Sunday, May 31, 2009
Only 214 days until the Year 2010
Today is:
World No Tobacco Day
On The Way To Today... May 31st
1433 - Pope Eugenius IV crowned Sigismund as Holy Roman Emperor.
1669 - Due to failing eyesight, the British admiralty official and
diarist Samuel Pepys stopped writing his diary.
1790 - The first Copyright Act was signed by President George
Washington. The act protected authorship rights over books, maps and
other written material. Rights of copy were only granted to US
citizens, a mandate that was kept in place for more than a century.
1793 - In France, three days of insurrection and revolt began, leading
to the fall of the Girondists from the Convention.
1821 - The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary In
Baltimore became the first Catholic cathedral to be dedicated in the
United States.
1859 - Big Ben, the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London,
began telling the time.
1870 - E.J. DeSemdt of New York City patented asphalt pavement.
1889 - 2,300 people died and thousands lost in Johnstown,
Pennsylvania. Heavy rains throughout the month caused the Connemaugh
River Dam to break, flooding Johnstown. Some 800 unidentified victims
were buried in a common grave. The flood was such a tragedy that the
1900 - In the Boer War, the British seized Johannesburg.
1902 - The Treaty of Vereeniging was signed in Pretoria bringing an
end to the Boer War. More than 5,000 British troops and at least 4,000
Boers were killed in action.
1907 - Taxis arrived in New York City. The new Paris cabs were the
first in the United States.
1911 - In Belfast, the White Star liner the Titanic was launched as
one of the largest vessels afloat. It sank on its maiden voyage in
April 1912.
1913 - The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for the
popular election of senators, was declared in effect.
1916 - British and German fleets fought the Batle of Jutland off
Denmark during World War I.
1929 - The first reindeer to be born in the United States were born in
North Beverly, Massachusetts.
1937 - The first quadruplets to complete college courses of study were
awarded Bachelor of Arts degrees, individually. Mary, Mona, Roberta
and Leota Keys received their degrees from Baylor University in Waco,
Texas.
1961 - South Africa proclaimed itself a republic and left the
Commonwealth.
1962 - Adolph Eichmann, who helped to organize Nazi Germany's murder
of millions of Jews, was hanged in Jerusalem.
1970 - In Peru, a magnitude-7.9 earthquake struck the towns of Yungay,
Huaraz and Chimbote, destroying all three as well as surrounding
villages. This resulted in more than 70,000 people killed and 600,000
left homeless.
1989 - The second "World No-Tobacco Day" was held. The goals of the
day were to encourage governments, organizations, and communities
worldwide to become aware of the hazards of tobacco use, and to
encourage everyone who smoked to quit for at least 24 hours. From this
year onwards, May 31st was designated as No-Tobacco Day.
1989 - House Speaker Jim Wright, dogged by questions about his ethics,
announced he would resign.
1994 - U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Illinois, was indicted on 17
felony counts, alleging he'd plundered nearly $700,000 from the
government.
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