Sunday, April 30, 2006

Spotlight
The Louisiana Purchase was agreed to on this date in 1803. France, under the leadership of Emperor Napoleon I, sold the Louisiana Territory to Thomas Jefferson's United States for $15 million, thereby doubling the size of the US. The nearly 830,000 sq. mi. (approx. 2.15 million sq. km.) area stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Border. On this date in 1812, Louisiana became America's 18th state.

Quote
"But this momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror." – Thomas Jefferson, in a letter, wondering whether to admit Missouri as a slave state while prohibiting slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase

Word of the day
retrocede: to give back; in a secret agreement in 1800, Spain retroceded Louisiana to France. (© )

Today's News

• Mexico: poised to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use (story)
• heart disease: more likely to come from mom than from dad (story)
• National Gallery of Art: DC museum opens exhibits of lesser-known drawings by big-name artists (story)

Today's History

• George Washington: took the oath of office to become the first POTUS (1789)
• New York World's Fair: opened, showing "the world of tomorrow" – TV, FM radio, fluorescent lights, etc. (1939)
• Vietnam War: officially ended when Saigon fell and South Vietnam surrendered (1975)

Today's Birthdays

• Stephen Harper: Canadian PM (47)
• Isiah Thomas: former Detroit Pistons basketball star, current Knicks president (45)
• Kirsten Dunst: actor, the Spider-Man movies (24)