Today In History...

   In 1521 Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captures present-day Mexico City
           from the Aztec Indians.
   In 1624 French King Louis XIII names Cardinal Richelieu his first minister.
   In 1642 Christiaan Huygens discovers the Martian south polar cap.
   In 1704 The Battle of Blenheim is fought during the War of the Spanish
           Succession, resulting in a victory for English and Austrian forces.
   In 1792 French revolutionaries imprison the royal family.
   In 1846 The American Flag is raised for the first time in Los Angeles, CA.
   In 1847 English astronomer J.R. Hind discovers the asteroid Iris.
   In 1889 William Gray of Hartford, CT, receives a patent for a coin-operated
           telephone.
   In 1910 Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, dies in London.
   In 1932 Adolf Hitler rejects the post of vice-chancellor of Germany, saying
           he was prepared to hold out "for all or nothing."
   In 1934 The satirical comic strip "L'il Abner," created by Al Capp, debuts.
   In 1942 Walt Disney's full-length animated feature "Bambi" premieres.
   In 1946 Author H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds) dies in London.
   In 1960 Central African Republic proclaims independence from France.
   In 1960 The first two-way telephone conversation via satellite takes place
           with the help of Echo I.
   In 1961 Berlin is divided as East Germany seals off the border between
           eastern and western sectors in order to halt the flight of refugees.
           Two days later, work begins on the Berlin Wall.
   In 1979 Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals becomes the 14th player in
           major league baseball history to reach the 3,000 career hit mark.
   In 1981 President Reagan at his ranch in California signs a historic package
           of tax and budget reductions.
   In 1986 The U.S. Senate approves President Reagan's request for $100 million
           in aid to the Nicaraguan contras.
   In 1987 Chicago's 24-hour rainfall record is set at 9.35 inches, causing the
           worst flash floods in the area's history.
   In 1987 Macy's Department Store broke its own record when 4877 volunteers
           tap-danced simultaneously at its annual Tap-O-Mania event.
   In 1987 A rented Piper Cherokee airplane flew too close to President
           Reagan's helicopter in restricted airspace over Southern California;
           the pilot and passenger of the plane were arrested.
   In 1989 Searchers in Ethiopia find the wreckage of a plane which had crashed
           a week earlier killing Texas Congressman Mickey Leland and 15
           others.
   In 1990 President Bush orders Defense Secretary Dick Cheney to the Persian
           Gulf for the second time since Iraq invaded Kuwait.
   In 1991 Clark Clifford resigns as chairman of First American Bankshares
           Inc., a bank holding company the government said had been illegally
           acquired by the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.
   In 1992 President Bush announces that Secretary of State James A. Baker III
           was leaving his diplomatic post to be White House chief of staff in
           a shake-up designed to energize Bush's re-election campaign.
   In 1993 Negotiators for the U.S., Canada and Mexico announce they had
           resolved side issues concerning the proposed North American Free
           Trade Agreement.
   In 1995 Baseball Hall-of-Famer Mickey Mantle dies of liver cancer at age 63.
   In 1997 U.S. envoy Dennis Ross wraps up a 4-day mission to the Middle East,
           after persuading the Palestinians to resume security cooperation
           with Israel.
   In 1998 Puerto Rico's legislature approves a referendum on whether Caribbean
           island should become 51st U.S. state.
   In 1999 Gunmen shoot to death Colombian humorist Jaime Garzon in a killing
           that authorities later blamed on the leader of the country's
           right-wing paramilitary.
   In 1999 Tennis player Steffi Graf retires from the sport she had dominated
           for two decades.
   In 2000 Somalia swears in legislators for first central government after
           almost a decade of internecine warfare.
   In 2001 Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits a controversial war
           shrine 2 days before the actual anniversary of Japan's World War II
           surrender.
   In 2002 Amid rising floodwaters, tens of thousands of people in the Czech
           Republic flee their historic capital for higher ground.
   In 2018 International Lefthanders Day.