Today in History ^12/04/16

George Washington was an American soldier and statesman who served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797. During the American Revolutionary War, Washington served as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army; as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, he presided over the convention that drafted the United States Constitution and came to be known as the “father of his country” during his lifetime and to this day.

Lived: Feb 22, 1732 – Dec 14, 1799 (age 67)
Height: 6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
Spouse: Martha Washington (m. 1759 – 1799)
Children: Martha Parke Custis · Daniel Parke Custis, Jr. · Frances Parke Custis · Nellie Davis
Vice President: John Adams
Parents: Augustine Washington (Father) · Mary Ball Washington (Mother)

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Highlights

• 1759: On January 6, 1759, Washington married the wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis, then 28 years old.


• 1775: Washington assumed command of the Continental Army in the field at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in July 1775, during the ongoing siege of Boston.


• 1783: Remarking on Washington’s resignation in December 1783, and his decision to retire to Mount Vernon, poet Philip Freneau wrote: Thus He, whom Rome’s proud legions sway’d/Return’d, and sought his sylvan shade.


• 1784: Prior to these, he had a set made with real human teeth, likely ones he purchased from “several unnamed ‘Negroes,’ presumably Mount Vernon slaves” in 1784.


• 1789: On April 30, 1789, Washington was inaugurated, taking the first presidential oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City.


• 1796: Washington’s Farewell Address (issued as a public letter in 1796) was one of the most influential statements of republicanism.

— Source: wiki/George_Washington

The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan, New York City, and experiences extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.

Founded: 1945 · Lake Success, NY
Founders: United States · United Kingdom · Soviet Union · Canada · France · India · Australia · Iran · Brazil · Mexico · Turkey · Egypt · Syria · Netherlands · New Zealand
Headquarters: New York, NY
Nominations: Academy Award for Best Documentary

— Source: wiki/United_Nations

“Million Dollar Quartet” is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about the session was published in the Memphis Press-Scimitar under the title “Million Dollar Quartet”. The recording was first released in Europe in 1981 as The Million Dollar Quartet with 17 tracks. A few years later more tracks were discovered and released as The Complete Million Dollar Session. In 1990, the recordings were released in the United States as Elvis Presley – The Million Dollar Quartet. This session is considered a seminal moment in rock and roll history.

Albums: Million Dollar Quartet (Original Broadway Cast Recording) · The Complete Million Dollar Quartet · Million Dollar Quartet

— Source: wiki/Million_Dollar_Quartet

Terry A. Anderson is an American journalist. He reported for the Associated Press. In 1985, he was taken hostage by Shiite Hezbollah militants and held until 1991. In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio State Senate.

Born: Oct 27, 1947 (age 69) · Lorain, OH
Spouse: Madeleine Bassil
Founded: Vietnam Children’s Fund
Education: Iowa State University
Children: Gabrielle Anderson · Sulome Anderson

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Highlights

• 1965: He graduated from Batavia High School in 1965.


• 1983: He then joined the Associated Press, serving in Asia and Africa before being assigned to Lebanon as chief Mideast correspondent in 1983.


• 1996: His friend, Father Jenco, who died in 1996, also wrote his memoirs, Bound to Forgive, to which Anderson wrote the preface.


• 2009: In 2009, Anderson joined the faculty of the School of Journalism at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.


• 2011: In 2011, he became a visiting professional at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.


• 2013: In 2013, he acted as Honorary Chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit that supports press freedom around the globe.

— Source: wiki/Terry_A._Anderson