July 1, 1862

The tax man cometh...

On this day in 1862, the United States Congress gave the green light to the tax-centric Revenue Act. The legislation, which was soon signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln, imposed a three-percent tax on people with incomes between $600 to $10,000; and also called for a five-percent levy on people with incomes reaching over $10,000. However, the Revenue Act was perhaps more notable for creating the Bureau of Internal Revenue, a government agency which was charged with collecting the revenue generated by the new taxes. Though the Revenue Act and its attendant package of taxes were allowed to lapse into legislative oblivion after the Civil War, the Bureau of Internal Revenue eventually came back to haunt America's taxpaying citizens in 1913, when the Sixteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution. Along with sanctioning the income tax, the amendment paved the path for the opening of the Internal Revenue Service, which, in its role as the official clearing house for the nation's taxes, proved to be the bureaucratic progeny of the Internal Revenue Service.

July 1, 1867

Canadian Independence Day

The autonomous Dominion of Canada, a confederation of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the future provinces of Ontario and Quebec, is officially recognized by Great Britain with the passage of the British North America Act.

During the 19th century, colonial dependence gave way to increasing autonomy for a growing Canada. In 1841, Upper and Lower Canada--now known as Ontario and Quebec--were made a single province by the Act of Union. In the 1860s, a movement for a greater Canadian federation grew out of the need for a common defense, the desire for a national railroad system, and the necessity of finding a solution to the problem of French and British conflict. When the Maritime provinces, which sought union among themselves, called a conference in 1864, delegates from the other provinces of Canada attended. Later in the year, another conference was held in Quebec, and in 1866 Canadian representatives traveled to London to meet with the British government.

On July 1, 1867, with passage of the British North America Act, the Dominion of Canada was officially established as a self-governing entity within the British Empire. Two years later, Canada acquired the vast possessions of the Hudson's Bay Company, and within a decade the provinces of Manitoba and Prince Edward Island had joined the Canadian federation. In 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, making mass settlement across the vast territory of Canada possible.

July 7, 1896

Democrats take on gold standard

The presidential campaign of 1896 was, in many ways, a battle over money. As was expected, the Republican campaign, led by the party's presidential nominee, Ohio Governor William McKinley, centered on maintaining the gold standard. On the other side of the fence, the Democrats took a cue from the Populist party and latched on to the free coinage of silver as one of their guiding issues. While the Democrat's decision to support silver shocked a number of political observers, their nominee for the Oval Office proved to be even more surprising. The Democrats had already settled on their issue, but the summer of 1896 found them without a clear candidate for the Oval Office. That all changed at the party's national convention in Chicago on July 7 when William Jennings Bryan, then just a young scribe from Nebraska, stepped to speak before the Democrat's 20,000 delegates. An ardent supporter of the silver movement, Bryan seized the reins of the party by railing against the Republican's and their "demand for a gold standard." During his speech, Bryan laid down his now famous vow against gold and the Republicans: "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." These indelible words sent the delegates into frenzy and effectively sealed Bryan's unlikely nomination as the Democrat's candidate for President. Alas, Bryan's fiery oratory proved to be no match for McKinley's fat coffers: backed by the money and influence of the nation's business leaders, the Republicans were able to lavish roughly $7 million on their campaign. Bryan, on the other hand, spent a scant $300,000 and ultimately lost his bid for the White House.

July 7, 1928

Chrysler Plymouth debuts

The Chrysler Corporation introduced the Plymouth as its newest car on this day in 1928. The Plymouth project had taken three years to complete, as Chrysler engineers worked to build a reliable and affordable car to compete with the offerings of Ford and General Motors (GM). The Plymouth debuted with great fanfare in July of 1928, with renowned aviator Amelia Earhart behind the wheel. The publicity blitz brought 30,000 people to the Chicago Coliseum for a glimpse of the new car. With a delivery price of $670, the Plymouth was an attractive buy, selling over 80,000 units in its first year and forcing Chrysler to expand its production facilities drastically. Chrysler was still negotiating its purchase of Dodge at the time, and the Plymouth played a key role in winning over the confidence of Dodge shareholders. When Chrysler released the DeSoto Six later in the year, it scored another important coup in the mid-range market, assuring its position as a competitor to Ford and GM. Chrysler's great success in the late twenties, along with its purchase of Dodge, gave the company momentum that would carry it through the Depression. Chrysler was the only car company to pay dividends to its shareholders throughout the Depression. While other companies were drowning from stifled cash flow, Chrysler managed to increase sales. In 1933 Chrysler became the only car company to best its sales of the 1929 boom year. All the while Chrysler continued to allocate resources to research and development, and by 1935 Chrysler had surpassed Ford to become the nation's second largest car company.

July 7, 1930

Building of Hoover Dam begins

On this day in 1930, construction of the Hoover Dam begins. Over the next five years, a total of 21,000 men would work ceaselessly to produce what would be the largest dam of its time, as well as one of the largest manmade structures in the world.

Although the dam would take only five years to build, its construction was nearly 30 years in the making. Arthur Powell Davis, an engineer from the Bureau of Reclamation, originally had his vision for the Hoover Dam back in 1902, and his engineering report on the topic became the guiding document when plans were finally made to begin the dam in 1922.

Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States and a committed conservationist, played a crucial role in making Davis’ vision a reality. As secretary of commerce in 1921, Hoover devoted himself to the erection of a high dam in Boulder Canyon, Colorado. The dam would provide essential flood control, which would prevent damage to downstream farming communities that suffered each year when snow from the Rocky Mountains melted and joined the Colorado River. Further, the dam would allow the expansion of irrigated farming in the desert, and would provide a dependable supply of water for Los Angeles and other southern California communities.

Even with Hoover's exuberant backing and a regional consensus around the need to build the dam, Congressional approval and individual state cooperation were slow in coming. For many years, water rights had been a source of contention among the western states that had claims on the Colorado River. To address this issue, Hoover negotiated the Colorado River Compact, which broke the river basin into two regions with the water divided between them. Hoover then had to introduce and re-introduce the bill to build the dam several times over the next few years before the House and Senate finally approved the bill in 1928.

In 1929, Hoover, now president, signed the Colorado River Compact into law, claiming it was "the most extensive action ever taken by a group of states under the provisions of the Constitution permitting compacts between states."

Once preparations were made, the Hoover Dam's construction sprinted forward: The contractors finished their work two years ahead of schedule and millions of dollars under budget. Today, the Hoover Dam is the second highest dam in the country and the 18th highest in the world. It generates enough energy each year to serve over a million people, and stands, in Hoover Dam artist Oskar Hansen's words, as "a monument to collective genius exerting itself in community efforts around a common need or ideal."

July 10, 1832

Jackson battles Biddle's bank

Up until 1832, Nelson Biddle had been the savior of the Bank of the United States. When Biddle was installed as the Bank's director in 1823, the institution was in dire fiscal shape. Biddle, a historian turned prominent financier, fast proved to be a strong manage, and thanks in large part to his firm, guiding hand, the Bank enjoyed a healthy stretch of prosperity. But, whatever his managerial acumen, Biddle was less savvy when it came to political maneuverings. In 1828, Biddle pushed against Andrew Jackson's campaign for the White House; worse yet, Biddle had forged an alliance with Henry Clay, the Whig Representative who had help squelch Jackson's bid for the Presidency in 1824. However, Biddle had cast his lot with the wrong side: Jackson stormed to victory and, once in the White House, vowed to extract revenge on his opponents. The President waited until this day in 1832 to strike against Biddle: mustering up putatively philosophical opposition to the notion of a nationally based fiscal institution, Jackson vetoed the Bank's request for a new charter. The move outraged the Bank's allies, who grumbled that the veto was motivated less by principle than Jackson's cozy relationships with business leaders. No matter his rationale, Jackson continued his crusade against Bank and in 1833 ordered that all federal funds be withdrawn from the institution. Though this move ultimately sent the nation spiraling into a nasty fiscal panic, it also helped seal the fate of Biddle and his Bank.

July 10, 1992

The Exxon Valdez captain's conviction is overturned

The Alaska court of appeals overturns the conviction of Joseph Hazelwood, the former captain of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez. Hazelwood, who was found guilty of negligence for his role in the massive oil spill in Prince William Sound in 1989, successfully argued that he was entitled to immunity from prosecution because he had reported the oil spill to authorities 20 minutes after the ship ran aground.

The Exxon Valdez accident on the Alaskan coast was one of the largest environmental disasters in American history and resulted in the deaths of 250,000 sea birds, thousands of sea otters and seals, hundreds of bald eagles and countless salmon and herring eggs. The ship, 1,000 feet long and carrying 1.3 million barrels of oil, ran aground on Bligh Reef on March 24, 1989, after failing to return to the shipping lanes, which it had maneuvered out of to avoid icebergs. It later came to light that several officers, including Captain Hazelwood, had been drinking at a bar the night the Exxon Valdez left port. However, there wasn't enough evidence to support the notion that alcohol impairment had been responsible for the oil spill. Rather, poor weather conditions and preparation, combined with several incompetent maneuvers by the men steering the tanker, were deemed responsible for the disaster. Captain Hazelwood, who had prior drunk driving arrests, had a spotless record as a tanker captain before the Valdez accident.

Exxon compounded the environmental problems caused by the spill by not beginning the cleanup effort right away. In 1991, a civil suit resulted in a billion-dollar judgment against them. However, years later, while their appeal remained backlogged in the court system, Exxon still hadn't paid the damages.

The Exxon Valdez was repaired and renamed Sea River Mediterranean. It still transports oil, but is legally prohibited from entering Prince William Sound.

July 16, 1790

Congress declares Washington, D.C. new capital

On this day in 1790, the young American Congress declares that a swampy, humid, muddy and mosquito-infested site on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia will be the nation’s permanent capital. “Washington,” in the newly designated federal “District of Columbia,” was named after the leader of the American Revolution and the country’s first president: George Washington. It was Washington who saw the area’s potential economic and accessibility benefits due to the proximity of navigable rivers.

George Washington, who had been in office just over a year when the capital site was determined, asked a French architect and city planner named Pierre L’Enfant to design the capital. In 1793, the first cornerstones of the president’s mansion, which was eventually renamed the “White House,” were laid. George Washington, however, never lived in the mansion as it was not inhabitable until 1800. Instead, President John Adams and his wife Abigail were the White House’s first residents. They lived there less than a year; Thomas Jefferson moved in in 1801.

July 16, 1918

Russia’s Romanov family executed

In Yekaterinburg, Russia, Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed by the Bolsheviks, bringing an end to the three-century-old Romanov dynasty.

Crowned in 1896, Nicholas was neither trained nor inclined to rule, which did not help the autocracy he sought to preserve among a people desperate for change. The disastrous outcome of the Russo-Japanese War led to the Russian Revolution of 1905, which ended only after Nicholas approved a representative assembly—the Duma—and promised constitutional reforms. The czar soon retracted these concessions and repeatedly dissolved the Duma when it opposed him, contributing to the growing public support for the Bolsheviks and other revolutionary groups. In 1914, Nicholas led his country into another costly war—World War I—that Russia was ill-prepared to win. Discontent grew as food became scarce, soldiers became war weary and devastating defeats at the hands of Germany demonstrated the ineffectiveness of Russia under Nicholas.

In March 1917, revolution broke out on the streets of Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) and Nicholas was forced to abdicate his throne later that month. That November, the radical socialist Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, seized power in Russia from the provisional government, sued for peace with the Central Powers and set about establishing the world's first communist state. Civil war broke out in Russia in June 1918, and in July the anti-Bolshevik "White" Russian forces advanced on Yekaterinburg, where Nicholas and his family were located, during a campaign against the Bolshevik forces. Local authorities were ordered to prevent a rescue of the Romanovs, and after a secret meeting of the Yekaterinburg Soviet, a death sentence was passed on the imperial family.

Late on the night of July 16, Nicholas, Alexandra, their five children and four servants were ordered to dress quickly and go down to the cellar of the house in which they were being held. There, the family and servants were arranged in two rows for a photograph they were told was being taken to quell rumors that they had escaped. Suddenly, a dozen armed men burst into the room and gunned down the imperial family in a hail of gunfire. Those who were still breathing when the smoked cleared were stabbed to death.

The remains of Nicholas, Alexandra and three of their children were excavated in a forest near Yekaterinburg in 1991 and positively identified two years later using DNA fingerprinting. The Crown Prince Alexei and one Romanov daughter were not accounted for, fueling the persistent legend that Anastasia, the youngest Romanov daughter, had survived the execution of her family. Of the several "Anastasias" that surfaced in Europe in the decade after the Russian Revolution, Anna Anderson, who died in the United States in 1984, was the most convincing. In 1994, however, scientists used DNA to prove that Anna Anderson was not the czar's daughter but a Polish woman named Franziska Schanzkowska.

July 16, 1945

Atom bomb successfully tested

On this day in 1945, at 5:29:45 a.m., the Manhattan Project comes to an explosive end as the first atom bomb is successfully tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Plans for the creation of a uranium bomb by the Allies were established as early as 1939, when Italian emigre physicist Enrico Fermi met with U.S. Navy department officials at Columbia University to discuss the use of fissionable materials for military purposes. That same year, Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt supporting the theory that an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction had great potential as a basis for a weapon of mass destruction. In February 1940, the federal government granted a total of $6,000 for research. But in early 1942, with the United States now at war with the Axis powers, and fear mounting that Germany was working on its own uranium bomb, the War Department took a more active interest, and limits on resources for the project were removed.

Brigadier-General Leslie R. Groves, himself an engineer, was now in complete charge of a project to assemble the greatest minds in science and discover how to harness the power of the atom as a means of bringing the war to a decisive end. The Manhattan Project (so-called because of where the research began) would wind its way through many locations during the early period of theoretical exploration, most importantly, the University of Chicago, where Enrico Fermi successfully set off the first fission chain reaction. But the Project took final form in the desert of New Mexico, where, in 1943, Robert J. Oppenheimer began directing Project Y at a laboratory at Los Alamos, along with such minds as Hans Bethe, Edward Teller, and Fermi. Here theory and practice came together, as the problems of achieving critical mass-a nuclear explosion-and the construction of a deliverable bomb were worked out.

Finally, on the morning of July 16, in the New Mexico desert 120 miles south of Santa Fe, the first atomic bomb was detonated. The scientists and a few dignitaries had removed themselves 10,000 yards away to observe as the first mushroom cloud of searing light stretched 40,000 feet into the air and generated the destructive power of 15,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT. The tower on which the bomb sat when detonated was vaporized.

The question now became-on whom was the bomb to be dropped? Germany was the original target, but the Germans had already surrendered. The only belligerent remaining was Japan.

A footnote: The original $6,000 budget for the Manhattan Project finally ballooned to a total cost of $2 billion.

July 16, 1969

Apollo 11 departs Earth

At 9:32 a.m. EDT, Apollo 11, the first U.S. lunar landing mission, is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a historic journey to the surface of the moon. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19.

The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, separated from the command module, where a third astronaut, Michael Collins, remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston a famous message, "The Eagle has landed." At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. Seventeen minutes later, at 10:56 p.m., Armstrong spoke the following words to millions listening at home: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." A moment later, he stepped off the lunar module's ladder, becoming the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.

Aldrin joined him on the moon's surface at 11:11 p.m., and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston. By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module, and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module. Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon--July 1969 A.D.--We came in peace for all mankind." At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 p.m. on July 24.

There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and one unplanned lunar swing-by, Apollo 13. The last men to walk on the moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission, left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972. The Apollo program was a costly and labor intensive endeavor, involving an estimated 400,000 engineers, technicians, and scientists, and costing $24 billion (close to $100 billion in today's dollars). The expense was justified by President John F. Kennedy's 1961 mandate to beat the Soviets to the moon, and after the feat was accomplished, ongoing missions lost their viability.

July 16, 1998

Medicare subsidiary forks over $140 million

July 16, 1998 was a dark and costly day for the Health Care Services Corporation, as the giant Medicare subsidiary agreed to settle a pack of felony charges by paying the federal government roughly $140 million. The Medicare carrier for both Illinois and Michigan, Health Care Services had been charged with eight different counts of felony, including the mishandling, and even shredding, of claims, and various attempts to manipulate and obscure evidence. On top of the hefty civil settlement, the Medicare giant also copped to charges that it had blocked government attempts to audit company records; the price tag for this confession was a mere $4 million. In the wake of these settlements, the government pledged to keep a close watch on Health Care Services and even locked the company into a "strict corporate integrity agreement."

July 18, 1940

FDR nominated for unprecedented third term

On this day in 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who first took office in 1933 as America's 32nd president, is nominated for an unprecedented third term. Roosevelt, a Democrat, would eventually be elected to a record four terms in office, the only U.S. president to serve more than two terms.

Roosevelt was born January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, and went on to serve as a New York state senator from 1911 to 1913, assistant secretary of the Navy from 1913 to 1920 and governor of New York from 1929 to 1932. In 1932, he defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover to be elected president for the first time. During his first term, Roosevelt enacted his New Deal social programs, which were aimed at lifting America out of the Great Depression. In 1936, he won his second term in office by defeating Kansas governor Alf Landon in a landslide.

On July 18, 1940, Roosevelt was nominated for a third presidential term at the Democratic Party convention in Chicago. The president received some criticism for running again because there was an unwritten rule in American politics that no U.S. president should serve more than two terms. The custom dated back to the country's first president, George Washington, who in 1796 declined to run for a third term in office. Nevertheless, Roosevelt believed it was his duty to continue serving and lead his country through the mounting crisis in Europe, where Hitler's [censored] Germany was on the rise. The president went on to defeat Republican Wendell Wilkie in the general election, and his third term in office was dominated by America's involvement in World War II.

In 1944, with the war still in progress, Roosevelt defeated New York governor Thomas Dewey for a fourth term in office. However, the president was unable to complete the full term. On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt, who had suffered from various health problems for years, died at age 63 in Warm Springs, Georgia. He was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.
On March 21, 1947, Congress passed the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which stated that no person could be elected to the office of president more than twice. The amendment was ratified by the required number of states in 1951.

July 18, 1996

Johnson makes bid for Prince

On this day in 1996, erstwhile car seating manufacturer Johnson Controls, Inc. made a bid to become the king of automotive interiors by acquiring Prince Holding Corporation. For the regal sum of $1.35 billion, Johnson snapped up a company that, for the past thirty years, had strove to "surprise and delight" drivers and passengers. Towards that end, Prince pioneered the use of electronics in car interiors; one of the company's main claims to fame was grafting lighted mirrors on to car's sun visors. This and other luxury-minded novelties made Prince an attractive partner for Johnson. Indeed, as company honcho James Keyes noted, Johnson had been looking to expand beyond the world of automotive seating "systems." Viewed in purely fiscal terms, the addition of Prince and its lucrative roster of products promised to fatten Johnson's already healthy coffers. In a statement released shortly after the deal, the companies estimated that their combined sales muscle would skyrocket Johnson's annual sales from $850 million to $6 billion.

July 24, 1911

Machu Picchu discovered

On July 24, 1911, American archeologist Hiram Bingham gets his first look at Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru that is now one of the world's top tourist destinations.

Tucked away in the rocky countryside northwest of Cuzco, Machu Picchu is believed to have been a summer retreat for Inca leaders, whose civilization was virtually wiped out by Spanish invaders in the 16th century. For hundreds of years afterwards, its existence was a secret known only to the peasants living in the region. That all changed in the summer of 1911, when Bingham arrived with a small team of explorers to search for the famous "lost" cities of the Incas.

Traveling on foot and by mule, Bingham and his team made their way from Cuzco into the Urubamba Valley, where a local farmer told them of some ruins located at the top of a nearby mountain. The farmer called the mountain Machu Picchu, which meant "Old Peak" in the native Quechua language. The next day--July 24--after a tough climb to the mountain's ridge in cold and drizzly weather, Bingham met a small group of peasants who showed him the rest of the way. Led by an 11-year-old boy, Bingham got his first glimpse of the intricate network of stone terraces marking the entrance to Machu Picchu.

The excited Bingham spread the word about his discovery in a best-selling book, sending hordes of eager tourists flocking to Peru to follow in his footsteps up the Inca trail. The site itself stretches an impressive five miles, with over 3,000 stone steps linking its many different levels. Today, more than 300,000 people tramp through Machu Picchu every year, braving crowds and landslides to see the sun set over the towering stone monuments of the "Sacred City" and marvel at the mysterious splendor of one of the world's most famous man-made wonders.

July 24, 1969

Kennedy's goal accomplished

At 12:51 EDT, Apollo 11, the U.S. spacecraft that had taken the first astronauts to the surface of the moon, safely returns to Earth.

The American effort to send astronauts to the moon had its origins in a famous appeal President John F. Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth."

Eight years later, on July 16, 1969, the world watched as Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins aboard. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, separated from the command module, where a third astronaut, Michael Collins, remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility.

Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston a famous message: "The Eagle has landed." At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. Seventeen minutes later, at 10:56 p.m., Armstrong spoke the following words to millions listening at home: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." A moment later, he stepped off the lunar module's ladder, becoming the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.

Aldrin joined him on the moon's surface at 11:11 p.m., and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston. By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module. Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon--July 1969 A.D--We came in peace for all mankind." At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 p.m. on July 24.

There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and one unplanned lunar swing-by, Apollo 13. The last men to walk on the moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission, left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972.

July 24, 1998

Merger mania continues

Merger mania seeped into international waters on this day in 1998, as Enron Corporation inked a lavish deal to acquire British-based Wessex Water, PLC. For the sum of $2.2 billion--which was reportedly paid in cash--Enron, an electricity and gas titan from Houston, Texas, made a splashy entrance on to world water utility stage. According to company officials, the deal signaled Enron's first move towards creating a global water subsidiary; Wessex Water was slated to be the crowning jewel of the new concern, which would focus on developing water distribution systems and treatment plants in Asia, Europe and Latin America. In the wake of the deal, Enron's eyes were clearly fixed on a handsome payday in the not-too distant future. As company chief Kenneth Lay noted, the "worldwide water market" was quite lucrative (company figures pegged the field's worth at $300 billion), but sparsely populated; the situation presented "tremendous opportunities for future growth as the...industry moved toward privatization and consolidation." Gazing into his crystal ball, Lay predicted that the acquisition of Wessex would swiftly push the subsidiary to the point where no longer relied on Enron's coffers to maintain its daily operations.

Questionable accounting practices and corporate fraud caused Enron's stock to plummet, leading to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001. Enron’s CEO, Kenneth Lay, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2004; his trial began in January 2006. On May 25, 2006, Lay was convicted of conspiracy and fraud.

July 28, 1841

Senate passes Fiscal Bank Bill

July 30, 1965

Johnson signs Medicare into law

On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Medicare, a health insurance program for elderly Americans, into law. At the bill-signing ceremony, which took place at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, former President Harry S. Truman was enrolled as Medicare's first beneficiary and received the first Medicare card. Johnson wanted to recognize Truman, who, in 1945, had become the first president to propose national health insurance, an initiative that was opposed at the time by Congress.

The Medicare program, providing hospital and medical insurance for Americans age 65 or older, was signed into law as an amendment to the Social Security Act of 1935. Some 19 million people enrolled in Medicare when it went into effect in 1966. In 1972, eligibility for the program was extended to Americans under 65 with certain disabilities and people of all ages with permanent kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplant. In December 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), which added outpatient prescription drug benefits to Medicare.

Medicare is funded entirely by the federal government and paid for in part through payroll taxes. Medicare is currently a source of controversy due to the enormous strain it puts on the federal budget. Throughout its history, the program also has been plagued by fraud--committed by patients, doctors and hospitals--that has cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

Medicaid, a state and federally funded program that offers health coverage to certain low-income people, was also signed into law by President Johnson on July 30, 1965, as an amendment to the Social Security Act.

In 1977, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) was created to administer Medicare and work with state governments to administer Medicaid. HCFA, which was later renamed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is part of the Department of Health and Human Services and is headquartered in Baltimore.

July 30, 1998

Hercules' acquisitive odyssey continues

On this day in 1998, Hercules Inc., a modestly monikered specialty chemicals concern, forked over a tidy $2.4 billion in cash to acquire industry cohort, BetzDearborn Inc. The deal capped off Hercules' frantic quest to snag a large-scale partner who could bolster its product line. Hercules' acquisitive odyssey began in January of 1998, when it marshaled its forces for a hostile takeover of British-based Allied Colloids PLC; however, Ciba Specialty Chemicals topped Hercules' bid and ended up winning the Allied sweepstakes. Undeterred, Hercules cut a "modest" deal to acquire a paper chemicals company, Houghton International Inc., before setting its sights on BetzDearborn. Though the acquisition fulfilled Hercules' expansionist goals, and boosted its bottom line (the company's combined revenue in 1997 was reportedly in the $3.5 billion range), BetzDearborn did not come cheap: along with paying the $2.4 billion sticker price, Hercules also agreed to swallow up $700 million of the company's debts. These hefty figures caused more than a few raised eyebrows on Wall Street; as some analysts noted, Hercules had essentially paid $72 a share for the company, a 100 percent markup on BetzDearborn's trading price of 35-7/8

August 1, 1789

U.S. passes first tarriff legislation

August 1, 1961

Texans head for the thrills at Six Flags

On this day in 1961, amusement park lovers "head for the thrills" as Six Flags Over Texas, the first park in the Six Flags chain, opens. Located on 212 acres in Arlington, Texas, the park was the first to feature log flume and mine train rides and later, the first 360-degree looping roller coaster, modern parachute drop and man-made river rapids ride. The park also pioneered the concept of all-inclusive admission price; until then, separate entrance fees and individual ride tickets were the standard. During its opening year, a day at Six Flags cost $2.75 for an adult and $2.25 for a child. A hamburger sold for 50 cents and a soda set the buyer back a dime.

The park, which took a year and $10 million to build, was the brainchild of Texas real estate developer and oilman Angus Wynne Jr., who viewed it as a short-term way to make a buck from some vacant land before turning it into an industrial complex. Wynne reportedly recouped his personal investment of $3.5 million within 18 months and changed his mind about the park's temporary status. With 17.5 million visitors in its first 10 years, the park became the Lone Star State's top for-profit tourist attraction. Today, average annual attendance at the park is over 3 million.

One of Six Flags' unique aspects was that it wasn't just a random collection of rides; it was developed around a theme: the history of Texas. The park's name was a nod to the six flags that had flown over the state at various times--France, Spain, Mexico, the Confederacy, Texas and the United States. The park's rides and attractions were grouped into six themed sections that represented the cultures of these governments and enabled visitors to experience everything from cowboy culture to Southern belles and pirates. Originally, the park was to be called Texas Under Six Flags, before it was decided that Texas should never be under anything.

Angus Wynne sold Six Flags in 1969 and in the coming years, the company expanded and was resold. Today, Six Flags, Inc. is the world's largest regional theme park company and owns and operates 30 theme, water and zoological parks in North America. In 2005, almost 34 million people spent a combined 250 million hours at Six Flags parks.

August 1, 1995

Westinghuse buys CBS

August 1, 1996

Michael Johnson brings home second gold

On this day in 1996, sprinter Michael Johnson breaks the world record in the 200 meters to win gold at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Three days earlier, Johnson had also won the 400 meters, making him the first man in history to win both events at the Olympics.

Four years earlier at the Barcelona Olympics, Johnson had been the clear favorite to win the 200 meters until he came down with food poisoning 12 days before the race. Ten pounds lighter, Johnson didn’t recover his strength in time for the competition and lost in the qualifying rounds, a major disappointment for both him and the U.S. team. (Johnson did win gold, however, as a member of the world-record breaking 4 x 400 relay team in Barcelona.)

At the 1996 Olympics, things got off to a much better start. On July 29, sporting his now-famous thick gold chain and gold track s[censored]s, he ran the 400 meters in a remarkable 43.49 seconds for a gold medal and a new Olympic record. And, as the reigning world record holder, Johnson was the heavy favorite for gold going into the 200 meter final despite a fast field. His two toughest were Frankie Fredericks of Namibia and Ato Boldon from Trinidad and Tobago. Johnson lined up in lane 3, and Fredericks, who had broken Johnson’s 22-race winning streak in the 200 on June 5, was positioned in lane 5, to Johnson’s outside. Boldon, who won bronze in the 100 meters in the 1992 Olympics, was in lane 6. At the gun Johnson stumbled slightly, but recovered quickly and passed Fredericks as they entered the first turn. Johnson then kicked it into high gear, beating his closest competition to the finish line by four strides.

After seeing his time, Johnson dropped to his hands and knees in disbelief, while Ato Boldon, who came in third behind Johnson and Fredericks, walked over to Johnson and bowed in awe. Analysis of the race later revealed that Johnson had run a 10.12 for the first 100 meters, and then blew away the field with a stunning 9.20 seconds for the last half of the race. His official time of 19.32 seconds shaved three tenths of a second off his own world record of 19.66--set six weeks prior at the Olympic trials--which had broken a 17-year-old mark.

On the same night that Johnson became the first man to win both the 200 and 400 meters in the Olympics, Marie-Jose Perec of France became the second woman to accomplish the feat. American Valerie Brisco-Hooks had won both races at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Johnson’s 200-meter record of 19.32 seconds still stands, and is considered by many in the sport to be virtually unbreakable.

August 1, 1997

Boeing purchases McDonnell-Douglas

August 6, 1837

Dow raises spirits