Today In History

TODAY IN HISTORY

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The Shelby County Historical Society & Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8 to 4. They’re ready to take you back in time, located on the corner of Morse Avenue and Pine Street in Harlan. Call 755-2437 for more information

November 15th - 319th Day of the Year

1315
Swiss soldiers ambush and slaughter invading Austrians in the battle of Morgarten.

1533
The explorer Francisco Pizarro enters Cuzco, Peru.

1626
The Pilgrim Fathers, who have settled in New Plymouth, buy out their London investors.

1777
The Articles of Confederation, instituting perpetual union of the United States of America, are adopted by Congress.

1805
Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their party reach the mouth of the Columbia River, completing their trek to the Pacific.

1806
Explorer Zebulon Pike discovers the Colorado Peak that bears his name, despite the fact that he didn't climb it.

1864
Union Major General William T. Sherman's troops set fires that destroy much of Atlanta's industrial district prior to beginning Sherman's March to the Sea.

1867
The first stock ticker is unveiled in New York City.

1881
The American Federation of Labor is founded.

1909
M. Metrot takes off in a Voisin biplane from Algiers, making the first manned flight in Africa.

1917
- Kerensky flees and Bolsheviks take command in Moscow.
- 76-year-old Georges Clemenceau is named prime minister of France for the second time.

1920
Forty-one nations open the first League of Nations session in Geneva..

1922
It is announced that Dr. Alexis Carrel has discovered white corpuscles.

1930
General strikes and riots paralyze Madrid, Spain.

1937
Eighteen lawsuits are brought against the Tennessee Valley Authority, calling for its dissolution.

1942
An American fleet defeats a Japanese naval force in a clash off Guadalcanal.

1946
The 17th Paris Air Show opens at the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysees. It is the first show of this kind since World War II.

1952
Newark Airport in New Jersey reopens after closing earlier in the year because of an increase in accidents.

1957
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev asserts Soviet superiority in missiles, challenging the United States to a rocket-range shooting match.

1960
The first submarine with nuclear missiles, USS George Washington, takes to sea from Charleston, South Carolina.

1962
Cuba threatens to down U.S. planes on reconnaissance flights over its territory.

1963
Argentina voids all foreign oil contracts.

1965
- In the second day of combat, regiments of the 1st Cavalry Division battle on Landing Zones X-Ray against North Vietnamese forces in the Ia Drang Valley.
- At the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, 28-year-old Californian Craig Breedlove sets a new land-speed record–600.601 miles an hour–in his car, the Spirit of America.

1969
A quarter of a million anti-Vietnam War demonstrators march in Washington, D.C.

1976
A Syrian peace force takes control of Beirut, Lebanon.

1977
President Jimmy Carter welcomes Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the shah of Iran, and his wife, Empress (or “Shahbanou”) Farrah, to Washington.

1984
Baby Fae dies 20 days after receiving a baboon heart transplant in Loma Linda, California.

1985
Anglo-Irish Agreement signed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald.

1988
Palestinian National Council proclaims an independent State of Palestine.

1990
People's Republic of Bulgaria replaced by a new republican government.

2001
Microsoft releases the Xbox gaming console dramatically influencing the history of consumer entertainment technology.

2007
Cyclone Sidr strikes Bangladesh, killing an estimated 5,000 people.

The Shelby County Historical Society would like to thank the following area businesses for their support:
KNOD, Harlan Newspaper, Hy-Vee, Milk & Honey, Farm Table Delivery, Nelson Farm Supply, Shelby County Physical Therapy, Shelby County State Bank, State Farm-EJ Leinen, Town & Country Credit Union, Ouren Real Estate, and ThinkSpace IT.