Einstein published his theory of relativity (1905), Truman relieved MacArthur of command (1951), Napoleon was exiled to Elba (1814), Iowa imposed the first state cigarette tax (1921), Lincoln made his last speech (1865), Buchenwald prisoners were liberated (1945), Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed (1968), southern Ohio correctional facility rioted (1993), last death sentence for witchcraft in Germany (1775), Idi Amin was overthrown (1979).
Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity. (1905) The revolutionary theory was first published in “Annalen der Physik”, a leading physics journal. The theory immediately rocked the scientific community and is said to be the basis of modern physics.
President Truman relieved General MacArthur of his command. (1951) Although MacArthur was a major force in the military in both World War II and Korea, he repeatedly ignored or stretched Truman’s orders. The conflict between the two became very public and Truman eventually replaced him.
Napoleon was exiled to Elba. (1814) The former emperor abdicated his throne on this day and was sent to Elba. However, he didn’t stay there long; a year later Napoleon fled Elba, only to be defeated at the Battle of Waterloo some months later and re-exiled.
Iowa imposed the first state tax on cigarettes. (1921) Although the United States had federal tobacco taxes in and out of the Civil War, Iowa was the first state to authorize a statewide cigarette tax. The tax was about $0.02 US Dollars (USD) a pack, which was quite significant since even premium cigarette brands cost only about $0.25 USD a pack in the 1920s.
Abraham Lincoln made his last public address. (1865) Lincoln’s last speech focused on promoting the rights of African Americans. Upon hearing this, John Wilkes Booth, who had originally planned to kidnap Lincoln, was so angry that he decided to assassinate him instead.
Allied forces liberated prisoners at Buchenwald. (1945) More than 200,000 people were imprisoned in Buchenwald during the war, including famous holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 is signed. (1968) President Lyndon Johnson signed the act into law on this day as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act specifically addressed racial segregation in housing, an issue that l the 1964 act did not address.
Prisoners in the southern Ohio correctional facility rioted. (1993) The riot was one of the longest in the prison’s history, lasting approximately 11 days, and was led by an unlikely combination of Sunni Muslims, members of the Aryan Brotherhood and Gangster Disciples, an African American gang.
The last death sentence for witchcraft was passed in Germany. (1775) Witchcraft remained punishable by death in many countries of the world throughout the 18th century, although Germany and Switzerland were among the last two European countries to sentence suspected witches to death. In the 18th century, the only country where witchcraft was still punishable by death was Saudi Arabia.
Idi Amin was overthrown. (1979) Amin was a notoriously volatile and genocidal ruler, ruling Uganda for eight years before being overthrown by a combination of Tanzanian and Ugandan forces. He is thought to have been responsible for the deaths of at least 300,000 Ugandans.
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