From the ArcaMax Publishing, History & Quotes Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/quotes/s-565676-201250
In 1801, British forces captured Cairo and the French began
withdrawing from Egypt in one of the Napoleonic Wars.
In 1829, English scientist James Smithson leaves a will that
eventually funds the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution in
Washington, in a country he never visited.
In 1844, Mormon founder Joseph Smith was slain by a mob at a jail in
Carthage, Ill.
In 1847, the first telegraph wire links were established between New
York City and Boston.
In 1859, Louisville, Ky., schoolteacher Mildred Hill wrote a tune for
her students and called it "Good Morning To You." Her sister, Patty,
wrote the lyrics and later added a verse that began "Happy Birthday To
You."
In 1893, the "Panic of 1893" began as the value of the U.S. silver
dollar fell to less than 60 cents in gold.
In 1950, U.S. President Harry Truman ordered U.S. naval and air forces
to help repel the North Korean invasion of South Korea.
In 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled private employers could give
special preferences to blacks to eliminate "manifest racial imbalance"
in traditionally white-only jobs.
In 1991, Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall announced he was retiring
from the U.S. Supreme Court. He was the first African-American to sit
on the high court.
Also in 1991, South Africa announced it would sign the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty and agree not to develop nuclear weapons.
In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush's only daughter married the
former top aide to the House Democratic leader in a private ceremony
at Camp David, Md.
In 1993, U.N.-sponsored talks between exiled Haitian President
Aristide and the military leaders who ousted him opened in New York.
In 1995, the space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from Cape Canaveral,
Fla., on a historic mission to dock with the Russian space station
Mir. The flight was also the 100th U.S.-piloted space mission.
In 2001, screen legend Jack Lemmon died at the age of 76.
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court, acting in a Cleveland case, upheld
that city's school vouchers program, in which public money goes to
help parents pay tuition to non-public schools.
In 2003, the Federal Trade Commission opened a long-awaited nationwide
registry for those who want to block unwanted telemarketing calls.
In 2004, two car bombs exploded near a mosque in the southern Iraqi
city of Hilla, killing at least 23 Iraqi civilians and wounding 58
others.
In 2005, U.S. crude oil prices closed at a record $60 a barrel.
Also in 2005, Dennis Rader, the so-called "BTK" killer (bind, torture,
kill), pleaded guilty to 10 slayings in the Wichita, Kan., area.
In 2007, Tony Blair officially stepped down as British prime minister
when he submitted his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II and was
succeeded by Gordon Brown. Blair moved into a new role as special
international envoy for the Middle East.
Also in 2007, gasoline rationing was introduced in Iran despite its
status as the second-highest OPEC crude oil producer. Iran had minimal
refining capacity and reportedly must import about 40 percent of its
refined gasoline.
In 2008, despite sharp, widespread opposition, the violent Zimbabwean
presidential runoff election went as scheduled with incumbent Robert
Mugabe re-elected as the only candidate left in the race. Challenger
Morgan Tsvangirai had withdrawn citing escalating violence against his
supporters.