TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – OCT 1
331BC – Alexander the Great decisively shatters King Darius III’s Persian army at Gaugamela (Arbela), in a tactical masterstroke that leaves him master of the Persian Empire.
1569 – The Duke of Norfolk was imprisoned by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth for trying to marry Mary the Queen of Scots.
1588 – The feeble Sultan Mohammed Shah of Persia, hands over power to his 17-year old son Abbas.
1800 – Spain ceded Louisiana to France in the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso. Although Napoleon Bonaparte agreed never to alienate Louisiana, he disregarded the treaty and sold Louisiana to the United States three years later
1814 – Opening of the Congress of Vienna, redrew Europe’s political map after the defeat of Napoléon Bonaparte
1847 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer, discovers a comet and is elected the same day to the American Academy of Arts—the first woman to be so honored. The King of Denmark awarded her a gold medal for her discovery.
1867 – Karl Marx’ “Das Kapital” published
1890 – Yosemite National Park is dedicated in California.
1908 – Henry Ford introduced the first mass-produced automobile on the market—the Model T car to the market. Each car cost $825.
1910 – The Los Angeles Times building is bombed with dynamite causing the death of twenty one people. Union organizers were believed to be responsible due to the ongoing fight between the publisher and local unions.
1918 – Arab and British forces commanded by Lawrence of Arabia capture Damascus from Turkish forces.
1933 – Since the communist revolution in the Soviet Union the state has been trying to suppress religion due to it’s anti god idealism, but small protestant groups in rural areas continue to survive as martyrs to their faith.
1937 – The US House of Representatives passed The Marihuana Tax Act, Pub. 238, 75th Congress, 50 Stat. 551 the bill was an important bill on the path that led to the criminalization of cannabis. It stipulated that pot could not be sold without a license and licenses were never issued.
1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened as the first toll superhighway in the United States.
1947 – First flight of F-86 Sabre jet fighter, which would win fame in the Korean War.
1949 – Mao Zedong establishes the People’s Republic of China.
1957 – “In God We Trust” appears on US paper currency as an act to distinguish the US from the officially atheist USSR; the motto had appeared on coins at various times since 1864.
1964 – The Free Speech Movement was started at the University of California at Berkeley.
1971 – First CT or CAT brain scan performed, at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon, London.
1974 – Five Nixon aides–Kenneth Parkinson, Robert Mardian, Nixon’s Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell–go on trial for conspiring to hinder the Watergate investigation.
1984 – U.S. Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan announced that he was taking a leave of absence following his indictment on charges of larceny and fraud. He was later acquitted.
1989 – Denmark introduces the world’s first “civil union” law granting same-sex couples certain legal rights and responsibilities but stopping short of recognizing same-sex marriages.
1992 – Ross Perot has formally announced he will run in the upcoming presidential race against Bill Clinton and President Bush
1993 – Polly Klaas (12) is kidnapped at knife point from her Petaluma, Calif., home during a slumber party and later raped and murdered.
1995 – Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine other defendants were convicted in New York of conspiring to attack the U.S. through bombings, kidnappings and assassinations.
1997 – Following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) request for the withdrawal of Fen-phen from the market due to problems identified with valvular heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, American Home Products (Wyeth) withdraws the anti-obesity medication from the market.
2005 – Suicide bombers strike three restaurants in two tourist areas on the Indonesian island of Bali killing 22.
2013 – The United States government stopped all non-essential functions after Congress failed to reach a deal on the budget.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
