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Archaeologist opens tomb of King Tut
This day in History: 1923 - In Thebes, Egypt, English archaeologist Howard Carter enters the sealed burial chamber of the ancient Egyptian ruler King Tutankhamen . Because the ancient Egyptians saw their pharaohs as gods, they carefully preserved their bodies after death, burying them in elaborate tombs containing rich treasures to accompany the rulers into the afterlife. In the 19th century, archeologists from all over the world flocked to Egypt, where they uncovered a numb
Satchel Paige nominated to Baseball Hall of Fame
This day in History: 1971 - Pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige becomes the first Negro League veteran to be nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame. In August of that year, Paige, a pitching legend known for his fastball, showmanship and the longevity of his playing career, which spanned five decades, was inducted. Joe DiMaggio once called Paige “the best and fastest pitcher I’ve ever faced.” Paige was born in Mobile, Alabama , most likely on July 7, 1906, although the exact dat
First Groundhog Day
This day in History: 1887 - Groundhog Day , featuring a rodent meteorologist, is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania . According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs back into its burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring. Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas , when clergy would bless
British settlement begins in Australia
This day in History: 1788 - Captain Arthur Phillip guides a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. After overcoming a period of hardship, the fledgling colony began to celebrate the anniversary of this date with great fanfare and it eventually became commemorated as Australia Day. In recent times, Australia Day has become increasingly controversial as it marks the start of when the continent's Indigenous
Edgar Allan Poe is born
This day in History: 1809 - Poet, author and literary critic Edgar Allan Poe is born in Boston, Massachusetts . By the time he was three years old, his father had abandoned the family and his mother had died, leaving him in the care of his godfather John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant. After attending school in England, Poe entered the University of Virginia in 1826. After fighting with Allan over his heavy gambling debts, he was forced to leave school after only eight m
First gorilla born in captivity
This day in History: 1956 - A baby gorilla named Colo enters the world at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio , becoming the first-ever gorilla born in captivity. Weighing in at approximately 4 pounds, Colo, a western lowland gorilla whose name was a combination of Columbus and Ohio, was the daughter of Millie and Mac, two gorillas captured in French Cameroon, Africa, who were brought to the Columbus Zoo in 1951. Before Colo’s birth, gorillas found at zoos were caught in the wild, ofte
U.S. declares an end to the War in Iraq
This day in History: 2011 - In a ceremony held in Baghdad on December 15, 2011, the war that began in 2003 with the American-led invasion of Iraq officially comes to an end . But violence continued and in fact worsened over the subsequent years. The withdrawal of American troops had been a priority of President Barack Obama , but by the time he left office the United States would again be conducting military operations in Iraq. Five days after the 9/11 attacks , President Ge
John Lennon shot
This day in History: 1980 - John Lennon, a former member of the Beatles , the rock group that transformed popular music in the 1960s , is shot and killed by an obsessed fan in New York City . The 40-year-old artist was entering his luxury Manhattan apartment building when Mark David Chapman shot him four times at close range with a .38-caliber revolver. Lennon, bleeding profusely, was rushed to the hospital but died en route. Chapman had received an autograph from Lennon ear
Rosa Parks ignites bus boycott
This day in History: 1955 - In Montgomery, Alabama Rosa Parks is jailed for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man, a violation of the city’s racial segregation laws. The successful Montgomery Bus Boycott , organized by a young Baptist minister named Martin Luther King Jr. , followed Park’s historic act of civil disobedience. “The mother of the civil rights movement,” as Rosa Parks is known, was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1913. She worked as a seamst
“Origin of Species” is published
This day in History: 1859 - On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, a groundbreaking scientific work by British naturalist Charles Darwin, is published in England on November 24, 1859. Darwin’s theory argued that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called “natural selection.” In natural selection, organisms with genetic variations that suit their environment tend to propagate more descendants than organisms of the same species that lack the variat
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