December 2nd, 2008

Today in History

1961:
Cold War: In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba was going to adopt Communism.

1930:
Great Depression: US President Herbert Hoover goes before Congress and asks for a US$150 million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy.

1867:
In a New York City theater, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.

1851:
Newly-elected French President Charles Louis Bonaparte violently overthrows the Second Republic.

1848:
Franz Josef I becomes Emperor of Austria.