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The first self-service food market opened in the US in 1916. Palestinian terrorists hijacked and blew up four planes in Europe in 1970. The first tank was produced in England in 1915. The first circumnavigation of the world on the high seas was completed in 1522. US President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901. The Nazis began forcing Jews to wear a yellow Star of David on their clothing in 1941. The man who received the world’s first baboon liver transplant died in 1992. Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa, was assassinated in 1966. Robert Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole in 1909. Princess Diana’s funeral was attended by 2.5 billion people in 1997.
The first self-service food market has opened in the United States. (1916) Clarence Saunders, who had patented the idea of a self-serve market, opened Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Memphis, Tennessee. There are still over 600 Piggly Wiggly stores in the United States today.
Palestinian terrorists have hijacked and blown up four planes in Europe bound for New York. (1970) The hijackers held 382 passengers on four separate planes hostage, demanding the release of three Arab prisoners from a Swiss prison. One plane was flown to Cairo where militants blew it up after evacuating the hostages. The other three planes were flown to Jordan where they were also blown up after the hostages were removed. All but six hostages were released on 9/11; the remaining six were exchanged for one of the hijackers who had been captured by the police and taken to London.
The first tank in the world is produced. (1915) Little Willie, a prototype tank, was produced in England. The original prototype weighed 14 tons (about 12,700 kilograms) and could travel at about 2 miles per hour (3.2 kilometers per hour). The design was improved and the invention changed the course of military battle around the world.
The first circumnavigation of the world on the high seas has been completed. (1522) The ship Vittoria, one of Ferdinand Magellan’s ships, sailed to Spain, completing a world tour. Only 22 of the original crew survived: many had died of starvation or scurvy.
US President William McKinley was assassinated. (1901) Leon Czolgosz, a Michigan anarchist, shot President McKinley in Buffalo, New York while attending the Pan American Exposition. Czolgosz was sentenced to death and electrocuted on October 29, 1901.
The Nazis began forcing Jews living in German-occupied territories to wear a yellow Star of David on their clothing. (1941) All Jews over the age of six were required to wear the patch so that they could be identified in public. The Nazis used the identification patch to round up Jewish families to be sent to concentration camps.
The man who received the world’s first baboon liver transplant has died. (1992) 35-year-old man lived for 10 weeks after transplant surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He was given the experimental surgery because he had a fatal form of hepatitis B; in the end he died of a heart attack. The medical team has announced plans to retry the surgery.
Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and father of apartheid, has been assassinated. (1966) Verwoerd, ironically, was stabbed to death by a mentally ill messenger, Demetrio Tsafendas, who was not protesting apartheid. Tsafendas was confined to a mental institution until his death in 1999.
Robert Peary announced that he had reached the North Pole six months earlier, on April 6th. (1909) Peary was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. His claim established him as the first person to reach the North Pole, but many scientists then and now doubt his claim.
2.5 billion people attended Princess Diana’s funeral. (1997) Elton John rewrote and performed his hit Candle in the Wind especially for his service, which was seen by more people than almost any other event in the history of the world.
