped
the charts
More ...
1959 Alf Dean hooks a 2,664lb great white shark
More ...
1961 USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to an
altitude of 104,960 feet.
More ...
1962 "Good Luck Charm" by Elvis Presley
topped the charts
More ...
1963 Dr Michael Ellis De Bakey performs 1st successful
heart implant.
More ...
1967 Los Angeles Dodgers first rain out in Los
Angeles (after 737 consecutive games)
1973 "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak
Tree" by Tony Orlando & Dawn topped the charts.
More ...
1976 Swine Flu vaccine, for non-epidemic, enters
testing
1977 Billy Martin pulls Yankee line-up out of
a hat, beats Blue Jays 8-6
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1977 The musical "Annie" opened at the Alvin Theatre in New York City.
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1979 "Knock on Wood" by Amii Stewart
topped the charts.
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1980 Boston marathon results tarnished
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1984 After 37 weeks, "Thriller" is knocked
off as top album by "Footloose"
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1984 "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me
Now)" by Phil Collins hits #1
More ...
1986 Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's vault on
TV & finds nothing.
More ...
1990 "Nothing Compares 2U" by Sinead
O'Connor topped the charts
More ...
1990 Pete Rose pleads guilty to hiding $300,000
in income
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1990 National League umpire is arrested for stealing
baseball cards
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1995 Boston Celtics final game at Boston Gardens,
New York Knicks win 98-92
1996 Chicago Bulls win NBA record 72 games (72-8)
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1997 Ashes of Timothy Leary & Gene Roddenberry
launched into orbit
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