It happened on this day…November 16th

On this day in 1676 – The first U.S. prison was established, on Nantucket island.

It Happened On This Day…November 15th

On this day in 1982 my sister gave birth to one of the greatest gifts this family ever received…my incredible nephew Jared Arthur.  Not only is he a wonderful son, grandson, nephew, brother, cousin…he is an exceptionally kind, loving and generous human being.  Happy Birthday Jared!

  

It happened on this day…November 15th

On this day in 1939 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

It happened on this day…November 14th

On this day in 1889 – Newspaper reporter Nellie Bly set off to attempt to break Jules Verne’s imaginary hero Phileas Fogg’s record of voyaging around the world in 80 days. She beat the record, needing just over 72 days for the trip.

It happened on this day…November 13th

On this day in 1940 – “Fantasia,” the Walt Disney animated movie, premiered in New York

It happened on this day…November 12th

On this day in 1954 – Ellis Island closed after processing more than 20 million immigrants since opening in the New York Harbor in 1892.

It happened on this day…November 11th

On this day in 1939 – Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” on the radio.  Today “God Bless America” is well known as a semi-official national anthem, but it was 22 years old before it was first heard in public. Irving Berlin wrote it during World War I, but it was not publicly sung until November 11, 1938, when Kate Smith introduced it on a radio broadcast.

It happened on this day…November 10th

On this day in 1969 – “Sesame Street” debuted on PBS television

It happened on this day…November 9th

On this day in 1989 – East Germany opened it borders to West Germany and allowed thousands of its citizens to pass freely through the Berlin Wall. The next day, East German troops began dismantling the wall, and less than a year later, East Germany and West Germany were formally reunited.

It happened on this day…November 8th

On this day in 1793 – The Louvre opened as a museum in Paris, though only part of the collection could be viewed.