In 1790, the first successful cotton mill in the United States began operating at Pawtucket, R.I.
In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was formally transferred from France to the United States during ceremonies in New Orleans. The U.S. had paid the French about $15 million dollars for the territory, which effectively doubled the size of the country.
In 1820, Missouri imposed a bachelor tax on unmarried men between the ages of 21 and 50. The tax: $1 a year.
-- part contents for background part 16
----- text -----
Actress Irene Dunne (1904)
Movie director George Roy Hill (1922)
Actress Jenny Agutter (1952)
-- part contents for background part 17
----- text -----
"Nothing is so useless as a general maxim."
---------------------------------
Thomas Babington, Baron Macaulay, English historian