December 2nd, 2008

Today in History

1975:
The communist Pathet Lao seizes power in Laos, and establishes the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

1962:
Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of US President John F. Kennedy, US Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to not make an optimistic public comment on the war's progress.

1954:
Red Scare: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."

1927:
Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile.

1859:
Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October 16th raid on Harper's Ferry.