Today in History

Today in History

753 BC Traditional date of the foundation of Rome.

43 BC Marcus Antonius is defeated by Octavian near Modena, Italy.

1526 Mongol Emperor Babur annihilates the Indian Army of Ibrahim Lodi.

1649 The Maryland Toleration Act is passed, allowing all people freedom of worship.

1689 William III and Mary II are crowned joint king and queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.

1836 General Sam Houston defeats Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Texas wins independence from Mexico.

1862 Congress establishes the U.S. Mint.

1865 Abraham Lincoln‘s funeral train leaves Washington.

1898 The Spanish-American War begins.

1910 Mark Twain dies at the age of 75.

1916 Bill Carlisle, the infamous ‘last train robber,’ robs a train in Hanna, Wyoming.

1914 U.S. Marines occupy Vera Cruz, Mexico. They will stay six months.

1918 German fighter ace Baron von Richthofen, “The Red Baron,” is shot down and killed.

1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces that several Doolittle pilots have been executed by Japanese.

1960 Brasilia becomes the capital of Brazil.

1961 The French army revolts in Algeria.

1966 Pfc. Milton Lee Olive is awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for bravery during the Vietnam War.

1975 The last South Vietnam president, Nguyen Van Thieu, resigns.

1995 Federal authorities arrest Timothy McVeigh in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing.

Born

1782 Friedrich Froebel, founder of kindergarten.

1816 Charlotte Bronte, novelist (Jane Eyre).

1838 John Muir, naturalist.

1849 Oscar Hertwig, embryologist.

1864 Max Weber, German sociologist and political economist.

1909 Rollo May, psychologist.

1912 Marcel Camus, French film director (Black Orpheus).

1923 John Mortimer, British barrister and playwright (Rumpole of the Bailey).

1926 Elizabeth II, queen of England.

1932 Elaine May, comedy writer.

History