Nixon refused to hand over tapes in Watergate scandal (1974); Edison electrocuted an elephant to prove AC was dangerous (1903); North Korean and Chinese forces captured Seoul (1951); first successful appendectomy performed in US (1885); Samuel Colt sold first handgun to US government (1847); LBJ outlined plans for “Great Society” (1965); Columbus left new world (1493); Sir Edmund Hillary reached South Pole (1958); GM announced electric car production (1996); Utah admitted to Union after renouncing polygamy (1896).
US President Nixon refused to hand over his tapes in the Watergate scandal. (1974) Despite being subpoenaed by a Senate committee, Nixon refused to hand over crucial tapes and documents. The fact that the Watergate incident reached the presidency shook the nation and Nixon resigned eight months later.
Thomas Edison electrocuted an elephant. (1903) In an ongoing war against Westinghouse’s alternating current, Edison tried many extreme stunts to prove that alternating current (AC) was dangerous, so people would use his direct current (DC) model. One such stunt included electrocuting an elephant named Topsy which killed three men. Topsy was to be hanged, but the ASPCA protested, so Edison was allowed to electrocute her. He filmed the electrocution and distributed it as “proof” that using AC power was dangerous.
North Korean and Chinese forces captured Seoul. (1951) UN forces expected a quick end to the war, but that expectation was shattered when Chinese forces got involved. The capture of Seoul was a clear – and demoralizing – sign that the war would not end soon.
The first successful appendectomy was performed in the United States. (1885) Dr. William Grant performed the procedure on 22-year-old Mary Gartside, whose appendix was perforated. Gartside recovered with no ill side effects, and the medical community learned that the appendix was not needed to live.
Firearms maker Samuel Colt has sold his first handgun to the US government. (1847) Colt’s business was failing before he got a contract to supply 1,000 .44 caliber pistols to the government. Before that, handguns weren’t common at all in the United States; most people used knives for close combat. Colt’s pistols have become the symbol of cowboys and the West.
President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined his plans for the “Great Society.” (1965) Speech played a big part in pulling America back together after the Kennedy assassination. He outlined many social reform programs, including Medicare/Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act, and the National Endowment for the arts.
Columbus left the new world. (1493) Spanish explorer Columbus had been sailing in the Caribbean for about a year after discovering Hispaniola (modern Haiti and the Dominican Republic). During that time, he founded several settlements and became the first European to observe many previously unseen cultures, plants and animals.
Sir Edmund Hillary reached the South Pole. (1958) Hillary was the first Earth explorer to reach the South Pole since Robert Scott did so in 1912.
GM announced it would build an electric car. (1996) The EV1 debuted that same year and more than 2,000 were produced before GM pulled the plug on the program in 2003, citing high production costs.
Utah was admitted to the Union. (1896) Although the territory had been ruled by Americans for years, politicians were unwilling to let it become a state due to the widespread practice of polygamy among the large Mormon community there. Eventually Mormonism’s successor Brigham Young renounced the practice of polygamy and Utah became a state.
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