This Day in History – December 16, 2011

1431 – Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris. 1577 – Danzig surrenders to troops of Polish king István Báthory 1631 – Mount Vesuvius, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000 1653 – Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland & Ireland 1689 – 1689 English Parliament adopts Bill of Rights after Glorious Revolution 1707 – Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan. 1773 – American Revolution: Boston Tea Party – Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawks dump crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act. 1809 – Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Josephine by the French Senate 1811 – The first two in a series of four severe earthquakes occur in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri. These four so-called mega-quakes are believed to be an ongoing cataclysmic danger that could reprise the 1811-12 series of 2,000 quakes that affected the lands of what would be eight of today’s heartland states of the United States. 1826 – Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican controlled Nacogdoches, Texas and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia. 1835 – Fire consumes over 600 buildings in New York NY 1864 – Battle of Nashville ends after 4400 casualities 1890 – Negro Methodist Episcopal Church founded in Jackson TN 1903 – Majestic Theater, New York NY, becomes 1st in US to employ women ushers 1905 – “Variety”, covering all phases of show business, 1st published 1907 – The Great White Fleet begins its circumnavigation of the world 1912 – 1st US postage stamp picturing an airplane, 20¢ parcel post, issued 1913 – Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week 1915 – Albert Einstein publishes his “General Theory of Relativity” 1924 – Noel Coward’s “Vortex” premieres in London on his Birthday 1932 – Heavy earthquake ravages Kansu China, 70,000 killed 1938 – Adolf Hitler institutes the Cross of Honor of the German Mother 1950 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman declares a state of emergency, after Chinese troops enter the fight with communist North Korea in the Korean War. 1953 – 1st White House Press Conference (President Eisenhower & 161 reporters) 1953 – Charles E “Chuck” Yeager flies over 2,575 kph (1,650 mph) in Bell X-1A (first man to fly at nearly two and one-half times the speed of sound) 1965 – Vietnam War: General William Westmoreland sends U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara a request for 243,000 more men by the end of 1966. 1966 – Jimi Hendrix Experience releases its 1st single, “Hey Joe”, in the UK 1969 – British House of Commons votes 343-185 abolishing the death penalty 1970 – 1st successful landing on Venus (USSR) 1971 – Don McLean’s 8+ minute version of “American Pie” released 1972 – Miami Dolphins become 1st undefeated NFL team (14-0-0) 1973 – O J Simpson becomes 1st NFLer to rush 2,000 yard in a season 1973 – US kidnap victim Paul Getty III freed 1975 – 1st broadcast of “One Day at a Time” on CBS TV 1976 – Government halts swine flu vaccination program following reports of paralysis 1978 – Ronald Reagan denounces President Jimmy Carter’s recognition of China People’s Republic 1979 – QB Roger Staubach’s last regular season game with the Dallas Cowboys 1985 – Mafia: In New York City, Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead on the orders of John Gotti, who assumes leadership of the Gambino family. 1985 – Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-L mission 1986 – Revolt in Kazakhstan against Communist Party of Kazakhstan, known as Zheltoksan, which becomes the first sign of ethnic strife during Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s tenure 1988 – Political cult leader Lyndon LaRouche convicted of tax, mail fraud 1989 – Walter LeRoy Moody begins his terrorist bombing streak when he sends Judge Robert Smith Vance a bomb in the mail, instantly killing him near his house in Birmingham, Alabama. 1990 – Reverend Jean-Betrand Aristide elected President of Haiti 1991 – Independence of The Republic of Kazakhstan. 1993 – Shannen Doherty (Brenda) is fired from Beverly Hills 90210 1997 – An episode of Pokémon, “Dennō Senshi Porygon”, aired in Japan induces seizures in 685 Japanese children. 2003 – President George W. Bush signs the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 into law. The law establishes the United States’ first national standards for the sending of commercial e-mail and requires the Federal Trade Commission to enforce its provisions.]]]]> ]]>