On This Day~MAR 30

 

 

  Lead Story ~ 1981, President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by  John Hinckley Jr. who shot the president to gain the affection of Jodie Foster.

After firing the shots, Hinckley was overpowered and pinned against a wall, and President Reagan, apparently unaware that he'd been shot, was shoved into his limousine by a Secret Service agent and rushed to the hospital.

The president was shot in the left lung, and the .22 caliber bullet just missed his heart. In an impressive feat for a 70-year-old man with a collapsed lung, he walked into George Washington University Hospital under his own power. As he was treated and prepared for surgery, he was in good spirits and quipped to his wife, Nancy, ''Honey, I forgot to duck,'' and to his surgeons, "Please tell me you're Republicans." Reagan's surgery lasted two hours, and he was listed in stable and good condition afterward.

James Brady, who nearly died after being shot in the eye, suffered permanent brain damage. He later became an advocate of gun control, and in 1993 Congress passed the "Brady Bill," which established a five-day waiting period and background checks for prospective gun buyers.

President Reagan recovered from his wounds and Hinckley was confined to a mental institution.

 

1867  Seward's Folly

U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward signs a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7 million. Despite the bargain price of roughly two cents an acre, the Alaskan purchase was ridiculed in Congress and in the press as "Seward's folly," "Seward's icebox," and President Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden."

 

1858  Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania patented the writing device called the pencil, with an attached eraser.

 

1870  15th Amendment adopted

Following its ratification by the requisite three-fourths of the states, the 15th Amendment, granting African-American men the right to vote, is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution.

 

1909  The Queensboro Bridge, the first double-decker bridge, opened in New York City.

 

1964  Jeopardy, developed by Merv Griffin, aired on NBC-TV for the first time.

 

1987  Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers brought $39.85 million, more than triple the record for an auctioned painting. The sale was on the 134th anniversary of the birth of the artist. Singer Don McLean wrote and sang a musical tribute to this artistic genius, titled Vincent, in April of 1972.

2002  Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900–2002)  died at age 101 ~ the widow of George VI and mother of Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Elizabeth was so enormously popular she was often referred to as the Queen Mum, and the term "Queen Mother" remains associated with her after her death. She is the only person to have been accorded the official title of "Queen Mother"

Hugs to all,  Bethe