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.

1985:
United States Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Jay Pollard is arrested for spying (he was caught giving Israel classified information on Arab nations and was eventually sentenced to life in prison).

1964:
Second Vatican Council: The third period of the Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes.

1877:
Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record sound (this is considered to be Edison's first great invention).

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).