US President Barack Obama became the first black US President. (2008) Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States. He holds degrees from Harvard Law School and Columbia University, and he served as the US Senate representative for Illinois from 2005 until he was elected President.
The US conducted what would be its last atmospheric test explosion of a nuclear weapon. (1962) The test involved an air defense missile called Nike-Hercules, which detonated the bomb, Shot Dominic-Tightrope, nearly 70,000 feet (about 21,336 meters) over Johnston Island in the North Pacific Ocean.
The worlds' first cash register was patented. (1880) The machine was invented by a saloon owner named John Ritty in Dayton, Ohio. He patented it together with his brother, James.
The Hungarian revolt against the Soviet Union came to a brutal end. (1956) Hungarian citizens had begun marching in the streets on October 23. Soviet troops entered the city on this day, killing thousands of people and forcing more than a quarter of a million residents to flee the country. Hungary wouldn't completely come out from under Soviet occupation until 1991 when the last of the Soviet troops left the country.
The first female governor in the US was elected. (1924) Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected the Governor of Wyoming. She served until January 3, 1927.
Hundreds of militant Iranian students overwhelmed the US Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 US citizens hostage. (1979) The students wanted the US to extradite the Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, so he could stand trial in Iran. The Shah had fled the country and was in the US to be treated for cancer. US President Jimmy Carter responded immediately by ordering an Iranian oil embargo. Attempts to rescue the hostages failed. Of the 66 hostages, 13 were released shortly after the students took over the embassy. Another hostage was released on July 11, 1980, but the remaining 52 hostages weren't released until 444 days later. The Shah never did return to Iran.
Scientists discovered the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb. (1922) "King Tut's" tomb was discovered in the Valley of Kings in Egypt. His remains had been preserved for more than 3,000 years in the four-room tomb. Much of what was found in the tomb is on display at the Cairo Museum.
The US established the National Security Agency (NSA). (1952) The NSA serves as an intelligence agency of the US, gathering and analyzing foreign intelligence documentation and other forms of communication, usually involving encrypted information that requires decoding.
Hitler established the Sturmabteilung (SA). (1921) The SA was a paramilitary group that was influential in Hitler's rise to power. The more well-known Schutzstaffel (SS) group started out under the SA, but ultimately ended up replacing it once Hitler gained control of Germany.
The first World Wide Web conference was held to discuss the Web's commercial potential. (1994) The World Wide Web first was proposed in 1989. By 2008, more than 25 billion pages had been posted and more than 100 million websites had been developed, of which more than 70 percent were commercial sites.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed his Symphony No. 36 for the first time after just four days of composing it. (1783) He quickly composed the symphony while stopped over in Linz, Austria, because one of the local counts announced a surprise concert when he'd heard Mozart was in town.
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Discussion Comments
Wow, so many facts, I can't decide which one to talk about, but King Tut was the most interesting. Then again, Muhammed was very interesting, as well.
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