Fredrich Christoph Halling (born 1844)

In 1844, in the year that Fredrich Christoph Halling was born, on July 3rd, the last known pair of great auk were killed in Iceland. A flightless bird, the average auk was about 33 inches tall and weighed about 11 pounds with a black back and white belly. They were most often found along the coast of Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Canada Great Britain, Ireland - and sometimes as far south as Spain.

In 1863, on October 3rd, during the middle of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln created a national Thanksgiving day. Thanksgiving was to be celebrated on the final Thursday of November in 1863. In the U.S., Thanksgiving has been celebrated in November ever since.

In 1895, on May 18th, Italy's first motor race was held. The race was 58 miles long - from Turin to Asti and back. Five cars started but only three completed the race. It was won by Simone Federman who drove a Daimler Omnibus - his average speed was 9.6 mph.

In 1935, on September 8th, Louisiana Senator Huey Long was shot by Dr. Carl Weiss. Weiss was shot and killed immediately by Long's bodyguards - Long died two days later from his injuries. Long had received many death threats previously, as well as threats against his family. He was a powerful and controversial figure in Louisiana politics (and probably gained power through multiple criminal acts). His opponents became frustrated with their attempts to oust him and Dr. Weiss was the son-in-law of one of those opponents. His funeral was attended by 200,000 mourners.

In 1945, on April 12th, President Roosevelt died of natural causes and Harry S. Truman, his Vice-President, became the 33rd President of the United States.