- 1804 First self-propelled steam locomotive makes its first run, in Wales, carrying some 20 tons of iron, wagons and men, from the Pen-y-Darren ironworks to Abercynon, a distance of 9.75 miles; designed by Richard Trevithick.
- 1836 French composer Léo Delibes born; wrote ballets Coppélia (1870) and Sylvia (1876) and the opera Lakmé (1883).
- 1848 Marx and Engels published The Communist Manifesto; inaugurating the socialist assault on Liberty, now 160 years old.
- 1916 The Battle of Verdun begins; site chosen by German General Falkenhayn to destroy the French army through attrition; 61,000 French killed, 142,000 Germans killed.
- 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson discover the DNA molecule structure, and how it encodes genetic instructions, the double-helix and hydrogen-bonded base pairs of purines and pyrimidines.
- 1960 Cuban Marxist dictator Fidel Castro nationalizes all businesses in Cuba.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Today in History: February 21
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
We reserve the right to delete comments, but the failure to delete any particular comment should not be interpreted as an endorsement thereof.
In general, we expect comments to be relevant to the story, or to a prior comment that is relevant; and we expect some minimal level of civility. Defining that line is inherently subjective, so try to stay clear of insulting remarks. If you respond to a comment that is later deleted, we may take your response with it. Deleting your comment isn't a personal knock on you, so don't take it as such.
We allow a variety of ways for commenters to identify themselves; those who choose not to do so should take extra care. Absent any prior context in which they may be understood, ironic comments may be misinterpreted. Once you've earned a reputation for contributing to a conversation, we are likely to be more tolerant in those gray areas, as we'll understand where you're coming from.