Saturday, August 02, 2014

History for August 2

History for August 2 - On-This-Day.com:
National Mustard Day

Birth anniversary of Pierre Charles L’enfant, who designed the plan for the city of WashingtonDC(1754-1825).
 

Birth anniversary of American author James Baldwin (1924-87).
 

Happy Birthday! Wes Craven, Mary-Louise Parker, Sam Worthington


1791 - Samuel Briggs and his son Samuel Briggs, Jr. received a joint patent for their nail-making machine. They were the first father-son pair to receive a patent. 


1824 - In New York City, Fifth Avenue was opened. 


1861 - The United States Congress passed the first income tax. The revenues were intended for the war effort against the South. The tax was never enacted. 


1887 - Rowell Hodge patented barbed wire. 


1892 - Charles A. Wheeler patented the first escalator. 


1939 - Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Roosevelt urging the U.S. to have an atomic weapons research program. 


1939 - U.S. President Roosevelt signed the Hatch Act. The act prohibited civil service employees from taking an active part in political campaigns. 


1943 - The U.S. Navy patrol torpedo boat, PT-109, sank after being attacked by a Japanese destroyer. The boat was under the command of Lt. John F. Kennedy. 


1964 - The Pentagon reported the first of two North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. 


1983 - U.S. House of Representatives approved a law that designated the third Monday of January would be a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The law was signed by President Reagon on November 2. 


1990 - Iraq invaded the oil-rich country of Kuwait. Iraq claimed that Kuwait had driven down oil prices by exceeding production quotas set by OPEC.

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