TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – SEPT 18
1758 James Abercromby is replaced as supreme commander of British forces after his defeat by French commander the Marquis of Montcalm at Fort Ticonderoga during the French and Indian War.
1759 Quebec surrenders to the British after a battle which sees the deaths of both James Wolfe and Louis Montcalm, the British and French commanders.
1789 Alexander Hamilton negotiated and secured the first loan for the United States. The Temporary Loan of 1789 was repaid on June 8, 1790 at the sum of $191,608.81.
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
1850 The “Bloodhound Law” … Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which required 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.
1873 Government bond agent Jay Cooke & Co collapses, causing panic on Wall St, the start of the panic of 1873 and the Long depression
1895 Booker T Washington delivers “Atlanta Compromise” address
1914 The Irish Home Rule Bill becomes law, but is delayed until after World War I.
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.
1961 UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold is killed in a plane crash while attempting to negotiate peace in the Congo.
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.
1982 Christian militia begin massacre of 600 Palestinians in Lebanon
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.
1998 The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted to release to videotape of President Clinton’s grand jury testimony from August 17.
1998 The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is founded
Author Esther Dyson became the first chairperson of the now non-profit organization, which was initially under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
