Today in History, July 20th

Every day is flush with history. July 20^th is certainly no exception.

1609 - Freedom of religion granted to Silezische protestants by Emperor Rudolf II

1749 - "Idleness is only refuge of weak minds" statement made by Earl of Chesterfield

1801 - Elisha Brown, Jr. pressed a 1,235 pound cheese ball at his farm

1808 - French Jews are to adopt family names per decree by Napoleon

1810 - Columbia declares their independence from Spain

1836 - Charles Darwin climbs Green Hill on Ascension

1858 - The first baseball game that charged a fee to viewers - New York beats Brooklyn 22 - 18

1861 - Congress of the Confederate states begin holding sessions in Richmond, Virginia

1868 - The first use of tax stamps on cigarettes

1871 - British Columbia becomes the sixth Canadian province

1872 - Mahlon Loomis patents the wireless radio

1876 - In Saratoga, New York, the first U.S. intercollegiate track meet is held, and Princeton wins

1877 - In Balt, nine are killed as military shoots on stopped railroad workers

1878 - The first telephone installed in Hawaii

1881 - Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull surrenders to federal troops

1917 - The first WWI draft lottery is held and number 258 is drawn first

1927 - The Spirit of St. Louis - Lindbergh begins New York flight

1933 - Vatican state secretary Pacelli (Pius XII) signs accord with Hitler

1935 - NBC-radio debuts the first broadcast of "Gang Busters"

1942 - Congress authorizes Legion of Merit Medal; Dmitri Shostakovitch, the Russian composer, appears on the cover of Time Magazine

1944 - Violent battles in Verrieres-hill (Normandy), Failed assassination attempt on Hitler, Death March of 1,200 Jews from Lipcani Moldavia begins, General Eisenhower visits Montgomery's headquarter in Normandy, British premier Winston Churchill flies to France to meet Montgomery

1948 - William Forster, United States Communist Party Chairman, is arrested

1952 - Fausto Coppi wins Tour de France

1953 - U.S.S.R. and Israel recover diplomatic relations

1962 - Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 13th Symphony

1964 - Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 10th String quartet

1967 - In Memphis, Tennessee, race riots break out