Monday, June 26, 2000
History today -- 10:07 am CST, Update by The Master
- 1541: Francisco Pizarro, the governor of Peru and conqueror of the Inca civilization, was assassinated in Lima by his Spanish rivals.
- 1843: Hong Kong was proclaimed a British crown colony with Sir Henry Pottinger as its first governor.
- 1862: Battle of Mechanicsville, Ellerson's Mill, (Beaver Dam Creek), Virginia.
- 1870: The first section of Atlantic City, N.J.'s Boardwalk was opened to the public.
- 1900: A commission that included Dr. Walter Reed began the fight against yellow fever.
- 1911: Frederick Williams, inventor of an early form of computer memory, was born. An electrical engineer who had worked on code-breaking systems during World War II, Williams also made important contributions to the development of radar.
- 1917: The first American Expeditionary Force troops arrived in France during World War I.
- 1919: The New York Daily News was first published.
- 1925: Charlie Chaplin's classic comedy, "The Gold Rush," premiered at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
- 1945: The United Nations charter was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.
- 1948: The Berlin Airlift began after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of the German city.
- 1959, President Eisenhower joined Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway.
- 1963: President Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he made his famous declaration: "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner).
A.T. Hun comments: Except that it was a bad translation. "Ich bin ein Berliner" means "I am a jelly doughnut" (ein Berliner is a type of jelly doughnut). If he wanted to say "I am a (resident of) Berlin" he should have said, "Ich bin Berliner." I'm certain that the Germans understood what he meant, but I'm also sure that a few of them smiled quietly to themselves. Interestingly enough, Ronald Reagan repeated JFK's words upon a visit to Berlin. (See this page on the Urban Legends site for more information.)
Reminds me of another great translation snafu. President Carter told the Poles through an official state department translator that he was "pleased to be grasping their secret parts." - 1968: Chief U.S. Justice Earl Warren announced his intention to resign.
- 1989: A Soviet nuclear submarine carrying atomic weapons was crippled off the coast of Norway when a pipe burst in its reactor.
- 1990: President Bush, who had campaigned for office on a pledge of "no new taxes," conceded that tax increases would have to be included in any deficit-reduction package worked out with congressional negotiators.
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