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The Brady Bill was signed into law, requiring background checks for handgun buyers. The Green River killer was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. The American Revolutionary War ended with the Treaty of Paris. Operation Desert Storm officially ended. The WTO meeting in Seattle was disrupted by protesters. The Flying Scotsman set a land speed record for rail vehicles. Tuscany abolished the death penalty. Elizabeth Hodges was hit by a meteorite. Pink Floyd released The Wall album. Ken Jennings ended his record run on Jeopardy!.
US President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill into law. (1993) The bill is named after President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary, James Brady. In 1981, John Hinckley, Jr. shot Brady in the head as he attempted to assassinate President Reagan. The bill, also called the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, requires a five-day waiting period and background checks of all potential handgun buyers.
The Green River killer has been arrested. (2001) Serial killer, Gary Ridgway, believed to have killed about 50 women in Washington state in the 1980s and 1990s, avoided the death penalty because he agreed to provide locations of as yet unknown bodies. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Preliminary Treaty of Paris was signed, effectively ending the American Revolutionary War. (1782) The peace treaty, signed by Great Britain and the United States, was formalized almost a year later and called the Treaty of Paris of 1783.
Operation Desert Storm has officially ended. (1995) Operation Desert Storm was a military action during the Gulf War in which the United Kingdom and United States led a 34-nation coalition force against Iraq. The Gulf War ended in February 1991, but Operation Desert Storm did not officially end until 1995.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Seattle, Washington was disrupted by 40,000 protesters. (1999) The police detail assigned to the meeting was not prepared for the mass of demonstrators who had come out to protest against globalization. The ensuing chaos forced meeting organizers to cancel the opening ceremonies.
A steam locomotive first traveled at 100 miles per hour (about 160 kilometers per hour). (1934) The Flying Scotsman locomotive in London was officially timed at that speed and set the land speed record for rail vehicles.
The first city-state abolished the death penalty. (1786) The Grand Duke of Tuscany, Pietro Leopoldo Giuseppe, prohibited the death penalty in Tuscany, and it was never restored. Other areas of Italy continued to apply the death penalty until 1948. Countries had abolished the death penalty sometime before 1786, but the penalty has since been reinstated.
The first person in modern history to be hit by a meteorite. (1954) In ancient times, there were stories of people being struck by such objects, but Alabama resident Elizabeth Hodges was the first recorded person to be struck in the present day. The meteor went through the roof of her living room, ricocheted a couple of times and hit her in the hip as she was dozing on the couch. At the time of impact, the meteorite was 7 inches long (about 17.8 cm) and 8.5 pounds (about 3.8 kg). She was bruised, but not seriously injured.
English rock band Pink Floyd has released their album The Wall. (1979) The album eventually became one of the best-selling records of all time.
Ken Jennings ended his record run on the US TV show Jeopardy!. (2004) Jennings, a software engineer, won a record 74 games and earned $2.5 million (USD), setting a record for game show winnings in the United States.
