>>Today In History On this day: In 1789, bourbon whiskey was first distilled from corn by Reverend Elijah Craig in Bourbon County, Kentucky. In 1793, the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris opened for the first time. In 1805, Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean. In 1880, actress Sarah Bernhardt made her American stage debut in New York City. In 1889, Montana became the 41st state of the Union. In 1956, the movie The Ten Commandments was released. In 1960, John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon in the run for the office of President of the United States. In 1962, Lucille Ball bought out ex-husband Desi Arnazs stake in Desilu Studios for more than two-million dollars. The deal made her the highest ranking woman television executive. In 1965, the soap opera Days of Our Lives debuted on NBC. In 1966, Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California. In 1970, New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey booted an NFL record 63-yard field goal to beat the Detroit Lions 19-to-17. In 1978, painter, illustrator Norman Rockwell died at the age of 84. He painted 317 covers for The Saturday Evening Post. In 1979, the temporary program, The Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage, debuted on ABC with host Ted Koppel. The show evolved into Nightline. In 1988, Vice President George Bush defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis to win the presidential election. In 1994, Marion Barry was reelected mayor of Washington, D.C. nearly four years after spending six-months in prison on cocaine charges. In 1996, Bruce Springsteen performed a benefit concert at his own parochial grade school in his hometown of Freehold, New Jersey. The proceeds were to a church-run community center. Only town residents were allowed to buy tickets to the show. In 2002, the movie 8 Mile, starring rapper Eminem in his feature film debut, opened in theaters nationwide. In 2004, following a scandal that outed his gay affair with a former aide a few months earlier, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey delivered a farewell speech apologizing for the upheaval in the government he created, but refusing to apologize for being a gay American. In 2005, in the wake of the indictment of Vice President Dick Cheneys former chief of staff Lewis Libby in a CIA leak investigation, White House staffers began a round of refresher courses on ethics and the handling of classified information. In 2006, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigned from his position. President George W. Bush announced that former CIA Chief Robert Gates had been chosen as Rumsfelds successor. Rumsfelds resignation came a day after Republicans lost the House to Democrats in the mid-term elections. Before assuming his post as Secretary of State, Rumsfeld served as a congressman from Illinois before going to work as an economic adviser for President Richard Nixon. He then worked in the Gerald Ford administration as White House Chief of Staff and as the youngest-ever Secretary of Defense. During the 1980s, Rumsfeld served in various capacities as an advisor to the Ronald Reagan administration.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 11:21:17 +0000
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