This Day in History – December 17, 2011

1526 – Pope Clement VII publishes degree Cum ad zero – forms Inquisition 1531 – Pope Clement VII establishes a parallel body to the Inquisition in Lisbon, Portugal. 1538 – Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII of England. 1577 – Francis Drake sails from Plymouth, England, on a secret mission to explore the Pacific Coast of the Americas for English Queen Elizabeth I. 1718 – Great Britain declares war on Spain. 1777 – France formally recognizes the United States of America. 1790 – Discovery of the Aztec calendar stone in México City 1791 – NYC traffic regulation creates 1st 1-way street 1798 – 1st impeachment trial against a US senator (William Blount, Tennessee) begins 1821 – Kentucky abolishes debtors prisons 1860 – Anaheim Township created in Los Angeles County 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. 1864 – Battle of Franklin, TN 1865 – First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert. 1895 – Anti-Saloon League of America formed, Washington DC 1895 – George Brownell patents a machine to make paper twine (Massachusetts) 1900 – 1st prize of 100,000 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials. Martians excluded-considered too easy 1900 – New Ellis Island Immigration station completed costing $1.5 million 1903 – The Wright Brothers make their first powered and heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina at 10:35 AM 1914 – Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv by Turkish authorities 1924 – 1st US diesel electric locomotive enters service, Bronx NY 1933 – NFL starts keeping official statistics as Bears beat Giants 23-21 in championship game 1944 – US Army announces end of excluding Japanese-Americans from West Coast; Japanese-Americans are released from detention camps 1953 – FCC approves RCA’s black & white-compatible color TV specifications 1957 – The United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida. 1962 – Beatles 1st British TV appearance (People & Places) 1969 – Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs, stating that sightings are generated as a result of “A mild form of mass hysteria, Individuals who fabricate such reports to perpetrate a hoax or seek publicity, psychopathological persons, and misidentification of various conventional objects.” 1973 – The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its list of mental diseases. 1975 – Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme is sentenced to life for attempt on President Ford’s life 1976 – Superstation WTBS in Atlanta went national 1986 – US Congress forms “Irangate” committee 1997 – The United Kingdom commences its Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997, which extends the state’s gun ban to include all handguns—with the exception of antique and show weapons. 2003 – SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first supersonic flight. 2010 – Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire.This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution. The success of the Tunisian protests sparked protests in several other Arab countries.  Event marks beginning of “Arab Spring” which results in overthrow of Egyptian government and killing of Muammar Quadaffi in Lybia.]]]]> ]]>