1947 Polynesia Kon-Tiki Expedition
1947 : The Kon-Tiki expedition headed by Thor Heyerdahl, which had carried a six-man crew aboard a balsa wood raft from Peru 3,770 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean, crashed into a reef in at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands on a Polynesian archipelago after being at sea for 101 days since April 28th.
1935 England Flying Ant Plaque
1935 : Flying ants were plaguing London, England, even stopping a tennis tournament. Heaps of the noxious insects were invading pantries and piling up on doorsteps. Authorities claim that this was the worst attack of pestilence in a quarter of a century.
1945 Japan Nuclear Bomb Comment
1945 : Japanese imperial headquarters stated a few new type bombs had been dropped, causing considerable damage. The US confirmed it was a single bomb which later is confirmed to have destroyed 60 percent of the City of Hiroshima including practically all living things, human and animal burned to death by the tremendous heat and pressure engendered by the blast.
1948 Truman Government Accused of Un-American Activities
1948 : Representative, McDowell a member of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, claimed that the Truman government shipped 1,300 tons of uranium to the Soviet Union in 1945. McDowell thought that the Soviets had a spy ring sabotaging the United States government and that the uranium was going to be used for military purposes. He also accused Canada of shipping 500 pounds of uranium nitrate and 500 pounds of black uranium to Moscow. The Soviets claimed the radio-active material was for medical and research purposes.
1959 Space Explorer 6
1959 : Explorer 6 is launched hoping to take the first satellite photographs of Earth from an unmanned spacecraft Explorer 6. On August 14 this photograph was taken:
The photograph was later released to the worlds press by NASA in September. It was of Mexico captured by Explorer 6 as it raced westward over the earth at speeds in excess of 20,000 miles an hour.One of the visitors to The People History (Thanks J.S) pointed out that I had mistakenly called the photo above "The First Photo From Space" this was incorrect, the first photo from space was taken from a V2 Rocket On October 24, 1946 launched from the White Sands Missile Range:
1957 U.S.A. Laurel and Hardy
1957 : For twenty years the Laurel and Hardy comedy team was wildly popular, doing over 200 slap stick comedy routines. Oliver Hardy passed away today in North Hollywood at the home of his mother-in-law. He was 65 years old and had been paralyzed by a stroke since last September 12. The stroke left him unable to speak. Hardy was described as “an elephant on tippy-toe.”
1958 U.S.A. Arthur Miller
1958 : The playwright Arthur Miller has been cleared of contempt of court by the Court of Appeals for refusing to provide the names of alleged Communist writers with whom he had attended meetings with in New York in 1947 to the House of Un-American Activities Committee.
1960 Protests Over White Only Restaurants
1960 : In Oklahoma city more than 200 black protesters had a sit-in to protest the ban on blacks eating at white-only restaurants. The protesters marched from Calvary Baptist Church to the downtown area in 90 degree temperatures. Although the group maintained a policy of non-violence, the leader Mrs. Luper decided that if the sit-in failed the next step would be a boycott of Oklahoma city businesses.
1963 President John F. Kennedy Baby
1963 : Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of President John F. Kennedy, gave birth to a son today named Patrick Bouvier Kennedy.
1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
1964 : Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is passed which will allow President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization for increased use of military force in Southeast Asia, without a formal declaration of war by Congress. The resolution is in response to the attack by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats on the US Destroyer Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin on August 2.
1972 Uganda Expels Asians From Country
1972 : The Ugandan leader, Idi Amin, has ordered most Asians (estimated to be 60,000) to leave the country of Uganda within 90 days or face the consequences. Most Asians in Uganda are British Passport Holders and are expected to move to the UK many have been in the country for two generations and are the backbone to the Ugandan economy running local shops and other businesses, the reasons for the expulsions are the resentment by the black majority over their success. When the Asians were thrown out 30,000 did emigrate to Britain but arrived with no money as they were not compensated for their businesses.
1974 U.S.A. Philippe Petit
1974 : French stunt man Philippe Petit walked a tightrope between the twin towers of the nearly completed New York's World Trade Center. The stunt was illegal and when he went to court because of the news coverage and public appreciation he was ordered "to perform a show for the children of New York City" and later was also presented with a lifetime pass to the Twin Towers' Observation Deck by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
1978 Vatican Pope Paul VI Dies
1978 : Pope Paul VI died at the age of 80. He had been the pontiff for the last 15 years, guiding over 500 million Catholics. His body will be transported to the Vatican and nine days of mourning will be observed. The pope will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica.
1990 Kuwait Operation Desert Shield
1990 : Following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq troops President George Herbert Walker Bush orders the organization of Operation Desert Shield with American troops becoming part of an international coalition in the war against Iraq.
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