On this day in ...... 1980, the International Court of Justice rendered its decision in United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran (United States of America v. Iran). The court ruled that Iran was responsible for breaches of obligations to the United States -- related to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations -- arising out of the November 4, 1979, takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The court ordered immediate release of the hostages then taken and payment by Iran of reparations to the United States. But the hostages would not be released until January 20, 1981, minutes after the U.S. Presidency was transferred from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. The Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, still in operation at The Hague, then was established to resolve disputes between the 2 countries.
... 1830, the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was published. Its author was New Hampshire resident Sarah Josepha Hale, 42, a lifelong women's rights activist whose novel Northwood (1827) had caused a stir because of its treatment of slavery. In "Mary" Hale turned into verse the true story of one Mary Sawyer, who used to take her lamb to her hometown school in Sterling, Massachusetts. Among the many versions of the song is this one by former Beatle Paul McCartney. (image credit)
