Today In History...

In 1400 Geoffrey Chaucer, author of "The Canterbury Tales," dies in London.

In 1675 Iapetus, a moon of Saturn, is discovered by Giovanni Cassini.

In 1760 George III ascends to the British throne upon the death of his grandfather, King George II.

In 1812 The U.S. frigate United States captures the British vessel Macedonian during the War of 1812.

In 1854 The "Charge of the Light Brigade" takes place during the Crimean War as an English brigrade of 600 men charged the Russian army against hopeless odds and suffered heavy losses.

In 1870 The first American postal cards are issued.

In 1903 The U.S. Senate begins investigating the Teapot Dome scandals of the Harding administration.

In 1918 The Canadian steamship Princess Sophia hits a reef off Alaska killing nearly all 400 aboard.

In 1929 Former Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall is convicted of taking a $100,000 bribe.

In 1939 "The Time of Your Life," by William Saroyan opens in New York.

In 1951 Peace talks aimed at ending the Korean War resume in Panmunjom after 63 days.

In 1954 The Air Force closes "Operation Bluebook," a UFO study.

In 1960 The first electronic wrist watch, a Bulova, is placed on sale in New York City.

In 1962 U.S. ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson presents photographic evidence of Soviet missile bases in Cuba to the U.N. Security Council.

In 1962 American author John Steinbeck is awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.

In 1971 The U.N. General Assembly admits Mainland China and expels Taiwan.

In 1971 Roy Disney dedicates Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

In 1975 USSR Venera 10 lands on Venus.

In 1983 The U.S. invades Grenada, assisted by soldiers from six Caribbean nations, at the order of President Reagan, who said the action was necessary to protect U.S. citizens.

In 1985 Argentine President Raul Alfonsin declares a 60-day state of siege in order to meet legal requirements for holding 12 rightist army officers suspected of trying to undermine his government.

In 1986 At the time, the world's largest omelet (54,763 eggs/531 pounds of cheese), is whipped together in a 30-foot skillet in Las Vegas.

In 1986 The Boston Red Sox come within one strike of winning the World Series, but ended up losing to the New York Mets, 6-5, on a wild pitch and an error in the tenth inning, forcing a seventh game.

In 1988 In a UN speech, First lady Nancy Reagan says the U.S. is responsible for its own drug problem, and charged that every American drug user was "an accomplice to every criminal act"
committed by drug barons.

In 1989 Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev begins a 3-day visit to Finland.

In 1989 Novelist and critic Mary McCarthy diesin New York at age 77.

In 1990 Evander Holyfield knocks out Buster Douglas in the third round of their fight in Las Vegas to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the the world.

In 1992 Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot says he dropped his announced bid the previous July because he was told Republican operatives were planning to smear his daughter.

In 1993 Actor Vincent Price dies of lung cancer at age 82.

In 1994 In South Carolina, Susan Smith says a carjacker drove off with her two sons in the back seat (she later confesses to killing them and is sentenced to life in prison).

In 1994 Three defendants are convicted in South Africa of murdering American exchange student Amy Biehl.

In 1995 Tennis pro Bobby Riggs dies of prostate cancer at age 77.

In 1995 John J. Sweeney is elected AFL-CIO president.

In 1995 A commuter train slams into a school bus in Fox River Grove, IL, killing 7 students and injuring 28.

In 1996 Federal judge Richard Matsch grants Oklahoma City bombing defendants Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols separate trials.

In 1997 Hundreds of thousands of women join the Million Woman March in Philadelphia.

In 1998 Vice President Al Gore participates in a groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial dedicated to victims of the Oklahoma City bombing.

In 1999 Golfer Payne Stewart and five others are killed when their Learjet flew uncontrolled for four hours before crashing in South Dakota.

In 1999 Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan exits the GOP to mount a bid for the Reform Party nomination.

In 2000 Divers find and remove the first bodies from the wreckage of the nuclear submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea. It sank on August 12 with the loss of all 118 sailors aboard.

In 2002 Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) is killed in a plane crash in northern Minnesota along with his wife, daughter and five others, just 11 days before the election.

In 2002 Actor/singer, Richard Harris (MacArthur Park) dies in London at 72.

In 2003 The Florida Marlins win the World Series in Game 6 against the New York Yankees, 2-0.

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