Some notable historical facts today include:
1871- Wilhelm Schneider obtained a US patent for a two-story carousel. If you didn't read my previous post today is national merry-go-round day.
1984- From Russian spacecraft Salyut 7, Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya performed the first space walk by a woman
2003- Seabiscuit was released in US theatre's. It stars Tobey Msguire and Jeff Bridges and earned 7 Academy Award nominations
2008- California became the first state to ban trans fats in restaurants
An interesting birthday today is Anna Tuthill Symmes (1775). She was the 9th First Lady of the US and she has a lot of firsts. She is the only First Lady to be both the wife of a president (William Henry Harrison) and the grandmother of one (Benjamin Harrison). She never lived in the White House because one month after his inauguration WHH died (he made a speech in the rain/cold and got pneumonia), making her the first First Lady to be widowed during her tenure and the one with the shortest tenure.