Bottom of the News… Friday, March 12, 2010

Good morning my fellow Rotarians. It has been awhile since I have talked about historical events. So, on this day in history, March 12th…

1755 - The first steam engine was made in New Jersey.

1884 - Mississippi opened its first state-supported college for women called Mississippi Industrial Institute and College.

1889 - Almon B. Strowger filed a patent for his new invention, the telephone. Three years later Alexander Bell’s telephone was deemed much more reliable and Strowger’s patent was revoked.

1894 – In Vicksburg, Mississippi, Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time.

1912 - The Girl Scouts we started by Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, GA. Original name was Girl Guides, but quickly changed. Almost from the beginning, they made chocolate mint and peanut butter-filled cookies for their meetings. Those eventually served as the beginnings of their national fundraising campaigns.

1951 - The comic strip, "Dennis the Menace", appeared for the first time in 16 newspapers across the U.S.

1959 – Both the US House and the Senate voted approval for Hawaii to officially become a US state.

1974 – The "Wonder Woman" TV movie was shown on ABC, starring Cathy Lee Crosby.

And how about #1 songs on this day March 12th...
1959… Venus by Frankie Avalon
1967… Penny Lane by The Beatles
1975… My Eyes Adored You by Frankie Valli
1983… Billy Jean by Michael Jackson

And finally, on this day, 2002 – I incorporated my first business and signed the paperwork on a loan, the first SBA loan for a new bank called Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust.

And there you have it headlines from this day in history as the Bottom of the News on this Friday, March 12, 2010.
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