The Stamp Act was a major motivating force behind the American Revolution. Ironically, it was not widely enforced and was repealed years before revolution became inevitable.
1850 - Henry Wells & William Fargo established the American Express Company.
1925 - Tornadoes devastated a 219-mile path through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people. It was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
1931 - Schick marketed the first electric shaver.
1937 - A gas explosion in a school in New London, Texas, killed 296 people, mostly children. [Joe beat me to it.]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_London ... _explosion" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
1965 - Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov performed the first space walk, leaving his Voskhod 2 capsule and remaining outside the spacecraft for 20 minutes, secured by a tether.
1974 - The first Arab oil embargo, which had caused serious hardship in the U.S., ended.
1990 - Robbers disguised as policemen entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, tied up the guards, and stole paintings valued at half a billion dollars. They appeared to know which were the most valuable.
One suspect has been identified, but prosecution has not moved forward. None of the paintings has been recovered.
Now the FBI is renewing its effort to solve the crime, dangling a possible offer of immunity from prosecution.
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles ... ner_heist/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/region ... position=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Where's John Robie when you need him?
- Jim
