October 24 1632 - Scientist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek was born in Delft, Holland. He created the first microscope lenses that were powerful enough to observe single-celled animals. 1648 - The Holy Roman Empire was effectively destroyed by the Peace of Westphalia that brought an end to the Thirty Years War. 1795 - The country of Poland was divided up between Austria, Prussia, and Russia. 1836 - Alonzo D. Phillips received a patent for the phosphorous friction safety match. 1861 - The first transcontinental telegraph message was sent when Justice Stephen J. Field of California transmitted a telegram to U.S. President Lincoln. 1901 - Daredevil Anna Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel. She was 63 years old. 1929 - In the U.S., investors dumped more than 13 million shares on the stock market. The day is known as Black Tuesday. 1931 - The upper level of the George Washington Bridge opened for traffic between New York and New Jersey. 1939 - Nylon stockings were sold to the public for the first time in Wilmington, DE. 1940 - In the U.S., the 40-hour workweek went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. 1945 - The United Nations (UN) was formally established less than a month after the end of World War II. The Charter was ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other signatories. 1949 - The cornerstone for the U.N. Headquarters was laid in New York City. 1960 - All remaining American-owned property in Cuba was nationalized. The process of nationalizing all U.S. and foreign-owned property in Cuban had begun on August 6, 1960. 1962 - During the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. military forces went on the highest alert in the postwar era in preparation for a possible full-scale war with the Soviet Union. The U.S. blockade of Cuba officially began on this day. 1969 - Richard Burton bought his wife Elizabeth Taylor a 69-carat Cartier diamond ring for $1.5 million. Burton presented the ring to Taylor several days later. 1986 - Britain broke off relations with Syria after a Jordanian was convicted in an attempted bombing. The evidence in the trial led to the belief that Syria was involved in the attack on the Israeli jetliner. 1992 - The Toronto Blue Jays became the first non-U.S. team to win the World Series. 2001 - The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that gave police the power to secretly search homes, tap all of a persons telephone conversation and track peoples use of the Internet. 2001 - The U.S. stamp United We Stand was dedicated. 2001 - NASAs 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft successfully entered orbit around Mars. 2002 - Microsoft Corp. and Walt Disney Co. announced the release of an upgraded MSN Internet service with Disney content. 2003 - In London, the last commercial supersonic Concorde flight landed.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 12:42:44 +0000
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