On This Day In History

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AD 37 Roman Emperor Tiberius name Caligula (born as Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) as the new Roman leader. Caligula would be assassinated 4 years later. 1314 King Phillip IV of France would have Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, burned at the stake. 1507 Becoming the first woman Governor of the Netherlands was Margaret of Austria, whose father Emperor Maximilian I, made her. 1662 Thanks to Blaise Pascal, Paris France became the first place where people could ride on public buses. 1850 Henry Wells & William Fargo, who operated Wells & Fargo banks, would form American Express in Buffalo, New York. 1877 President Rutherford B. Hayes would nominate abolitionist Frederick Douglass as marshal of Washington, D.C. 1881 Making its debut at Madison Square Garden in New York City was Barnum & Bailey Circus 1882 In Tombstone, Arizona, Morgan Earp was shot to death while playing cards. Morgan was the younger brother of Wyatt and Virgil. In October of 1881 they along with Doc Holiday confronted the outlaw Cochise County Cowboys in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral 1892 Lord Stanley presented a silver cup for ice hockey winners, known as the Stanley Cup. 1920 Greece adopted the calendar by Pope Gregory XIII, known as the Gregorian calendar. Up to this point the world had accepted the Julian calendar, made by Julius Ceasar. 1940 Dictators Benito Mussolini (Italy) and Adolf Hitler (Germany) met, and the Italian dictator agreed to help Germany with its war efforts against the west. 1942 President Franklin D Roosevelt signed the War Relocation Authority, which was overseeing the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. 1945 Montreal Canadien Maurice "Rocket" Richard became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in a season. 1952 In Philadelphia, PA the first plastic eye lens for cataract patients was done 1959 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill, making it our 50th state. 1965 Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov leaves his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, making him the first person to walk in space. 1990 In Boston, MA the largest art heist in the US took place. 13 pieces of artwork estimated worth of $500 Million was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. 2014 Signing Treaty on Accession, Russia annexes Crimea, previously part of Ukraine. Happy birthday to US Vice President John C Calhoun 22nd and 24th US President Grover Cleveland French-born German engineer who invented the diesel engine, Rudolf Diesel Inventor of the gas mask and Candian doctor, Cluny MacPherson Founder and CEO of the Lillian Vernon Corporation (first company listed on US stock exchange started by a woman), Lillian Vernon American R&B singer (In The Midnight Hour), Wilson Pickett Rock singer, songwriter, and musician (Derek and the Dominos), Bobby Whitlock American speed skater (Olympic 5 gold/bronze 1988, 92, 94), Bonnie Blair We Said Goodby to 1st British Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, age 68 English engineer (rails, trains), Douglas S Galton, age 76 American mathematician who founded cybernetics, Norbert Wiener, age 69 Last King of Egypt, Farouk I, age 45 Singer and guitarist (Mama & Papas) John Phillips, age 65 English actress, Natasha Richardson, age 45 Rock n' roll guitarist and singer-songwriter ("Roll Over Beethoven"; "Sweet Little Sixteen") Chuck Berry, age 90