Today in History!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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1858 - In a speech in Springfield, IL, U.S. Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved. He declared, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

I have heard - and argued against - many people who honestly think Lincoln was both a slave owner and not opposed to slavery. My understanding of Lincoln's history is that he had long been opposed to it as an institution. It frustrates the hell out of me.

There is absolutely no historical record of Lincoln ever having owned a slave. He was as far as recorded in his public life anti slavery.

I'm sure that you have noticed that there is an agenda driven move to either not teach history or to concentrate exclusively on the negative points of American history. This move will even encourage demonstratively false "Historical points" to advance this agenda. Hence the Lincoln as a slave holder story.

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618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries of the Tang Dynasty's rule over China.

1155 - Frederick I Barbarossa was crowned emperor of Rome by Pope Adrian IV.

1429 - French forces defeated the English at the battle of Patay. The English had been retreating after the siege of Orleans.

1621 - The first duel in America took place in the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts.

1778 - Britain evacuated Philadelphia during the U.S. Revolutionary War.

1812 - The War of 1812 began as the U.S. declared war against Great Britain.

1815 - At the Battle of Waterloo Napoleon was defeated by an international army under the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon abdicated on June 22.

1915 - During World War I, the second battle of Artois ended.

1918 - Allied forces on the Western Front began their largest counter-attack against the German army.

1927 - The U.S. Post Office offered a special 10-cent postage stamp for sale. The stamp was of Charles Lindbergh’s "Spirit of St. Louis."

1928 - Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as she completed a flight from Newfoundland to Wales.

1940 - Winston Churchill's "this was their finest hour" speech urging perseverance during Battle of Britain delivered to British House of Commons.

1948 - The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights.

1953 - Egypt was proclaimed to be a republic with General Neguib as its first president.

1979 - In Vienna, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) 2.

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240 BC - Eratosthenes estimated the circumference of the Earth using two sticks.

1778 - U.S. General George Washington's troops finally left Valley Forge after a winter and spring of training. This long period of training turned Washington's Army into a force that could face British regulars on a more even footage.

1821 - The Ottomans defeated the Greeks at the Battle of Dragasani.

1829 - Sir Robert Peel introduces the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 into Parliament to establish a unified police force for London. This action resulted in the London police eventually being referred to as "Bobbies" after Robert Peel. This also yielded the more obscure reference of "Peelers" usually among the criminal class.

1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln outlined his Emancipation Proclamation, which outlawed slavery in U.S. territories.

1864 - The USS Kearsarge sank the CSS Alabama off of Cherbourg, France.

1865 - The emancipation of slaves was proclaimed in Texas.

1873 - Eadweard Muybridge successfully photographed a horse named "Sallie Gardner" in fast motion using a series of 24 stereoscopic cameras. This is considered the first step toward motion pictures.

1903 - The young school teacher, Benito Mussolini, was placed under investigation by police in Bern, Switzerland.

1917 - During World War I, King George V ordered the British royal family to dispense with German titles and surnames.

1934 - The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration was established.

1934 - The U.S. Congress established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The commission was to regulate radio and TV broadcasting (later).

1942 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington, DC, to discuss the invasion of North Africa with U.S. President Roosevelt.

1943 - Henry Kissinger became a naturalized United States citizen.

1944 - World War II: First day of the 2 day Battle of the Philippine Sea, US naval forces defeat Japanese fleet.

1958 - In Washington, DC, nine entertainers refused to answer a congressional committee's questions on communism.

1964 - The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved after surviving an 83-day filibuster in the U.S. Senate.

1973 - The Case-Church Amendment prevented further U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia.

1981 - The European Space Agency sent two satellites into orbit from Kourou, French Guiana.

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451 - In the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, Roman and allied Barbarian forces defeat Attila the Hun in north east France.

1214 - The University of Oxford receives its charter.

1397 - The Union of Kalmar united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway under one monarch.

1756 - In India, 150 British soldiers were imprisoned in a cell that became known as the "Black Hole of Calcutta."

1789 - The Tennis Court Oath, or a new constitution in France made at Versailles.

1791 - King Louis XVI of France was captured while attempting to flee the country in the so-called Flight to Varennes.

1793 - Eli Whitney applied for a cotton gin patent. He received the patent on March 14. The cotton gin initiated the American mass-production concept.

1837 - Queen Victoria ascended the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV.

1840 - Samuel Morse patents his telegraph.

1863 - West Virginia became the 35th state to join the US. The area of West Virginia was originally part of Virginia but broke off when Virginia seceded from the Union.

1898 - The U.S. Navy seized the island of Guam en route to the Philippines to fight the Spanish.

1923 - France announced it would seize the Rhineland to assist Germany in paying its war debts.

1941 - The U.S. Army Air Forces was established, replacing the Army Air Corps. The Army Air Forces were abolished with the creation of the United States Air Force in 1947.

1943 - Race-related rioting erupted in Detroit. Federal troops were sent in two days later to end the violence that left more than 30 dead.

1947 - Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was murdered in Beverly Hills, CA, at the order of mob associates angered over the soaring costs of his project, the Flamingo resort in Las Vegas, NV.

1963 - The United States and Soviet Union signed an agreement to set up a hot line communication link between the two countries.

1967 - Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the conviction.

1983 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that employers must treat male and female workers equally in providing health benefits for their spouses.

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1404 - Owain Glyndwr established a Welsh Parliament at Machynlleth and was crowned Prince of Wales.

1788 - The U.S. Constitution went into effect when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.

1834 - Cyrus McCormick patented the first practical mechanical reaper for farming. His invention allowed farmers to more than double their crop size.

1854 - First Victoria Cross is awarded for action during bombardment of Bomarsund in the Aland Islands (Crimean War). 20 year old Charles David Lucas was serving on HMS Hecla taking part in the shore bombardment of Russian positions. A Russian shell landed on the deck of the Hecla complete with a smoking fuse. Lucas walked over to the shell picked it up and calmly dumped it over the side. The shell exploded sending a column of water skyward. Lucas was promoted to LT and put in for the new medal.

1893 - The Ferris Wheel was introduced at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, IL.

1913 - Georgia Broadwick became the first woman to jump from an airplane.

1938 - In Washington, U.S. President Roosevelt signed the $3.75 billion Emergency Relief Appropriation Act.

1939 - Lou Gehrig quit baseball due to illness that now bears his name.

1941 - German troops entered Russia on a front from the Arctic to Black Sea.

1945 - Pan Am announced an 88-hour round-the-world flight at a cost of $700.

1948 - Lord Mountbatten resigns as Governor General of India (formerly the last Viceroy).

1954 - The American Cancer Society reported significantly higher death rates among cigarette smokers than among non-smokers.

1963 - France announced that they were withdrawing from the North Atlantic NATO fleet.

1974 - The U.S. Supreme Court decided that pregnant teachers could no longer be forced to take long leaves of absence.

1985 - Scientists announced that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were those of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele. "War Criminal" doesn't begin to describe the horrors perpetrated by Mengele also known as "The Angel of Death" by the inmates of the concentration camps where he conducted his experiments.

[Cousi]

1788 - The U.S. Constitution went into effect when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.

Yay!

1854 - First Victoria Cross is awarded for action during bombardment of Bomarsund in the Aland Islands (Crimean War). 20 year old Charles David Lucas was serving on HMS Hecla taking part in the shore bombardment of Russian positions. A Russian shell landed on the deck of the Hecla complete with a smoking fuse. Lucas walked over to the shell picked it up and calmly dumped it over the side. The shell exploded sending a column of water skyward. Lucas was promoted to LT and put in for the new medal.

That's a man with balls of steel-hard ice.

1985 - Scientists announced that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were those of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele. "War Criminal" doesn't begin to describe the horrors perpetrated by Mengele also known as "The Angel of Death" by the inmates of the concentration camps where he conducted his experiments.

Sort of off-topic, but correct me if I'm wrong please; we pretty much know that the two bodies found in Germany purported to be Hitler really weren't, right? I delve into conspiracy theories sometimes because they're fun but last I knew, even though it is still taught in schools, we are fairly certain that Hitler was not killed in Germany. I could have spent too much time with those particular theories so I have to ask.

[n11pilot]

1788 - The U.S. Constitution went into effect when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.

Yay!

1854 - First Victoria Cross is awarded for action during bombardment of Bomarsund in the Aland Islands (Crimean War). 20 year old Charles David Lucas was serving on HMS Hecla taking part in the shore bombardment of Russian positions. A Russian shell landed on the deck of the Hecla complete with a smoking fuse. Lucas walked over to the shell picked it up and calmly dumped it over the side. The shell exploded sending a column of water skyward. Lucas was promoted to LT and put in for the new medal.

That's a man with balls of steel-hard ice.

1985 - Scientists announced that skeletal remains exhumed in Brazil were those of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele. "War Criminal" doesn't begin to describe the horrors perpetrated by Mengele also known as "The Angel of Death" by the inmates of the concentration camps where he conducted his experiments.

Sort of off-topic, but correct me if I'm wrong please; we pretty much know that the two bodies found in Germany purported to be Hitler really weren't, right? I delve into conspiracy theories sometimes because they're fun but last I knew, even though it is still taught in schools, we are fairly certain that Hitler was not killed in Germany. I could have spent too much time with those particular theories so I have to ask.

1. Yay indeed! I am grateful every morning that the founding fathers had the foresight to pen such a document. Now if people would read it and if politicians would adhere to their oath regarding it we would be so much better off.

2. Yes, Lucas who by the way made Admiral had what our old neighbor called "Bolas de hierro". If they hadn't just invented the medal before this incident they would have had to invent something for this guy afterward.

3. As far as solid evidence goes and this is based on primary sources, Hitler and Eva both kicked the celestial bucket in the Berlin bunker. One thing that backs this up is Hitler's well known fear of being captured alive by Stalin. Now, here enters the "Warren Report" of the Hitler death. The bodies recovered in the Chancellery Garden were taken into custody by a special NKVD unit. This unit like most Soviet era entities was not exactly an open book. Every detail of the bodies that we know today was released by the Soviet government and these details are either skimpy of just suspect. In the absence of third party confirmation legends grew. I am not going to say that all these theories are pure meadow blossom but some proponents of these theories have no idea how to use Occams Razor and will accept some unrealistic factors to make the theory work. Having said that if there is a question there should be an inquiry. If I were looking into it I would investigate Hanna Reitsch and her flight into and out of surrounded Berlin. A lot of people flew into and out the besieged city in light planes many landing on the street near the Chancellery. Nothing definite but food for thought. I would also look at the history of NAZI special operations in and around Berlin at the time. Famed NAZI special warfare expert and dedicated asshat Otto Skorzeny was in Berlin as late as 9 APR 1945. This is the man who organized the rescue of Mussolini in 1943. Another item would be U-977 and other NAZI U-boats that showed up in Argentina and such places. Honestly if this interests you there is a lot to look at and you may just find some small fact that tell the whole truth.

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1558 - The French took the French town of Thioville from the English.

1611 - English explorer Henry Hudson, his son and several other people were set adrift in present-day Hudson Bay by mutineers.

1633 - Galileo Galilei forced to recant his Copernican views that the Earth orbits the Sun by the Pope. The Vatican admits it was wrong in this on Oct 31, 1992.

1675 - Royal Greenwich Observatory established in England by Charles II.

1772 - Somerset v Stewart court case finds slavery unsupported by English common law, encouraging the abolitionist movement. Slavery in England and its territory was eventually abolished some 62 years later in 1834.

1807 - British seamen board the USS Chesapeake, a provocation leading to the War of 1812.

1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated a second time.

1868 - Arkansas was re-admitted to the Union.

1870 - The U.S. Congress created the Department of Justice.

1911 - King George V of England was crowned.

1933 - Germany became a one political party country when Hitler banned parties other than the Nazis.

1940 - France and Germany signed an armistice at Compiegne, on terms dictated by the Nazis.

1941 - Under the codename Barbarossa, Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

1942 - A Japanese submarine shelled Fort Stevens at the mouth of the Columbia River.

1945 - During World War II, the battle for Okinawa officially ended after 81 days.

1956 - The battle for Algiers began as three buildings in Casbah were blown up.

1970 - U.S. President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It required that the voting age in the United States to be 18.

1980 - The Soviet Union announced a partial withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan.

1990 - Checkpoint Charlie was dismantled in Berlin.

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930 - World's oldest, continuously functioning, representative body, the Icelandic Parliament, the Alþingi, anglicized as Althing is established. Note that "Continuously functioning" is a bit generous due to some periods of inactivity due to various reasons.

1683 - William Penn signed a friendship treaty with Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania.

1700 - Russia gave up its Black Sea fleet as part of a truce with the Ottoman Empire.

1758 - British and Hanoverian armies defeated the French at Krefeld in Germany.

1757 - Robert Clive defeated the Indians at Plassey and won control of Bengal.

1836 - The U.S. Congress approved the Deposit Act, which contained a provision for turning over surplus federal revenue to the states.

1848 - A bloody insurrection of workers in Paris erupted.

1865 - Confederate General Stand Watie, who was also a Cherokee chief, surrendered the last sizable Confederate army at Fort Towson, in the Oklahoma Territory.

1868 - Christopher Latham Sholes patents the type writing machine with a QWERTY keyboard. One must wonder why the sadistic SOB put ; where ' obviously goes.

1884 - A Chinese Army defeated the French at Bacle, Indochina.

1902 - Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy renewed the Triple Alliance for a 12 year duration.

1931 - Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took off from New York on the first round-the-world flight in a single-engine plane.

1934 - Italy gained the "right" to colonize Albania after defeating the country.

1947 - The U.S. Senate joined the House in overriding President Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act.

1956 - Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt.

1964 - Henry Cabot Lodge resigned as the U.S. envoy to Vietnam and was succeeded by Maxwell Taylor.

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1314 - Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce won over Edward II of England at the Battle of Bannockburn in Scotland.

1497 - Italian explorer John Cabot, sailing in the service of England, landed in North America on what is now Newfoundland. Cabot claimed the land of what is now Eastern Canada in the name of England. Cabot also thought that he had landed in Asia. There was a lot of that going around then.

1509 - Henry VIII is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

1664 - New Jersey, named after the Isle of Jersey, was founded.

1675 - King Philip's War flared when Indians massacre colonists at Swansee, Plymouth colony. Hostilities in this conflict actually began four days earlier on the 29TH of June but the 24TH saw the largest loss of life.

1717 - The Freemasons were founded in London.

1812 - Napoleon crossed the Nieman River and invaded Russia.

1859 - At the Battle of Solferino, also known as the Battle of the Three Sovereigns, the French army led by Napoleon III defeated the Austrian army under Franz Joseph I in northern Italy.

1861 - Federal gunboats attacked Confederate batteries at Mathias Point, Virginia.

1862 - U.S. intervention saved the British and French at the Dagu forts in China.

1896 - Booker T. Washington became the first African American to receive an honorary MA degree from Howard University.

1910 - The Japanese army invaded Korea.

1931 - The Soviet Union and Afghanistan signed a treaty of neutrality.

1940 - France signed an armistice with Italy.

1947 - Kenneth Arnold reported seeing flying saucers over Mt. Rainier, Washington. This may actually be the first use of the term.

1955 - Soviet MIG's down a U.S. Navy patrol plane over the Bering Strait.

1970 - The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

1982 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that no president could be sued for damages connected with actions taken while serving as President of the United States.