This Day in History

The Year

In 1943, the news was unavoidably dominated by the activities and effects of much of the world being at war. The encouraging part about this was that the news was becoming much better for the Allied nations, including the United States of America. The tide was starting to turn in favor of the Allies in the Pacific, North Africa, Italy and on the Russian front.

One of the more interesting news announcements relating to World War II was the 1943 declaration that the sale of pre-sliced bread was banned in the United States, in an effort to save on the cost of labor and equipment! The war is also credited as providing the occasion for the development in 1943 of what is considered to be the world’s first true computer, the Colossus, built by the British for the purpose of breaking the Nazi German code.

While the events of World War II dominated the news, there were other significant items to report in 1943. For example, in that year Selman Waksman isolated streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against gram-negative bacteria. Waksman coined the term antibiotic in order to describe the result of his achievement. That same year, the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann accidentally discovered the hallucinogenic properties of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).

Michoacán, Mexico, has never been the same since 1943, when the Paricutin volcano first erupted. Nearby villages were buried by the flowing lava, and the volcano grew to a height of 820 feet from its base. Eruptions continued over a period of seven years.

The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) came into existence in 1943, when Edward Noble wrote a check to NBC for $8 million to purchase one of its radio networks. Noble had made his fortune producing and selling Life Savers candy. The Broadway musical Oklahoma! premiered at the St. James Theater in 1943, beginning an unprecedented run of 2,212 performances.

The Day

Through the years of history, December 21 also has some notable moments. It was on this day in 1790 that Samuel Slater opened the first American cotton mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, powered by waters of the Blackstone River. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was premiered on this day in 1935.

On December 21, 1945, General George “Blood and Guts” Patton died in a car crash at the age of 60, after gaining a reputation in World War II for military courage and drive. December 21, 1988, was marked by two prominent events: the safe landing of Soviet cosmonauts Musa Manarov and Vladimir Titov after a record 365 days in orbit, and the explosion of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, leading to the deaths of all 259 people on board as well as at least 11 Scots on the ground.

The Confluence

What makes December 21, 1943 so special? The birth of the firstborn in the family of Arthur and Marie Odens!