Today in History - December 28th

1065 - Today in history, Westminster Abbey was consecrated under Edward the Confessor.
1732 - "The Pennsylvania Gazette," owned by Benjamin Franklin, ran an ad for the first issue of "Poor Richard's Almanack."
1832 - On this day in history, John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the US to resign, stepping down over differences with President Jackson.
1836 - Mexico's independence was recognized by Spain.
1846 - Today in history, Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the Union.
1860 - Harriet Tubman arrived in Auburn NY, on her last mission to free slaves, having evaded capture for 8 years on the Underground Railroad
1897 - On this day in history, "Cyrano de Bergerac," the play by Edmond Rostand, premiered in Paris, France.
1902 - A Trans-Pacific cable linked Hawaii to the US.

1912 - Today in history, the first municipally-owned street cars were used on the streets of San Francisco.
1937 - The Irish Free State became the Republic of Ireland when a new constitution established the country as a sovereign state under the name of Eire.
1945 - On this day in history, Congress officially recognized the "Pledge of Allegiance."
1961 - Tennessee Williams' "Night of the Iguana," premiered in NYC.
1969 - Today in history, Neil Simon's "Last of the Red Hot Lovers," premiered in NYC.
1973 - Alexander Solzhenitsyn published "Gulag Archipelago."
1976 - On this day in history, "Fiddler on the Roof" opened at Winter Garden Theater NYC.
1981 - Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the first American test-tube baby, was born in Norfolk, VA.
1995 - Today in history, pressure from German prosecutors investigating pornography forced CompuServe to block access to sex-oriented newsgroups on the Internet.
2000 - U.S. District Court Judge Matsch held a hearing to ensure that confessed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh understood that he was dropping his appeals. McVeigh said that he wanted an execution date.

SCIENCE, DISVOVERIES, PATENTS - Today in History, December 28th

1869 - On this day in history, William E. Semple patented an acceptable chewing gum.
1877 - John Stevens applied for a patent for his flour-rolling mill.

1902 - Today in history, the first professional indoor football game was played at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1925 - George/Ira Gershwin's musical "Tip-Toes" premiered in NYC.
1944 - On this day in history, "On the Town" opened in New York City and ran for 462 performances. It featured the song, "New York, New York."
1968 - Beatles' "Beatles-White Album," went number one and stayed number one for nine weeks.