September 8th, 2008

Today in History

1999:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third book in J.K. Rowling's hugely popular Harry Potter series, is published in the United States.

1954:
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established.

1831:
William IV was crowned King of Great Britain.

1810:
The Tonquin sets sail from New York Harbor with 33 employees of John Jacob Astor's newly created Pacific Fur Company on board. After a six-month journey around the tip of South America, the ship arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River and Astor's men established fur-trading town of Astoria, Oregon.

1636:
A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes the first college in what would become the United States, today known as Harvard University.