In 1929, Sir Alexander Fleming published the first report on the medicinal properties of penicillin. In the same year, the Valentine’s Day Massacre occurred, and IBM was founded. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was granted the first patent for the telephone, and in 1899, the use of voting machines was legalized. Other events include the bombing of Dresden in 1945, the League of Women Voters being founded in 1920, and the Gallup poll showing that more than half of Americans opposed an instant withdrawal from Vietnam in 1970.
The first report on the medicinal properties of penicillin has been published. (1929) Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by accident after leaving a petri dish out for too long. On this day, he released a report of his findings on the mold and its potential for medical use.
Two people have tried to patent the phone. (1876) Alexander Graham Bell was granted the first patent for the telephone, despite the fact that Elisha Gray, another prominent inventor, applied for a patent the same day. There is some debate as to which application actually came first, as well as evidence that Bell’s lawyers may have bribed officials to get his application accepted first. Gray contested the decision, but ultimately lost, and Bell was credited with inventing the telephone.
The Valentine’s Day Massacre happened. (1929) The massacre of seven rival gangsters by Al Capone’s men shocked the nation and caused authorities to redouble their efforts to try to knock out the archetypal Prohibition-era gangster. It was one of the first times people started debating whether organized crime was better than intemperance.
IBM is founded. (1924) The company originally existed as the Tabulating Machine Company, but on this day it changed to the International Business Machine Corporation (IBM). At first, the company focused primarily on punched card calculators, the predecessors of the computer.
The bombing of Dresden begins. (1945) This intense bombing of the German city of Dresden was one of the last major Allied offensives of the war. It destroyed over 15 square miles (nearly 40 square km) of the city, which up to that point had been a major cultural center in Europe, comparable to Florence.
The use of voting machines has been legalized. (1899) William McKinley signed a law allowing states to use voting machines in federal elections. Early voting machines consisted of a push-button system, with one push-button for each candidate, and a mechanism to prevent voters from voting for two candidates in the same race.
James Polk became the first president to have his photograph taken. (1849) Polk posed for photo just before leaving office. The photographer, Matthew Brady, was an early photojournalist and became known for his portraits of other famous Americans, including Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee, as well as photos of him from Civil War battles.
Captain James Cook was killed in Hawaii. (1779) Cook was an extremely famous explorer in his day and was one of the first Europeans to see Antarctica or the Great Barrier Reef. He was killed in Hawaii – which he found out – after trying to take a native Hawaiian king hostage in retaliation for some stolen boats.
The League of Women Voters is born. (1920) Suffragette Carrie Chapman Catt founded the LOWV shortly before the passage of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. It was founded to help women exercise their new right to vote and for voter education in general, although men were not allowed to join until 1973.
The Gallup poll showed that more than half of Americans opposed an instant withdrawal from Vietnam. (1970) Despite the growing antiwar movement after the Summer of Love, Americans still weren’t willing to leave without finishing the war. That changed after a year of Nixon’s presidency, during which even conservative Americans became increasingly disenchanted with the war.
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