today’s holiday: Mother’s Day (United States)

Mother’s Day (United States)

The setting aside of a day each year to honor mothers was the suggestion of Anna M. Jarvis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose own mother had died on May 9, 1906. She held a memorial service and asked those attending to wear white carnations—a gesture that soon became a tradition. By 1914, President Woodrow Wilson had proclaimed a national day in honor of mothers, and some people still wear carnations on the second Sunday in May—pink or red for mothers who are living and white for those who have died. More… Discuss

Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

April 2

1792		The United States authorizes the minting of the $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins as well as the silver dollar, dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime.
1796		Haitian revolt leader Toussaint L’Ouverture takes command of French forces at Santo Domingo.
1801		The British navy defeats the Danish at the Battle of Copenhagen.
1865		Confederate President Jefferson Davis flees Richmond, Virginia as Grant breaks Lee’s line at Petersburg.
1910		Karl Harris perfects the process for the artificial synthesis of rubber.
1914		The U.S. Federal Reserve Board announces plans to divide the country into 12 districts.
1917		President Woodrow Wilson presents a declaration of war against Germany to Congress.
1917		Jeannette Pickering Rankin is sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1931		Virne “Jackie” Mitchell becomes the first woman to play for an all-male pro baseball team. In an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, she strikes out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
1932		Charles Lindbergh pays over $50,000 ransom for his kidnapped son.
1944		Soviet forces enter Romania, one of Germany’s allied countries.
1958		The National Advisory Council on Aeronautics is renamed NASA.
1963		Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King begins the first non-violent campaign in Birmingham, Alabama.
1982		Argentina invades the British-owned Falkland Islands.
Born on April 2
742		Charlemagne, first Holy Roman Emperor.
1725		Giovanni Casanova, Italian adventurer.
1805		Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author of fairy tales.
1834		Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, sculptor.
1840		Emile Zola, French novelist and activist.
1875		Walter P. Chrysler, founder of Chrysler Automobile Company.
1891		Max Ernst, German painter, sculptor and founder of surrealism.
1905		Kurt Adler, American conductor.
1905		Serge Lifar, dancer and opera director.
1914		Alec Guinness, British actor.
1948		Emmylou Harris, American singer.

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history#sthash.gWssDyuK.dpuf

Today In History (January 31) : What Happened This Day In History

Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

January 31

1606		Guy Fawkes is hanged, drawn and quartered for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to blow up Parliament.
1620		Virginia colony leaders write to the Virginia Company in England, asking for more orphaned apprentices for employment.
1788		The Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart dies.
1835		A man with two pistols misfires at President Andrew Jackson at the White House.
1865		House of Representatives approves a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery.
1911		The German Reichstag exempts royal families from tax obligations.
1915		Germans use poison gas on the Russians at Bolimov.
1915		German U-boats sink two British steamers in the English Channel.
1916		President Woodrow Wilson refuses the compromise on Lusitania reparations.
1917		Germany resumes unlimited sub warfare, warning that all neutral ships that are in the war zone will be attacked.
1935		The Soviet premier tells Japan to get out of Manchuria.
1943		The Battle of Stalingrad ends as small groups of German soldiers of the Sixth Army surrender to the victorious Red Army forces.
1944		U.S. troops under Vice Adm. Spruance land on Kwajalien atoll in the Marshall Islands.
1950		Paris protests the Soviet recognition of Ho Chi Minh’s Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
1966		U.S. planes resume bombing of North Vietnam after a 37-day pause.
1968		In Vietnam, the Tet Offensive begins as Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers attack strategic and civilian locations throughout South Vietnam.
1976		Ernesto Miranda, famous from the Supreme Court ruling on Miranda vs. Arizona is stabbed to death.
1981		Lech Walesa announces an accord in Poland, giving Saturdays off to laborers.
Born on January 31
1734		Robert Morris, signatory of the Declaration of Independence.
1797		Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (C Major Symphony, The Unfinished Symphony).
1919		Jackie Robinson, first African-American baseball player in the modern major leagues.
1925		Benjamin Hooks, civil rights leader.

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history#sthash.qbbcLtIU.dpuf