This Week in History

Mar. 6- 1836: After 13 days of fierce fighting, the Siege of the Alamo ends with the deaths of the last Texas defenders. 1857: The US Supreme Court issues its

Feb. 28– 1854: Republican Party officially organized in Ripon, WI. 1953: Molecular biologists Francis Crick and James Watson discover DNA’s double-helix structure. 1983: The final episode of the television series

Feb. 21– 1848: “The Communist Manifesto,” authored by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is published in London. 1878: The first phone directory, containing fifty names and numbers, became available in

Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day)– 1818: Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass is born into slavery in Cordova, MD. 1876: American inventor Alexander Graham Bell files for a patent for his “improvement in

Feb. 7- 1812: Author Charles Dickens is born in Landport, Portsmouth, England. 1904: The “Great Fire of Baltimore” begins, leveling 1,500 structures and damaging over 1,000 more; over $100 million

Jan. 31– 1606: The British execute conspirator Guy Fawkes for his role in the failed plot to assassinate King James I on November 5 of the previous year. “Guy Fawkes

Jan. 24- 1848: Working at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, CA, carpenter James Marshall finds traces of gold. And as they say, “The rest is history!” 1935: First canned beer (Krueger’s

Jan. 17- 1920: Prohibition era begins in the U.S. one year after ratification of the 18th Amendment. It lasts almost 14 years until ratification of the 21st amendment on December

Jan. 10- 49 BCE: In defiance of the Roman Senate, Julius Caesar leads his army across the Rubicon, triggering a civil war that would lead to his becoming “dictator for

Written exclusively for the Boone County Journal by William Rudin, Retired School Teacher & History Buff Jan. 3rd: 1977- Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs incorporate Apple Computer, Inc. and forever