This Day in History – April 10, 2011

0837 Comet 1P/837 F1 (Halley) approaches within 0.0334 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth 1516 1st ghetto, Jews are compelled to live in specific area of Venice 1790 US Patent system is established 1790 Robert Gray is 1st American to circumnavigate the Earth 1825 1st hotel in Hawaii opens 1841 New York “Tribune” begins publishing under editor Horace Greeley 1845 More than 1,000 buildings damaged by fire in Pittsburgh PA 1849 Safety pin patented by Walter Hunt (New York NY); sold rights for $100 1866 American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) forms 1869 Congress increases number of Supreme Court judges from 7 to 9 1872 Arbor day 1st celebrated in Nebraska, later changed to April 22 1877 1st human cannonball act performed in London 1878 California State Cable Car Railroad Company starts service 1913 President Woodrow Wilson throws out 1st ball, Senators beat Yankees 2-1 1916 1st professional golf tournament held 1925 F Scott Fitzgerald publishes “The Great Gatsby” 1930 Synthetic rubber 1st produced 1938 New York makes syphilis test mandatory in order to get a marriage license 1942 Cigarettes & candy rationed in Holland 1945 NFL’s Boston Yanks & Brooklyn Tigers merge 1947 Jackie Robinson became the 1st black in modern major league baseball (Dodgers) 1953 “House of Wax”, 1st 3-D movie is released (New York NY) 1955 Dr Jonas Salk successfully tests Polio vaccine 1962 New York Yankee Mickey Mantle hits his 375th homerun 1972 7.0 earthquake kills 1/5 of population of Iranian province of Fars 1972 US, USSR & 70 other nations agree to ban biological weapons 1974 Magicians Penn & Teller 1st meet 1978 Formation of the Major Indoor Soccer League is announced 1981 Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands elected to British Parliament 1989 H J Heinz, Van Camp Seafood & Bumble Bee Seafood say they will not buy tuna caught in nets that also trap dolphins 1991 Los Angeles King Wayne Gretzky scores NHL record 93rd playoff goal 1995 NYC bans smoking in all restaurants that seat 35 or more]]]]> ]]>