Moments In Time 7/14/11

MOMENTS IN TIME

• On July 26, 1775, the U.S. postal system is established by the Second Continental Congress, with Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general. Until then there were no post offices in the colonies, so mail was typically left at inns and taverns.

• On July 25, 1832, the first recorded railroad accident in U.S. history occurs when four people are thrown off a vacant car near Quincy, Mass. A cable on a vacant car snapped them off the train and over a 34-foot cliff.

• On July 31, 1916, future racing legend Louise Smith, who will become the first woman inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, is born in Barnesville, Ga. In her first race, unaware that a checkered flag meant the finish line, Smith kept going when the race ended until someone threw out a red flag.

• On July 28, 1932, President Hoover orders the U.S. Army under Gen. Douglas MacArthur to evict Bonus Marchers — a group of World War I veterans seeking cash payments for their veterans’ bonus certificates — from Washington, D.C. MacArthur’s men set their camps on fire, and the veterans were driven from the city.

• On July 29, 1958, the U.S. Congress passes legislation establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, a civilian agency responsible for coordinating America’s activities in space. NASA was created in response to the Soviet Union’s Oct. 4, 1957 launch of its first satellite, Sputnik I.

• On July 30, 1971, a mid-air collision between a Boeing 727 and a fighter jet in Japan kills 162 people. At 28,000 feet the Boeing suddenly encountered two military jets. One was flown by a student who had only a few hours of flying experience. Neither jet was equipped with radar.

• On July 27, 1993, Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis collapses and dies after suffering cardiac arrest while shooting baskets at Brandeis University in Boston. After previous cardiac arrhythmias, doctors had incorrectly assured him that he could continue to play.

(c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.