This Day in History – January 13, 2012

1435 – Sicut Dudum is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV about the enslaving of black natives in Canary Islands by Spanish natives. 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey is sentenced to death. 1695 – Jonathan Swift ordained an Anglican priest in Ireland 1733 – James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive in Charleston, South Carolina. 1785 – John Walter publishes the first issue of the Daily Universal Register in London (the paper would later be renamed The Times). 1794 – US Congress changes US flag to 15 stars & 15 stripes 1815 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state. 1822 – The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus. 1830 – The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana begins. 1832 – President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina’s defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis. 1840 – The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives. 1842 – Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. 1854 – Anthony Foss patents the accordion 1863 – Chenille manufacturing machine patented by William Canter, New York City NY 1863 – Thomas Crapper pioneers one-piece pedestal flushing toilet 1865 – Federals attack Fort Fisher NC 1869 – National convention of black leaders meets in Washington, D.C. 1874 – Battle between jobless & police in New York City NY, 100s injured 1893 – The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting. 1893 – U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution. 1910 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the opera Cavalleria rusticana is sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, New York. 1913 – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated was founded on the campus of Howard University. 1930 – “Mickey Mouse” comic strip 1st appears 1942 – German U-boats begin harassing shipping on US east coast 1942 – Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car. 1942 – World War II: First use of aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter. 1948 – 1st country music TV show, Midwestern Hayride, premieres on WLW Cincinnati OH 1953 – An article appears in Pravda accusing some of the most prestigious and prominent doctors, mostly Jews, in the Soviet Union of taking part in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and military leadership. 1957 – Wham-O Company produces the 1st Frisbee 1966 – 1st black selected for Presidential cabinet (LBJ selects Robert C Weaver-HUD) 1967 – Rolling Stones appear on Ed Sullivan Show 1968 – Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison 1969 – Beatles release “Yellow Submarine” album 1982 – Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet crashes into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists. 1986 – NCCA institutes eligibility requirements based on college exams 1987 – 7 top New York Mafia bosses sentenced to 100 years in prison each 1988 – Supreme Court rules (5-3) public school officials have broad powers to censor school newspapers, plays & other expressive activities 1989 – Subway gunman Bernhard Goetz begins 1-year jail sentence 1990 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected black governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia. 1991 – Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding 1000. 1993 – Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center. 1994 – Tonya Harding’s bodyguard, Shawn Eric Eckardt & Derrick Brian Smith arrested & charged with conspiracy in attack of skater Nancy Kerrigan 2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.]]]]> ]]>