Today in History

Today in History

1376 – The legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin leading rats out of town is said to have occurred on this date.

1587 – A second English colony was established on Roanoke Island off North Carolina. The colony vanished under mysterious circumstances.

1796 – Cleveland was founded by General Moses Cleaveland.

1798 – The USS Constitution was underway and out to sea for the first time since being launched on October

21, 1797.

1812 – English troops under the Duke of Wellington defeated the French at the Battle of Salamanca in Spain.

1926 – Babe Ruth caught a baseball at Mitchell Field in New York. The ball had been dropped from an airplane flying at 250 feet.

1933 – Wiley Post ended his around-the-world flight. He had traveled 15,596 miles in 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes.

1937 – The U.S. Senate rejected President Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court.

1943 – American forces led by General George S. Patton captured Palermo, Sicily.

1941 – Plans for the Pentagon were presented to the House Subcommittee on Appropriations.

1955 – U.S. Vice-President Richard M. Nixon chaired a cabinet meeting in Washington, DC. It was the first time that a Vice-President had carried out the task.

1965 – 'Till Death Us Do Part' debuted on England’s BBC-TV.

1975 – Confederate General Robert E. Lee had his U.S. citizenship restored by the U.S. Congress.

1987 – The U.S. began its policy of escorting reflagged Kuwaiti tankers up and down the Persian Gulf to protect them from possible attack by Iran.

1998 – Iran tested medium-range missile, capable of reaching Israel or Saudi Arabia.

2000 – Astronomers at the University of Arizona announced that they had found a 17th moon orbiting Jupiter.

2003 – In northern Iraq, Saddam Hussein's sons Odai and Qusai died after a gunfight with U.S. forces.

2003 – In Paris, France, a fire broke out near the top of the Eiffel Tower. About 4,000 visitors were evacuated and no injuries were reported.

2004 – The September 11 commission's final report was released. The 575-page report concluded that hijackers exploited 'deep institutional failings within our government.' The report was released to White House officials the day before.

2009 – The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting up to 6 minutes and 38.8 seconds, occurred over parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean.

2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis landed successfully at Kennedy Space Center after completing STS-135. It was the final flight of NASA's space shuttle program.

History