Today In History...
In 1610 Astronomer Galileo discovers the 4 major moons of Jupiter.
In 1782 The first U.S. commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens in Philadelphia, PA.
In 1789 The first U.S. presidential election is held. Americans voted for electors who, a month later, chose George Washington to be the nation's first president.
In 1894 One of the earliest motion picture experiments takes place at the Thomas Edison studio in West Orange, NJ, as comedian Fred Ott was filmed sneezing.
In 1927 Commercial transatlantic telephone service begins between New York and London, England.
In 1929 "Buck Rogers" and "Tarzan," the first adventure comic strips, debut.
In 1942 The World War II siege of Bataan begins.
In 1953 In his State of the Union address, President Truman announces that the U.S. had developed the hydrogen bomb.
In 1955 The opening of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa is televised for the first time.
In 1959 The United States recognizes Fidel Castro's new Cuban government.
In 1959 After 7 months of filming, the multi-million dollar production "Ben Hur" is completed.
In 1963 First class postage rises from 4 cents to 5 cents.
In 1967 The "Newlywed Game" with Bob Eubanks premieres.
In 1972 Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William H. Rehnquist are sworn in as the 99th and 100th members of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1979 Vietnamese forces that invaded Cambodia on Christmas Day capture the capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government.
In 1980 The Soviet Union vetoes a U.N. Security Council resolution protesting the Soviet military intervention of Afghanistan.
In 1986 President Reagan orders all Americans and U.S. companies to stop doing business with Libya, and pledged "further steps" if Moammar Gadhafi did not end his "longstanding involvement in terrorism."
In 1987 Assassins using a remote-controlled car bomb try but failed to assassinate former Lebanese President Camille Chamoun.
In 1988 British actor Trevor Howard ("Mutiny on the Bounty") dies at age71.
In 1989 Emperor Hirohito of Japan dies in Tokyo at age 87. He was succeeded
In 1989 by his son, Crown Prince Akihito.
In 1991 Loyalist troops in Haiti crush a coup attempt that had threatened the transition of power to the country's first freely elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
In 1991 Pete Rose leaves an Illinois federal prison camp and checked into a halfway house in Cincinnati to complete his sentence for cheating on his taxes.
In 1992 President Bush arrives in Japan on a tough-talk trade mission, saying he was determined to "increase access for American goods and services."
In 1993 U.S. forces in Somalia unleash tank, helicopter and rocket fire on two clan camps in Mogadishu where snipers had been taking potshots at the troops.
In 1993 A preliminary report prepared for the European Community says Serb fighters may have raped about 20,000 women in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In 1994 Nancy Kerrigan withdraws from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, a day after her right leg was severely bruised in an attack after a practice session.
In 1995 Major General Viktor Vorobyov, a senior commander leading Russian troops in their advance on the secessionist capital of Chechnya, is killed by a mortar shell.
In 1996 One of the biggest blizzards in U.S. history paralyzes the East.
In 1996 More than 300 people are killed in Kinshasa, Zaire, when a cargo plane crashed into a market on takeoff.
In 1996 Former French president Francois Mitterrand dies at age 79.
In 1997 Newt Gingrich becomes the first Republican re-elected House speaker in 68 years.
In 1998 An ice storm knocks out power to millions in the Northeast and Canada; rain floods the South and 16 people die.
In 1998 Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of World Trade Center bombing, is sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 1998 Convicted Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols escapes the death penalty when a jury deadlocked over his punishment.
In 2000 During a debate in Johnston, IA, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley accuses Al Gore of trying to scare voters by misrepresenting his health care proposal.
In 2002 British Prime Minister Tony Blair and nine U.S. senators land at Bargam Air Base in Afghanistan for an unannounced visit andpromised Afghan leaders full support in rebuilding the country.
In 2002 Comedian Avery Schreiber dies at age 66.
In 2003 Police in London find traces of the deadly poison ricin in a north London apartment, a substance linked to al-Qaida terrorists andIraq.