Dow Jones releases first stock average (1884), Clinton denies sexual harassment allegations (1997), rock icons Brian Jones and Jim Morrison die at 27 (1969 and 1971), last pair of Alche Alche go extinct (1844), New York Tribune uses Linotype machine (1886), “Mallard” sets world speed record for steam locomotives (1938), Adresseavisen starts publication (1767), Idaho becomes 43rd US state (1890), Quebec City established as first permanent European settlement in North America (1608), Franz Kafka is born (1883).
Dow Jones has released its first stock average. (1884) The first average was published by Charles Dow as the “Dow Jones Averages” and included nine railroads and two industrial companies. The shares were listed in a two-page newsletter called Customer’s Afternoon Letter, which was the beginning of the Wall Street Journal newspaper. Charles Dow founded the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as we know it today, 12 years later, in 1896, with 12 industrial stocks and no railroads. Of the original 12, General Electric remains in the stock index.
US President Bill Clinton has denied allegations that he sexually harassed Paula Jones. (1997) President Clinton initially asked the judge to dismiss the charges. The charges were dismissed because Jones failed to prove damages to her, but she was later awarded $850,000 US dollars in an out-of-court settlement agreed to by President Clinton. Her statements during pretrial depositions, however, led to her subsequent impeachment for obstruction of justice and perjury in connection with statements she made about her not having had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.
Two rock and roll icons, Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and Doors frontman Jim Morrison, died at the age of 27. (1969 and 1971) Both deaths were considered suspicious by fans. Jones was found at the bottom of his pool three weeks after he was fired from the Rolling Stones; his death was classified as a “death by misadventure”. Two years later, on that day, Jim Morrison was found dead in the bathtub of his Paris apartment. There was no autopsy and Morrison’s death was attributed to heart failure, although his biographers are fairly certain that his death was the result of an accidental heroin overdose.
The last pair of Alche Alche were killed, making the species extinct. (1844) Museums and collectors, wanting the rare skin and eggs of the penguin-like bird, hunted the bird to extinction. The last known pair of birds was found in Iceland by three hunters, Jón Brandsson, Sigurður Ísleifsson and Ketill Ketilsson. The birds, which were incubating the eggs, were strangled by Brandsson and Sigurour while Ketilsson broke the eggs. There was another reported sighting of a solitary auk in Newfoundland in 1852, which some scientists accept as the last sighting.
The New York Tribune newspaper embraced the technology, being the first to use the Linotype machine and eliminating the need to set type by hand. (1886) The Linotype machine revolutionized printing, making it much easier and faster to assemble pages for printing. The newspaper not only used it to print its editions, but also to print a book, The Tribune Book of Open-Air Sports. It was the first book published using the new technology. The newspaper was published from 1841 to 1967.
The “Mallard” set the world speed record for steam locomotives. (1938) The Mallard hurtled at 125.88 miles per hour (202.58 kilometers per hour), beating the previous record of 124 miles per hour (200.4 kilometers per hour) set by a German steam locomotive in 1936. Mallard he continues to hold the record today. It was in operation from 1938 to 1963 and was retired with nearly 1.5 million miles (2.4 million kilometers) under the wheels.
The daily Adresseavisen, the oldest newspaper still in print in Norway, started publication. (1767) Newspaper began as Kongelig allene privilegiarede Trondheims Adresse-Contoirs Efterretninger, changing names many times before settling on its current name in 1927. The oldest newspaper still in publication is the Swedish daily Post-och Inrikes Tidningar, which prints only online today. The German newspaper Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, which began publishing in 1605, is accepted as the first newspaper in the world.
Idaho became the 43rd state of the United States. (1890) After some difficulties as a territory – the US federal government tried to divide the territory of Idaho between two existing states, Washington and Nevada – Idaho achieved its statehood. There is evidence of a human population in Idaho as far back as 14,500 years ago. The oldest known North American artifacts were found near Twin Falls, Idaho.
Quebec City, Canada established, the first permanent European settlement in North America. (1608) Samuel de Champlain founded the city, which is one of the oldest European settlements in North America and is considered the first non-Spanish permanent settlement in North America. Other towns, such as Jamestown, Virginia, were settled earlier but were initially established as commercial trading posts.
Czech-German writer Franz Kafka is born. (1883) Perhaps best known for his short story The Metamorphosis, Kafka’s work was not only generally unknown in his lifetime, but also unpublished. He left his job to his friend Max Brod, with instructions that everything should be burned on his death. Brod did not honor these wishes and edited most of his work for publication. Some of Kafka’s works, called the Kafka papers, remain missing.
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