Today in History: The Army Corps of Engineers, Bloomsday, and the First Woman in Space

1775— Congress establishes the post of chief engineer for the Army. In preparation for the coming war, the engineer and his two assistants are charged with building roads and forts. Four years later, this department would become the Army Corps of Engineers.

1903— The Ford Motor Company is founded in Dearborn, Michigan, by Henry Ford and a group of investors. Five years later, the first Model T automobile was produced.

1904— Author James Joyce meets Nora, his future wife. Years later, Joyce would set his novel Ulysses on the same date, now known as Bloomsday and celebrated worldwide.

1933— In an effort to halt the bank collapses of the Great Depression, President Roosevelt signs the Banking Act establishing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures money deposited in banks.

1963— 26-year-old Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. While aboard the spacecraft Vostok VI, she orbited Earth 49 times.