TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – MAY 24
1543 Nicolaus Copernicus publishes proof of a sun-centered solar system. He dies just after publication.
1607 Captain Christopher Newport and 105 followers found the colony of Jamestown at the mouth of the James River on the coast of Virginia.
1689 The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, protecting Protestants. Roman Catholics are specifically excluded from exemption.
1738 John Wesley is converted, launching the Methodist movement; celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day
1764 Boston lawyer James Otis denounces “taxation without representation,” calling for the colonies to unite in opposition to Britain’s new tax measures.
1830 “Mary Had A Little Lamb” is written
1844 Samuel Morse taps out “What hath God wrought” in the world’s first telegraph message
1863 Bushwackers led by Captain William Marchbanks attack a Federal militia party in Nevada, Missouri.
1899 W.T. McCullough of Boston, Mass., opened the first public garage. One could rent space for selling, storing and repairing vehicles.
1913 The U.S. Department of Labor entered into its first strike mediation. The dispute was between the Railroad Clerks of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
1941 The HMS Hood was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic. Only three people survived.
1951 Racial segregation in Washington DC restaurants ruled illegal
1958 The United Press and the International News Service merged to form United Press International (UPI).
1959 1st house with built-in bomb shelter exhibited (Pleasant Hills PA)
1965 Supreme Court declares federal law allowing post office to intercept communist propaganda is unconstitutional
1970 Engineers begin drilling the world’s deepest hole
The Kola Superdeep Borehole had reached the unsurpassed depth of 12,262 meters (40,230 feett) before the project was abandoned due to lack of funding.
1977 USSR President Podgorny resigns
1981 Bobby Unser wins, loses, & wins a controversial Indianapolis 500
1983 Supreme Court rules government can deny tax breaks to schools that racially discriminated against students
1988 Section 28 passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality. Repealed 2001/2004
2000 Israeli troops pulled out of Lebanon after 18 consecutive years of occupation.
2001 Vermont senator James Jeffords quit the Republican Party and became an Independent, giving Democrats control of the Senate.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
