Today in History

Today in History

1199 English King Richard I is killed by an arrow at the Siege of the Castle of Chalus in France.

1789 The First U.S. Congress begins regular sessions at Federal Hall in New York City.

1814 Granted sovereignty in the island of Elba and a pension from the French government, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates at Fontainebleau. He is allowed to keep the title of emperor.

1830 Joseph Smith and five others organize the Church of Latter-Day Saints in Seneca, New York.

1862 Confederate forces attack General Ulysses S. Grant at Shiloh, Tennessee.

1865 At the Battle of Sailer’s Creek, a third of Lee‘s army is cut off by Union troops pursuing him to Appomattox.

1896 The Modern Olympics begin in Athens with eight nations participating.

1903 French Army Nationalists are revealed to have forged documents to guarantee a conviction for Alfred Dryfus.

1909 Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson become the first men to reach the North Pole.

1917 The United States declares war on Germany and enters World War I on Allied side.

1924 Four planes leave Seattle on the first successful flight around the world.

1938 The United States recognizes Nazi Germany’s conquest of Austria.

1941 German forces invade Greece and Yugoslavia.

1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson authorizes the use of ground troops in combat operations.

Born

1483 Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio), Italian painter (Sistine Madonna).

1786 Sacagawea (also Sacajawea), American explorer.

1866 Joseph Lincoln Steffens, journalist.

1905 W. Warrick Cardozo, physician, researcher of Sickle Cell Anemia.

1927 Gerry Mulligan, jazz saxophonist.

1928 James Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA.

1929 Andre Previn, pianist and conductor.

1937 Merle Haggard, American country musician.

History