This Day in History

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<em class="date">Jan 24, 1935: First canned beer goes on sale </h2>Canned beer makes its debut on this day in 1935. In partnership with the American Can Company, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company delivered 2,000 cans of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale to faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Virginia. Ninety-one percent of the drinkers approved of the canned beer, driving Krueger to give the green light to further production.

 

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<em class="date">Jan 25, 1905: World's largest diamond found </h2>On January 25, 1905, at the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa, a 3,106-carat diamond is discovered during a routine inspection by the mine's superintendent. Weighing 1.33 pounds, and christened the &quot;Cullinan,&quot; it was the largest diamond ever found.

 

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<em class="date">Jan 27, 1888: National Geographic Society founded </h2>On January 27, 1888, the National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., for &quot;the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.

 

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<em class="date">Jan 28, 1986: Challenger explodes </h2>

 

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<em class="date">Jan 29, 1936: U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame elects first members </h2>On January 29, 1936, the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame elects its first members in Cooperstown, New York: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson.

 

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<em class="date">Jan 30, 1948: Gandhi assassinated </h2>Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu fanatic.

 

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<em class="date">Jan 31, 1950: Truman announces development of H-bomb </h2>U.S. President Harry S. Truman publicly announces his decision to support the development of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II

 

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PMM2008 wrote: <em class="date">Jan 31, 1950: Truman announces development of H-bomb </h2>

I want to know who developed the F - Bomb ?!?! hahaha Sorry!

 

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<em class="date">Feb 1, 1884: Oxford Dictionary debuts </h2>On this day in 1884, the first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, is published. Today, the OED is the definitive authority on the meaning, pronunciation and history of over half a million words, past and present.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 2, 1887: First Groundhog Day </h2>On this day in 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 3, 2005: Gonzales becomes first Hispanic U.S. attorney general </h2>On February 3, 2005, Alberto Gonzales won Senate confirmation as the nation's first Hispanic attorney general despite protests over his record on torture.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 4, 1974: Patty Hearst kidnapped </h2>On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of newspaper publisher Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley, California, by two black men and a white woman, all three of whom are armed. Her fiance, Stephen Weed, was beaten and tied up along with a neighbor who tried to help. Witnesses reported seeing a struggling Hearst being carried away blindfolded, and she was put in the trunk of a car. Neighbors who came out into the street were forced to take cover after the kidnappers fired their guns to cover their escape.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 5, 1994: Beckwith convicted of killing Medgar Evers </h2>On this day in 1994, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith is convicted in the murder of African-American civil rights leader Medgar Evers, over 30 years after the crime occurred. Evers was gunned down in the driveway of his Jackson, Mississippi, home on June 12, 1963, while his wife, Myrlie, and the couple's three small children were inside.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 6, 1952: Elizabeth becomes queen </h2>On this day in 1952, after a long illness, King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland dies in his sleep at the royal estate at Sandringham. Princess Elizabeth, the oldest of the king's two daughters and next in line to succeed him, was in Kenya at the time of her father's death; she was crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, at age 27.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 7, 1964: Beatles arrive in New York </h2>On February 7, 1964, Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London Heathrow lands at New York's Kennedy Airport--and &quot;Beatlemania&quot; arrives. It was the first visit to the United States by the Beatles, a British rock-and-roll quartet that had just scored its first No. 1 U.S. hit six days before with &quot;I Want to Hold Your Hand.&quot; At Kennedy, the &quot;Fab Four&quot;--dressed in mod suits and sporting their trademark pudding bowl haircuts--were greeted by 3,000 screaming fans who caused a near riot when the boys stepped off their plane and onto American soil.

 

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Feb 8, 1943: Americans secure Guadalcanal </h2>On this day in 1943, Japanese troops evacuate Guadalcanal, leaving the island in Allied possession after a prolonged campaign. The American victory paved the way for other Allied wins in the Solomon Islands.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 9, 1971: Satchel Paige nominated to Baseball Hall of Fame </h2>On this day in 1971, pitcher Leroy &quot;Satchel&quot; Paige becomes the first Negro League veteran to be nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame. In August of that year, Paige, a pitching legend known for his fastball, showmanship and the longevity of his playing career, which spanned five decades, was inducted. Joe DiMaggio once called Paige &quot;the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced.&quot;

 

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<em class="date">Feb 10, 1996: Kasparov loses chess game to computer </h2>On this day in 1996, after three hours, world chess champion Gary Kasparov loses the first game of a six-game match against Deep Blue, an IBM computer capable of evaluating 200 million moves per second.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 11, 1990: Nelson Mandela released from prison </h2>Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 12, 2002: Milosevic goes on trial for war crimes </h2>On this day in 2002, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial at The Hague, Netherlands, on charges of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. Milosevic served as his own attorney for much of the prolonged trial, which ended without a verdict when the so-called &quot;Butcher of the Balkans&quot; was found dead at age 64 from an apparent heart attack in his prison cell on March 11, 2006.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 13, 1633: Galileo in Rome for Inquisition </h2>On this day in 1633, Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome

 

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<em class="date-loc">Every February 14, across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint, and where did these traditions come from? Find out about the history of this centuries-old holiday, from ancient Roman rituals to the customs of Victorian England. <em class="date">

 

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<em class="date">Feb 15, 1898: The Maine explodes </h2>A massive explosion of unknown origin sinks the battleship USS Maine in Cuba's Havana harbor, killing 260 of the fewer than 400 American crew members aboard.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 16, 1923: Archaeologist opens tomb of King Tut </h2>On this day in 1923, in Thebes, Egypt, English archaeologist Howard Carter enters the sealed burial chamber of the ancient Egyptian ruler King Tutankhamen

 

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<em class="date">Feb 17, 1904: Madame Butterfly premieres </h2>On this day in 1904, Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly premieres at the La Scala theatre in Milan, Italy.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 18, 1885: Twain publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn </h2>On this day in 1885, Mark Twain publishes his famous--and famously controversial--novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 19, 1847: Donner Party rescued </h2>On this day in 1847, the first rescuers reach surviving members of the Donner Party, a group of California-bound emigrants stranded by snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 20, 1985: Ireland allows sale of contraceptives </h2>In a highly controversial vote on February 20, 1985, the Irish government defies the powerful Catholic Church and approves the sale of contraceptives.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 21, 1965: Malcolm X assassinated </h2>In New York City, Malcolm X, an African American nationalist and religious leader, is assassinated by rival Black Muslims while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights.

 

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<em class="date">Feb 22, 1980: U.S. hockey team makes miracle on ice </h2>In one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympic history, the underdog U.S. hockey team, made up of college players, defeats the four-time defending gold-medal winning Soviet team at the XIII Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. The Soviet squad, previously regarded as the finest in the world, fell to the youthful American team 4-3 before a frenzied crowd of 10,000 spectators. Two days later, the Americans defeated Finland 4-2 to clinch the hockey gold.