Today in history

1840 Sculptor Auguste Rodin was born in Paris. His most widely known works are “The Kiss” and “The Thinker.” 1859 The first flying trapeze act was performed by Jules Leotard at Cirque Napoleon in Paris, France. He was also the designer of the garment that is named after him. 1892 William “Pudge” Heffelfinger became the first professional football player when he was paid a $500 bonus for helping the Allegheny Athletic Association beat the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. 1915 Theodore W. Richards, of Harvard University, became the first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry. 1933 In Philadelphia, the first Sunday football game was played. 1940 Walt Disney released “Fantasia.” 1953 The National Football League (NFL) policy of blacking out home games was upheld by Judge Allan K. Grim of the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. 1954 Ellis Island, the immigration station in New York Harbor, closed after processing more than 20 million immigrants since 1892. 1964 Paula Murphy set the female land speed record 226.37 MPH. 1972 Don Shula, coach of the Miami Dolphins, became the first NFL head coach to win 100 regular season games in 10 seasons. 1979 U.S. President Carter ordered a halt to all oil imports from Iran in response to 63 Americans being taken hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran on November 4. 1980 The U.S. space probe Voyager I came within 77,000 miles of Saturn while transmitting data back to Earth. 1998 Daimler-Benz completed a merger with Chrysler to form Daimler-Chrysler AG. 2002 Stan Lee filed a lawsuit against Marvel Entertainment Inc. that claimed the company had cheated him out of millions of dollars in movie profits related to the 2002 movie “Spider-Man.” Lee was the creator of SpiderMan, the Incredible Hulk and Daredevil. 2013 In New York, it was announced that the new World Trade Center was the tallest building in the United States. The height was measured at 1,776 feet. The building was also the fourth tallest building in the world at the time.