This day in history

In 1504,

Christopher Columbus, stranded in Jamaica during his fourth voyage to the West, used a correctly predicted lunar eclipse to frighten hostile natives into providing food for his crew.

In 1796,

President George Washington proclaimed Jay’s Treaty, which settled some outstanding differences with Britain, in effect.

In 1892,

the United States and Britain agreed to submit to arbitration their dispute over sealhunting rights in the Bering Sea. (A commission later ruled in favor of Britain.)

In 1936,

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a second Neutrality Act as he appealed to American businesses not to in-

crease exports to belligerents.

In 1940,

“Gone with the Wind” won eight Academy Awards, including best picture of 1939; Hattie McDaniel won for best supporting actress, the first black performer so honored.

In 1960,

the first Playboy Club, featuring waitresses clad in “bunny” outfits, opened in Chicago.

In 1968,

the discovery of a “pulsar,” a star which emits regular radio waves, was announced by Dr. Jocelyn Bell Burnell in Cambridge, England.