Today in history

1807 The first railway passenger service began in England.

1813 The frigate USS Essex flew the first U.S. flag in battle in the Pacific.

1857 Frederick Laggenheim took the first photo of a solar eclipse.

1901 The Mercedes was introduced by Daimler at the five-day “Week of Nice” in Nice, France.

1913 The Palace Theatre opened in New York City.

1941 The first paprika mill was incorporated in Dollon, SC.

1947 John D. Rockefeller III presented a check for $8.5 million to the United Nations for the purchase of land for the site of the U.N. center.

1954 RCA manufactured its first color TV set and began mass production.

1960 A guided missile was launched from a nuclear powered submarine for the first time.

1965 Martin Luther King Jr. led a group of 25,000 to the state capital in Montgomery, AL.

1970 The Concorde made its first supersonic flight.

1981 The Down Jones industrial avarage of selected stocks on the New York Stock Exchanged closed at its highest level in more than eight years.

1982 Wayne Gretzky became the first player in the NHL to score 200 points in a season.

1989 In Paris, the Louvre reopened with I.M. Pei’s new courtyard pyramid. 1996 The U.S. issued a newly redesigned $100 bill for circulation.