Pearl Harbor Attacked Dec. 7, 1941

At 7:55 A.M. a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun on its wings appeared out of the clouds above the island of Oahu.  A swarm of 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in a ferocious assault.  The surprise attack sank or severely damaged eight battleships, three destroyers, and several other ships plus 200 aircraft were destroyed.  A total of 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,200 were wounded, many while valiantly attempting to stop the attack.  Fortunately for the United States, all three Pacific fleet carriers were out at sea on training maneuvers.  These giant aircraft carriers would have their revenge against Japan six months later at the Battle of Midway, reversing the tide against the previously invincible Japanese navy in a spectacular victory.

The day after the attack President Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress and declared, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."  After a brief and forceful speech, he asked Congress to approve a resolution recognizing the state of war between the United States and Japan.  The Senate voted for war against Japan 82-0.  The House of Representatives approved the resolution by a vote of 388 to 1.  The sole dissenter, Rep. Jeannette Rankin of Montana, was a devout pacifist who had also cast dissenting vote against the U.S. entrance into World War 1.

On This Day In History - Nov. 18, 1883

At exactly noon on this day in 1883, American and Canadian railroads began using four continental time zones to end the confusion of dealing with thousands of local times.

The need for continental time zones stemmed directly from the problems of moving passengers and freight over the thousands of miles of rail line that covered North America by the 1880's.  Most towns in the U.S. had their own local time, generally based on "high noon", or the time when the sun was at its highest point in the sky.  The time differences were a scheduling nightmare.

Rather than turning to the federal governments of the United States and Canada to create a North American system of time zones, the powerful railroad companies took it upon themselves to create a new time code system.  The companies agreed to divide the continent into four time zones; the dividing lines adopted were very close to the ones we still use today.

On This Day In History - Oct. 13, 1775

On this day in 1775, the Continental Congress authorized construction and administration of the first American naval force - the precursor to the United States Navy.

During the American Revolution, the Continental Navy successfully preyed on British merchant shipping and won several victories over British warships.  This first naval force was disbanded after the war.  What is now known as the United States Navy was formally established with the creation of the federal Department of the Navy in April 1798.