FDR survived an assassination attempt in 1933, the USS Maine exploded in 1898, the first teddy bear was sold in 1903, YouTube launched in 2005, female lawyers were allowed to argue before the US Supreme Court in 1879, the USSR and China signed a mutual defense treaty in 1950, British currency was decimalised in 1971, the first children’s hospital admitted its first patient in 1852, French President DeGaulle offered to help end the Vietnam War in 1966, and Susan B. Anthony was born in 1820.
US President Franklin Roosevelt narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. (1933) A mentally ill and unemployed bricklayer named Giuseppe Zangara shot the president-elect. When he missed, the surrounding mob nearly beat him to death before Roosevelt intervened. Zangara later told the FBI that he shot FDR due to long-term stomach pain.
The USS Maine has blown up. (1898) Maine sank in Havana Harbor of Cuba, killing approximately two-thirds of crew. The explosion was attributed to a Spanish mine, although researchers later found it was due to an accidental fire. The incident greatly escalated tensions between the United States and Spain and was one of the triggers of the Spanish-American War.
The first teddy bear has been sold. (1903) Morris Michtom sold the first teddy bear after getting President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt’s permission to use his nickname for the bear. The name came about due to an apocryphal story about Roosevelt rescuing a bear while hunting in Mississippi as a young man, connecting Roosevelt with bears in the public mind.
YouTube was launched. (2005) The popular video sharing site was created by three former PayPal employees. The first video was called “Me at the Zoo,” a film of one of the founders touring a zoo. That same year, the Time Person of the Year issue featured a YouTube screen with a mirror, citing the growth of social media and networking for making “You” person of the year.
It has become legal for female lawyers to argue cases before the US Supreme Court. (1879) On this day President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a law allowing female attorneys to argue before the Supreme Court. The first female attorney to argue a case before the Supreme Court was Belva Ann Lockwood, an influential women’s rights activist.
The USSR and the People’s Republic of China signed a mutual defense treaty. (1950) Mao Zedong was in power in China just one year before the two major communist countries signed a treaty. Many in the West saw this as a sign that communism is one big movement that threatens democracy.
British currency has been decimalised. (1971) This is known as “Decimal Day” in the UK, as currency prior to this day was not based on a 10-count system. Instead, a pound was made up of 240 pence, or 20 shillings, making calculation difficult for those who didn’t grow up with the system.
The first children’s hospital admitted its first patient. (1852) Great Ormond Street Hospital in London was the first hospital to provide specific hospital care for children. It is also famous for owning the rights to JM Barrie’s play Peter Pan which provided a significant amount of funding for the hospital.
French President DeGaulle offered to help end the Vietnam War. (1966) DeGaulle was responding to a request from North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh asking France to “prevent new treacherous maneuvers” from the United States. The US was unhappy with the response, as it saw it as a sign of France challenging US leadership in the world.
Susan B. Anthony was born. (1820) Anthony was a prominent women’s rights activist and co-founder of the National Woman Suffrage Association. She was also the first non-legendary woman to appear on American currency.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
