1798: 1798,
the U.S. Marine Corps was formally re-established by a congressional act that also created
the U.S. Marine Band.
1914: Babe
Ruth made his major-league debut with the Boston Red Sox at an annual rookie salary of
$2,900. Six years later he signed with the Yankees for $125,000.
1933: All
schoolteachers in Germany were ordered to read Adolph Hitler's
Mein Kampf
and to become thoroughly familiar with the Nazi creed.
1967: Singer
Kenny Rogers formed the group The First Edition. Their biggest hit was
"Just Dropped In to
See What Condition My Condition Was In" in 1968, followed
by
"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to
Town" in 1969.
1971: The
U.S. Department of Agriculture was allocated $19,520 to determine if a woman's place
was in the home.
1985:
Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros became the first pitcher in Major League
Baseball to strike out 4,000 batters, fanning Danny Heep of the New York Mets.
1987:
Comedian Ellen Degeneres starred on the first HBO "Women of the Night" TV
special.
1988: South
Korean police arrested 15,617 demonstrators in one day. They were concerned about security
at the Olympic Games in Seoul.
1992: A
Japanese rancher told Tokyo reporters he outfitted his cattle with pocket pagers. He said
it took the cows about a week to learn that the beep means it=s time to eat. He
just dials the beeper number and they come running.
1994: Shawn
Eckardt was sentenced in Portland, Oregon, to 18 months in prison for his role in the
attack on skater Nancy Kerrigan.
1996: Hung
Chen-chih and Wang Mei-yun were married in Taipei, Taiwan, while sitting on ostriches.
They had beat out 42 other couples for the honor by riding the ostriches for longer than
two minutes.
1998:
Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie, a casualty of the Vietnam War, was buried near his
Missouri home, after the positive identification of his remains, which had been enshrined
at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, Virginia.
2000: Tim McCarthy delivered his daughter in the
passenger seat of his 1986 Firebird, parked at the Mini-Mart. Tim and wife Melissa were
headed for the hospital, but a healthy 7-pound 10 ounce Melissa Marie couldn't wait. Tim
said he was really glad he had watched the doctor deliver the couple's first child and
"sort of remembered" what to do.
Birthdays:
