On Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C., the cornerstone is laid at the first mosque of note in the United States. Intended to serve as a national mosque for all American Muslims, the Islamic Center was built in a traditional Arabic architectural style, complete with a 160-foot minaret from which prayers were to be announced. A colonnade cloister joined the mosque to two wings containing a library, classrooms, a museum, and administrative offices. In the basement of the mosque was an auditorium built to accommodate several hundred people. The Islamic Center's first director was Dr. Mahmoud Hoballah.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- Theodore Roosevelt makes Grand Canyon a national monument, 1908
- American Revolution
- Jewish Patriot joins Provincial Congress of South Carolina, 1775
- Automotive
- Violence erupts at GM plant strike, 1937
- Civil War
- Yankees capture Rebel stronghold in Arkansas, 1863
- Cold War
- Reagan gives his farewell address, 1989
- Crime
- Van der Sloot admits to Peru murder, 2012
- Disaster
- Flash flood in Rio, 1966
- General Interest
- Stalin banishes Trotsky, 1928
- Earhart flies from Hawaii to California, 1935
- Cornerstone laid at Washington's Islamic Center, 1949
- Hollywood
- Charlie Chaplin’s assets frozen, 1927
- Literary
- Song of Solomon wins National Book Critics Circle Award, 1978
- Music
- Paul Simon returns to Johannesburg, South Africa, with the blessing of the U.N., 1992
- Old West
- Grand Canyon National Monument is created, 1908
- Presidential
- Roosevelt dedicates the Grand Canyon as a national monument, 1908
- Sports
- American League adopts designated hitter rule, 1973
- Vietnam War
- Diem issues Ordinance No. 6, 1956
- Demonstrations erupt in Saigon and Hue, 1965
- World War I
- French forces occupy Corfu, 1916
- World War II
- Truce signed in Greek Civil War, 1945
- Miep Gies, who hid Anne Frank, dies at 100, 2010
Jan 11, 1949:
Cornerstone laid at Washington's Islamic Center
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This Week in History, Jan 11 - Jan 17
- Jan 11, 1928
- Stalin banishes Trotsky
- Jan 11, 1935
- Earhart flies from Hawaii to California
- Jan 11, 1949
- Cornerstone laid at Washington's Islamic Center
- Jan 12, 1879
- British-Zulu War begins
- Jan 12, 1932
- First elected female senator
- Jan 12, 1984
- Pyramid mystery unearthed
- Jan 13, 1842
- Sole British soldier escapes Kabul
- Jan 13, 1864
- Stephen Foster dies
- Jan 13, 1941
- James Joyce dies
- Jan 14, 1639
- The first colonial constitution
- Jan 14, 1963
- George Wallace inaugurated as Alabama governor
- Jan 14, 1980
- Gold prices soar
- Jan 15, 1559
- Elizabeth crowned queen of England
- Jan 15, 1870
- First appearance of the Democratic donkey
- Jan 15, 1929
- Martin Luther King Jr. born
- Jan 15, 1970
- Biafra surrenders to Nigeria
- Jan 15, 1970
- Qaddafi becomes premier of Libya
- Jan 15, 2009
- Sully Sullenberger performs Miracle on the Hudson
- Jan 16, 1979
- Shah flees Iran
- Jan 16, 1991
- The Persian Gulf War begins
- Jan 17, 1893
- Americans overthrow Hawaiian monarchy
- Jan 17, 1961
- Eisenhower bids farewell
- Jan 17, 1966
- H-bomb lost in Spain
- Jan 17, 1977
- The execution of Gary Gilmore
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