On This Day in:

1666 – Shah Jahan, a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, died at the age of 74. He was the Mongul emperor of India that built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz-i-Mahal.

1771 – The Falkland Islands were ceded to Britain by Spain.

1879 – James Shields began a term as a U.S. Senator from Missouri. He had previously served Illinois and Minnesota. He was the first Senator to serve three states.

1879 – British troops were massacred by the Zulus at Isandhlwana.

1889 – The Columbia Phonograph Company was formed in Washington, DC.

1895 – The National Association of Manufacturers was organized in Cincinnati, OH.

1900 – Off of South Africa, the British released the German steamer Herzog, which had been seized on January 6.

1901 – Queen Victoria of England died after reigning for nearly 64 years. Edward VII, her son, succeeded her.

1905 – Insurgent workers were fired on in St Petersburg, Russia, resulting in 'Bloody Sunday.' 500 people were killed.

1917 – U.S. President Wilson pleaded for an end to war in Europe, calling for 'peace without victory.' America entered the war the following April.

1930 – In New York, excavation began for the Empire State Building.

1936 – In Paris, Premier Pierre Laval resigned over diplomatic failure in the Ethiopian crisis.

1938 – 'Our Town,' by Thornton Wilder, was performed publicly for the first time, in Princeton, NJ.

1944 – Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy, during World War II.

1947 – KTLA, Channel 5, in Hollywood, CA, began operation as the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River.

1950 – Alger Hiss, a former adviser to U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, was convicted of perjury for denying contacts with a Soviet agent. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

1951 – Fidel Castro was ejected from a Winter League baseball game after hitting a batter. He later gave up baseball for politics.

1953 – The Arthur Miller drama 'The Crucible' opened on Broadway.

George P. Metesky was accused of planting more than 30 explosive devices in the New York City area.

1957 – The Israeli army withdrew from the Sinai. They had invaded Egypt on October 29, 1956.

1959 – British world racing champion Mike Hawthorn was killed while driving on the Guildford bypass.

1961 – Wilma Rudolph, set a world indoor record in the women’s

60-yard dash. She ran the race in 6.9 seconds.

1962 – Cuba's membership in the Organization of American States (OAS) was suspended.

1968 – 'Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In', debuted on NBC TV.

1970 – The first regularly scheduled commercial flight of the Boeing 747 began in New York City and ended in London about 6

1/2 hours later.

1972 – The United Kingdom, the Irish Republic, and Denmark joined the EEC.

1973 – Boxer Joe Frazier suffered the first loss of his professional career to George Foreman. He had been the undefeated heavyweight world champion since February 16, 1970 when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis.

1973 – The U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws that had been restricting abortions during the first six months of pregnancy.

The case landmark case, Roe vs. Wade, legalized abortion.

1983 – Bjorn Borg retired from tennis. He had set a record by winning 5 consecutive Wimbledon championships.

1984 – Apple introduced the Macintosh during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII.

1987 – Phil Donahue became the first talk show host to tape a show from inside the Soviet Union.

The shows were shown later in the year.

1992 – Rebel soldiers seized the national radio station in Kinshasa, Zaire's capital, and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.