The UN condemned apartheid in 1962, plutonium was created in 1944, Lincoln became the first Republican president in 1860, Naismith invented basketball in 1861, the US tested its largest hydrogen bomb in 1971, Meet the Press debuted in 1947, the Confederate Army surrendered in 1865, the first official college football game was played in 1869, Monopoly patents were bought in 1935, and Stalin assured a WWII victory in 1941.
The United Nations has officially condemned apartheid. (1962) The UN condemned South Africa’s 45-year racist practices and called on all UN countries to end military and economic ties with the country. Apartheid policies would not end completely for another 32 years.
Plutonium was produced for the first time. (1944) The chemical element later used to make atomic bombs was created in a laboratory at the US government’s Hanford Atomic Facility in Washington state.
US President Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican to be elected president. (1860) He beat three other candidates and won 40 percent of the popular vote. By the time it opened in March 1861, however, seven states had seceded from the Union and elected Jefferson Davis as their president. The American Civil War began about a month later.
The inventor of the game of basketball was born. (1861) James Naismith, a Canadian, not only invented the sport but also wrote the official rulebook and started the basketball program at the University of Kansas – he is the only coach in KU program history with a record of defeats. Naismith may also have been responsible for introducing the first football helmet.
The United States has tested the largest underground hydrogen bomb in its history. (1971) The bomb, called Cannikin, was detonated by the United States Atomic Energy Commission on a volcanic island called Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands. The blast lifted the ground 20 feet (about 6 meters) and was estimated to be about 400 times more powerful than the bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima.
The longest running TV show in US history, Meet the Press, has debuted. (1947) The show initially began in 1945 as a radio show. It features interviews and news stories, often involving American and world politics.
The Confederate Army’s last combat unit surrendered during the American Civil War. (1865) Confederate States Navy ship CSS Shenandoah surrendered after spending a year sailing around the world, during which time the crew captured or sank 38 vessels. The ship is also historically known for firing its last shot during the American Civil War.
The first official college football game was played. (1869) Princeton University – then known as the College of New Jersey – was defeated by Rutgers College 6-4.
The patents that led to the Monopoly game were bought by Parker Brothers. (1935) The precursor to Monopoly was a game called The Landlord’s Game, invented by a Quaker woman named Elizabeth Magie. Game developers toyed with her idea, making changes, and eventually Charles Darrow developed and sold the game as Monopoly. He sold his he version of the game to Parker Brothers on this day.
Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin addressed his country assuring a WWII victory. (1941) This was only the second time in the 20 years since he had assumed power that he had addressed the people of his nation. He insisted that although the Soviet Union had lost 350,000 soldiers in the war so far, Germany had lost more than four million. By war’s end, more than 26 million Soviets had been killed, nearly half of the 60 million total casualties in the war worldwide, and far more than any other country.
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