This Day…

1846 – The ill-fated Donner party left Independence, Missouri, for California; months later the group became trapped in the Sierra Nevada and some members reportedly resorted to cannibalism when the food ran out.

1869 – Golden Spike driven, completing the 1st US Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah and connecting the Central Pacific Railroad with the Union Pacific

1899 – The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens

1926 – Sinclair Lewis refused a 1925 Pulitzer for “Arrowsmith.”

1885 – “Good Housekeeping” magazine is 1st published

1930 – The first organized night baseball game was played in Independence, Kansas.

1949 – 3rd Tony Awards: “Death of a Salesman” & “Kiss Me Kate” win

1874 – Barracks on Alcatraz Island destroyed in fire

1941 – American actress Doris Day (19) weds trombonist Albert Jorden

1865 – US President Abraham Lincoln is shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington; he dies a day later