Chief Writing Wolf

1769 – Gaspar de Portola, a Spanish army captain, and Juan Crespi, a Franciscan priest, stopped in what is now Los Angeles on their way north from San Diego.  They liked the area and named it Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula, or “Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula.”  Porciuncula was a chapel in Italy.

Gaspar de Portola

1871 – Artist John Sloan (South Beach Bathers; cofounder of Ashcan Art) was born in Lock Haven, PA.

1923 – President Warren G. Harding died of a stroke in San Francisco, CA, after returning from a trip to the Alaska territory.  Vice-President Calvin Coolidge became the nation’s 30^th President.  Harding’s death came just as the “Teapot Dome” scandal broke.

1934 – Upon the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler became the nation’s absolute leader.

1985 – Delta Flight 191 crashed as it approached Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport, killing 135 people and injuring 15.  A newly-identified weather phenomenon known as wind shear was blamed for the disaster.

1990 – Iraqi military forces invaded Kuwait.

1992 – At the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, Jackie Joyner-Kersee became the first woman to win 2 consecutive Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon.

1291 – A pact was made to form the Swiss Confederation.  The anniversary of this founding has been celebrated as National Day in Switzerland since 1891.

1770 – Explorer William Clark was born in Caroline County, VA.

1779 – Attorney – poet Francis Scott Key (The Star-Spangled Banner) was born in Carroll County, MD.

1819 – Author Herman Melville (Moby Dick, Redburn, Typee, Omoo, White-Jacket) was born in New York City.

1876 – Colorado became the 38^th state of the United States.

1940 – John Fitzgerald Kennedy, then age 23, published his first book, Why England Slept.

1953 – The Alcoa (Aluminum Corporation of America) Building in Pittsburgh, PA, the first aluminum-faced building constructed in America, was completed.

1981 – The MTV (Music Television) Network made its debut.