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A hotline was set up between Moscow and Washington DC after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Other events include the attempted assassination of Lenin, the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, and the passing of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act. Thurgood Marshall became the first black justice on the US Supreme Court, and Guion S. Bluford Jr. became the first black astronaut in space. The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong ended, and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway opened. Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, was born.
A hotline has been set up directly connecting Moscow and Washington DC. (1963) The line provided direct access to communication between the White House and the Kremlin. The line was drawn after the US and Russia came perilously close to nuclear war following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin was killed in an assassination attempt. (1918) Fanny Kaplan shot Lenin twice, but Lenin survived the attack. The shooting was one of the major incidences to instigate the “Red Terror” campaign in the Soviet Union, during which thousands were arrested and executed.
NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery first launched. (1984) Discovery flew 38 missions to perform space station maintenance and research. It may be best known for the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. There are plans in 2010 to dismantle the Discovery Shuttle and donate it to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
Burgess Shale fossil bed discovered. (1909) Charles D. Walcott made the discovery of the remarkably well preserved fossil bed, which is about 500 million years old. Fossils contain both soft and hard parts; most of the fossils have only preserved hard parts due to being buried in mud.
The US state of California passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, the first US state to pass such an act. (2006) The act put in place stringent regulations that limited greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and automobile emissions. The law set a goal of reducing automobile emissions by 25% by 2025 to comply with the climate change treaty called the Kyoto Protocol.
Thurgood Marshall became the first black justice of the US Supreme Court. (1967) United States Senate voted 69 to 11 to appoint Marshall. He served on the Court from 1967 to 1991.
The first black astronaut has flown into space. (1983) Guion S. Bluford Jr., a US Air Force lieutenant colonel, flew on the third mission of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Bluford had entered the US astronaut program in 1979; this was his first mission.
The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong ended. (1945) The British Army took control of Hong Kong after Japan’s four-year reign, during which nearly half of Hong Kong’s population died. Britain retained control of the island until 1997 when Hong Kong became part of China.
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway opens, which may contain the longest bridge in the world. (1956) The causeway has two bridges; the longest is 23.87 miles (38.42 km) long. Only two bridges could claim to be longer: the Bang Na Expressway in Bangkok and the Weinan Weihe Grand Bridge in China. The definition causes controversy. Only a short section of the Bang Na Expressway actually crosses water, and both are viaducts: several short sections connected to create a bridge.
English writer Mary Shelley is born. (1797) Shelley is perhaps best known for her book, Frankenstein, which she wrote when she was 18.
