AND TODAY IN HISTORY.

Today in 
1752 The Pennsylvania Hospital opened as the very first 
 hospital in America. 
1808 Judge Jesse Fell experimented by burning anthracite 
 coal to keep his house warm. He successfully showed how 
 clean the coal burned and how cheaply it could be used 
 as a heating fuel. 
1812 The term "gerrymandering" had its beginning when the 
 governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, signed a 
 redistricting law that favored his party. 
1858 A French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed to have 
 seen a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes. 
1929 The Lateran Treaty was signed. Italy now recognized 
 the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City. 
1936 Pumping began the process to build San Francisco's 
 Treasure Island. 
1937 General Motors agreed to recognize the United Automobile 
 Workers Union, which ended the current sit-down strike 
 against them. 
1943 General Dwight David Eisenhower was selected to command 
 the allied armies in Europe. 
1960 Jack Paar walked off while live on the air on the 
 "Tonight Show" with four minutes left. He did this in response 
 to censors cutting out a joke from the show the night before. 
1979 Nine days after the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to 
 Iran (after 15 years in exile) power was seized by his followers. 
1982 France nationalized five groups of major industries and 39 banks. 
1984 The tenth Space Shuttle mission returned to Earth safely. 
1990 Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity. 
1990 In Tokyo, Japan, James "Buster" Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson 
 in the tenth round to win the heavyweight championship. 
2000 The space shuttle Endeavor took off. The mission was to gather 
 information for the most detailed map of the earth ever made. 
2000 Great Britain suspended self-rule in Northern Ireland after 
 the Irish Republican Army (IRA) failed to begin decommissioning 
 (disarming) by a February deadline. 
2006 In Texas, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot 
 and wounded a companion during a quail hunt.