On This Day...

Happy Birthday Bob Dylan: Obviously he isn't this hot, now, but still as clever...

History

1543 - Nicolaus Copernicus published proof of a sun-centered solar system.

1689 - The English Parliament passed Act of Toleration, protecting Protestants. Roman Catholics were specifically excluded from exemption.

1798 - Believing that a French invasion of Ireland was imminent, Irish nationalists rose up against the British occupation.

1822 - At the Battle of Pichincha, Simón Bolivar secured independence of the Quito.

1830 - The first passenger railroad service in the US began service.

1844 - Samuel F.B. Morse formally opened America's first telegraph line. The first message was sent from Washington, DC, to Baltimore, MD. The message was "What hath God wrought?"

1883 - After 14 years of construction the Brooklyn Bridge was opened to traffic.

1930 - Amy Johnson became the first woman to fly from England to Australia.

1967 - California Governor Ronald Reagan greeted Charles M. Schulz at the state capitol in observance of the legislature-proclaimed "Charles Schulz Day."

1976 - Britain and France opened trans-Atlantic Concorde service to Washington.

1980 - The International Court of Justice issued a final decision calling for the release of the hostages taken at the U.S. embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979.

1983 - The US Supreme Court ruled that the federal government had the right to deny tax breaks to schools that racially discriminate.

1993 - The Ethiopian province of Eritrea declared itself an independent nation.

2001 - Temba Tsheri, 15, became the youngest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Happy Birthday

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom: 1819 - 1901

Bob Dylan, American musician: b.1941

Patti LaBelle, American singer: b.1944

Priscilla Presley, American actress, wife of Elvis 1945

Alfred Molina, British actor: b.1953

Kristin Scott Thomas, British actress: b.1960