This Day in History Class

On this day in 1836, the Mexican army defeated a group of Texas rebels at the Battle of the Alamo.

On this day in 1963, the Wham-O toy company received a patent for the Hula Hoop.

On this day in 1952, American writer Ernest Hemingway finished the manuscript for his classic novella “The Old Man and the Sea.”

On this day in 1983, the Swatch Group released its first collection of watches in Zürich, Switzerland.

On this day in 1288, according to Scottish legend, Queen Margaret passed a law allowing women to propose marriage to men on Leap Day.

On this day in 1995, the Denver International Airport officially opened to the public.

On this day in 1964, the Italian government began accepting proposals for how to save the Leaning Tower of Pisa from collapsing.

On this day in 1928, legendary musician Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

On this day in 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima, six Marines planted the U.S. flag at the summit of Mount Suribachi.

On this day in 1986, the original “Legend of Zelda" video game was released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System.

On this day in 1939, a crowd of 20,000 Nazi sympathizers staged a rally in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

On this day in 1953, the State of Georgia created the first literature censorship board in the United States.

On this day in 1932, Illinois farmer James Markham received the first fruit tree patent for his hybrid peach tree.

On this day in 1943, the now-famous “We Can Do It!” poster was first displayed in several Westinghouse factories.

On this day in 1962, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gave the first televised tour of the White House.

On this day in 1923, the New York Renaissance basketball team was formed in Harlem.

On this day in 1994, Edvard Munch's world-famous painting “The Scream" was stolen from the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway.

On this day in 1895, the first game of volleyball was played at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

On this day in 1968, white state troopers shot and killed three unarmed Black students on a college campus in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

On this day in 1976, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon claimed the top spot on the U.S. singles chart.

On this day in 1938, three massive waves created chaos on Australia’s Bondi Beach.

On this day in 1945, U.S. forces began a secret operation to distribute Allied propaganda through Germany’s own postal service.

On this day in 1913, New York City’s Grand Central Terminal was officially opened to the public.

On this day in 1884, the first section of the Oxford English Dictionary was published, covering the words “a” through “ant.”

On this day in 1945, American soldier Edward Slovik was shot to death for deserting his post.

On this day in 9 BC, the Altar of Peace was dedicated in Rome as a tribute to Caesar Augustus.

On this day in 1929, the Seeing Eye was established as the first guide dog training school in the United States.

On this day in 1892, pioneering aviator Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas.

On this day in 1759, celebrated poet Robert Burns was born in Alloway, Scotland.

On this day in 1908, the first installment of Robert Baden-Powell’s “Scouting for Boys” was published in England.

On this day in 1968, the USS Pueblo and its 83 crew members were captured at sea by North Korean forces.

On this day in 1997, Tulsa resident Lottie Williams was struck by falling debris from a Delta II rocket.

On this day in 1943, legendary rock singer Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas.

On this day in 1975, the groundbreaking sitcom "The Jeffersons" aired for the first time on CBS.

On this day in 1917, Denmark sold the islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Saint Croix to the United States.

On this day in 1547, 16-year-old Ivan Vasilyevich was proclaimed the first tsar of Russia.

On this day in 1951, Ilse Koch was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity.

On this day in 1863, Hindu spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda was born in Kolkata, India.

On this day in 1922, Canadian teenager Leonard Thompson became the first diabetic patient to be treated with insulin.

On this day in 1952, Cecil B. DeMille's "The Greatest Show on Earth" premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

On this day in 1868, the last ship to take British convicts to Australia arrived at the port of Fremantle.

On this day in 1811, the German Coast Uprising, a slave revolt in modern-day Louisiana, began. On this day in 1867, the U.S. Congress passed the District of Columbia Suffrage Bill, granting African American men the right to vote for the first time in the nation’s history.

On this day in 1893, blues and folk musician Elizabeth Cotten was born near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. On this day in 1980, “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang became the first hip hop song ever to break into the Billboard Top 40.

Topsy the Elephant was electrocuted on this day in 1903. On this day in 1809, French educator Louis Braille, namesake of the Braille reading and writing system, was born.

On this day in 1848, Black American merchant Joseph Jenkins Roberts was sworn in as the first president of Liberia. On this day in 1946, William Joyce, better known to the British as Lord Haw-Haw, was put to death for betraying his country on behalf of Nazi Germany.

On this day in 1566, eccentric astronomer Tyco Brahe lost a large chunk of his nose in a sword duel with his third cousin.

On this day in 1917, Baltimore journalist Henry L. Mencken published a faux history of the bathtub titled “A Neglected Anniversary."

On this day in 1944, the Roosevelt administration seized control of the Montgomery Ward company for a second time.

On this day in 1947, a record-breaking snowstorm wreaked havoc in New York City.

On this day in 1223, St. Francis created the world's first Nativity scene in Greccio, Italy.

On this day in 1882, the first Christmas tree with electric lights was displayed at the home of Edward Hibberd Johnson.

On this day in 1970, rock icon Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon at the White House.

On this day in 1946, Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" premiered at the Globe Theatre in New York City.

On this day in 1854, Captain Jonathan Davis squared off against 14 bandits in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

On this day in 1965, American speed skater Ken LeBel set a world record by jumping over 17 barrels while wearing ice skates.

On this day in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association reversed its stance on homosexuality, declaring that it is not a mental illness.

On this day in 1926, acclaimed novelist Agatha Christie resurfaced after a mysterious 11-day disappearance.

On this day in 1920, Hans Riegel founded the Haribo candy company in Bonn, Germany.

On this day in 1980, a notebook containing writings and illustrations by Leonardo da Vinci was sold at auction for $5.1 million.