Wednesday, July 18, 2012

TODAY IN HISTORY



Oh, nothing much...


64, the Great Fire of Rome began

1290, King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B'Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities

1536, the English Parliament passed an act declaring the authority of the pope void in England

1870, the First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility

1914, the U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving definite status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time

1925, Adolf Hitler, ym"sh, publishes his personal manifesto Mein Kampf

1939, after a sneak preview of "The Wizard of Oz," producers debated about removing one of the songs because it seemed to slow things down. They finally decided to leave it in. The song: "Over the Rainbow"

1942, during World War II: the Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me-262 using only its jet engines for the first time

1955, Disneyland theme park, in Anaheim, California, officially opens to the public


1969, after a party on Chappaquiddick Island, a drunk Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts drives an Oldsmobile off a bridge and leaves his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, to die. He escapes prosecution and survives with career intact

1976, Nadia Comaneci became the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at that year's Summer Olympics

1977, Vietnam was admitted to the United Nations


2002, accused 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui tried to plead guilty to charges that could have brought the death penalty, but a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., insisted he take time to think about it

2008, Israeli authorities confirmed they had arrested six people in an alleged al-Qaida plot to kill U.S. President George W. Bush during a visit to Israel