It was on this day in 1804 that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St. Louis, MO. Accompanied with about 30 other people, the exhibition was commissioned by President Jefferson to explore a large amount of land recently purchased by the United States, as well as lay claim to more land along the Pacific coast. The group would spend a year going west and then another year to return, meeting and trading with many Native Americans tribes as well as collecting scientific data about plants and animals along the way.
It was also on this day in 1904 that the Olympic Games opened in St. Louis. This was the first time the games were held in the US.
The earliest event than Wiki mentions happening on this day is “1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England” and the most recent is “2005 – The former USS America, a decommissioned supercarrier of the United States Navy, is deliberately sunk in the Atlantic Ocean after four weeks of live-fire exercises. She is the largest ship ever to be disposed of as a target in a military exercise.“
A few other things that also happened on this day are:
1948 – Israel is founded.
1955 – Warsaw Pact is formed when eight communist countries sign a treaty.
1973 – The US launches Skylab.
2001- The US Supreme Court rules that there is no basic right to use an all-natural plant, even if medically needed.
Birthday cakes goes out to Tim Roth, David Byrne, George Lucas, and Jack Bruce.