Today in History…This Stuff Happened
1616 – The first non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy. What’s pretty incredible, is that by 1635 there would be one in the United States as well (the Boston Latin School)!
1812 – Napoleon’s army reaches the Kremlin in Moscow. This ends badly.
1821 –Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica all declare independence from Spain. Felicidades!
1835 – Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle reaches the Galápagos Islands. Bad day for creationists…
1916 – Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the WWI Battle of the Somme. Aside from being terrifying, they do little to change the course of the battle.
1940 – Climax of WWII’s Battle of Britain, RAF shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft. Hitler is more than a little po’ed. Decides invading Russia would be a good idea (see: Napoleon above).
1981 – Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously appoints Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court of the United States, making her the first female to achieve the vaunted post. Let’s hear it for the girls!
1981 – Vanuatu becomes a member of the United Nations. Struggles to find translators commence…
2008 – Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and thus begins “To Big to Fail.”
