Today in History:
On this day in 1781, the planet Uranus was discovered by German-born British astronomer Sir William Herschel.
On this day in 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed, east of Los Angeles, it was one of the most devastating disasters in California. Built in 1913 to solve the city’s constant water shortage it was a 233-mile long gravity-fed trough from Owen Valley. When the dam failed, a one-hundred-foot high wall of water swept 54 miles west to the Pacific. It destroyed 1200 houses, ten bridges , knocked down power lines and killed over 500 people. Bodies washed ashore as far away as San Diego.
On this day in 1943, the Nazi’s liquidated the Jewish ghetto in Krakow, Poland. Oskar Schindler, with advanced information, saved his workers by keeping them in his factory overnight.
On this day in 2013, Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope, choosing the papal name Francis. He was the first pontiff from the America’s, and the first from outside Europe since Pope Gregory III’s death in the year 741.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Percival Lowell (1855) American astronomer (predicted the discovery of Pluto) and founder of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.
- L. Ron Hubbard (1911) American sci-fi writer (Death Quest, Dianetics) and founder of the Church of Scientology.
- William J. Casey (1913) American CIA Director during the Iran-contra scandal (1981-87).
- Doug Harvey (1930) American baseball Hall of Fame umpire (1962-92) officiated 4,673 games.
- Neil Sedaka (1939) American singer/songwriter (Breaking Up is Hard to Do, Love Will Keep Us Together, Oh Carol, Calendar Girl, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen).
- William H. Macy (1950) American actor (Fargo, Shameless, The Cooler).
- Jamie Dimon (1956) American business executive and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.
- Will Clark (1964) “The Thrill”, American MLB first baseman for the San Francisco Giants.
- Emile Hirsch (1985) American actor (Into the Wild, Speed Racer).
- Ozuna (1992) Puerto Rican singer (Odisea).
Today’s Sports Fact:
On this day in 1983, the Birmingham Stallions beat the Oakland Invaders 20-14 to win the first USFL overtime game.
Today’s Quote:
“Space isn’t very remote at all. It’s only an hour’s drive away if your car could drive straight upwards.”
Sir Fred Hoyle
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.