Today In History.........

In 1693...............

Dom Perignon invented champagne.

In 1735................

In New York, John Peter Zenger was acquitted of libel in a court case that established the tradition of freedom of of the press in America. It's a shame what the modern press has done with this freedom.

In 1753................

George Washington was raised to Master Mason. No black helicopters were reported in the vicinity of the ceremony.

In 1790................

The U.S. Coast Guard had it's beginnings in the development and birth of the Revenue Cutter Service. I have a great deal of admiration for the Coast Guard, it and it's other predecessor the Live Saving Service has a long history on the coast of North Carolina and it's "Graveyard of the Atlantic" The unofficial motto has long been, "You gotta go out, but you aren't guaranteed that you are coming back" Brave bunch o' folks.

In 1862...............

The first Federal Income Tax was collected. And I thought gambling in Vegas was bad for pissing money away.

In 1892................

Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered with an axe in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. A daughter, Elizabeth "Lizzy" Borden was charged with the crime, but was acquitted in a trial. Based on the reading I have done on the case, I don't have any doubts that she did the crime.

In 1944.................

In Amsterdam, Holland Anne Frank and seven other people were arrested by police acting under orders of the Nazi occupation government. Anne's diary, found after World War II ended, was a testament to both the horror of the "final solution" as well as to the resilience of the human heart and soul.

Anne Frank who was 15 at the time of her arrest, died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.