Saturday, January 01, 2011

POPnews (US) - January 1st

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[The first Rose Queen was Hallie Woods in 1905; this one is Joan Culver, from 1956, while in 2009 (the first year I posted this) the Rose Queen was Courtney Chou Lee. Despite my ambivalence towards beauty pageants - an attitude that would no doubt be different if I were eligible for one - who am I not to post a photo of six fuschia organdy dresses?]

1845 - Brooklyn's Cobble Hill Tunnel was finished, running beneath Atlantic Avenue from Hicks Street to Boerum Place.

1863 - Daniel Freeman made the first claim under the Homestead Act, for a farm in Nebraska.

1890 - The first Tournament of Roses Parade was held in Pasadena, California - twelve years before the first Rose Bowl game in 1902.

1892 - Ellis Island opened its doors to new immigrants.

1898 - New York City annexed land from its surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York; the four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, were joined later that month by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.

1908 - For the first time, a ball was dropped in New York City's Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight.

1909 - Drilling began on the Lakeview Gusher in California's Midway-Sunset Oil Field; regarded as the largest oil well gusher in the world, it was drained after just 18 months, having produced 90,000 barrels a day at its peak.

1934 - Alcatraz Island became a US federal prison; it had previously served as a military prison during the US Civil War.

1939 - William Hewlett and David Packard founded Hewlett-Packard.

1942 - The Declaration by the United Nations was signed by twenty-six nations during the Arcadia Conference in Washington, DC.

1962 - US Navy SEALs were established.

1983 - The ARPANET officially changed to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.

1990 - David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City's first black mayor.
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