Today In History...

   In 1609 English explorer Henry Hudson sails into the river that now bears
           his name.
   In 1814 The Battle of North Point is fought near Baltimore during the War of
           1812.
   In 1874 The Remington typewriter goes on the market for the first time.
   In 1918 During World War I, U.S. forces led by General John J. Pershing
           launches an attack on the German-occupied St. Mihiel salient north
           of Verdun, France.
   In 1928 Katharine Hepburn makes her New York stage debut in "Night Hostess."
   In 1938 In a speech in Nuremberg Adolf Hitler demands self-determination for
           the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.
   In 1943 During World War II, German paratroopers take Benito Mussolini from
           the hotel where he was being held by the Italian government.
   In 1944 During World War II, U.S. Army troops enter Germany for the first
           time, near Trier.
   In 1953 Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier
           in Newport, Rhode Island.
   In 1954 "Lassie" makes its television debut on CBS.
   In 1959 The TV series "Bonanza" premieres on NBC.
   In 1960 Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy addresses the
           issue of his Roman Catholic faith, telling a Protestant group in
           Houston, "I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the
           church does not speak for me."
   In 1966 The sitcom "Family Affair" starring Brian Keith premieres on CBS-TV.
   In 1966 Gemini XI is launched.
   In 1970 USSR launches Luna 16; returns samples from lunar Sea of Fertility.
   In 1970 The Miss America title is won by Phyllis Ann George, 21, from
           Texas.
   In 1974 After 58 years of rule, a coup overthrows Emperor Haile Selassie in
           Ethiopia.
   In 1977 South African black student leader Steven Biko dies while in police
           custody, triggering an international outcry.
   In 1978 The sitcom "Taxi" debuts on ABC-TV.
   In 1985 A South African panel proposes repeal of the country's hated "pass
           laws" that kept South Africa's blacks out of white areas.
   In 1986 Joseph Cicippio, the acting comptroller at the American University
           in Beirut, is kidnapped. He was released in December 1991.
   In 1986 The U.S. releases Soviet physicist Gennadiy Zakharov and the Soviet
           Union releases American journalist Nicholas Daniloff to the custody
           of their respective countries' embassies, pending espionage trials.
   In 1987 Pope John Paul II visits New Orleans on his 12-day U.S. tour.
   In 1988 The Federal Government announces that most American homes should be
           checked for radon, a naturally occuring gas that causes cancer.
   In 1988 Hurricane Gilbert slams into Jamaica with winds up to 145mph,
           killing 45 people and an estimated damage of $1 billion.
   In 1989 David Dinkins steals the Democratic party's mayoral nomination from
           Ed Koch, who was seeking his fourth term as mayor of New York City.
   In 1990 Representatives of the World War II Allies and West and East Germany
           sign a treaty in Moscow giving international sanction to German
           unity.
   In 1990 President Bush videotapes an 8-minute message to the Iraqi people.
   In 1991 The space shuttle Discovery blasts off on a mission to deploy an
           observatory designed to study the Earth's ozone layer.
   In 1992 The space shuttle Endeavour blasts off, carrying with it Mark Lee
           and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space.
   In 1992 Actor Anthony Perkins ("Psycho") dies at age 60.
   In 1992 Monica Seles beats Arantxa Sanchez Vicario winning the U.S. Open's
           women's title.
   In 1993 Actor Raymond Burr (Perry Mason) dies at age 76.
   In 1994 A stolen, single-engine Cessna crashes into South Grounds of the
           White House. The pilot, Frank Corder, was killed.
   In 1994 In Poland, NATO soldiers and former Warsaw Pact nations hold their
           first joint maneuvers.
   In 1994 The last first-run epsiode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" airs
           for the last time in syndication.
   In 1995 The Belarussian military shoots down a helium balloon during an
           international race, killing its two American pilots.
   In 1997 Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says she wouldn't return to
           the Mideast until Israeli and Palestinian leaders made the "hard
           decisions" necessary to restart peace talks.
   In 1998 Leaders of striking pilots at Northwest Airlines approve a new
           contract.
   In 1999 Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs becomes the fourth major league
           baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a single season.
   In 2000 Dutch lawmakers give same-sex couples the right to marriage.
   In 2000 Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes the first first lady to win an
           election as she claimed victory in the New York Democratic Senate
           primary, defeating little-known opponent Dr. Mark McMahon.
   In 2001 Stunned rescue workers continue to search for bodies in the World
           Trade Center's smoking rubble a day after a terrorist attack that
           left thousands dead.
   In 2003 The U.N. Security Council ends 11 years of sanctions against Libya.
   In 2004 Roger Federer wins the U.S. Open, defeating Lleyton Hewitt.