Today In History...

   In 1738 John Wesley establishes the Methodist Church.

   In 1830 The first U.S. passenger railroad service begins between Baltimore

           and Elliott's Mill, Maryland.

   In 1844 Samuel F.B. Morse transmits the message "What hath God wrought!"

           from Washington to Baltimore, as he formally opened America's first

           telegraph line.

   In 1881 Some 200 people die when the Canadian ferry "Princess Victoria"

           sinks near London, Ontario.

   In 1883 The Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, opens to

           traffic.

   In 1899 The first auto repair shop opens in Cleveland, Ohio.

   In 1935 The first major league baseball game played at night takes place in

           Cinncinati's Crosley Field as the Reds beat the Phillies, 2-1.

   In 1941 The German battleship Bismarck sinks the British dreadnought Hood in

           the North Atlantic.

   In 1959 The first house with built-in bomb shelter is exhibited in Pleasant

           Hills, Pennsylvania.

   In 1962 Astronaut Scott Carpenter becomes the second American to orbit the

           Earth as he flew aboard Aurora VII.

   In 1976 The Concord SST service begins between Europe and Washington, DC.

   In 1977 In a surprise move, the Kremlin ousts Soviet President Nikolai

           Podgorny from the Communist Party's ruling Politburo.

   In 1979 A single bottle of 1806 Chateau Lafite claret wine is auctioned off

           for $28,000.

   In 1979 "Alien" opens in movie theaters nationwide.

   In 1980 Iran rejects a call by the World Court in The Hague to release the

           American hostages.

   In 1982 Christina Samane of South Africa gives birth to the heaviest baby

           ever born; a 22-pound, 8-ounce boy.

   In 1983 The federal government announces that finding the cause for AIDS

           is the nation's top health priority.

   In 1984 El Salvador convicts five of it's national guardsmen of killing four

           U.S. churchwomen in December 1980.

   In 1985 President Reagan denounces a House-passed Democratic package of $56

           billion in deficit reductions for the following fiscal year, saying

           it was riddled with phony savings.

   In 1985 "A View To A Kill," the last James Bond film starring Roger Moore as

           007, opens in theatres.

   In 1986 Margaret Thatcher becomes the first British Prime Minister to visit

           Israel.

   In 1987 An estimated 250,000 people crowd onto the Golden Gate Bridge to

           celebrate the structure's 50th birthday, a few days before the

           actual anniversary.

   In 1988 John Moschitta sets the Guinness record for fast talking at 586

           words per minute.

   In 1988 President Reagan vetos legislation that would have strengthened the

           nation's ability to defend itself and its industries against trading

           practices of other nations that were deemed unfair.

   In 1988 President Reagan vetos legislation that would have strengthened the

           nation's ability to defend itself and its industries against trading

           practices of other nations that were deemed unfair.

   In 1989 "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" premieres in theaters.

   In 1990 Two members of the militant enviromental group Earth First! are

           injured when a pipe bomp explodes in their car in Oakland, CA.

   In 1990 The Edmonton Oilers win their fifth Stanley Cup as they defeat the

           Boston Bruins for the championship, four games to one.

   In 1991 Israel begins airlifting 15,000 Ethiopian Jews to safety as

           Ethiopian rebels continued to advance on Addis Ababa.

   In 1991 The remains of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi,

           assassinated by a suicide bomber, are cremated.

   In 1992 President Bush authorizes the Coast Guard to return directly home

           all Haitian refugees picked up at sea.

   In 1992 Al Unser Jr. becomes the first second-generation winner of the

           Indianapolis 500; his father, 4-time winner Al Unser, finished

           third.

   In 1993 Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Campos and six other

           people aere killed at the Guadalajara, Mexico, airport in what was

           described as a shootout involving drug gangs.

   In 1993 The Senate confirms Roberta Achtenberg, an acknowledged lesbian, to

           be a top federal housing official.

   In 1994 Four men are convicted of bombing the World Trade Center and are

           sentenced to 240 years in prison each.

   In 1995 Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss is sentenced to three years in prison

           and fined $1,500 for running a call-girl ring that catered to the

           rich and famous.

   In 1995 Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson dies at age 79.

   In 1997 The space shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth, bringing with it NASA

           astronaut Jerry Linenger, who had spent four months aboard the

           Russian Mir space station.

   In 1999 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that police violate people's privacy

           rights when they bring TV camera crews or other journalists into

           homes during arrests or searches.

   In 1999 Boxer Mike Tyson leaves a Rockville, MD, jail after serving 3 1/2

           months for assaulting two motorists over a fender-bender.

   In 2000 Maryland dismisses its wiretapping case against Linda Tripp after

           a judge disallows most of Monica Lewinsky's testimony.

   In 2000 Gunmen kill five in robbery attempt at a Wendy's restaurant in

           Queens, NY.

   In 2000 Isiah Thomas, Bob McAdoo and Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt

           are elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

   In 2002 President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign a landmark 

           nuclear arms reduction treaty in Moscow. 

   In 2002 U.S. Olympic Committee president Sandra Baldwin resigns, a day 

           after she admitted lying about her academic credentials. 

   In 2003 British actress Rachel Kempson, matriarch of the Redgrave acting 

           dynasty, dies four days short of her 93rd birthday.