This day in history

Some interesting historical events that happened today include;

1774- Scientist Joseph Priestly isolated oxygen from the air for the first time and soon published his results. Chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele performed experiments and made similar observations  earlier the same year but delayed publishing his discovery until 1777

1834- the British Empire abolished slavery with the Slavery Abolition Act

1876- the US admitted Colorado to the Union as the 38th state

1893- Nebraska senator and lawyer, Henry Perky, patented shredded wheat. He later founded the Natural Food Company in Niagara Falls, NY. The company later started producing Triscuits

1907- Lord Baden-Powell hosted the first scout camp for boys at Broensea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. The camp would lead to a worldwide scouting organization and inspired Girl Scouts

1907- US Army established the Signal Corps, the first aeronautical division in the US military. It was the precursor to the US Air Force

1936- Adolf Hitler presided over the opening ceremonies of the Berlin Olympics. Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals and Hitler left the stands rather than interact with him. 

1961- the Joint Chiefs of Staff established the Defense Intelligence Acgency (DIA) under the direction of Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara. The organization integrated military intelligence efforts

1993- the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY inducted right fielder Reggie Jackson

1984- Ghostbusters ranked #1 at the box office

Some notable birthdays include

William Clark (1770) - he and Merriwether Lewis made their expedition in 1804 that lasted for over 2 years and 8000 miles

Herman Melville (1819)

Francis Scott Key (1779)

Charlotte Hughes (1877) - born in Hartlepool, UK, she lived to the age of 115. She lived through 27 changes in Prime Minister, 6 monarchs, women's suffrage movement, 2 world wars, the sinking of the Titanic, the Beatles and more.

Dom DeLuise (1933)

Yves St. Laurent (1936) - he launched his fashion label in 1961

Jerry Garcia (1942) - lead guitarist and vocalist of the Grateful Dead (fun fact: the band was originally known as The Warlocks)

Tommy Bolin (1951) - guitarist and songwriter for Deep Purple

Coolio (1963)

Tempestt Bledsoe (1973) - Vanessa Huxtable on The Cosby Show

Jason Momoa (1979)