The Balfour Declaration was made in 1917, creating a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a federal holiday in 1983. The Spruce Goose flew for the first and only time in 1947. KDKA began broadcasting as the first commercial radio station in the US in 1920. Operation Supercharge ended Axis Power control over North Africa in 1942. North and South Dakota were admitted as states in 1889. The Axis power alliance was born in 1936. The BBC established the world’s first ‘high definition’ television service in 1936. George Washington gave his farewell address in 1783. The “Morris Worm” was launched in 1988. More than 120,000 Cubans became eligible for permanent residency in the US in 1966. Johnny Campbell became the world’s first cheerleader in 1898. The Levelland UFO case gained national interest in the US in 1957.
Britain has offered official support to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. (1917) Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, addressed a letter to Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild, a prominent Jewish citizen living in Britain, declaring the country’s support. The event, called the Balfour Declaration, is celebrated today in Israel as “Balfour Day”. Arab nations observe this day as a day of mourning.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day has been designated a federal holiday in the United States. (1983) US President Ronald Reagan signed the bill establishing the holiday, which celebrates the civil rights leader’s birthday, on the third Monday of every January.
The Spruce Goose flew for the first and only time. (1947) The Spruce Goose, piloted by Howard Hughes, was the world’s largest fixed-wing prototype aircraft. Its test flight over Long Beach Harbor extended about a mile, but at an altitude of 70 feet (about 21 meters), the aircraft continued to experience ground effect thrust, which shouldn’t occur at that height. The plane never flew again.
The first commercial radio station in the United States began broadcasting. (1920) Pittsburgh station KDKA kicked off its television debut with the results of the 1920 US presidential election.
During World War II, ‘Operation Supercharge’ was launched by the British military against German and Italian Axis forces. (1942) Successful British operation marked the end of Axis Power control over North Africa.
North and South Dakota were admitted as the 39th and 40th state of the United States. (1889) The entry of the two states into the Union divided what is now the Dakota Territory in two.
The Axis power alliance is born. (1936) Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator, first officially used the term “asse”. He used the term to refer to a Rome-Germany Axis after Germany and Italy signed a friendship treaty on Oct. 25.
The BBC television service was established by the British Broadcasting Corporation as the world’s first ‘high definition’ television service. (1936) In 1936, “high definition” meant there were more than 200 lines to a frame. By the early 21st century, that definition had changed to more than a million pixels per frame.
US Army General George Washington gives his farewell address to assembled Army troops in Princeton, New Jersey. (1783) Washington resigned his position as general at the end of the American Revolutionary War and returned home to Mount Vernon. Washington later was elected the first president of the United States in 1789.
One of the first Internet worms, the “Morris Worm”, was launched. (1988) The “Morris Worm” gained widespread media attention because it ended up infecting more than 6,000 UNIX computers, about 10% of the computers in the world at the time. The worm was launched by MIT, but was created by a Cornell University student named Robert Tappan Morris. Morris was the first person to be convicted under the United States Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986.
More than 120,000 Cubans have become eligible to apply for permanent residency in the United States. (1966) Applicants for permanent residency must have been granted entry to the United States after January 1, 1959 and must reside in the United States for a minimum of one year.
Johnny Campbell became the world’s first cheerleader. (1898) Campbell was the first to organize a singing group to cheer on a football team. He started the first cheer at a football game at the University of Minnesota: “Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-mah, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!”
The Levelland UFO case has gained national interest in the United States. (1957) The UFO incident, which still remains one of the most important UFO cases in history, occurred in Levelland, Texas. National interest peaked because at least 12 people, including two police officers, had separate encounters with a large egg-shaped object in the roadway that caused their cars to die or saw a red flash move across the sky . The US Air Force attempted to claim responsibility for a severe thunderstorm, but all witnesses say there was no storm in the area at the time.
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