1783 -  Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized the U.S. as a free, sovereign nation.

 

1798 -  America’s first bank robbery takes place at the Bank of Philadelphia, an inside job that netted the enormous sum of $162,821. In a bonehead move, the culprit began depositing the missing money in the very bank he had robbed. 

 

1886 -  Apache leader, Geronimo, surrenders to U.S. government troops. For 30 years, the Native American warrior had battled to protect his tribe’s homeland. His surrender signaled the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest.

 

1888 -  Inventor George Eastman secures patent for a small roll-film hand camera and registers the trademark "Kodak". Designed with the novice photographer in mind, Kodak revolutionizes photography, transforming the field from a specialized profession into a popular, widely adopted pastime.

 

1945 -  World War II officially came to an end as representatives from Japan signed the formal Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, an event commemorated as V-J Day.

Geronimo!

Commonly exclaimed when people are jumping from great heights, “Geronimo” was a famous Apache military leader before it became a famous exclamation. He was born in 1829 in present day New Mexico. His name means, “the one who yawns.” The Apache and Mexicans often battled. In 1951, Geronimo’s wife, children and mother were killed in an attack by Mexican soldiers. This only fueled his hatred of Mexicans and later, imperialistic Americans. 

Geronimo's raids and related combat actions were a part of the prolonged period of the Apache–United States conflict, which started with the Americans continuing to take land, including Apache lands, following the end of the war with Mexico in 1848. Reservation life was confining to the free-moving Apache people, and they resented restrictions on their customary way of life.

Over the next decade, he battled federal troops and launched raids on white settlements. During this time, Geronimo and his supporters often escaped the confines of the reservation but were forced back. He was famous for consistently escaping capture by federal troops. However, in 1885, when his 150 followers were hunted down by 5000 federal troops, he finally surrendered. 

For the next decade he was a prisoner of war in Florida and Alabama. More than a quarter of the Apache population would die of tuberculosis during this time. He finally ended up at the Comache and Kiowa reservation near Fort Sill in Oklahoma where he lived out the rest of his days.

Geronimo would become a successful farmer and a tourist attraction at fairs. He even participated in Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade and wrote an autobiography. He would die of pneumonia in 1909. His last words to his nephew were, “I should have never surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive.” 

 

 

George Eastman holds the first Kodak camera in 1888.