This Day in History – January 4, 2012

1493 – Columbus left new world on return from First voyage 1642 – King Charles I of England sends 400 soldiers to arrest members of Parliament, commencing England’s slide into civil war. 1649 – English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial. 1717 – The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance. 1725 – Benjamin Franklin arrives in London 1754 – Columbia University founded, as Kings College (New York City NY) 1847 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government. 1861 – US Fort Morgan (Mobile, AL) seized by Alabama 1862 – Battle of Fort Hindman, AR (Arkansas Post) 1862 – Battle of Helena, AR 1863 – The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany. 1865 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York, New York. 1884 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. 1885 – The first successful appendectomy is performed by William W. Grant on 22 year old Mary Gartside. 1887 – Thomas Stevens is First man to bicycle around the world (San Francisco-San Francisco); 21,700km 1893 – US President Harrison grants amnesty to Mormon polygamy 1896 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. 1912 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal charter. 1920 – First Black baseball league, National Negro Baseball League, organizes 1935 – Fort Jefferson National Monument established in Florida 1936 – Billboard magazine publishes its First music hit parade 1954 – Elvis Presley records a 10 minute demo in Nashville 1965 – United States President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his “Great Society” during his State of the Union address. 1968 – Leo Fender sells Fender Guitars for $13 million 1970 – Beatles last recording session at EMI studios 1971 – Congressional Black Caucus organizes 1971 – Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium dedicated 1972 – Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, England, United Kingdom. 1974 – United States President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee. 1975 – President Ford issues Executive Order on CIA Activities within the US (No 11828) 1980 – President Carter announces US boycott of Moscow Olympics 1982 – Bryant Gumbel became co-host of NBC’s “Today Show” 1982 – Chris Wallace becomes co-anchor of NBC’s “Today Show” 1984 – “Night Court” starring Harry Anderson premieres on NBC 1987 – The 1987 Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston, Massachusetts from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, killing 16 people. 1989 – Vice President Bush is First since Vice President Van Buren to declare himself President 1998 – A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction. 1999 – Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota. 2004 – Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC. 2006 – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke. His authority is transferred to acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. 2007 – The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history. 2010 – The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building is officially opened.]]]]> ]]>