This Day in History Class

On this day in 1985, Wilma Mankiller took office as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1776, Continental Army General Charles Lee surrendered to British forces after being caught off guard at a tavern in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1913, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa portrait was recovered from a hotel room in Florence, two years after being stolen from the Louvre in Paris. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1844, a 29-year-old dentist named Horace Wells pioneered the use of nitrous oxide in dental procedures by testing the gas on himself. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1830, American poet Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas aired for the very first time on CBS. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1949, the defeated Nationalist forces of the Republic of China established a new capital on the island of present-day Taiwan. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1972, five hours after launching from the Kennedy Space Center, the crew aboard the Apollo 17 spacecraft captured a rare image of the Earth in its entirety. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1877, at his lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey, inventor Thomas Edison made the first recording on his newly completed phonograph. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1791, Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna at the age of 35. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1961, the director of exhibitions at New York’s Museum of Modern Art realized that a picture had been hanging upside down for the past 57 days. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1979, at a concert for the British rock band The Who, eleven people were crushed to death by a crowd of overeager fans trying to get inside Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1867, British author Charles Dickens began his first American reading tour at Tremont Temple in Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1959, twelve nations signed the Antarctic Treaty, which prohibited military activity on the continent and ensured it would be used only for scientific research and exploration. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1966, the east Caribbean island of Barbados gained its independence from the United Kingdom. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1775, physician and amateur chemist James Jay invented a new kind of invisible ink, which was later put to use in the American War of Independence. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1895, the first American auto race took place in Chicago, Illinois, with six racers competing in custom, handcrafted cars. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1868, at dawn, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer led a surprise attack on a peaceful Cheyenne village along the Washita River in what is now Oklahoma. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill officially declaring that the Thanksgiving holiday would occur every year on the fourth Thursday in November. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1952, “The Moustrap,” a murder-mystery play by Agatha Christie, made its London debut at the Ambassadors Theatre. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman recorded the first European sighting of the island now known as Tasmania. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1889, an early forerunner of the modern jukebox was installed for public use at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco, California. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1968, during a turbulent year for race relations in America, actors William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols shared a prominent kiss on an episode of Star Trek . Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1934, at 17-years-old, Ella Fitzgerald became the first female performer to win Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this day in 1923, prolific inventor and entrepreneur Garrett Morgan received the patent for a traffic light signal of his own design. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.