This Day in History
April 24, 2012
1916 — Easter Rebellion begins
On this day in 1916, on Easter Monday in Dublin, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a secret organization of Irish nationalists led by Patrick Pearse, launches the so-called Easter Rebellion, an armed uprising against British rule. Assisted by militant Irish socialists under James Connolly, Pearse and his ...
This Day in History
April 13, 2012
1743 — Thomas Jefferson is born
Future President Thomas Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration of Independence and the nation's preeminent political theorist, is born on this day in 1743.
Historian and biographer Joseph Ellis has called Jefferson, who had a monumental role in shaping American politics, the American sphinx for ...
This Day in History
April 21, 2011
Correction
In the April 19 issue of The Daily Beacon, Zac Ellis’ article surrounding proposed state gun legislation stated that the proposal would allow “permit-holding students, faculty and staff to carry firearms on campus.” State Senate bills 0051 and 0399 actually propose that any permit-carrying “full-time faculty and members of ...
This Day in History
March 25, 2011
1911: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in New York City
In one of the darkest moments of America’s industrial history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burns down, killing 145 workers, on this day in 1911. The tragedy led to the development of a series of laws and ...
This Day in History
March 09, 2011
1959: Barbie makes her debut
On this day in 1959, the first Barbie doll goes on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City.
Eleven inches tall, with a waterfall of blond hair, Barbie was the first mass-produced toy doll in the United States with adult features. The ...
This Day in History
January 24, 2011
1935: First canned beer goes on sale
Canned beer makes its debut on this day in 1935. In partnership with the American Can Company, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company delivered 2,000 cans of Krueger’s Finest Beer and Krueger’s Cream Ale to faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Virginia ...
This Day in History
January 21, 2011
1977: President Carter pardons draft dodgers
On this day in 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter grants an unconditional pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War.
In total, some 100,000 young Americans went abroad in the late 1960s and early '70s ...
This Day in History
January 20, 2011
1981: Iran Hostage Crisis ends
Minutes after Ronald Reagan's inauguration as the 40th president of the United States, the 52 U.S. captives held at the U.S. embassy in Teheran, Iran, are released, ending the 444-day Iran Hostage Crisis.
On Nov. 4, 1979, the crisis began when militant ...
This Day in History
January 13, 2011
1128: Pope recognizes Knights Templar
On this day in 1128, Pope Honorius II grants a papal sanction to the military order known as the Knights Templar, declaring it to be an army of God.
Led by the Frenchman Hughes de Payens, the Knights Templar organization was founded in 1118. Its ...
This Day in History
November 29, 2010
1947: U.N. votes for partition of Palestine
Despite strong Arab opposition, the United Nations votes for the partition of Palestine and the creation of an independent Jewish state.
The modern conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine dates back to the 1910s, when both groups laid claim to the ...
This Day in History
November 22, 2010
1963: John F. Kennedy assassinated
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the U.S., is assassinated while traveling through Dallas, Texas, in an open-top convertible.
First lady Jacqueline Kennedy rarely accompanied her husband on political outings, but she was beside him, along with Texas Governor John Connally and his ...
This Day in History
November 18, 2010
1991: Terry Waite released
Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon free Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite after more than four years of captivity. Waite, looking thinner and his hair grayer, was freed along with American educator Thomas M. Sutherland after intense negotiations by the United Nations.
Waite, special envoy of the ...
This Day in History
November 10, 2010
1969: Sesame Street debuts
On this day in 1969, “Sesame Street,” a pioneering TV show that would teach generations of young children the alphabet and how to count, makes its broadcast debut.
“Sesame Street,” with its memorable theme song (”Can you tell me how to get/How to get to ...
This Day in History
November 08, 2010
1895: German scientist discovers X-rays
On this day in 1895, physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen (1845-1923) becomes the first person to observe X-rays, a significant scientific advancement that would ultimately benefit a variety of fields, most of all medicine, by making the invisible visible. Rontgen’s discovery occurred accidentally in his ...
This Day in History
November 01, 2010
1512: Sistine Chapel ceiling opens to public
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo's finest works, is exhibited to the public for the first time.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born in the small village of Caprese in ...
