The word “OK” gained national recognition in 1839, Hitler became dictator of Germany in 1933, and the Wright brothers applied for a patent for their flying machine in 1903. Teddy Roosevelt left for an African safari in 1909, and scientists announced cold fusion in 1989. Pakistan became the first modern Islamic republic in 1956, Titanic won 11 Academy Awards in 1998, Reagan called for the “Star Wars Initiative” in 1983, and the Raines Act made it illegal to sell liquor in restaurants on Sundays in New York in 1896.
The word “OK” gained national recognition. (1839) Considered an abbreviation of the deliberately misspelled “oll correct” phrase that was popular at the time, the word OK was first published in a newspaper on this day. Although the paper originally ran it as a joke, the word was quickly picked up by politicians and became commonly used and recognized.
Patrick Henry gave his “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech. (1775) Henry gave his fiery speech before the Virginia Convention, which was attended by both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The speech was one of the first open displays of anger at British rule in America.
Adolf Hitler became the dictator of Germany. (1933) The 1933 Act of Delegation gave Hitler, who was chancellor at the time, complete control over the government for a minimum period of four years.
The Wright brothers have applied for a patent for their “flying machine”. (1903) Widely considered the first airplane – as opposed to the brothers’ former gliders – the flying machine was powered by an aluminum petrol engine, to keep weight down, and featured wooden propellers.
Teddy Roosevelt has left New York for an African safari. (1909) Though Roosevelt was a strong conservationist, he was also an avid big-game hunter. During the safari he collected over 1,000 specimens, 500 of which were large.
Scientists have announced that they have achieved cold fusion at the University of Utah. (1989) Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announced that they had achieved cold fusion, a type of nuclear fusion thought to be impossible. Although every subsequent experiment on the subject has failed, researchers continue to try to create cold fusion.
Pakistan became the first modern Islamic republic in the world. (1956) Although there had been other short-lived Islamic republics in antiquity, Pakistan was the first modern nation to style itself as an Islamic republic in conjunction with a largely secular constitution.
Titanic won a record 11 Academy Awards. (1998) The film is one of only three to win so many awards; the other two are Ben Hur and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The film also garnered 14 nominations which is which only one other film, All About Eve had ever achieved.
Reagan called for a new anti-missile strategy leading to the “Star Wars Initiative.” (1983) Although the plan was actually called the Strategic Defense Initiative, commentators dubbed it the Star Wars Initiative as it focused on creating a protective zone over US airspace where Russian missiles could be destroyed with lasers and anti-missile satellites.
It has become illegal to sell liquor in restaurants on Sundays in New York. (1896) The Raines Act went into law on this day making it illegal to sell liquor on Sundays except in hotels. To compensate, many New York bars simply opened a few furnished rooms above their premises, which became known as “Raines law hotels,” and continued to serve alcohol on Sundays.
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