Today In History...

Today In History...

   In 1702 The first London daily newspaper is published.

   In 1810 French Emperor Napoleon is married by proxy to Archduchess Marie

           Louise of Austria.

   In 1824 The Bureau Of Indian Affairs is created within the U.S. War

           Department.

   In 1847 John Chapman aka "Johnny Appleseed" dies in Allen County, IN.

   In 1861 The Confederate convention in Montgomery, AL, adopts a constitution.

   In 1865 During the Civil War, Union forces under General William T. Sherman

           occupy Fayetteville, North Carolina.

   In 1888 400 people die when the famed "Blizzard of '88" strikes the

           northeastern United States.

   In 1892 The first public game of basketball is played.

   In 1930 Former President William Taft is buried in Arlington National

           Cemetary.

   In 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Lend Lease Bill,

           providing war supplies to countries fighting the Axis.

   In 1942 General Douglas MacArthur leaves Corregidor in the Philippines for

           Australia during World War II. In a message before departing,

           McArthur uttered his famous vow: "I shall return."

   In 1953 F.M. Adams is the first commissioned woman army doctor.

   In 1954 The U.S. Army charges that Wisconsin Senator Joseph R. McCarthy and

           his subcommittee's chief counsel, Roy Cohn, had exerted pressure to

           obtain favored treatment for Private G. David Schine, a former

           consultant to the subcommittee.

   In 1959 The Lorraine Hansberry drama "A Raisin in the Sun," starring Ruby

           Dee and Sidney Poitier, opens in New York.

   In 1960 Pioneer V is launched and orbits the sun between Earth and Venus.

   In 1965 A white Boston minister, Rev. James Reeb, dies after being beaten by

           whites during civil rights disturbances in Selma, Alabama.

   In 1977 130 hostages held in Washington, DC, by Hanafi Moslims are freed

           after ambassadors from 3 Islamic nations joined the negotiations.

   In 1978 34 Israelis are killed as Palestinian guerillas go on a bloody

           rampage on the Tel Aviv-Haifa Highway.

   In 1985 The Soviet Union announces the death of its leader, Konstantin U.

           Chernenko. Mikhail S. Gorbachev is chosen to succeed Chernenko as

           the Communist Party General Secretary.

   In 1986 The state of Georgia pardons Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman who had

           been lynched in 1915 for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan.

   In 1987 The U.S. House of Representatives approves a resolution calling for

           a freeze on $40 million in aid for the Nicaraguan Contras for six

           months.

   In 1988 Gary Hart withdraws, for the second time, from the race for the 1988

           Democratic presidential nomination.

   In 1990 The Lithuanian parliament votes to break away from the Soviet Union.

   In 1991 U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III visits Israel, where he

           met with Foreign Minister David Levy to discuss prospects for Middle

           East peace.

   In 1992 Members of the U.N. Security Council accuse Iraq of playing a game

           of "cheat and retreat" from its promises to disarm and respect its

           people's human rights.

   In 1993 Janet Reno is unanimously confirmed by the Senate to become the

           U.S.'s first female attorney general.

   In 1993 North Korea withdraws from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in a

           harsh rebuff of Western demands to open suspected nuclear weapons

           development sites for inspection.

   In 1994 U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher arrives in Beijing.

   In 1995 Former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari flees to the U.S.

   In 1995 President Clinton nominates Deputy Defense Secretary John Deutch to

           be CIA director.

   In 1997 In a startling turnaround, Senate Republicans agree to a broader

           investigation of campaign financing that would include a look at

           huge "soft money" donations.

   In 1998 A Florida appeals court restores Joe Carollo as mayor of Miami after

           charges of voter fraud were made regarding absentee ballots.

   In 2000 Socialist Ricardo Lagos is sworn in as president of Chile.

   In 2002 President George W. Bush unveils a commemorative stamp to raise

           money to help September 11 victims "get their lives back in order."

   In 2003 A U.S. Army helicopter crashes near Fort Drum in upstate New York,

           killing 11 soldiers.