This Week in History

Oct 2- 1902: “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter is published in London. 1967: Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American Supreme Court justice in US

Sept 25- 1789: The US Congress approves 12 amendments to the Constitution and sends them to state legislatures for ratification. Two of the proposed changes, involving Congressional representation and pay,

Sept 18- 1793: With President George Washington in attendance to officiate the event, the cornerstone is laid for the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. 1947: The Central Intelligence Agency

Sept 11- 1857: Local militiamen in Southern Utah, aided by Native American allies, massacre some 120 men, women, and children en route to California from Arkansas. The “Mountain Meadows Massacre”

Sept 4- 476 CE: Romulus Augustulus, the last emperor of the Roman Empire, abdicates the throne and flees to Naples, marking the formal end of the empire’s 500-year history. 1888:

Aug 28- 1830: “Tom Thumb,” America’s first locomotive, races a horse-drawn stagecoach from downtown Baltimore to Ellicott Mills. Surprisingly, the race was won by the horse, when “Tom Thumb” experienced

Aug 21- 1888: American inventor William Burroughs patents his mechanical adding machine. 1911: One of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa, is stolen from the Louvre in

Aug 14- 1457: Mainz Psalter is printed by Johan Fust and Peter Schoeffer in Mainz, Germany. It was the first book to include printed publisher names and publication date; it

Aug 7- 1606: William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” is performed for the first time at Hampton Court Palace with King James I in attendance. There is no record of how many

July 31- 1620: “Religious refugees” historically referred to as “The Pilgrims” leave Leiden, Holland aboard the Speedwell, bound for England and the “New World.” 1790: The first patent is issued