The US Bill of Rights was adopted in 1789. Switzerland closed its borders to Jews in 1942, but reopened them in 1944. Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female justice of the Supreme Court in 1981. The IRA disarmed in 2005. The first transatlantic telephone service was installed in 1956. The first Chicago Marathon took place in 1977. The remote control was invented in 1906.
The United States Bill of Rights is adopted. (1789) Twelve amendments to the US Constitution were passed by the US Congress. After being ratified by states, 10 of the amendments became the Bill of Rights, including rights for US citizens such as freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and the freedom to practice any religion.
An instruction by the Swiss police closed the Swiss borders to Jews trying to escape Nazi persecution. (1942) The instruction, which stated that race alone was not a sufficient reason to justify political refuge, drove thousands of Jews away from the border. In 1944, Switzerland realized the horror of what the Nazis were doing and reopened its borders. In recent years, the Swiss government has struggled and acquired hundreds of millions of US dollars in compensation and restitution for holocaust survivors.
Nine black children were integrated into a white high school in Little Rock Arkansas, escorted by more than 1,000 US Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division. (1957) Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus blocked integration at Central High School three weeks earlier, in violation of a federal desegregation order. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower responded with massive military support to enforce the order.
Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. (1981) O’Connor sworn in as an associate justice on this day; she served on the Supreme Court until her retirement in 102.
The IRA is officially disarmed. (2005) The Irish Republican Army, which had been established in 1919 to combat British rule in Ireland, had resorted to terrorist violence during and after the 1960s. A ceasefire deal was made in 1997, but the IRA would not hand over their arms at that time.
The largest prison break in British history took place. (1983) Thirty-eight armed Irish republican prisoners escaped from Maze Prison in Northern Ireland, a maximum security prison considered escape-proof. The leak served as propaganda for the IRA. Eighteen of the escapees were captured in the first few days. A fugitive drowned in the Bannagh River. The remaining 19 were taken in by the IRA and offered military jobs or new identities and flown to the United States.
The first newspaper in America published its first and only edition. (1690) Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick was published in Boston, Massachusetts by Benjamin Harris. It was intended to be a monthly publication, but was shut down by the government before a second edition could be published.
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is founded. (1912) The school was founded through a US$2 million donation from Joseph Pulitzer. The first class had 100 students from 21 countries.
The first transatlantic telephone service is installed. (1956) The submarine telephone cable, called TAT-1, connected nearly 600 calls between the United States and London and more than 100 calls between London and Canada in its first day of operation. The line was later also used for the Moscow-Washington hotline.
The first Chicago Marathon took place. (1977) Now one of five World Marathon Majors, the race started with 4,200 runners. Today, the race limits competition to 45,000 runners.
The remote control was born. (1906) Spanish civil engineer Leonardo Torres y Quevedo demonstrated his device called Telekino, the first instrument capable of remote radio control. He showed this by controlling a boat while on shore.
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