TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – JAN 24
0041 Shortly after declaring himself a god, Caligula is assassinated by two Praetorian tribunes.
1076 Synod of Worms: German King Henry IV fires Pope Gregory VII
1639 Representatives from three Connecticut towns band together to write the Fundamental Orders, the first constitution in the New World.
1722 Czar Peter the Great caps his reforms in Russia with the “Table of Rank” which decrees a commoner can climb on merit to the highest positions.
1848 Gold is discovered by James Wilson Marshall at his partner Johann August Sutter’s sawmill on the South Fork of the American River, near Coloma, California.
1899 Rubber heel for boots or shoes patented by American Humphrey O’Sullivan
1901 Denmark and the US sign a treaty under which Denmark will sell the Danish West Indies to the USA for $5 million, but the sale will be postponed until 1917
1908 Robert Baden-Powell organized the first Boy Scout troop in England.
1911 U.S. Cavalry is sent to preserve the neutrality of the Rio Grande during the Mexican Civil War.
1922 Eskimo Pie patented by Christian K Nelson of Iowa (not an Eskimo)
1927 British expeditionary force of 12,000 is sent to China to protect concessions at Shanghai
1935 1st canned beer, “Krueger’s Cream Ale,” is sold by American company Krueger Brewing Co
1943 The Casablanca Conference with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill concluded.
1946 The UN establishes the International Atomic Energy Commission.
1958 After warming to 100,000,000 degrees, 2 light atoms are bashed together to create a heavier atom, resulting in 1st man-made nuclear fusion
1972 The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws that denied welfare benefits to people who had resided in a state for less than a year.
1977 Massacre of Atocha in Madrid: Five labor lawyers murdered by fascists in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy
1980 In a rebuff to the Soviets, the U.S. announces intentions to sell arms to China.
1984 Apple Computer Inc unveils its revolutionary Macintosh personal computer
1989 Ted Bundy, the confessed serial killer, was put to death in Florida’s electric chair for the 1978 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Kimberly Leach.
2000 The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Missouri law that limited the contributions that individuals could donate to a candidate during a single election.
2001 In Colorado Springs, CO, Patrick Murphy Jr. and Donald Newbury were taken into custody after a 5-minute phone interview was granted with a TV station. They were the remaining fugitives of the “Texas 7.”
2002 The U.S. Congress began a hearing on the collapse of Enron Corp.
2003 The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation
2011 At least 35 died and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
