December 2nd, 2008

Today in History

1993:
NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

1988:
Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state.

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.

1899:
Philippine-American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, termed "The Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.

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