This day in history

Some interesting historical facts today include:

 

1858 - Charles Darwin and Arthur Wallace both published their theories on evolution in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London

 

1866 - nearly a year after the end of hostilities, President Andrew Johnson formally declared the end of the American Civil War

 

1872 - William Robinson received patent No. 130,661 for his open circuit signaling system

 

1882 - Pyotr Tchaikovsky debut his 1812 Overature in a specially built concert hall in Moscow 

 

1897 - Sir Ronald Ross directed an anopheline mosquito and discovered malaria parasites. His discovery went on to prove how anopheline mosquitoes spread malaria

 

1911 - The New York Times sent the first telegram around the world. Using a commercial service, they aimed to determine the speed of a message sent around the world by telegraph. It was relayed by 16 different operators over 28,000 miles and was received 16.5 minutes later. The message read: "This message sent around the world"

 

1920 - the American Professional Football Association was formed. They elected Jim Thorpe as their first president 

 

1920 - the first commercial radio station began airing. Started by The Detroit News, the stations original call sign was 8MK

 

1929 - La Chot received a registered trademark for its brand name products - registration no. 0260241

 

1960 - the Soviets Sputnik 5 with 2 dogs, mice, rats and plants returned to Earth after a 1-day venture in space. Bella, Strelka and the other living creatures were unharmed during their voyage

 

1965 - the Rolling Stones released the single "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" in the UK

 

1977 - NASA launched Voyager II into space with a record including greetings in 60 languages as well as scientific information, music and Earth sounds

 

1985 - Dwight Gooden became the first National League pitcher to strike out more than 200 batters in his first 2 seasons

 

1998 - the Supreme Court of Canada reached a decision regarding the legality of Quebec succeeding from Canada. After 2 failed referendum attemps to vote for sovereignty by the governing party, Parti Quebecois, the Canadian government brought the issue to the courts

 

Some interesting birthdays include:

 

Thaddeus S.C. Lowe (1832) - known as the grandfather of the US Air Force

Benjamin Harrison (1833) - 23rd POTUS and the only president from the state of Indiana 

HP Lovecraft (1890) - he never lived to see the success of his writing

Roger Wolcott Sperry (1913) - his research on the nervous system led to several breakthroughs including a better understanding of the optic nerves

Jacqueline Susann (1918) - best known for Valley of the Dolls

Jim Reeves (1923)

Don King (1931) - boxing promoter known for organizing bouts for Mohammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson. He's the one they parody on The Simpsons

Connie Chung (1946)

Al Roker (1954)

Joan Allen (1956)

Patricia Rozema (1957)

Sally Yates (1960) - Former deputy attorney General and lead prosecutor of the Atlanta Centennial Park bomber, Eric Rudolph

Amy Adams (1974)