Today in History

Today in History

1681 The Treaty of Radzin ends a five year war between the Turks and the allied countries of Russia and Poland.

1745 England, Austria, Saxony and the Netherlands form an alliance against Russia.

1815 Arag-tag army under Andrew Jackson defeats the British on the fields of Chalmette in the Battle of New Orleans.

1871 Prussian troops begin to bombard Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.

1892 A coal mine explosion kills 100 in McAlister, OK.

1900 The Boers attack the British in Ladysmith, South Africa, but are turned back.

1908 A subway line opens linking the New York boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan.

1940 Great Britain begins rationing sugar, meat and butter.

1946 President Harry S. Truman vows to stand by the Yalta accord on self-determination for the Balkans.

1954 President Dwight Eisenhower proposes stripping convicted Communists of their U.S. citizenship.

1963 President John F. Kennedy attends the unveiling of the Mona Lisa.

1975 Ella T. Grasso becomes the Governor of Connecticut; the first female governor in the United States who did not come into office by succeeding her husband.

1979 The United States advises the Shah to leave Iran.

1982 AT& T agrees to divest itself of 22 subdivisions as part of an antitrust agreement.

1994 Valeri Polyakov, a Russian cosmonaut leaves earth, bound for the Mir space station; he will spend a record 437 days in space.

2002 U.S. President George W. Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act, intended to improve America’s educational system.

2004 The largest passenger ship in history, the RMS Queen Mary 2, is christened by Queen Elizabeth II, granddaughter of Queen Mary.

2011 An attempted assassination of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords is part of a shooting spree in which Jared Lee Loughner kills 6 and wounds

13.

Born

1587 Johannes Fabricus, astronomer who discovered sunspots.

1786 Nicholas Biddle, head of the first United States bank.

1862 Frank Nelson Doubleday, founder of Doubleday publishing house.

1935 Elvis Presley, rock ‘n roll singer; actor in over thirty films.

1938 Bob Eubanks, popular U.S. TV game show host (The Newlywed Game).

1941 Graham Chapman, comedian, actor; member of the Monty Python group.

1947 David Bowie, singer, songwriter, producer, actor (“Starman”).

2011 Princess Josephine of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat (Josephine Sophia Ivalo Mathilda), and Prince Vincent of Denmark, Count of Monpezat (Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander).

History