Today In History...

   In   64 The Great Fire of Rome begins and lasts for several days.
   In 1536 The Pope's authority is declared void in England.
   In 1792 American naval hero John Paul Jones dies in Paris at age 45.
   In 1872 Britain introduces secret ballot voting.
   In 1918 During World War I, American and French forces launch a
           counter-offensive against the German between the Aisne and Marne
           Rivers in France.
   In 1927 Ty Cobb hit safely for the 4,000th time in his career.
   In 1931 The first air-conditioned ship, "Mariposa," is launched.
   In 1932 U.S. and Canada sign a treaty to develop St. Lawrence Seaway.
   In 1936 The Spanish Civil War begins as General Francisco Franco leads an
           uprising of army troops based in Spanish North Africa against a
           socialist coalition government in Madrid.
   In 1938 Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan arrives in Ireland after he left
           New York for California.
   In 1940 The Democratic National Convention nominates President Franklin D.
           Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term in office.
   In 1940 The first successful helicopter flight is made in Stratford, CT.
   In 1940 "You're In The Army Now" premieres with the longest on-screen kiss
           between Jane Wyman and Regis Toommey (3:15).
   In 1944 American forces in France capture the Normandy town of St. Lo.
   In 1944 Hideki Tojo is removed as Japanese premier and war minister because
           of setbacks suffered by his country in World War II.
   In 1947 President Truman signs the Presidential Succession Act, which
           designated the Speaker of the House next in line to the presidency
           after the vice president.
   In 1955 A summit opens in Geneva, Switzerland, attended by President
           Eisenhower, Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin, British Prime Minister
           Anthony Eden and French Premier Edgar Faure.
   In 1962 The communications satellite Telstar relays televison across the
           Atlantic.
   In 1963 "The Nutty Professor" starring Jerry Lewis opens in movie theaters.
   In 1966 Gemini X is launched.
   In 1969 A car driven by Senator Edward Kennedy, D-MA, plunges off a bridge
           on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha's Vineyard. His passenger,
           28-year-old, Mary Jo Kopechne drowned.
   In 1976 Nadia Comaneci scores a perfect 10 at the Summer Olympics and wins
           three gold medals.
   In 1981 Jack Henry Abbott, whose writings about his life in prison became a
           best-selling book, fatally stabs Richard Adan, an aspiring actor
           working as a waiter, outside a New York City restaurant.
   In 1984 A gunman opens fire at McDonald's in San Yisdro, CA, killing 21
           people before being shot dead by the police.
   In 1984 Walter Mondale wins the Democratic presidential nomination in
           San Francisco.
   In 1985 Appearing publicly for the first time since his cancer surgery,
           President Reagan waves to photographers from a window at Bethesda
           Naval Hospital, flashing an "okay" sign when asked how he felt.
   In 1986 Videotapes are released by researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic
           Institution showing the Titanic's sunken remains.
   In 1986 "Aliens" starring Sigourney Weaver opens in U.S. theaters.
   In 1988 Iran accepts terms to end its 8-year war with Iraq.
   In 1989 Reversing an earlier decision, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski declares his
           candidacy for Poland's presidency, which he won the following day.
   In 1989 Actress Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, is shot to death at her Los Angeles
           home by obsessed fan Robert Bardo, who was later sentenced to life
           in prison.
   In 1990 Dr. Karl Menninger, the dominant figure in American psychiatry for
           six decades, dies four days short of his 97th birthday.
   In 1991 Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon demand the release of two
           Lebanese brothers being held in Germany, warning there could be
           "grave consequences."
   In 1994 A bomb explodes in a Buenos Aires building housing Jewish groups,
           killing 95 and injuring more than 200.
   In 1994 Tutsi rebels declare an end to Rwanda's 14-week-old civil war.
   In 1995 Opening statements are presented in the trial of Susan Smith, the
           South Carolina woman charged with drowning her two young sons.
   In 1996 Shaquille O'Neal abandons the Orlando Magic to sign seven-year, $120
           million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
   In 1997 Systems on the Russian space station Mir returned to near-normal,
           almost a day after the already disabled spacecraft lost power.
   In 1998 Residents along the northern coast of Papua, New Guinea, are left
           reeling after a 23-foot-high tidal wave hit the night before,
           killing an 3000.
   In 1999 David Cone of the New York Yankees pitches a perfect game against
           the Montreal Expos, leading his team to a 6-0 victory.
   In 2000 Despite a veto threat from President Clinton, the U.S. Senate votes
           61-to-38 in favor of eliminating the so-called "marriage penalty" by
           cutting taxes for almost every married couple.
   In 2001 President Bush, en route to an economic summit in Italy, stops over
           in Britain as he began his second trip to Europe in a month.
   In 2003 Basketball star Kobe Bryant is charged with sexually assaulting a
           19-year-old woman at a Colorado spa; Bryant denied the charge,
           saying he was guilty only of adultery.