Today In History...

In 1839 The first Opium War between China and Britain erupts as two British

frigates and a fleet of war junks clash off the Chinese coast.

In 1868 Republican Ulysses S. Grant wins the presidential election over

Democrat Horatio Seymour.

In 1896 Idaho becomes the first U.S. state to grant voting rights for women.

In 1896 Republican William McKinley defeats Democrat William Jennings Bryan

for the presidency.

In 1900 The first auto show is held at Madison Square Garden in New York

City under the auspices of the Automobile Club of America.

In 1903 Panama proclaims it's independence from Columbia.

In 1908 Republican William Taft is elected the 27th U.S. President defeating

William Jennings Bryan.

In 1917 First Class Mail now costs 3 cents.

In 1918 Poland proclaims independence from Russia after World War I.

In 1930 The Detroit-Windsor tunnel is first auto-tunnel to foreign country.

In 1936 President Franklin D. Roosevelt wins a landslide victory over

Republican challenger Alfred M. "Alf" Landon.

In 1952 Charles Birdseye introduces his frozen peas.

In 1953 The first live color coast-to-coast telecast originates from

New York City.

In 1956 "The Wizard Of Oz" is shown on television for the first time.

In 1957 The USSR launches Sputnik II, the second manmade satellite, into

orbit with a dog on board named Laika.

In 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson soundly defeats Barry Goldwater to win

his first elected term.

In 1970 Salvado Allende is inaugurated as president of Chile.

In 1979 Five radicals are killed when gunfire erupts during an anti-Ku Klux

Klan demonstration in Greensboro, North Carolina.

In 1981 Secretary of State Alexander Haig charges that an unidentified

senior White House aide was waging a "guerrilla campaign" to

undermine his authority.

In 1983 Reverend Jesse Jackson launches his first campaign for the Democratic

presidential nomination, urging supporters in Washington to "come

together and form the rainbow coalition."

In 1984 The body of assassinated Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is

created during an outdoor ceremony attended by 400,000 mourners.

In 1986 Ash-Shiraa, a pro-Syrian magazine, first broke the story of U.S. arm

sales to Iran which escalates into the Iran-Contra affair.

In 1988 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir begins meeting with religious

and rightist parties, seeking support for a coalition government.

In 1989 East German leader Egon Krenz delivers a nationally broadcast speech

in which he promised sweeping economic and political reforms, and

called on East Germans to stay.

In 1990 Broadway musical actress Mary Martin dies at age 76.

In 1991 Israeli and Palestinian representatives hold their first-ever

face-to-face talks in Madrid, Spain.

In 1991 Syria opens its first one-on-one meeting with Israel in 43 years.

In 1992 Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton is elected the 42nd U.S. President

defeating President George Bush.

In 1992 In Illinois, Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun becomes the first black

woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

In 1994 The jury is seated in the O.J Simpson murder trial.

In 1994 Susan Smith of Union, SC, is arrested for drowning her two young

sons, nine days after claiming the children had been abducted by a

black carjacker.

In 1994 The space shuttle Atlantis blasts into orbit on a mission to survey

Earth's ozone layer.

In 1995 President Clinton dedicates a memorial at Arlington National

Cemetery to the 270 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing victims.

In 1995 Typhoon Angela hits the Philippines, killing more than 880 people.

In 1996 American entrepreneur Paul Tatum is shot to death on the steps of a

Moscow subway station in what his relatives suspect was a contract

slaying by the Russian mafia.

In 1997 The U.S. Supreme Court lets stand California's groundbreaking

Proposition 209, a ban on race and gender preference in hiring and

school admission.

In 1997 Chinese President Jiang Zemin leaves the U.S. after an 8-day visit.

In 1997 Opening statements are presented in the Oklahoma City bombing trial

of Terry Nichols.

In 1998 Minnesota elects former pro wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura as

governor.

In 1998 Hurricane Mitch's death toll swells to 9,000 dead in Honduras.

In 2001 Arkansas beats Mississippi, 58-56, in seven overtimes in the longest

NCAA college football game in history, one that lasted four hours

and 14 minutes.

In 2002 Actor Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith-"Lost in Space") dies at age 87.