On This Day...

Still Bing-Bong-ing: Today marks 150 years of Big Ben

History

1859 - London's most famous bell, Big Ben, rang for the first time.

1879 - New York's Madison Square Garden opened.

1884 - Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented "flaked cereal".

1902 - The Boer War ended between the Boers of South Africa and Great Britain with the Treaty of Vereeniging.

1907 - The first taxis arrived in New York City. They were the first in the United States.

1909 - The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held its first conference.

1910 - The Union of South Africa was founded.

1927 - Ford Motor Company produced the last "Tin Lizzie" in order to begin production of the Model A.

1955 - The US Supreme Court ordered that all states must end racial segregation "with all deliberate speed."

1961 - South Africa became an independent republic.

1962 - Adolf Eichmann was hanged in Israel. Eichmann was a Gestapo official and was executed for his actions in the Nazi Holocaust.

1979 - Zimbabwe proclaimed its independence.

1988 - US President Ronald Reagan arrived in Moscow in an effort to relieve Cold War tensions. He was the first president to do so in 14 years.

1994 - The US announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.

1995 - Bob Dole singled out Time Warner for "the marketing of evil" in movies and music. Dole later admitted that he had not seen or heard much of what he had been criticising.

Happy Birthday

Walt Whitman, American poet, essayinst, journalist and humanist: 1819 - 1892

Don Ameche, American actor: 1908 - 1993

Denholm Elliott, British actor: 1922 - 1992

Prince Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, husband of American actress Grace Kelly: 1923 - 2005

Clint Eastwood, American actor and director: b.1930

Terry Waite, British humanitarian and author, former hostage: b.1939

Sharon Gless, American actress: b.1943

Colm Meaney, Irish actor: b.1953

D.M.C, American rapper, founding member of Run-D.M.C: 1964

Happy Birthday Walt Whitman