Today's Importance In History October 11

Today in History October 11

1531 : The Catholics defeat the Protestants at Kappel during Switzerland's second civil war.1540Charles V of Milan puts his son Philip in control.

1727 : George II of England crowned.

1795 : In graditude for putting down a rebellion in the streets of Paris, France's National Convention appoints Napoleon Bonaparte second in command of the Army of the Interior.

1862 : The Confederate Congress in Richmond passes a draft law allowing anyone owning 20 or more slaves to be exempt from military service. This law confirms many southerners opinion that they are in a 'rich man's war and a poor man's fight.'

1877 : Outlaw Wild Bill Longley, who killed at least a dozen men, is hanged, but it took two tries; on the first try, the rope slipped and his knees drug the ground.

1899 : South African Boers, settler from the Netherlands, declare war on Great Britain.

1906 : San Francisco school board orders the segregation of Oriental schoolchildren, inciting Japanese outrage. 

1942 : In the Battle of Cape Esperance, near the Solomon Islands, U.S. cruisers and destroyers decisively defeat a Japanese task force in a night surface encounter.

1945 : Negotiations between Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and Communist leader Mao Tse-tung break down. Nationalist and Communist troops are soon engaged in a civil war.

1950 :
The Federal Communications Commission authorizes the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) to begin commercial color TV broadcasts.

1962 : Pope John XXIII opens the 21st Ecumenical Council (Vatican II) with a call for Christian unity. This is the largest gathering of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in history; among delegate-observers are representatives of major Protestant denominations, in itself a sign of sweeping change.

1968 : Apollo 7, with three men aboard, is successfully launched from Cape Kennedy.

1972 : A French mission in Vietnam is destroyed by a U.S. bombing raid .

1972 : Race riot breaks out aboard carrier USS Kitty Hawk off Vietnam during Operation Linebacker.

1975 : Saturday Night Livecomedy-variety show premiers on NBC, with guest host comedian George Carlin and special guests Janis Ian, Andy Kaufman and Billy Preston; at this writing (2013) the show is still running.

1976 :
The so-called "Gang of Four," Chairman Mao Tse-tung's widow and three associates, are arrested in Peking, setting in motion an extended period of turmoil in the Chinese Communist Party.

1984 : Astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan, part of the crew of Space Shuttle Challenger, becomes the first American woman to walk in space.

1987 : Operation Pawan by Indian Peace Keeping Force begins in Sri Lanka; thousands of Tamil citizens, along with hundreds of Tamil Tigers militants and Indian Army soldiers will die in the operation.

1991 : Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas begin.

2000 : NASA launches its 100th Space Shuttle mission.

2001 : The Polaroid Corporation, which had provided shutterbugs with photo prints in minutes with its "instant cameras" since 1947, files for bankruptcy.