This Day in History – September 24, 2011

1493 Columbus’ 2nd expedition to the New World 1683 Jews are expelled from all French possessions in America 1789 The United States Congress passes the Judiciary Act which creates the office of the United States Attorney General and the federal judiciary system, and orders the composition of the Supreme Court of the United States. 1838 Anti-Corn-Law League forms to repeal English Corn Law 1852 The first airship powered by (a steam) engine, created by Henri Giffard, travels 17 miles (27 km) from Paris to Trappes. 1853 1st round-the-world trip by yacht (Cornelius Vanderbilt) 1862 Confederate Congress adopts confederacy seal 1865 James Cooke walks tightrope from Cliff House to Seal Rocks, SF 1869 “Black Friday”: Gold prices plummet after Ulysses S. Grant orders the Treasury to sell large quantities of gold after Jay Gould and James Fisk plot to control the market. 1890 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy. 1895 1st round-the-world trip by a woman on a bicycle (took 15 months) 1906 U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation’s first National Monument. 1927 Yanks set record of 106 victories 1929 Lt James H Doolittle guides a Consolidated N-Y-2 Biplane over Mitchell Field in NY in the 1st all-instrument flight 1930 Portsmouth beats Brooklyn in 1st NFL game played under floodlights 1934 2500 fans see Babe Ruth’s farewell Yankee appearance at Yankee Stadium 1935 Earl Bascom and Weldon Bascom produce the first rodeo ever held outdoors under electric lights at Columbia, Mississippi 1938 Don Budge becomes 1st tennis player to grand slam 1948 Mildred Gillars (Axis Sally) pleads innocent in Wash DC 1948 The Honda Motor Company is founded. 1950 Forest fires black out the sun over portions of Canada and New England. A blue moon (in the astronomical sense) is seen as far away as Europe. 1954 Tonight Show premiers on NBC (Johnny takes over 8 years later) 1955 Pres Eisenhower suffers a heart attack on vacation in Denver 1957 President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends 101st Airborne Division troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation. 1960 1st nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, launches (USS Enterprise) 1960 Internationl Development Association (UN agency) comes into existence 1962 United States court of appeals orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith. 1964 “The Munsters” premiers 1964 Ringo forms Brikley Building Company Ltd 1968 60 Minutes debuts on CBS. 1968 Swaziland joins the United Nations. 1972 Jack Tatum, Oakland, returns a fumble 104 yds vs Green Bay (rec) 1972 NY Jet Joe Namath passes for 6 touchdowns vs Balt Colt (44-34) 1973 St Louis Cards Jim Bakken sets NFL record kicking 7 field goals 1976 Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst sentenced to 7 years for her part in a 1974 bank robbery. Released after 22 months by Pres Carter 1979 Compu-Serve launches the first consumer internet service, which features the first public electronic mail service. 1988 Jackie Joyner-Kersee of USA sets the heptathlon woman’s record (7,291) 1990 South African president F.W. de Klerk meets Pres Bush in Wash DC 1990 Periodic Great White Spot is observed on Saturn. 1996 U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty at the United Nations. 2005 Hurricane Rita makes landfall in the United States, devastating Beaumont, Texas and portions of southwestern Louisiana. 2008 The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago is topped off at 1,389 feet (423 m), at the time becoming the world’s highest residence above ground-level. 2009 The G20 summit begins in Pittsburgh with 30 global leaders in attendance. It marks the first use of LRAD in U.S. history.]]]]> ]]>