Today In History...

Today In History...
   In 1784 In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin expresses unhappiness
           over the choice of the eagle as the symbol of America, and expresses
           his own preference: the turkey.
   In 1788 The first European settlers in Australia, led by Captain Arthur
           Phillip, land in present-day Sydney. (The party included 700
           convicts from England.)
   In 1802 Congress passes an act calling for a library to be established
           within the U.S. Capitol.
   In 1837 Michigan becomes the 26th U.S. state.
   In 1841 Hong Kong is proclaimed a sovereign territory of Britain.
   In 1861 Louisiana becomes 6th state to secede from the union.
   In 1870 Virginia rejoins the Union.
   In 1871 The American income tax is repealed.
   In 1875 The first electric dental drill is patented.
   In 1939 Principle photography begins for David O. Selznick's movie version
           of "Gone With The Wind."
   In 1942 The first American expeditionary force to arrive in Europe during
           World War II goes ashore in Northern Ireland.
   In 1950 India becomes a republic ceasing to be a British dominion as
           Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office as president.
   In 1954 Ground breaking begins on Disneyland.
   In 1961 J.G. Travell becomes the first woman physician to the President.
   In 1962 The U.S. launches Ranger III to land scientific instruments on the
           moon, but the probe misses the target by some 22,000 miles.
   In 1972 Vesna Vulovik sets the record for surviving the longest fall without
           a parachute, 33,000 feet when a DC-9 explodes over Czechoslovakia.
   In 1979 Former U.S. vice-president Nelson A. Rockefeller dies at age 70.
   In 1981 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that states may allow TV cameras to
           cover criminal court trials.
   In 1983 Paul "Bear" Bryant, one of the winningest coaches in college
           football history, dies in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at age 69.
   In 1984 The one minute ice cream eating record is set at 3 lbs, 6 oz.
   In 1985 Pope John Paul II arrives in Caracas, Venezuela, to begin a tour of
           South America.
   In 1986 The Chicago Bears defeat the New England Patriots, 46-10, in
           Super Bowl XX.
   In 1986 Voyager II relays information about the rings and moons of Uranus.
   In 1987 President Reagan condemns the kidnappings of three Americans in west
           Beirut two days earlier.
   In 1988 A published study reports aspirin cuts the risk of heart disease.
   In 1988 Australians celebrate the 200th anniversary of their country as a
           grand parade of tall ships sailed in Sydney Harbor, re-enacting the
           voyage of the first European settlers.
   In 1989 Virginia Lt. Governor L. Douglas Wilder launches his successful
           campaign to become the first elected black governor of a U.S. state.
   In 1990 Attorneys for deposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega challenge the
           jurisdiction of the U.S. court system to try their client on
           drug-trafficking charges.
   In 1992 The Washington Redskins win Super Bowl XXVI, defeating the Buffalo
           Bills, 37-24.
   In 1992 Actor, Jose Ferrer dies in Coral Gables, Florida.
   In 1992 Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary,
           acknowledges "causing pain in my marriage," on CBS's "60 Minutes."
   In 1993 Former Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel is elected president of
           the new Czech Republic.
   In 1993 UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali calls on the Security
           Council to take "whatever measures are necessary" to compel Israel
           to readmit 400 deported Palestinians.
   In 1994 During a visit to Sydney, Australia, by Britain's Prince Charles,
           a young man lunged at the prince, firing two blank shots from a
           starter's pistol.
   In 1994 Russian President Boris Yeltsin accepts the resignation of Finance
           Minister Boris Fyodorov, who warned of economic collapse and social
           unrest.
   In 1995 The U.S. House endorses a balanced-budget amendment to the
           Constitution designed to eliminate chronic federal deficits.
   In 1996 First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies in secret to a grand
           jury investigating her link to the Whitewater probe.
   In 1996 Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz is shot and killed at suburban
           Philadelphia estate of John E. du Pont; du Pont surrenders 48 hours
           later.
   In 1997 The Green Bay Packers defeat the New England Patroits, 35-21, in
           Super Bowl XXXI.
   In 1998 President Clinton denies having an affair with a White House intern,
           telling reporters, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman,
           Miss Lewinsky."
   In 1998 Northwest and Continental airlines merge routes.
   In 1999 President Clinton welcomes Pope John Paul II in St. Louis as the
           pontiff began his seventh pilgrimage to the U.S.
   In 1999 King Hussein turns over temporary operation of Jordan to his eldest
           son and returned to the U.S. for urgent medical care.
   In 2002 Jennifer Capriati makes the greatest comeback in a Grand Slam final
           to overcome Martina Hingis and defend her Australian Open title.
   In 2003 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their first NFL championship, routing 
           the Oakland Raiders, 48-21, in Super Bowl XXXVII.
   In 2004 Lionel Tate, the Florida teen who'd killed a 6-year-old playmate 
           and became the youngest defendant in the U.S. to receive life, is 
           released after three years behind bars.
   In 2005 Condoleezza Rice is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, becoming 
           the first African American woman to hold the post.
   In 2008 Christian Brando (son of the late Marlon Brando) dies in Los 

           Angeles. He was 49.

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