Today in History - October 24th

1260 - The spectacular Cathedral of Chartres (Paris, France) was dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France; the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
1861 - West Virginia seceded from Virginia.
1904 - The first NY subway opened.
1911 - Orville Wright remained in the air 9 minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, setting a new world record.
1929 - In the U.S., investors dumped more than 13 million shares on the stock market. The day is known as "Black Thursday."

The George Washington Bridge, New York

1931 - The George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, opened to traffic.
1938 - US forbade child labor in factories.

1939 - Nazi required Jews to wear the Star of David on their sleeves.
1940 - In the United States, the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
1945 - The United Nations was established less than a month after the end of World War II. The Charter was ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and The United States and by a majority of other signatories.
1948 - The term "cold war" was used for the first time. It was in a speech by Bernard Baruch before the Senate War Investigating Committee.
1960 - All remaining American-owned property in Cuba was nationalized. The process of nationalizing all United States and foreign-owned property in Cuban had begun on August 6, 1960.
1962 - During the Cuban Missile Crisis, United States military forces were put on the highest alert in preparation for a possible full-scale war with the Soviet Union. The U.S. blockade of Cuba officially began on this day.
1989 - Popular televangelist Reverend Jim Bakker was sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $500,000 for his conviction on 24 counts of fraud.
2001 - The United States House of Representatives approved legislation that gave police the power to secretly search homes, tap all of a person's telephone conversation and track people's use of the Internet.
2005 - Activist Rosa Parks died at age 92.

SCIENCE, INVENTIONS, PATENTS - Today in History, October 24th

1632- Scientist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek (Holland) created the first microscope lenses that were powerful enough to observe single-celled animals.
1861 - The first transcontinental telegraph message was sent when Justice Stephen J. Field of CA transmitted a telegram to President Lincoln.
1946 - A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket took the first photograph of earth from outer space.
2003 - In London, the last commercial supersonic Concorde flight landed.

1788 - Poet Sarah Joseph Hale was born. She wrote the poem "Mary Had A Little Lamb."
1939 - Nylon stockings were sold to the public for the first time in Wilmington, Delaware.
1969 - Actor Richard Burton bought his wife actress Elizabeth Taylor a 69-carat Cartier diamond ring for $1.5 million.

1818 - Felix Mendelssohn, 9, performs his 1st public concert (Berlin).
1962 - James Brown recorded "Live at the Apollo, Volume I."
1963 - The Beatles left Great Britain for their first tour outside of the UK.
1968 - Mick Jagger & Marianne Faithful were arrested for possession of marihuana, released on £50 bail.
1970 - President Richard Nixon appealed to radio broadcasters to screen songs with lyrics that promoted drug use.
1973 - John Lennon sued US government to admit FBI was tapping his phone. US Government did not like the idea that John was leading the anti-war movement in the US.
1978 - In Toronto, Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) pled guilty to heroin possession. He was given a one-year suspended sentence.
1992 - Madonna's album "Erotica" was released.
2001 - The cities of Detroit and Auburn Hills settled lawsuits with Dr. Dre. The lawsuits accused the cities of censorship by threatening to arrest him if he aired a sexually explicit video at a concert.