Today in History

Today in History

1700 – 8,000 Swedish troops under King Charles XII defeated an army of at least 50,000 Russians at the Battle of Narva. King Charles XII died on this day.

1782 – The United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.

1803 – Spain completed the process of ceding Louisiana to France.

1804 – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase went on trial accused of political bias. He was later acquitted by the U.S. Senate.

1838 – Three days after the French occupation of Vera Cruz Mexico declared war on France.

1853 – During the Crimean War, the Russian fleet attacked and destroyed the Turkish fleet at the battle of Sinope.

1858 – John Landis Mason received a patent for the first pepper shaker with a screw-on cap.

1875 – A.J. Ehrichson patented the oat-crushing machine.

1897 – Thomas Edison's own motion picture projector had its first commercial exhibition.

1936 – London's famed Crystal Palace was destroyed in a fire. The structure had been constructed for the International Exhibition of 1851.

1939 – The Russo-Finnish War began when 20 divisions of Soviet troops invaded Finland.

1940 – Lucille Ball and Cuban musician Desi Arnaz were married.

1949 – Chinese Communists captured Chungking.

1954 – In Sylacauga, AL, Elizabeth Hodges was injured when a meteorite crashed through the roof of her house. The rock weighed 8?-pounds.

1956 – CBS replayed the program 'Douglas Edward and the News' three hours after it was received on the West Coast. It was the world's first broadcast via videotape.

1962 – U Thant of Burma was elected secretary-general of the United Nations, succeeding the late Dag Hammarskjold.

1966 – The former British colony of Barbados became independent.

1971 – ABC-TV aired 'Brian's Song.' The movie was about Chicago Bears' Brian Picolo and his friendship with Gale Sayers.

1981 – The U.S. and the Soviet Union opened negotiations in Geneva that were aimed at reducing nuclear weapons in Europe.

1982 – The motion picture 'Ghandi' had its world premiere in New Delhi.

1986 – 'Time' magazine published an interview with U.S. President Reagan. In the article, Reagan described fired national security staffer Oliver North as a 'national hero.'

1988 – Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. took over RJR Nabisco Inc. with a bid of $24.53 billion.

1989 – PLO leader Yasser Arafat was refused a visa to enter the United States in order to address the U.N. General Assebly in New York City.

1993 – U.S. President Clinton signed into law the Brady Bill. The bill required a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers.

1995 – President Clinton became the first U.S. chief executive to visit Northern Ireland.

1998 – The Deutsche Bank AG announced that it would acquire Bankers Trust Corp. for $10.1 billion creating the world's largest financial institution.

2001 – For the first time in it's history, McDonald's teamed up with a retail partner on its Happy Meal promotions. Toys R Us provided plush figures from it's Animal Alley.

2004 – In Stockholm, Sweden, the Carl Larsson painting 'Boenskoerd' ('Bean Harvest') was sold at auction for $730,000. The work had been in a private collection for more than a century. The Larsson work 'Vid Kattegatt' ('By Kattegatt') sold for $640,000 at the same auction.

History