The USS Nautilus crossed the North Pole in 1958, Rev. Canon V. Gene Robinson was appointed as the first openly gay bishop in 2003, the NBA was founded in 1949, Columbus left Spain for the Americas in 1492, the first intercollegiate competition was held in the US in 1852, the Statue of Liberty reopened after 9/11 in 2004, General Patton slapped a soldier in 1943, the Donner group encountered trouble on their journey to California in 1846, a sodomy trial challenged Georgia state laws in 1982, and Mount Asama erupted in Japan in 1783 killing 35,000 people.
The first submarine ship crossed the North Pole. (1958) The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus was the first to travel under the Arctic ice cap.
The first openly gay bishop was appointed by the Anglican church. (2003) Rev. Canon V. Gene Robinson has been consecrated by 44 Episcopal bishops. The appointment has sparked controversy among religious leaders from all over the world, of all denominations.
The National Basketball Association of the United States is founded. (1949) The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946, becoming the National Basketball Association today after merging with the National Basketball League.
Christopher Columbus left Spain, starting the journey that would take him to the Americas. (1492) On this first voyage, Columbus visited what is now the Bahamas, Cuba and Haiti. He has kidnapped several natives to take them with him to Spain.
The first intercollegiate competition was held in the United States. (1852) The first competition – rowing – pitted Yale against Harvard on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Harvard’s Oneida boat beat Yale’s Shawmut over the 2-kilometer course. It became an annual race known as the Harvard-Yale Regatta.
The Statue of Liberty was reopened for the first time since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the United States. (2004) The statue was closed due to failure to comply with fire regulations and inadequate evacuation procedures. The area inside the statue and its crown did not reopen until July 4, 2009.
US General George S. Patton slapped a soldier recovering from battle fatigue, calling him a coward. (1943) General Dwight D. Eisenhower, later to become the 34th president of the United States, relieved Patton of his command and reassigned him.
The Donner group hit its first hurdle on its journey from the United States to California. (1846) The party hit its first lag at the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. The party would later be snowed in in the Sierra Nevada Mountains while trying to take a “short cut” to California. The group was trapped for the winter and had to resort to cannibalism to survive. Only 45 of the original 89 travelers made it to California the following year.
An arrest for sodomy led to a U.S. Supreme Court trial that challenged Georgia state sex laws. (1982) In Bowers v. Hardwick, the US Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the laws, which treated some forms of consensual sex as criminal activity. The ruling was overturned in the 2003 decision Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down sodomy laws across the country.
35,000 people were killed when Mount Asama erupted in Japan. (1783) The volcano, still active today, erupted for three months, adding to the devastation of the “Great Tenmei Famine” that began in 1782.
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