Today in History

On This Day in:

1139 – The Second Lateran Council opened in Rome.

1534 – Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, set sail from St. Malo to explore the North American coastline.

1653 – In England, Oliver Cromwell expelled the Long Parliament for trying to pass the Perpetuation Bill that would have kept Parliament in the hands of only a few members.

1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake fought his last battle when he destroyed the Spanish fleet in Santa Cruz Bay.

1689 – The siege of Londonderry began. Supporters of James II attacked the city.

1769 – Ottawa Chief Pontiac was murdered by an Illinois Indian in Cahokia.

1775 – American troops began the siege of British-held Boston.

1792 – France declared war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia. It was the start of the French Revolutionary wars.

1809 – Napoleon defeated Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria.

1832 – Hot Springs National Park was intially created by an act of the U.S. Congress. It was the first time a piece of land was set aside by the U.S. government to preserve the area for recreation.

The area was made a national park on March 4, 1921.

1836 – The U.S. territory of Wisconsin was created by the U.S.

Congress.

1837 – Erastus B. Bigelow was granted a patent for his power loom.

1841 – In Philadelphia, PA, Edgar Allen Poe's first detective story, 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue,' was published in Graham's Magazine.

1861 – Robert E. Lee resigned from U.S. Army.

1865 – Safety matches were first advertised.

1879 – First mobile home (horse drawn) was used in a journey from London to Cyprus.

1902 – Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.

1912 – Fenway Park opened as the home of the Boston Red Sox.

1916 – Sir Roger Casement landed in Ireland to incite rebellion against the British. Casement, a British diplomat, was captured within hours and was hanged for high treason on August 3.

1916 – Chicago's Wrigley Field held its first Cubs game with the first National League game at the ballpark. The Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.

1919 – The Polish Army captured Vilno, Lithuania from the Soviets.

1940 – The First electron microscope was demonstrated by RCA.

1942 – Pierre Laval, the premier of Vichy France, in a radio broadcast, establishes a policy of 'true reconciliation with Germany.'

1945 – Soviet troops began their attack on Berlin.

1945 – During World War II, Allied forces took control of the German cities of Nuremberg and Stuttgart.

1953 – Operation Little Switch began in Korea. It was the exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war. Thirty Americans were freed.

1953 – The Boston marathon was won by Keizo Yamada with a record time of 2:18:51.

1959 – 'Desilu Playhouse' on CBS-TV presented a two-part show titled 'The Untouchables.'

1961 – FM stereo broadcasting was approved by the FCC.

1962 – The New Orleans Citizens' Council offered a free one-way ride for blacks to move to northern states.

1967 – U.S. planes bombed Haiphong for first time during the Vietnam War.

1971 – The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.

1972 – The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.

1977 – Woody Allen's film 'Annie Hall' premiered.

1981 – A spokesman for the U.S. Nave announced that the U.S.

was accepting full responsibility for the sinking of the Nissho Maru on April 9.

1982 – The Activision game Pitfall! was released for the Atari 2600 game system.

1984 – Britain announced that its administration of Hong Kong would cease in 1997.

1985 – In Madrid, Santiago Carillo was purged from the Communist Party. Carillo was a founder of Eurocommunism.

1987 – In Argentina, President Raul Alfonsin quelled a military revolt.

1988 – The U.S. Air Forces' Stealth (B-2 bomber) was officially unveiled.

1989 – Scientist announced the successful testing of high-definition TV.

1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev became the first Soviet head of state to visit South Korea.

1992 – The worlds largest fair, Expo '92, opened in Seville, Spain.

1998 – Kenyan runner Moses Tanui, 32, won the Boston Marathon for the second time. He also registered the third fastest time with

2 hours 7 minutes and 34 seconds.

1999 – Jane Seymour received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2016 – The U.S. Treasury Department announced a plan for Harriet Tubman to replace Andrew Jackson as the portrait on the

$20 bill.

Born Today in:

1808 – Napoleon III, Emperor of France

1850 – Daniel Chester French, Sculptor, created Minute Man statue in Concord, MA, Abraham Lincoln seated in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC

1889 – Adolf Hitler, German leader during World War II

1924 – Leslie Phillips, Actor ('Harry Potter' films)