Archive Digger

1519 – Aztec ruler Montezuma naively allows Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés to enter Tenochtitlán, going so far as to allow Cortes to live in his palace. History tells us this was a very bad idea, reminiscent of the fall of Troy.

1602 – Oxford University opens the Bodleian library to the public.

1793 – The French Revolutionary government opens the Louvre (formerly a royal palace) as a museum open to the public.

1889 – Montana “Big Sky Country” and the “Last Best Place” becomes the 41st state.

1895 – Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the X-ray during some experiments with electricity.

1900—Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone With The Wind”, is born. Romantics rejoice.

1917 – In Russia, the People’s Commissars give authority to Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin— a potent combination.

1923 – Adolf Hitler attempts to overthrow the Weimar Republic with his poorly thought out Beer Hall Putsch.

1933 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces the creation of the Civil Works Administration, part of the New Deal which would seek to employ millions of Americans.

1994— Deja vu? Republicans gain control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.

2000— Florida’s recount of the presidential election ballots begins.

2004 – In Iraq, the siege of Fallujah, a rebel held city, begins.