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October
1, 1908—On this day, Henry Ford officially introduced the Ford Model T to the American
public.
Ford had worked hard for five years to produce
a reliable and inexpensive car, succeeding on his 20th attempt. The Model T got its name
because
T is the 20th letter of the alphabet.
Ford sold more than 15 million of the two-seater vehicles before it was discontinued in
1927.
When it was first introduced, the Model T cost $850.
49
years ago
October 3, 1952—Great Britain successfully tested its first atomic bomb. The country had
started development of its atomic bomb during World War II, when 50 British scientists and
engineers worked on the successful U.S. atomic bomb program at Los Alamos, New
Mexico.
After the war, many of those scientists were enlisted into the secret effort to build an
atomic bomb for Great Britain.
In February 1952, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the announcement that he
planned to test a British nuclear bomb.
Then on October 3 the 25-kiloton bomb was detonated, or exploded, in the hull of
the HMS Plym off the Monte Bello Islands. With the success of the test, Britain
became the world's third atomic power after the United States and the Soviet Union.
6
years ago
October 3, 1995—O.J. Simpson was acquitted, or found not guilty, in the double
murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
The sensational trial of the former professional football player lasted 252 days and was
televised. Simpson was later ordered to pay millions of dollars to the families of the
victims.
This
Week in History: September 28
155 years ago
September 23, 1893—A German astronomer named Johann Galle discovered the planet called
Neptune after the ancient Greek god of the sea. It was the first planet
to be discovered with the use of mathematical calculations. Scientists had discovered a
problem with the orbit of Uranus and thought it could be caused only by the gravity of a
nearby planet. English and French scientists worked on finding the new planet but couldn't
get anyone else interested in the search. Finally, they sent their calculations to a
German astronomer in Berlin, Johann Galle, who calculated an unknown disk, which turned
out to be the eighth planet, Neptune.
37
years ago
September 27, 1976—After ten months of investigation, the Warren Commission released a
report about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The report said that there
was no conspiracy in the assassination, and that Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged, or
suspected, assassin did not have any help.
However, to this day conspiracy theories question the truth of the report. In 1978, the
House Select Committee on Assassinations suggested in a report that Kennedy was
"probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy" that could have involved
multiple shooters and organized crime.
The committee's findings, as with the findings of the Warren Commission, are disagreed
upon by many.
16
years ago
September 22, 1994—On September 22, 1985, the first Farm Aid concert was held to raise
money for and awareness about farmers in the United States.
It was arranged by country singer Willie Nelson. Fifty country, rock, and blues stars put
on a concert to raise money for farmers in the United States, many of whom were having
trouble paying for their equipment.
Nelson also wanted to teach people more about farmers and all the work that is required to
get food to Americans.
108
years ago
September 19, 1893—Governor Lord Glasgow signed the Electoral Bill, making New Zealand
the first country to grant national voting rights to women. The bill's passage followed
years of voting-rights activism. Women had signed many petitions, had attended many
meetings, and had passed a number of resolutions about their right to vote. In America,
women were not granted the right to vote until 1912. In Great Britain, women were not
allowed to vote until 1928.
25
years ago
September 17, 1976—The space shuttle Enterprise was unveiled during a NASA
ceremony in California.
The spacecraft cost almost $10 billion to build and took nearly ten years to complete.
Early space shuttles like the Enterprise were used to transport satellite equipment
into space and to carry out scientific experiments. Since then, space shuttles have
carried out many important missions, such as fixing the Hubble Space Telescope and
working on Alpha, the international space station. In all, there have been over 100
space shuttle missions to date.
7
years ago
September 19, 1994—Some 20,000 U.S. military troops landed in Haiti to oversee the
country's change back to democracy. The first democratically elected leader in Haitian
history, Roman Catholic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, had been removed from power in a
bloody military coup, or revolt, in 1991. Based on criminal evidence against the
military dictators who had taken over, the United Nations authorized the use of
force
to bring Aristide back into power in 1994. Avoiding bloodshed, Jimmy Carter, former U.S.
president, and a group of diplomats successfully came to a last-minute agreement with
Haiti's military.
October
15, Aristide returned to power. He served as president until his term ended in 1996. He
was again elected to president in 2000, an election year marked by violence and corruption
in Haiti.
88
years ago
September 10, 1913—Officially opened on this day,
the Lincoln Highway, later called Interstate 80, was
the first coast-to-coast paved road in the United States. Running from New York to
California, the Lincoln Highway traveled through the Great Plains and beyond the Great
Salt Lake toward San Francisco. Before the highway's opening, parts of the course had been
made of dirt traveled by horses. But the new highway was paved with
a vision for the future. Soon cars and trucks, not horses or trains, would become the
major source of transportation.
27
years ago
September 8, 1974—Just one month into his presidency, Gerald R. Ford pardoned, or
officially forgave, the previous president, Richard M. Nixon, for crimes that Nixon had
been involved in during his term in office. Nixon's reelection committee had been caught
spying on political opponents.
The scandal that followed was called Watergate Ford said that his pardon of the former
president was needed in order to end divisions within the government.
3
years ago
Mark McGwire, of the St. Louis Cardinals, hit his 62nd home run of the season. With that
hit, he surpassed, or beat, Roger Maris, who held the home-run record for 37 years.
Just a few weeks later, on September 27, McGwire would hit his 70th home run,
setting a new record for the most home runs in a season.
109
years ago
September 3, 1882—The first municipal, or city-owned, electric power station
began providing power in New York City. Inventor Thomas Edison developed the Pearl Street
Station. Edison also developed such inventions as the typewriter, the telephone, and the phonograph,
or record player.
62
years ago
September 1, 1939—Germany, under the control of the Nazi political party led by Adolf
Hitler, invaded Poland in a surprise attack using it's blitzkrieg, or
"lightning war" strategy. After Germany overtook Poland, the British government
demanded that Hitler remove his troops from Poland. Hitler failed
to respond to the request, forcing the beginning of World War II.
6
years ago
September 4, 1995—In 1995, baseball player Robin Ventura became the eighth player in
major league history and the first in 25 years to hit two grand slams (home runs with the
bases loaded) in one game. Ventura's team, the Chicago White Sox, beat the Texas Rangers
14 to 3.
79
years ago
August 29, 1922—In the publication The Boston Transcript, illustrator and
designer W. A. Dwiggins
defined advertising as "the only form of graphic design that gets home to
everybody." Today, advertising reaches homes in the form of television, newspapers,
radio, and most recently, the Internet.
38
years ago
August 28, 1963—A civil rights march was held in Washington, D.C., led by Martin Luther
King Jr.
On the steps of the Lincoln Monument, King delivered his "I have a dream"
speech. The Civil Rights Act was passed less than a year after this peaceful march.
4 years ago
August 31, 1997—Diana, Princess of Wales, and her
friend Dodi Al Fayed died in an early-morning car accident. The driver, Henri Paul, who
was drunk, lost control of the car in a highway underpass. He might have been driving
recklessly in an attempt to escape the paparazzi, or press photographers, who were
desperately chasing the car, trying to take pictures of the princess with her boyfriend in
return for large sums of money. Diana's bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the only one who
escaped with serious but nonfatal injuries. He was also the only one wearing his seat
belt. Millions around the world mourned the death of Diana, who was for many years highly
visible on television, in newspapers, and magazines.
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