Today in Oregon History
Cities in Oregon: Portland
Historical Events
Events 1 - 58 of 58
1778-03-07 - Capt James Cook 1st sights Oregon coast, at Yaquina Bay
1792-10-29 - Mount Hood (Oregon) is named after the British naval officer Alexander Arthur Hood by Lt. William E. Broughton who spotted the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River.
1806-01-08 - Lewis & Clark find skeleton of 105' blue whale in Oregon
1810-06-23 - John Jacob Astor organizes Pacific Fur Co (Astoria, Oregon)
1813-10-23 - The Pacific Fur Company trading post in Astoria, Oregon is turned over to the rival British North West Company (the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest was dominated for the next three decades by the United Kingdom).
1818-10-20 - US & Britain agree to joint control of Oregon country
1819-02-22 - Spain renounces claims to Oregon Country, Florida (Adams-Onís Treaty)
1834-07-05 - Provisional government forms in Oregon Country
1843-02-02 - US & British settlers in Oregon Country choose government committee
1843-05-22 - 1st wagon train, 1000+ depart Independence Missouri for Oregon
1843-07-05 - Committee of 9 appointed to establish civil government in Oregon Country
Captain/Explorer James Cook
1845-06-12 - George Abernethy becomes 1st governor of Oregon Country
1846-01-05 - The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
1846-02-05 - "Oregon Spectator" is 1st newspaper to be published on the West Coast
1846-06-15 - Oregon Treaty signed, setting US-British boundary at 49°N
1846-08-05 - Oregon country divided between US & Britain at 49th parallel
1848-08-14 - Oregon Territory created
1850-07-25 - Gold discovered in Oregon (Rogue River)
1853-03-02 - Territory of Washington organized after separating from Oregon Ter
1859-02-14 - Oregon admitted as 33rd state
1859-06-15 - Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between U.S. and British/Canadian settlers.
1880-01-09 - The Great Gale of 1880 devastates parts of Oregon and Washington with high wind and heavy snow.
1887-02-21 - Oregon becomes 1st US state to make Labor Day a holiday
1902-06-02 - 2nd statewide initiative & referendum law adopted, in Oregon
1905-06-01 - Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition opens in Portland, Oregon
1913-02-17 - 1st minimum wage law in US takes effect (Oregon)
1915-12-21 - 10.17" (25.83 cm) of rainfall, Glenora, Oregon (state record)
1919-02-25 - Oregon is 1st state to tax gasoline (1 cent per gallon)
1921-01-29 - Hurricane hits Washington & Oregon
1924-05-16 - 108°F (42°C) in Blitzen Oregon
1929-08-08 - Salem Oregon airport dedicated
1933-02-10 - -54°F (-48°C), Seneca, Oregon (state record)
1933-09-14 - 2 billion board feet of lumber destroyed in Tillamook Oregon fire
1937-09-28 - FDR dedicates Bonneville Dam on Columbia River (Oregon)
1938-08-10 - 119°F (48°C), Pendleton, Oregon (state record)
1939-03-27 - 1st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: U of Oregon beats OH State 46-33
1942-01-01 - Rose Bowl played in NC due to Japanese threat-Oregon 20, Duke 16
1942-06-22 - Japanese submarine in mouth of Columbia River, Oregon
1942-09-09 - 1st bombing on continental US soil, Mount Emily Oregon (WW II)
1942-09-09 - Japanese planes drop incendiary bombs on Oregon
1948-05-30 - A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
1961-09-30 - Bill for Boston Tea Party is paid by Mayor Snyder of Oregon who wrote a check for $196, the total cost of all tea lost
1962-12-27 - 28th Heisman Trophy Award: Terry Baker, Oregon State (QB)
1963-03-22 - Oregon State's Terry Baker becomes 1st & only Heisman Trophy winner
1966-10-01 - West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with eighteen fatal injuries and no survivors 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.
1968-05-28 - Senator Eugene McCarthy wins Democrate primary in Oregon
1968-11-03 - Bob Packwood is elected senator of Oregon
1974-01-16 - L A Landslide kills 9, Canyonville, Oregon
1979-01-18 - Peter Jenkins finishes "A Walk Across America," Florence Oregon
1988-07-25 - Mindy Duncan, 16, of Oregon, crowned 6th Miss Teen USA
1988-08-01 - Deep Rover 1-man research submarine unveiled at Crater Lake, Oregon
1989-12-27 - Oregon begins taking bids on NBA games
1990-04-01 - It becomes illegal in Salem Oregon to be within 2' of nude dancers
1990-06-04 - Dr Jack Kevorkian assisted an Oregon woman to commit suicide, beginning a national debate over the right to die
1990-07-16 - Bridgette LeAnn Wilson, 17, of Oregon, 8th crowned Miss Teen USA
1992-11-21 - Oregon Sen Bob Packwood issues apology for unwelcome sexual advances
1999-02-04 - The New Carissa runs aground near Coos Bay, Oregon.
2005-04-14 - The U.S. Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County.
Famous Birthdays
Birthdays 1 - 62 of 62
1784-10-19 - John McLoughlin, Hudson's Bay Co pioneer in Oregon Country
1802-09-04 - Marcus Whitman, missionary, led to US securing Oregon
1820-07-02 - George Law Curry, Newspaper publisher and Governor of Oregon (d. 1878)
1823-09-16 - Francis Parkman, American historian/author (Oregon Trail)
1875-04-27 - Lumsden Hare, Ireland, actor (Oregon Trail, Desert Fox, Young Bess)
1901-02-28 - Linus Pauling, Portland, Oregon, American chemist/peace activist (Nobel 1954, 1962)
1906-01-23 - Bob Steele, Pendleton Oregon, actor (Duffy-F Troop, Big Sleep)
1913-03-22 - Tom McCall, Governor of Oregon (d. 1983)
1917-04-28 - Robert Cornthwaite, St Helen Oregon, actor (Thing, War of the Worlds)
1917-05-14 - Lou Harrison, Portland Oregon, composer (Rapunzel)
1918-03-04 - Margaret Osborne DuPont, Joseph Oregon, tennis pro (US Open 1948-50), (d. 2012)
Chemist & Peace Activist Linus Pauling (1901-02-28)
1919-03-28 - Jacob Avshalomov, Tsingtao China, composer (Sinfonietta, The Oregon)
1920-07-19 - Robert Mann, Portland Oregon, composer/violinist (String Quartet 1952)
1922-07-12 - Mark O Hatfield, (Sen-R Oregon, 1967- )
1922-11-01 - Jeff Richards, Portland Oregon, actor (Don't Go Near the Water)
1927-07-07 - Doc Severinson, [Carl], Arlington Oregon, bandleader/trumpeter on the Tonight Show
1927-08-03 - Gordon Scott, Portland Oregon, actor (Tarzan & the Trappers)
1928-04-01 - Jane Powell, Portland Oregon, singer/actress (7 Brides for 7 Brothers)
1929-11-02 - Rachel Ames, Portland Oregon, actress (Line Up, Audrey-Gen Hospital)
1936-10-13 - Elizabeth Furse, (Rep-D-Oregon)
1939-09-07 - Stanley David Griggs, Portland Oregon, astronaut (STS 51-D), STS 33)
1940-03-01 - Ralph Towner, rocker (Oregon)
1940-06-16 - Neil Goldschmidt, Governor of Oregon
1941-12-23 - Tim Hardin, Oregon, singer (If I Were a Carpenter, Bird on a Wire)
1943-11-21 - Larry Mahan, Oregon, rodeo champ (1967-70)
1944-05-25 - John Bunnell, former Sheriff of Multnomah County, Oregon and TV personality
1945-08-05 - Jo Collins, Oregon, Playboy playmate (Dec, 1964)
1947-03-06 - Richard "Dick" Fosbury, Portland Oregon, high jumper (Olympics-gold-1968)
1947-05-27 - Peter DeFazio, (Rep-D-Oregon)
1947-07-28 - Sally Struther, Portland Oregon, actress (Gloria-All in the Family)
1949-09-16 - Susan Ruttan, Oregon City Ore, actress (Roxanne Melman-LA Law)
1949-10-27 - Mike Kopetski, (Rep-D-Oregon)
1951-01-25 - Steve Prefontaine, Coos Bay Oregon, 5K (Olympics-4th-1972)
1951-06-26 - Rindy Ross, Portland Oregon, rock vocalist/saxophonist (Quarterflash)
1951-07-21 - Diana Dennis, Portland Oregon, body builder (Women Physique World)
1953-09-01 - Chuck Orton, US sysop, (Emerald BBS, Oregon)
1954-03-15 - Craig Wasson, Oregon, actor (Body Double, 4 Friends, Men's Club)
1955-04-20 - Donald R Pettit, Silverton Oregon, PhD/astronaut
1956-01-27 - Fred Quillan, Portland Oregon, WLAF offensive coach (Frankfurt Galaxy)
1957-01-10 - Greg Walden, U.S. Congressman from Oregon
1958-01-01 - Ren Woods, Portland Oregon, actress (Fanta-Roots)
1960-03-15 - Donna Smith, Portland Oregon, playmate (March, 1985)
1960-05-06 - Julianne Phillips, Lake Oswego Oregon, actress (Frankie Reed-Sisters)
1962-02-27 - Kory Tarpenning, Portland Oregon, pole vaulter
1965-01-11 - Steve Vancil, Oregon City Ore, golfer (1989 City of Portland)
1965-05-16 - Brent Jasmer, Portland Oregon, actor (Sly-Bold & Beautiful)
1966-07-18 - Dan[iel Dion] O'Brien, Portland Oregon, decathelete (Olympic-gold-96)
1967-04-28 - Monique Noel, Salem Oregon, playmate (May, 1989)
1967-05-01 - Tawni Cable, Salem Oregon, playmate (June 1989)
1967-11-06 - Rebecca Schaeffer, Eugene Oregon, actress (Patti-My Sister Sam)
1967-12-11 - Katy Steding, Lake Oswego Oregon, basketball forward (Oly-gold-96)
1968-11-14 - Kent Bottenfield, Portland Oregon, pitcher (Chicago Cubs)
1969-10-30 - Brittany Gae Thompson, Portland Oregon, Miss Oregon-America (1991)
1971-11-10 - Heather Williams, Miss USA-Oregon (1997)
1972-02-24 - Patricia Regan Leines, Medford Or, Miss America (Oregon-3rd-1997)
1972-10-23 - Tiffeny Milbrett, Portland Oregon, soccer forward (Olympics-96)
1973-09-25 - Bridgette LeAnn Wilson, Gold Beach Oregon, Miss Teen USA (1990)
1974-09-10 - Jill Chartier, Miss Oregon USA (1996)
1975-10-27 - Emily John Orton, Creswell Oregon, Miss America (Oregon-2nd-1996)
1977-05-12 - Monique de Bruin, Porland Oregon, fencer-foil (Olympics-96)
1978-07-22 - Heather Noelle Jones, Miss Oregon Teen USA (1996)
1981-12-19 - Stevie Ficker, Miss Oregon Teen USA (1997)
Famous Weddings
Weddings 1 - 1 of 1
2005-12-31 - "One Tree Hill" actress Bethany Joy Lenz (24) weds "Enation" musician Michael Galeotti in Hillsboro, Oregon
Famous Deaths
Deaths 1 - 6 of 6
1873-10-03 - Kintpuash, [Captain Jack], fought Modoc indians, Oregon, dies
1878-07-28 - George Law Curry, Newspaper publisher and Governor of Oregon (b. 1820)
1964-08-28 - Lumsden Hare, actor (Oregon Trail, Desert Fox), dies at 89
1974-07-22 - Wayne L Morse, (Sen-D-Oregon), dies at 73
1983-01-08 - Tom McCall, Governor of Oregon (b. 1913)
1990-05-01 - Sunset Carson, cowboy actor (El Paso Kid, Oregon Trail), dies at 62
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