This Day in History – November 29, 2011

1825 1st Italian opera, Barber of Seville, produced in US (NYC) 1847 Whitman Massacre: Missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman, his wife Narcissa, and 15 others are killed by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians, causing the Cayuse War. 1864 American Civil War: Battle of Spring Hill Confederate advance into Tennessee misses opportunity to crush Union army. Gen. Hood angered, leads to Battle of Franklin. 1864 Colorado militia kills 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians 1877 Thomas Edison demonstrates the hand-cranked phonograph 1881 Spokan Falls (today the city of Spokane, Washington) is officially incorporated as a city. 1887 US receives rights to Pearl Harbor, on Oahu, Hawaii 1890 1st Army-Navy football game, Score: Navy 24, Army 0 at West Point 1916 US declares martial law in Dominican Republic 1929 Lt Cmdr Richard E Byrd sends “My calculations indicate that we have reached the vicinity of the South Pole” (He was wrong) 1933 1st state liquor stores authorized (Pennsylvania) 1934 Chicago Bears beat Detroit in 1st NFL game broadcast nationally 1944 John Hopkins hospital performs 1st open heart surgery 1944 The first surgery (on a human) to correct blue baby syndrome is performed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas. 1950 Korean War: North Korean and Chinese troops force United Nations forces to retreat from North Korea. 1950 National Council of the Church of Christ in US established 1951 1st underground atomic explosion, Frenchman Flat, Nevada 1952 Korean War: U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfills a campaign promise by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the conflict. 1952 President-elect Eisenhower visits Korea to assess the war 1961 Freedom Riders attacked by white mob at bus station in Miss 1961 Mercury-Atlas 5 carries a chimp (Enos) to orbit 1963 LBJ sets up Warren Comm to investigate assassination of JFK 1964 Roman Catholic Church in US replaces Latin with English 1965 Dale Cummings does 14,118 consecutive sit-ups 1972 Atari announces the release of Pong, the first commercially successful video game. 1975 Kilauea Volcano erupts in Hawaii 1978 UN observes “international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people,” boycotted by US & about 20 other countries 1987 Korean Air Boeing 707 disappears off Burma, on route to Seoul. All 115 lost 1987 Ranger’s Bob Frosse becomes 2nd goalie to score a goal (vs Isles). It was later ruled that he should not be credited with the goal 1990 Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council passes two resolutions to restore international peace and security if Iraq did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by January 15, 1991.]]]]> ]]>