TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – OCT 11
1531 The Catholics defeat the Protestants at Kappel during Switzerland’s second civil war.
1776 During the American Revolution the first naval battle of Lake Champlain was fought. The forces under Gen. Benedict Arnold suffered heavy losses.
1795 In graditude for putting down a rebellion in the streets of Paris, France’s National Convention appoints Napoleon Bonaparte second in command of the Army of the Interior.
1862 The Confederate Congress in Richmond passes a draft law allowing anyone owning 20 or more slaves to be exempt from military service. This law confirms many southerners opinion that they are in a ‘rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.’
1869 Thomas Edison filed for a patent on his first invention. The electric machine was used for counting votes for the U.S. Congress, however the Congress did not buy it.
1890 The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in Washington, DC.
1899 South African Boers, settler from the Netherlands, declare war on Great Britain.
1906 San Francisco school board orders the segregation of Oriental schoolchildren, inciting Japanese outrage.
1932 In New York, the first telecast of a political campaign was aired.
1939 U.S. President Roosevelt was presented with a letter from Albert Einstein that urged him to develop the U.S. atomic program rapidly.
1945 Negotiations between Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and Communist leader Mao Tse-tung break down. Nationalist and Communist troops are soon engaged in a civil war.
1950 The Federal Communications Commission authorizes the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) to begin commercial color TV broadcasts.
1972 Race riot breaks out aboard carrier USS Kitty Hawk off Vietnam during Operation Linebacker.
1973 The Arab — Israeli war is now in it’s sixth day and Israeli ground forces have crossed the cease fire line agreed after the 1967 6 day war, in commando attacks on Syrian forces with torpedo boats and commando forces. Meanwhile Jordan who are not currently involved in the war may be bowing to other Arab countries to enter the war and is known to be mobilizing it’s forces on the Israeli border
1975 Saturday Night Live comedy-variety show premiers on NBC, with guest host comedian George Carlin and special guests Janis Ian, Andy Kaufman and Billy Preston; at this writing (2013) the show is still running.
1984 Astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan, part of the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger, becomes the first American woman to walk in space.
1986 Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev open talks at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland
1987 Hundreds of thousands march for lesbian and gay rights marched by the White House and then assembled on the national Mall below the U.S. Capitol.
1991 Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas begin.
1994 The Colorado Supreme Court declared that the anti-gay rights measure in the state was unconstitutional.
2000 America Online becomes the biggest, richest and most successful Internet company with nearly 30 million subscribers world wide paying the monthly fee to connect to the Internet.
2002 Former President Jimmy Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts at ending the middle east conflict and acting as a mediator between Egypt and Israel.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
