This Day in History – July 8, 2011

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1663 King Charles II of England granted a charter to Rhode Island1693 NYC authorizes 1st police uniforms in American colonies1776 Col John Nixon gave 1st public reading of Declaration of Independence1777 Vermont becomes 1st state abolishing slavery, adopts male sufferage1796 US State Dept issues 1st American passport1797 1st US senator (William Blount of Tennessee) expelled by impeachment1816 Frost in Waltham, MA1835 Liberty Bell cracks (again)1849 St Paul’s Place in the Bronx named1870 Congress authorizes registration of trademarks1889 John L Sullivan wins by KO in 75 rounds in last bare-knuckle bout1889 Wall Street Journal begins publishing1891 61ø F, the highest temp for July 1891, in Baltimore & Philadelphia1892 American Psychological Association organized, Worcester, Mass1896 William Jennings Bryan “cross of gold” speech at Dem convention1905 Part of Angel Island allocated for Immigration Detention Center1907 Florenz Ziegfeld staged 1st `Follies’ on NY Theater roof1911 Nan Aspinwall is 1st woman to make solo transcontinental trip by horse1919 Pres Wilson returns to NYC from Versailles Peace Conference1923 Harding becomes 1st sitting president to visit Alaska (Metlakahtla)1932 Depression low point of Dow Jones Industrial Average, 41.221947 Demolition begins in NYC for UN HQ in NYC1950 Gen Douglas MacArthur named commander-in-chief, UN forces in Korea1950 Leroy Deans awarded 1st Order of Purple Heart in Korea1957 CDC incorporates1969 US troop withdrawal begins in Vietnam1975 Pres Ford announced he’ll seek Republican nomination for president1975 Quake damages over 2,000 temples in Pagan, Burma. 20-foot-high seated Buddha of Thandawgya decapitated1977 Sabra Starr finishes longest recorded belly dance (100 hrs)1979 Voyager 2 takes 1st ever photo of Jupiter’s moon Adrastea (J14)1981 Senate confirms Sandra Day O’Conner to Supreme Court (99-0)1986 Farthest thrown object-an “Aerobie” flying ring, 383 m (1,257′)1986 NASA establishes Safety, Reliability Maintain & Quality Assurance1987 Kitty Dukakis, revealed addiction to amphetamines for 26 years1988 Stevie Wonder announces he will run for mayor of Detroit in 19921990 12:34:56 on 7/8/90 (1234567890)]]]]> ]]>