Things that happened on my birthday

1477 - William Caxton produced "Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres," which was the first book to be printed in England.
1820 - Captain Nathaniel Palmer became the first American to sight the continent of Antarctica. 1865 - Samuel L. Clemens published "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" under the pen name "Mark Twain" in the New York "Saturday Press."
1883 - The U.S. and Canada adopted a system of standard time zones.
1903 - The U.S. and Panama signed a treaty that granted the U.S. rights to build the Panama Canal.
1928 - The first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon premiered in New York. It was Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie," starring Mickey Mouse.
1916 - Douglas Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force in World War I, calls off the Battle of the Somme in France. The offensive began on July 1, 1916.
1936 - Germany and Italy recognized the Spanish government of Francisco Franco.
1942 - "The Skin of Our Teeth," by Thornton Wilder opened on Broadway.
1951 - Chuck Connors (Los Angeles Angels) became the first player to oppose the major league draft. Connors later became the star of the television show "The Rifleman."
1959 - William Wyler's "Ben-Hur" premiered at Loew's Theater in New York City's Times Square.
1966 - U.S. Roman Catholic bishops did away with the rule against eating meat on Fridays.
1976 - The parliament of Spain approved a bill that established a democracy after 37 years of dictatorship.
1978 - In Jonestown, Guyana, Reverend Jim Jones persuaded his followers to commit suicide by drinking a death potion. Some people were shot to death. 914 cult members were left dead including over 200 children.
1985 - Joe Theismann (Washington Redskins) broke his leg after being hit by Lawrence Taylor (New York Giants). The injury ended Theismann's 12 year National Football League (NFL) career.
1987 - The U.S. Congress issued the Iran-Contra Affair report. The report said that President Ronald Reagan bore "ultimate responsibility" for wrongdoing by his aides.
1987 - 31 people died in a fire at King's Cross, London's busiest subway station.
1987 - CBS Inc. announced it had agreed to sell its record division to Sony Corp. for about $2 billion.
1988 - U.S. President Reagan signed major legislation provided the death penalty for drug traffickers who kill.
1991 - Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon freed Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland.
1993 - The U.S. House of Representatives joined the U.S. Senate in approving legislation aimed at protecting abortion facilities, staff and patients.
1993 - American Airlines flight attendants went on strike. They ended their strike only 4 days later.
1993 - Representatives from 21 South African political parties approved a new constitution.
1994 - Outside a mosque in the Gaza Strip, 15 people were killed and more than 150 wounded when Palestinian police opened fire on rioting worshipers.
1997 - The FBI officially pulled out of the probe into the TWA Flight 800 disaster. They said the explosion that destroyed the Boeing 747 was not caused by a criminal act. 230 people were killed.
1997 - First Union Corp. announced its purchase of CoreStates Financial Corp. for $16.1 billion. To date it was the largest banking deal in U.S. history.
1999 - 12 people were killed and 28 injured when a huge bonfire under construction collapsed at Texas A&M in College Station, TX.
1999 - In Jasper, TX, Shawn Allen Berry was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the racial murder of James Byrd Jr. John William King and Lawrence Russell Brewer both received the death penalty earlier in the year for their roles in the crime.
2001 - Nintendo released the GameCube home video game console in the United States.