19, 1982, the smiley emoticon was
invented as Carnegie Mellon University Professor Scott E. Fahlman proposed
punctuating humorously intended computer messages by employing a colon followed
by a hyphen and a parenthesis as a horizontal "smiley face." :-)
On this date:
In 1777, the first Battle of
Saratoga was fought during the Revolutionary War; although the British forces
succeeded in driving out the American troops, the Americans prevailed in a
second battle the following month.
In 1796, President George
Washington's farewell address was published.
In 1881, the 20th president of the
United States, James A. Garfield, died 2 1/2 months after being shot by Charles
Guiteau; Chester Alan Arthur became president.
In 1934, Bruno Hauptmann was
arrested in New York and charged with the kidnap-murder of Charles A. Lindbergh
Jr.
In 1945, Nazi radio propagandist
William Joyce, known as "Lord Haw-Haw," was convicted of treason and
sentenced to death by a British court.
In 1957, the United States
conducted its first contained underground nuclear test, code-named Rainier, in
the Nevada desert.
In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev, visiting Los Angeles, reacted angrily upon being told that, for
security reasons, he wouldn't get to visit Disneyland.
In 1960, Cuban leader Fidel Castro,
in New York to visit the United Nations, angrily checked out of the Shelburne
Hotel in a dispute with the management; Castro ended up staying at the Hotel
Theresa in Harlem.
In 1961, Barney and Betty Hill, a
New Hampshire couple driving home from vacation, experienced what they later
claimed under hypnosis was a short-term abduction by extraterrestrials.
In 1962, the Western TV series
"The Virginian" debuted on NBC.
In 1970, the situation comedy
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" debuted on CBS-TV.
In 1985, the Mexico City area was
struck by a devastating earthquake that killed at least 9,500 people.
Ten years ago: Former Hurricane
Isabel raced from Virginia to Canada, delivering far less rain than expected
but leaving millions without power. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's defense
minister, Sultan Hashim Ahmad, surrendered to U.S. forces.
Five years ago: Struggling to stave
off financial catastrophe, the Bush administration laid out a radical bailout
plan calling for a takeover of half-trillion dollars or more in worthless
mortgages and other bad debt held by tottering institutions. Relieved investors
sent stocks soaring on Wall Street and around the globe.
China's food safety crisis widened
after the industrial chemical melamine was found in milk produced by three of
the country's leading dairy companies.
Hours after performing for
thousands of South Carolina college students, former Blink-182 drummer Travis
Barker and celebrity DJ AM were critically injured in a fiery Learjet crash
that killed four people. (DJ AM, whose real name was Adam Goldstein, was found
dead in his apartment on Aug. 28; he was 36.)
Baseball's new instant replay
system produced its first reversal when Tampa Bay's Carlos Pena had a two-run
double changed to a three-run homer during the fourth inning of a game against
Minnesota. (The Rays beat the Twins, 11-1.)
One year ago: Members of Congress presented
the Congressional Gold Medal to Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng
sahn soo chee) in a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. The Justice Department's
internal watchdog found fault with the agency's handling of a gun-trafficking
probe in Arizona that resulted in hundreds of weapons turning up at crime
scenes in the U.S. and Mexico. The inspector general's report referred more
than a dozen people for possible disciplinary action for their roles in
Operation Fast and Furious. The Windseeker ride at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena
Park, Calif., broke down, leaving about 20 riders who expected a three-minute
thrill dangling 300 feet over the amusement park for nearly two hours.
Thought for Today: "Start
every day off with a smile and get it over with." — W.C. Fields, American
comedian (1880-1946).
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