Moments In Time 6/23/11

Jun 23, 20110

The History Channel

• On July 8, 1771, 2,000-pound copper-and tin bell now known as the "Liberty Bell" rings out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, summoning citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. As the British advanced toward Philadelphia in the fall of 1777, the bell was removed from the city and hidden in Allentown to save it from being melted down by the British and used to make cannons.

• On July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents of the United States, respectively, die. Both men had been central in the drafting of the historic document.

• On July 5, 1865, in London, revivalist preacher William Booth and his wife Catherine establish the Christian Mission, later known as the Salvation Army, to wage war against the evils of poverty and religious indifference.

• On July 7, 1930, construction of the Hoover Dam begins. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men would produce what would be the largest dam of its time. Today, the Hoover Dam generates enough energy each year to serve more than a million people.

• On July 9, 1947, in a ceremony held at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower appoints Florence Blanchfield to be a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, making her the first woman in U.S. history to hold permanent military rank. Blanchfield had served as superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps during World War II.

• On July 6, 1957, Liverpool teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time. Lennon was a member of the Quarry Men, scheduled to play at a public event. Two weeks, Lennon invited McCartney to join the Quarry Men.

• On July 10, 1962, the United States Patent Office issues Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin a patent for his three-point automobile safety belt. The traditional two-point belt had been known to cause severe internal abdominal injuries in the event of a high-speed crash.

Synd., Inc.