The U.K. and its American colonies stuck to the "old style" calendar until 1752. Some of the seminal events of American history occurred under the old calendar, out of sync with most of Europe by that time.
The rest of the world slowly caught up, with Greece holding out until 1923.
1883 - The Orient Express began operation between Paris and Constantinople (now Istanbul).
At that time, it was not a continuous train journey. It required two transfers by ferry.
1923 - Charlton Heston was born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Illinois.
1957 - The USSR launched Sputnik 1 and the Space Age.
Sputnik itself was harmless, but the fact that the Russkies could launch an object into orbit implied that they could drop a nuclear weapon anywhere on earth. The subsequent panic seems silly, now that we have all relaxed and learned to love the bomb.
1958 - British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) began the first scheduled trans-Atlantic passenger jet service, flying between London and New York.
1976 - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz resigned after making a vulgar comment that some found racially offensive (GIYF).
- Jim
