TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – SEPT 18
1769 – It was reported, by the Boston Gazette, that the first piano had been built in North America. The instrument was named the spinet and was made by John Harris.
1793 – George Washington lays the foundation stone for the U.S. Capitol.
1812 – Great Fire of Moscow burns out after 5 days, 75% of the city destroyed and 12,000 killed
1837 – Tiffany & Co. was founded in New York City.
1850 – Congress passes the second Fugitive Slave Bill into law (the first was enacted in 1793), requiring the return of escaped slaves to their owners.
1851 – The first edition of The New York Daily Times, which later became The New York Times, was published.
1874 – The Nebraska Relief and Aid Society is formed to help farmers whose crops were destroyed by grasshoppers swarming throughout the American West.
1891 – Harriet Maxwell Converse became the first white woman to ever be named chief of an Indian tribe. The tribe was the Six Nations Tribe at Towanda Reservation in New York.
1927 – Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System made its debut with its network broadcast over 16 radio stations. The name was later changed to CBS.
1931 – To create a pretext for the invasion of Manchuria, China, a railway explosion is faked by the Japanese
1946 – Mound Metalcraft was founded in Mound, MN. On November 23, 1955, the company changed its name to Tonka Toys Incorporated.
1947 – The National Security Act, which unified the Army, Navy, and Air Force, was passed.
1948 – Margaret Chase Smith becomes the first woman elected to the Senate without completing another senator’s term when she defeats Democratic opponent Adrian Scolten. Smith is also the only woman to be elected to and serve in both houses of Congress.
1975 – Patty Hearst, granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped by violent radical group SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army); she will later take part in some of the group’s militant activities and will be captured by FBI agents.
1981 – A museum honoring former U.S. President Ford was dedicated in Grand Rapids, MI.
1991 – U.S. President George H.W. Bush said that he would send warplanes to escort U.N. helicopters that were searching for hidden Iraqi weapons if it became necessary.
1997 – Ted Turner, U.S. Media magnate, announced that over the next ten years he would give $1 billion to the United Nations.
1998 – The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted to release to videotape of President Clinton’s grand jury testimony from August 17.
1998 – The FDA approved a once-a-day easier-to-swallow medication for AIDS patients.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
