Today in History

Today in History

1789 Robespierre, a deputy from Arras, France, decides to back the French Revolution.

1812 Great Britain signs the Treaty of Orebro, making peace with Russia and Sweden.

1830 Uruguay adopts a liberal constitution.

1861 Union and Confederate troops skirmish at Blackburn’s Ford, Virginia, in a prelude to the Battle of Bull Run.

1877 Inventor Thomas Edison records the human voice for the first time.

1872 The Ballot Act is passed in Great Britain, providing for secret election ballots.

1935 Ethiopian King Haile Selassie urges his countrymen to fight to the last man against the invading Italian army.

1936 General Francisco Franco of Spain revolts against the Republican government, starting the Spanish Civil War.

1942 The German Me-262, the first jet-propelled aircraft to fly in combat, makes its first flight.

1971 New Zealand and Australia announce they will pull their troops out of Vietnam.

1994 In Buenos Aires, a massive car bomb kills 96 people.

Born

1811 William Makepeace Thackeray, English novelist and satirist.

1887 Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian politician and Nazi collaborator during World War II.

1902 Jessamyn West, American author (The Friendly Persuasion).

1906 Clifford Odets, playwright (Waiting for Lefty).

1913 “Red” Skelton, American comedian and actor.

1918 Nelson Mandela, civil rights activist, first black president of South Africa.

1921 John Glenn, Jr., American pilot, astronaut and politician.

1929 Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, American blues singer.

1933 Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet.

1939 Hunter S. Thompson, journalist.

History