On this day in history
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
1547: Edward VI is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
1792: The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington.
1816: Rossini's opera, The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
1872: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) opens in New York City.
1877: Tchaikovsky's ballet, Swan Lake premieres at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
1893: Parliament passes Fair Wages Act and Eight Hour Day Act covering workers in federal jurisdictions.
1933: The U.S. Congress proposes the 21st Amendment to the Constitution that will end Prohibition.
1945: Government issues Canada's first Family Allowance cheques.
1959: Diefenbaker Government cancels the Avro Arrow Fighter Program.
1962: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth.
1986: The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft which remains in orbit for 15 years.
