| (1775) Patrick Henry makes a fiery bid for freedom
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American lawyer Patrick Henry serves up rousing rhetoric at the House of Burgesses in Richmond, Virginia, as he makes his case for supporting military action against the British. Henry’s words “give me liberty or give me death” will resonate through the centuries. . |
| (1806) American explorers Lewis & Clark head for home
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| Having reached the Pacific Ocean the previous November, the expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark departs Fort Clatsop, in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River, to begin the formidable journey back to St. Louis, where they began two years earlier. . |
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| (1919) Mussolini establishes the Italian fascist movement
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Breaking with socialism, WWI vet Benito Mussolini merges two organizations to found his own nationalist ideological movement, the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, which will become the National Fascist Party. Now known as “Il Duce” (the leader), he will go on to align with Hitler as an Axis power in World War II. . |
| (1983) Reagan proposes ‘Star Wars’ missile defense
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| US President Ronald Reagan lays out plans for defensive orbiting lasers capable of intercepting and destroying incoming nuclear weapons. Derided by opponents as ‘Star Wars,’ the Strategic Defense Initiative will cost the US $30 billion, but it will never be fully developed or deployed.. |
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