Today in 1812, the United States frigate United States captured the British vessel Macedonian during the War of 1812.
Today in 1870, the first United States trademark was issued. The recipient? The Averill Chemical Paint Company of New York City.
Today in 1929, Albert B. Fall, President Harding's Secretary of the Interior, was found guilty of taking a bribe in what became known as the Teapot Dome Scanda He was sentenced to a year in prison and fined $100-thousand.
Today in 1938, the Archbishop of Dubuque, Francis J. L. Beckman, denounced Swing music as "a degenerated musical system... turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people,"- and he warned that it led down a "primrose path to hell."
Today in 1954, a United States cabinet meeting was televised for the first time.
Today in 1955, the microwave oven was introduced for home use by the Tappan Company.
Today in 1958, United States Marines withdrew from Beirut, Lebanon. They had been sent in on July 25, 1958, to protect the nation's pro-Western government.
Today in 1960, the Accutron watch by the Bulova Watch Company was introduced in New York City. The first electronic watch with transistor, it was accurate to a minute per month.
Today in 1962, United States Ambassador Adlai Stevenson presented photographic evidence of Soviet missile bases in Cuba to the United Nations Security Council.
Today in 1962, American author John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.
Today in 1983, United States troops and soldiers from six Caribbean nations invaded Grenada to restore order and provide protection to American citizens after a recent coup within Grenada's Communist (pro-Cuban) government.
Today in 1990, it was announced by Defense Secretary Dick Cheney that the Pentagon was planning to send 100,000 more troops to Saudi Arabia.
Today in 1994, Susan Smith claimed her two kids were carjacked by a black man in a case that changed everything in the emotional pulse of the country – and the world when it came to mothers and children. For nine days, she made dramatic pleas on national television for the rescue and return of her children. However, following an intensive investigation and a nationwide search, on November 3, 1994, she confessed to letting her car roll into nearby John D. Long Lake, drowning them inside. Apparently, her boyfriend didn’t care for them. Smith was convicted the following July of murdering her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith, and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith. According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Smith will be eligible for parole on November 4th, 2024, after serving a minimum of thirty years.
Today in 2016, Paul Beatty became the first American to win the Man Booker Prize for his novel, "The Sellout."