Burt's Compass, Record Ban, Minder's Past | Feb 26

On this day in 1836, William Austin Burt received a patent for his solar compass, which helped survey Michigan accurately despite magnetic interference. In 1954, Michigan Representative Ruth Thompson introduced a bill to ban mailing "obscene" rock and roll records, though it was not adopted. And in 2004, James Minder resigned as CEO of Smith & Wesson after his criminal past as a stick-up man was revealed.