1819 Washington, D.C., Politics: The Florida transfer was concluded in which Spain ceded all its claims to the peninsula it had first settled at St. Augustine in 1565. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams negotiated the pact at no cost. Rather the United States took over the debts Spain had incurred in the territory, mostly claims for Americans for losses due to Spanish maladministration. Florida had long been a burden to Spain with no benefit. Adams suggested his rival Andrew Jackson as the governor of the territory, an arrangement that ensured Congressional support. This is one of the few times Quincy Adams showed political acumen.
1879 Utica (New York), Commerce: Frank Woolworth opened the first store of that name. With his brother later he opened a second in Lancaster (Pennsylvania). All items were priced at five or ten cents, these stores and their rivals (e.g., Kresge, Ben Franklin, Kress, Reitz) came to be called five-and-ten cent stores, or later, dime stores. Woolworth stores have disappeared into corporate buyouts and mergers in the United States. Those bearing that name elsewhere have no connection with these origins. Yes, we have one of those others nearby.
1946 Moscow, Politics: George Kennan sent the Long Telegram to the Department of State. In it he spelled out in 8,000 words the policy of containment of the Soviet Union that dominated United States foreign policy for the next generation of the Cold War. He followed this up with ‘The Sources of Soviet Conduct’ published in ‘Foreign Affairs’ by ‘X’ in 1947. Of course, he knew and we know that the Soviets read them both with interest.
1965 Canberra, Economy: The Royal Australian Mint. built to produce decimal currency, opened, a year before the Australian dollar and its tenths hit the streets. Been there and seen the robots at work.Below Prince Phillip throws the switch to start the machinery. With advent of the ubiquitous card, what will mints mint in the future?
1996 Edinburgh, Science: Dolly the Sheep appeared, cloned from an adult cell.
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