On this Day in History

[latecomer91364]

February 20 commemorates the tragic day in 2003 when a fire at a rock concert in the Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, killed 100 people and seriously injured almost 200 more.

Just after 11 p.m., near the beginning of the show, Daniel Biechele, Great White’s tour manager, set off some pyrotechnics behind the performers, which set fire to the soundproofing foam on the ceiling.

Biechele and one of the nightclub owners, Michael Derderian, received 15-year sentences (four years to serve, and 11 years suspended). Derderian's brother, co-owner Jeffrey got a 10-year suspended sentence

On a personal note, Dan Biechele had, at the time, been my tenant in my guest house. A truly nice guy. The whole thing was a shame.

 

[mstrman]

On This Day in 1959, Jimi Hendrix Performed on Stage for the First Time at Just 16 Years Old (and Got Fired Immediately After)​

Jimi Hendrix had been playing music as a child for quite some time before he hit the stage for the very first time on this very day, February 20, 1959. He was only 16 years old when he made his stage debut with an unknown band at Temple De Hirsch Sinai synagogue in Seattle. And, interestingly enough, he would later be fired after the gig for being a “show-off.” In just a few years, he would become one of the greatest and most innovative rock guitarists of the 20th century, if not the greatest.

Jimi Hendrix began playing the guitar at a very young age, but would be unable to own one until he was a teenager. With a mind full of blues inspiration from the likes of B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Muddy Waters, Hendrix purchased a guitar for about $5 (equal to about $54 in today’s money) when he was 15 years old. He was largely self-taught and famously couldn’t read sheet music for his entire career. Not that he needed to, anyway.

Jimi Hendrix would play his first guitar for hours on end every day, all while watching and listening to blues guitarists like Robert Johnson. According to lore, the first song that Hendrix learned to play was “Peter Gunn” by Peter Mancini. Hendrix often had jam sessions with his childhood friend Sammy Drain, too.

With his newly purchased acoustic guitar, Hendrix formed his first band, The Velvetones. However, without an electric guitar, he was barely audible over his bandmates. Thankfully, his father eventually relented and purchased a classic white Supro Ozark for young Hendrix.

It all culminated in Hendrix’s first on-stage performance at the Jaffe Room of Temple De Hirsch Sinai synagogue in Seattle on February 20, 1959. Sadly, it doesn’t appear that any footage or audio recordings of the gig in question have survived over the years. However, I can only imagine how incredible it was, considering Hendrix got the boot for overshadowing his bandmates.

Shortly after that famed first performance, Hendrix would join The Rocking Kings and play professionally, which would eventually lead to his legendary career in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

 

[latecomer91364]

On this day in 1885, The Washington Monument was dedicated on the grounds of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Completion took a while: Construction began in 1848, when the cornerstone was laid with great ceremony on July 4, but was suspended from 1854 to 1877 due to funding challenges, a struggle for control over the Washington National Monument Society, and the American Civil War.


It is the world's tallest masonry structure.

 

[mstrman]

1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China​

From February 21 to 28, 1972, President of the United States Richard Nixon visited Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the culmination of his administration's efforts to establish relations with the PRC after years of U.S. diplomatic policy that favored the Republic of China in Taiwan. His visit was the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, with his arrival ending 23 years of no official diplomatic ties between the two countries. Nixon visited the PRC to gain more leverage over relations with the Soviet Union, following the Sino-Soviet split. The normalization of ties culminated in 1979, when the U.S. transferred diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing and established full relations with the PRC.

When the Chinese Communist Party gained power over mainland China in 1949 and the Kuomintang retreated to the island of Taiwan (a former Qing prefecture turned Japanese colony that was acquired following the Surrender of Japan in 1945) after the de facto end of the Chinese Civil War, the United States continued to recognize the Republic of China (ROC) as the sole government of China, now based out of Taipei. Before his election as president in 1968, former vice president Richard Nixon hinted at establishing a new relationship with the PRC. Early in his first term, Nixon, through his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, sent subtle overtures hinting at warmer relations to the government of the PRC. After a series of these overtures by both countries, Kissinger flew on secret diplomatic missions to Beijing in 1971, where he met with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai. On July 15, 1971, the President announced on live television that he would visit the PRC the following year.

The visit allowed the American public to view images of mainland China for the first time in over two decades. Throughout the week the President and his senior advisers engaged in substantive discussions with the PRC leadership, including a meeting with CCP chairman Mao Zedong, while First Lady Pat Nixon toured schools, factories and hospitals in the cities of Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai with the large American press corps in tow. Nixon dubbed his visit "the week that changed the world", a descriptor that continues to echo in the political lexicon. Repercussions of the Nixon visit continue to this day; near-immediate results included a significant shift in the Cold War balance, driving an ideological wedge between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, resulting in significant Soviet concessions and its eventual fall.

The consequences of Nixon's trip to China continue to impact politics today. Writing on the 40th anniversary of the trip, Jeffrey Bader said that the basic bargain to put common interests ahead of ideology and values which both Nixon and Mao sought had been substantially held by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Also, a "Nixon to China" moment has since become a metaphor to refer to the ability of a politician with an unassailable reputation among their supporters for representing and defending their values to take actions that would draw their criticism and even opposition if taken by someone without those credentials.

 

[latecomer91364]

On this day in 1980, the U.S. men's ice hockey team, a ragtag team of college players, defeated the Soviet Union's famed “Red Machine” during the Winter Olympics. Deemed the “Miracle on Ice,” the historic upset, which occurred in the midst of the tense Cold War, boosted morale among Americans.

The event was later made into a couple of notable movies, 1981's 'Miracle on Ice' starring Karl Malden as Coach Herb Brooks and 2004's 'Miracle' starring Kurt Russell as Brooks.

The exciting true life ending:

 

[mstrman]

Jay Z Becomes First Rapper Chosen for Songwriters Hall of Fame​

The 2017 inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame were announced Wednesday morning, with hip-hop icon Jay Z and one-man hit factory Max Martin leading a class that also includes Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and three members of Chicago.

With his induction, Jay Z becomes the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall. His standout tracks include the Alicia Keys duet “Empire State of Mind,” “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and “03 Bonnie & Clyde” with Beyoncé, among many others.

 

[latecomer91364]

February 23, 1945, while the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima was still raging, U.S. Marines from the 3rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment of the 5th Division take the crest of Mount Suribachi—the island’s highest peak and most strategic position—and raise the U.S. flag.

The iconic photo was actually the second raising of the flag, when the first, smaller flag was replaced by a bigger one, which could better be seen by troops below.

Marine photographer Louis Lowery, who was with them, recorded the event. Americans fighting for control of Suribachi’s slopes cheered the raising of the flag.

 

[mstrman]

Today in Sports - Wilt Chamberlain becomes first player to score 25,000 points in the NBA​

Biography: Wilt Chamberlain dominated the sport of basketball throughout his career, setting numerous NBA records, many of which still stand today, and changing the way the game was played.


Chamberlain excelled at basketball from an early age, setting scoring records in high school. He attended the University of Kansas, where he led the team to the NCAA finals in 1957, losing in triple overtime. After college, Chamberlain briefly played for the Harlem Globetrotters before joining the NBA in 1959 with the Philadelphia Warriors.

In the NBA, Chamberlain's impact was immediate and lasting. He scored 100 points in a single game in 1962, a record that remains unbroken. During the 1961-62 season, he averaged 50.4 points per game, another unmatched feat. Chamberlain's dominance led to changes in NBA rules, including widening the lane and prohibiting offensive goaltending.

Chamberlain's career was marked by a fierce rivalry with Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics. Despite his individual brilliance, team success often eluded him. He won his first NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967 and his second with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972.

After retiring from basketball in 1973, Chamberlain pursued various interests. He briefly coached in the ABA, played professional volleyball, and appeared in the movie "Conan the Destroyer" (1984). He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.

Chamberlain was known for his larger-than-life personality both on and off the court. He wrote two autobiographies: "Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door" (1973) and "A View from Above" (1991).

Born: August 21, 1936
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Generation: Silent Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Rat
Star Sign: Leo

Died: October 12, 1999 (aged 63)
Cause of Death: Congestive heart failure

 

[latecomer91364]

Note: Without the following event, this thread would be entirely different:

On this day in 1582, The Gregorian Calendar we use today was introduced when Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull that would erase ten days of the year—Thursday, October 4, would be followed by Friday, October 15.

This change overrode the Julian calendar, which had been the standard since 46 bce. Pope Gregory's change accounted for the fact that a solar year is slightly shorter than 365.25 days (the year length used by the Julian calendar) and created a new system to address leap years. Roman Catholic countries began using the new calendar immediately, while others were more reluctant.

Today, just four countries have not adopted the Gregorian calendar.

 

[mstrman]

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine​

On 24 February 2022, during the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. By April 2022, the invasion's initial goal of a rapid Russian victory via decapitation had failed, with Ukraine pushing back the northern arm of the invasion and preventing the capture of Kyiv. Following this, the war transitioned to more conventional fighting in the south and east of Ukraine.

In a televised address, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the invasion, calling it a "special military operation". He said that its purpose was to support the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the war in Donbas since 2014. Putin espoused irredentist and imperialist views challenging Ukraine's legitimacy as a state, baselessly claimed that the Ukrainian government were neo-Nazis committing genocide against the Russian minority in the Donbas, and said that Russia's goal was to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine.

In late 2021, Russia massed troops near Ukraine's borders and issued demands to the West including a ban on Ukraine ever joining the NATO military alliance. After repeatedly denying having plans to attack Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, Russian air strikes and a ground invasion were launched on a northern front from Belarus towards the capital Kyiv, a southern front from Crimea, and an eastern front from the Donbas and towards Kharkiv. Ukraine enacted martial law, ordered a general mobilization, and severed diplomatic relations with Russia.

Russia's invasion plan involved defeating Ukraine within ten days and capturing or killing its government, followed by "mopping up" operations, establishing filtration camps for Ukrainians, setting up occupation regimes, trying and executing people involved in the Revolution of Dignity, and annexation. Whilst the invasion failed its main goal of a rapid victory, as Ukraine pushed back the northern arm of the invasion and prevented the capture of Kyiv, Russia maintained a military occupation of the southeast of Ukraine, and several months after the invasion, unilaterally declared the annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts.

The invasion was met with widespread international condemnation. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion and demanding a full Russian withdrawal. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to halt military operations, and the Council of Europe expelled Russia. Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia and its ally Belarus and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. The Baltic states and Poland declared Russia a terrorist state. Protests occurred around the world, with anti-war protesters in Russia being met by mass arrests and greater media censorship. The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation into crimes against humanity, war crimes, abduction of Ukrainian children, and genocide against Ukrainians. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and other Russian officials.

 

[latecomer91364]

On February 25, 1964, the legend was born when 22-year-old Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, shocked the odds-makers by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston in a seventh-round technical knockout. Former champ Joe Louis called it "the biggest upset in the history of boxing."

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942. He started boxing when he was 12 and by age 18 had amassed a record of over 100 wins in amateur competition. In 1959, he won the International Golden Gloves heavyweight title and in 1960 a gold medal in the light heavyweight category at the Summer Olympic Games in Rome.

Clay turned professional after the Olympics and went undefeated in his first 19 bouts, earning him the right to challenge Sonny Liston, who had defeated Floyd Patterson in 1962 to win the heavyweight title.

Muhammad Ali passed on June 3, 2016, after a bout of respiratory illness. He remains one of the most inspirational figures in his lifetime.

RIP, CHAMP!

 

[mstrman]

Speech to 20th Congress of the C.P.S.U.​

Speech Delivered: February 24-25 1956;

At the Twentieth Congress of the CPSU February 24-25 1956, Khrushchev delivered a report in which he denounced Stalin’s crimes and the ‘cult of personality’ surrounding Stalin. This speech would ultimately trigger a world-wide split.

Comrades! In the Party Central Committee’s report at the 20th Congress and in a number of speeches by delegates to the Congress, as also formerly during Plenary CC/CPSU [Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union] sessions, quite a lot has been said about the cult of the individual and about its harmful consequences.

After Stalin’s death, the Central Committee began to implement a policy of explaining concisely and consistently that it is impermissible and foreign to the spirit of Marxism-Leninism to elevate one person, to transform him into a superman possessing supernatural characteristics, akin to those of a god. Such a man supposedly knows everything, sees everything, thinks for everyone, can do anything, is infallible in his behavior.

Such a belief about a man, and specifically about Stalin, was cultivated among us for many years. The objective of the present report is not a thorough evaluation of Stalin’s life and activity. Concerning Stalin’s merits, an entirely sufficient number of books, pamphlets and studies had already been written in his lifetime. The role of Stalin in the preparation and execution of the Socialist Revolution, in the Civil War, and in the fight for the construction of socialism in our country, is universally known. Everyone knows it well.

At present, we are concerned with a question which has immense importance for the Party now and for the future – with how the cult of the person of Stalin has been gradually growing, the cult which became at a certain specific stage the source of a whole series of exceedingly serious and grave perversions of Party principles, of Party democracy, of revolutionary legality.

Because not all as yet realize fully the practical consequences resulting from the cult of the individual, [or] the great harm caused by violation of the principle of collective Party direction and by the accumulation of immense and limitless power in the hands of one person, the Central Committee considers it absolutely necessary to make material pertaining to this matter available to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

 

[TiedbyChris]

William Joseph (Joey) Dunlop was born at Culduff, near Ballymoney, Northern Ireland on 25 February 1952. His career as a motorcycle road racer is unrivalled and earned him an MBE in 1986. He inspired loyalty from a legion of fans spread over every continent. Exhaustive humanitarian work set him apart from any sportsman of his day and for this he was awarded an OBE in 1996. The ‘King of the Roads’ was one of the most remarkable men of his generation.

Joey began racing in 1969 and within a few years had established a reputation as an exciting and talented rider. With his colleagues in the Armoy Armada he began to win trophies at circuits and road races throughout the British Isles. When his life was tragically cut short in Estonia in 2000, he had amassed a staggering 26 TT wins at the Isle of Man, 13 at the NW200, five World Championships and over 160 other victories.

 

[latecomer91364]

At 12:18 p.m. on February 26, 1993, a terrorist bomb exploded in a parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, leaving a massive, multi-story crater and causing the collapse of several steel-reinforced concrete floors in the vicinity of the blast.

Although the terrorist bomb failed to critically damage the main structure of the skyscrapers, six people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. The World Trade Center itself suffered more than $500 million in damage.

The break in the case was when investigators uncovered a vehicle identification number on a piece of wreckage that seemed suspiciously obliterated. A search of the FBI's crime records returned a match: the number belonged to a rented van reported stolen the day before the attack.

An Islamic fundamentalist named Mohammad Salameh had rented the vehicle, and on March 4, an FBI SWAT team arrested him as he tried in vain to get his $400 deposit back.

 

[latecomer91364]

On this day in 1971, Janis Joplin's album Pearl started a nine-week run at #1 on the US album chart - five months after her death. The big standout hit was the Kris Kristofferson song Me and Bobby McGee, with the also popular tune Mercedes Benz.

Joplin sang on all tracks except 'Buried Alive in the Blues', which remained a Full Tilt Boogie instrumental because she died before adding her vocals.

 

[mstrman]

2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit​

The 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit, commonly known as the Hanoi Summit, was a two-day summit meeting between North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. president Donald Trump, held at the French Colonial Hôtel Métropole in Hanoi, Vietnam, from February 27 to 28, 2019. It was the second meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the United States following their first meeting in Singapore the year prior.

On February 28, 2019, the White House announced that the summit was cut short and that no agreement was reached. Trump later clarified that it was due to North Korea's request to end all sanctions. North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho asserted that the country only sought a partial lifting of the five United Nations sanctions placed on North Korea between 2016 and 2017.

 

[ConstanceEvermuse]

1860: Abraham Lincoln posed for a portrait by Mathew Brady that helped boost his image for the 1860 presidential election.

 

[latecomer91364]

On February 27, 1960, the underdog U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviet Union team in the Olympics semifinals at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley. The next day, the U.S. beat Czechoslovakia to win its first-ever Olympic gold medal in hockey.

It would be another 20 years before the U.S. would repeat this victory with the legendary 'Miracle on Ice' at the 1980 Olympics.

 

[latecomer91364]

March 1 marks the date on which many important events have happened, from the establishment of Yellowstone as America's first national park in 1872 to the U.S. release of the legendary Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon in 1973, but I wanna talk about Squeeze.

On this date in 1974, Chris Difford placed an advert in a shop window saying: 'lyricist seeks musician for co-writing'. Glen Tillbrook answered the ad and the pair went on to form Squeeze with what I consider one of the great songwriting collaborations of the era.

The band had hits with 'Cool for Cats', 'Up the Junction', 'Tempted', 'Labelled With Love', and 'Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)' and the moderate U.S. hit If It's Love.

 

[mstrman]

Castle Bravo​

Castle Bravo was the first in a series of high-yield thermonuclear weapon design tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, as part of Operation Castle. Detonated on 1 March 1954, the device remains the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the United States and the first lithium deuteride–fueled thermonuclear weapon tested using the Teller–Ulam design. Castle Bravo's yield was 15 megatons of TNT [Mt] (63 PJ), 2.5 times the predicted 6 Mt (25 PJ), due to unforeseen additional reactions involving lithium-7, which led to radioactive contamination in the surrounding area.

Radioactive nuclear fallout, the heaviest of which was in the form of pulverized surface coral from the detonation, fell on residents of Rongelap and Utirik atolls, while the more particulate and gaseous fallout spread around the world. The inhabitants of the islands were evacuated three days later and suffered radiation sickness. Twenty-three crew members of the Japanese fishing vessel Daigo Fukuryū Maru ("Lucky Dragon No. 5") were also contaminated by the heavy fallout, experiencing acute radiation syndrome, including the death six months later of Kuboyama Aikichi, the boat's chief radioman. The blast incited a strong international reaction over atmospheric thermonuclear testing.

The Bravo Crater is located at 11°41′50″N 165°16′19″E. The remains of the Castle Bravo causeway are at 11°42′6″N 165°17′7″E.

 

[latecomer91364]

It was on this date in 1999 that we lost the fabulous British singer and 1960s icon Dusty Springfield, who passed away after a long battle against cancer. She was only 59.

With hits like You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, The Look of Love, and Son of a Preacher Man, she was known for her distinctive, husky mezzo-soprano voice and iconic, stylized image.

Singing for the troops:

 

[mstrman]

King Kong (1933 film)​

King Kong is a 1933 American pre-Code adventure horror monster film directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, with special effects by Willis H. O'Brien and music by Max Steiner. Produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, King Kong is the first film in the self-titled franchise, combining live action sequences with stop-motion animation using rear-screen projection. The idea for the film came when Cooper decided to create a motion picture about a giant gorilla struggling against modern civilization. The film stars Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, and Bruce Cabot. The film follows a giant ape dubbed Kong who feels affection for a beautiful young woman offered to him as a sacrifice.

King Kong premiered in New York City on March 2, 1933, to many rave reviews, with praise for its stop-motion animation and musical score. During its initial run, the film earned a profit of $650,000, which increased to $2,847,000 by the time of its re-release in 1952. Various scenes were deleted by censors, and in 1970, they were restored. Later, in 1991, the film was deemed "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 2010, the film was ranked by Rotten Tomatoes as the greatest horror film of all time and the fifty-sixth greatest film of all time. Various new editions of the film have also been released. A sequel, entitled Son of Kong, was made the same year as the original film, and several more films have been made, including two remakes in 1976 and 2005. The characters and story have since entered the public domain; the film's copyright is set to expire in 2029 in the US. Analysis of the film has included such topics as racial stereotypes, Ann's relationship with the other characters, and the struggle between nature and civilization.

 

[latecomer91364]

On this day in 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act making The Star-Spangled Banner the national anthem of the United States.

This was a long time in the making. The song began as a poem, 'Defence of Fort M'Henry' written by Francis Scott Key as he watched the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

The music was composed by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a gentlemen's club in London. Smith's song, "The Anacreontic Song" was adapted to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", soon becoming a popular patriotic song.

One of the best renditions:

 

[mstrman]

Rodney King​

Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965 – June 17, 2012) was an African American victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high speed pursuit for driving while intoxicated on Interstate 210. An uninvolved resident, George Holliday, saw and filmed the incident from his nearby balcony and sent the footage, which showed King on the ground being beaten, to a local news station, KTLA. The station broadcast the film, which was rebroadcast by other stations, with this exposure precipitating riots. The incident was covered by news media around the world and caused a major public uproar.

At a press conference, Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates announced that the four officers who were involved would be disciplined for use of excessive force and that three would face criminal charges. The LAPD initially charged King with "felony evading", but later dropped the charge. On his release, King spoke to reporters from his wheelchair, with his injuries evident: a broken right leg in a cast, his face badly cut and swollen, bruises on his body, and a burn area on his chest where he had been jolted with a stun gun. King described how he had knelt, spread his hands out, then slowly tried to move so as not to make any "stupid moves", before he was hit across the face by a billy club, and shocked with a stun gun. King also said he was scared for his life when the officers drew their guns on him.

Four officers were eventually tried on charges of use of excessive force. Of them, three were acquitted; the jury failed to reach a verdict on one charge for the fourth. Within hours of the acquittals, the 1992 Los Angeles riots started, sparked by outrage among racial minorities over the trial's verdict and related, long-standing social issues, overlaid with tensions between African Americans and Korean Americans. The rioting lasted six days and was the most destructive period of civil unrest in US history, with 63 people killed and 2,383 more injured; the riots only ended after the California Army National Guard, the Army, and the Marine Corps provided reinforcements in an attempt to reestablish control. King advocated a peaceful end to the conflict.

The federal government prosecuted a separate civil rights case, obtaining grand jury indictments of the four officers for violations of King's civil rights. Their trial in a federal district court ended in April 1993, with two of the officers being found guilty and sentenced to serve prison terms. The other two were acquitted of the charges. In a separate civil lawsuit in 1994, a jury found the City of Los Angeles liable and awarded King $3.8 million in damages.

 

[latecomer91364]

On this date in 1789, the U.S. Constitution went into effect as the governing law of the United States, the date having been established by the Confederation Congress after New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it on June 21, 1788. The new government began operations on this date.

The first 10 amendments, the the Bill of Rights, were adopted some months later on September 25, 1789 and were sent to the states for ratification.