July the 14th, an important day for me and others throughout history. Several important events that have taken place on the same day I was born. Just a few of those important events are listed for you below:

• 1789: The French Revolution began with the fall of Bastille.
• 1798: The U.S. began taxing states for dwellings, land and slaves; Congress passed the Sedition Act.
• 1832: The U.S. exempted opium from narcotic import tariffs.
• 1850: The first ice made by refrigeration was unveiled.
• 1853: Commodore Matthew Perry gave a letter from President Millard Fillmore to Japanese officials asking for trade relations.
• 1864: Gold was discovered in Helena, Mont.
• 1868: Alvin J. Fellows patented the tape measure.
• 1891: John T. Smith patented corkboard.
• 1914: Robert H. Goddard patented liquid rocket fuel.
• 1927: TV news journalist John Chancellor was born.
• 1933: Germany began mandatory sterilization of people with hereditary illness and all political parties except the Nazi Party were outlawed.
• 1945: The battleship USS South Dakota became the first U.S. ship to bombard Japan.
• 1946: Dr. Benjamin Spock's "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" was first published.
• 1958: Col. Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi army overthrew the monarchy.
• 1972: Jean Westwood became the first woman chosen to head the Democratic Party's National Committee.