TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1789, George Washington took the oath of office in New York as the first president of the United States.

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million.

In 1812, Louisiana became the 18th state of the Union.

In 1900, engineer John Luther “Casey” Jones of the Illinois Central Railroad died in a train wreck near Vaughan, Mississippi, after staying at the controls in a successful effort to save the passengers.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed a resolution officially confirming the name of Hoover Dam, which had also come to be known as “Boulder Dam.”

In 1958, Britain’s Life Peerages Act 1958 allowed women to become members of the House of Lords.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon announced the U.S. was sending troops into Cambodia, an action that sparked widespread protest.