Matt Jones' Random Acts of Verbiage

On this day…

1775 - American Revolutionary War: Representatives from the 13 colonies of the United States meet in Philadelphia and raise the Continental Army to defend the new republic. They place it under command of Cavalier George Washington of Virginia.

1838 - Birth: John Wilkes Booth, American actor and assassin of Abraham Lincoln

1869 - The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah (not Promontory Point, Utah) with the golden spike.

1872 - Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.

1886 - Birth: Karl Barth, Swiss Protestant theologian

1899 - Birth: Fred Astaire, American singer, dancer, and actor

1933 - Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.

1940 - World War II: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

1957 - Birth: Sid Vicious, English bassist (The Sex Pistols)

1960 - The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.

1960 - Birth: Bono, Irish singer (U2)

1979 - Birth: Matt Jones

2005 - A hand grenade allegedly thrown by Vladimir Arutinian lands about 100 feet from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate.

So there ya have it, what an exciting day!