November 21st, 2008

Today in History

1986:
Iran-Contra Affair: National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents implicating them in the sale of weapons to Iran and channeling the proceeds to help fund the Contras rebels in Nicaragua.

1942:
The completion of the Alaska Highway (also known as the Alcan Highway) is celebrated (the highway was not usable by general vehicles until 1943, however).

1927:
Columbine Mine Massacre: 500 striking coal miners, some with their families, were attacked with machine guns by a detachment of state police dressed in civilian clothes

1791:
Colonel Napoléon Bonaparte is promoted to full general and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the French Republic.

1783:
In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, marquis d'Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air balloon flight (flight time: 25 minutes, Maximum height: 100m, distance: 9 km).