During World War II, the U.S. 10th Army overcame the last major
pockets of Japanese resistance on Okinawa Island, ending one
of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
The same day, Japanese Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima,
the commander of Okinawa’s defense, committed suicide with
a number of Japanese officers and troops rather than surrender.
Mitsuru Ushijima
(31 July 1887 – 22 June 1945)
1962
December 28, 1978
United Airlines Flight 173 was a scheduled flight from John F.
Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Portland
International Airport in Portland, Oregon, with a scheduled
stop in Denver, Colorado.
On Thursday, December 28, 1978, the aircraft flying this route
ran out of fuel while troubleshooting a landing gear problem
and crashed in a suburban Portland neighborhood near NE
157th Avenue and East Burnside Street.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The crash site as it looks today.
On January 6, 1912, New Mexico was admitted into
the United States as the 47th state.
Spanish explorers passed through the area that would
become New Mexico in the early 16th century, they
encountered the well-preserved remains of a 13th-
century Pueblo civilization. Exaggerated rumors about
the hidden riches of these Pueblo cities encouraged the
first full-scale Spanish expedition into New Mexico, led
by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado in 1540. Instead of
encountering the long-departed Pueblo people, the
Spanish explorers met other Indigenous groups, like
the Apaches, who were fiercely resistant to the early
Spanish missions and ranches in the area.
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado
(1510 – 22 September 1554)
The Canal connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean via
the Hudson River. Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York, the
driving force behind the project, led the opening ceremonies
and rode the canal boat Seneca Chief from Buffalo to New York
City.
Work began on the waterway in 1817. Teams of oxen plowed the
ground, but for the most part the work was done by immigrants,
among them Irish diggers who had to rely on primitive tools. They
were paid $10 a month, and barrels of whisky were placed along
the canal route as encouragement.
A painting at the Syracuse Canal Museum depicts Governor Dewitt Clinton bringing water from Lake Erie to New York
City, in the ceremony known as the “Wedding of the Waters.”
The Erie Canalway today.
