This Day in History – September 18, 2011

1502 Christopher Columbus lands at Costa Rica on his fourth, and final, voyage. 1679 New Hampshire becomes a county of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1769 Boston Gazette reports 1st US piano (a spinet) 1793 The first cornerstone of the Capitol building is laid by George Washington. 1812 The 1812 Fire of Moscow dies down after destroying more than three quarters of the city. Napoleon returns from the Petrovsky Palace to the Moscow Kremlin, spared from the fire. 1830 A horse beats the 1st US made locomotive (near Baltimore) 1837 Tiffany and Co. (first named Tiffany & Young) is founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City. The store is called a “stationery and fancy goods emporium”. 1838 The Anti-Corn Law League is established by Richard Cobden. 1850 The U.S. Congress passes the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. 1851 First publication of The New-York Daily Times, which later becomes The New York Times. 1870 Old Faithful Geyser is observed and named by Henry D. Washburn during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition to Yellowstone. 1873 The Panic of 1873 begins. 1882 The Pacific Stock Exchange opens. 1885 Riots break out in Montreal to protest against compulsory smallpox vaccination. 1895 Booker T. Washington delivers the “Atlanta Compromise” address. 1895 Daniel David Palmer gives the first chiropractic adjustment. 1919 Fritz Pollard becomes the first African-American to play professional football for a major team, the Akron Pros. 1919 Hurricane tides 16 feet above normal drown 280 along Gulf Coast 1922 Hungary is admitted to League of Nations. 1927 Columbia Broadcasting System goes on the air (16 radio stations) 1934 The USSR is admitted to League of Nations. 1938 Chicago Bears beat Green Bay Packers 2-0 1939 William Joyce makes his first Nazi propaganda broadcast. 1944 World War II: The British submarine HMS Tradewind torpedoes Junyō Maru, 5,600 killed. 1945 General Douglas MacArthur moves his command headquarters to Tokyo. 1947 The United States Air Force becomes an independent branch of the United States armed forces. 1947 The National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency were established in the United States under the National Security Act. 1948 Margaret Chase Smith of Maine becomes the first woman elected to the US Senate without completing another senator’s term, when she defeats Democratic opponent Adrian Scolten. 1959 Vanguard 3 is launched into Earth orbit. 1960 Fidel Castro arrives in New York City as the head of the Cuban delegation to the United Nations. 1962 Burundi, Jamaica, Rwanda and Trinidad and Tobago are admitted to the United Nations. 1973 The Bahamas, East Germany and West Germany are admitted to the United Nations. 1974 Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras with 110 mph winds, killing 5,000 people. 1975 Patty Hearst is arrested after a year on the FBI Most Wanted List. 1977 Voyager I takes first photograph of the Earth and the Moon together. 1978 Leaders of Israel and Egypt reach a settlement for the Middle East at Camp David. 1979 Steven Lachs, appointed Calif’s 1st admittedly gay judge 1981 Assemblée Nationale votes to abolish capital punishment in France. 1983 New Orleans Saints 1st OT victory; beating Chic Bears 34-31 1984 Joe Kittinger completes 1st solo balloon crossing of Atlantic 1988 End of pro-democracy uprisings in Myanmar after a bloody military coup by the State Law and Order Restoration Council. Thousands, mostly monks and civilians (primarily students) are killed by the Tatmadaw. 1990 A 500 lb 6′ Hershey Kiss is displayed at 1 Times Square, NYC 1990 Liechtenstein becomes a member of the United Nations. 1997 United States media magnate Ted Turner donates USD 1 billion to the United Nations. 2001 First mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attacks. 2007 Buddhist monks join anti-government protesters in Myanmar, starting what some called the Saffron Revolution. 2009 The 72 year run of the soap opera The Guiding Light ends as its final episode is broadcast.]]]]> ]]>