Today in History

Today in History

1208 King John of England opposes Innocent III on his nomination for archbishop of Canterbury.

1603 Queen Elizabeth I dies which will bring into power James VI of Scotland.

1663 Charles II of England awards land known as Carolina in North America to eight members of the nobility who assisted in his restoration.

1664 In London, Roger Williams is granted a charter to colonize Rhode Island.

1720 The banking houses of Paris close in the wake of financial crisis.

1721 In Germany, the supremely talented Johann Sebastian Bach publishes the Six Brandenburg Concertos.

1765 Britain passes the Quartering Act, requiring the colonies to house 10,000 British troops in public and private buildings.

1862 Abolitionist Wendell Phillips speaks to a crowd about emancipation in Cincinnati, Ohio and is pelted by eggs.

1900 Mayor Van Wyck of New York breaks ground for the New York subway tunnel that will link Manhattan and Brooklyn.

1904 Vice Admiral Togo sinks seven Russian ships as the Japanese strengthen their blockade of Port Arthur.

1927 Chinese Communists seize Nanking and break with Chiang Kai-shek over the Nationalist goals.

1938 The United States asks that all powers help refugees fleeing from the Nazis.

1944 The Gestapo rounds up innocent Italians in Rome and shoot them to death in reprisal for a bomb attack that killed 33 German policemen.

1947 Congress proposes limiting the presidency to two terms.

1951 General Douglas MacArthur threatens the Chinese with an extension of the Korean War if the proposed truce is not accepted.

1954 Great Britain opens trade talks with Hungary.

1955 Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opens at the Morosco Theatre in New York City.

1958 Elvis Presley trades in his guitar for a rifle and Army fatigues.

1965 The Freedom Marchers, citizens for civil rights, reach Montgomery, Alabama.

1967 Viet Cong ambush a truck convoy in South Vietnam damaging 82 of the 121 trucks.

1972 Great Britain imposes direct rule over Northern Ireland.

1985 Thousands demonstrate in Madrid against the NATO presence in Spain.

1989 The Exxon Valdez oil tanker spills 240,000 barrels of oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

1999 NATO planes, including stealth aircraft, attack Serbian forces in Kosovo.

Born

1755 Rufus King, framer of the U.S. Constitution.

1834 William Morris, English craftsman, poet and socialist.

1855 Andrew Mellon, U.S. financier and philanthropist.

1874 Harry Houdini, magician, escape artist.

1886 Edward Weston, photographer.

1893 George Sisler, baseball player.

1895 Arthur Murray, American dancer who founded dance schools.

1902 Thomas E. Dewey, New York governor.

1903 Adolf Butenandt, biochemist.

1919 Lawrence Ferlinghetti, ‘beat’ poet.

1926 Dario Fo, Italian actor and playwright.

1941 Joseph H. Taylor, Jr., radio astronomer and physicist.

History