Today in 1620, after a month of delays off the English coast – and about two months at sea – the Mayflower spotted land…what we now know as Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Today in 1821, the first pharmacy college in the United States – the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy – held its first classes.
Today in 1862, Union General Ulysses S. Grant issued orders to bar Jews from serving under him. “Refuse all [travel] permits to come south of Jackson, Mississippi, for the present. The Israelites,” he noted. “Especially should be kept out.”
Today in 1938, glass storefronts and house windows were smashed throughout Jewish neighborhoods in Germany. Thousands of books were burned and synagogues were torched. 91 Jews were killed and over 30,000 arrested. The evening is remembered as “Kristallnacht” (Crystal Night), a sign of the destruction soon to come at the hands of the Nazis.
Today in 1965, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was created.
Today in 1989, the 27.9-mile-long Berlin Wall, the symbol of the Cold War that separated East and West Germany for 28 years, was opened at 11:17PM. Both East and West German citizens celebrated freedom as they once again could walk freely between the two states.
Today in 2014, Germany celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall; white balloons marking a stretch of the wall symbolized its disappearance.
Today in 2015, San Diego's SeaWorld announced plans to overhaul its killer whale show after controversy over the whales’ treatment.
Today in 2017, Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore was accused of sexual misconduct with teenage girls in "Washington Post" report.