On this date in history ...

• 0760 - 14th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
• 1176 - Murder attempt by "Assassins" on Saladin near Aleppo
• 1200 - Peace of Goulet
• 1370 - Jews are expelled/massacred from Brussels Belgium
• 1455 - Open battle in England's 30-year War of the Roses (St Albans)
• 1455 - Richard of York takes St Albans, kidnapping King Henry VI
• 1526 - Pope Clemens VII, France, Genoa, Venice, Florence & Milan form Anti-French League of Cognac
• 1570 - 1st atlas, with 70 maps, published
• 1594 - Earl Mauritius & Willem Louis begins siege of Groningen
• 1629 - Emperor Ferdinand II & Danish King Christian IV sign Peace of LÅbeck
• 1659 - France, England & Netherlands sign "Hedges Concerto" treaty
• 1712 - Emperor Karel VI crowned king of Hungary
• 1746 - Russia & Austria signs treaty of cooperation
• 1761 - 1st life insurance policy in US, issued in Phila
• 1762 - Sweden & Prussia sign peace treaty
• 1784 - Ceylonese student leader Pieter Quint Ondaatje demands democracy
• 1803 - 1st public library opens (Connecticut)
• 1807 - Former VP Aaron Burr is tried for treason in Richmond Va (acquitted)
• 1807 - Townsend Speakman 1st sells fruit-flavored carbonated drinks (Phila)
• 1819 - 1st steam propelled vessel to cross Atlantic (Savannah leaves Ga)
• 1836 - Felix Mendelssohn's oratorium "St Paul," premieres in DÅsseldorf
• 1843 - 1st wagon train, 1000+ depart Independence Missouri for Oregon
• 1849 - Abraham Lincoln patents a buoying device
• 1856 - Violence in Senate, SC rep Brooks used a cane on Mass Sen Sumner
• 1858 - Confederaci¢n Granadina (now Colombia) forms
• 1863 - General Grant begins siege on Vicksburg
• 1863 - War Dept establishes Bureau of Colored Troops
• 1864 - Battle of N Anna River, VA (Totopotamy River, Haw's Shop, Hanovertown)
• 1868 - Great Train Robbery-7 men (Reno Brother) make off with $98,000 in cash
• 1872 - Amnesty Act restores civil rights to Southerners (except for 500)
• 1877 - 3rd Kentucky Derby: Billy Walker aboard Baden-Baden wins in 2:38
• 1883 - Cub's Billy Sunday's 1st at bat, begins 14 consecutive strikes out
• 1884 - 1-armed pitcher Hugh Daily fanned 13 hitters
• 1885 - 13th Preakness: Jim McLaughlin aboard Tecumseh wins in 2:49
• 1888 - Leroy Buffington patents a system to build skyscrapers
• 1891 - 1st motion picture shown to Natl Federation of Women's Clubs
• 1892 - Dr Washington Sheffield invents toothpaste tube
• 1893 - Montreal Athletic Assn beat Ottawa Generals 2-1, in 1st Cup Game
• 1900 - Associated Press organizes in NYC as non-profit news cooperative
• 1900 - Edwin S Votey patents pneumatic piano player
• 1902 - 36th Belmont: John Bullman aboard Mastermam wins in 2:22.6
• 1905 - Royal Academy in Delft Holland becomes Technical High School
• 1906 - 10th anniversary Olympic games close at Athens, Greece
• 1906 - 31st Preakness: Walter Miller aboard Whimsical wins in 1:45
• 1906 - Wright Brothers patents an aeroplane
• 1907 - Albert Trott takes two hat-tricks in an innings, Mddx v Somerset
• 1909 - 1st SF fireboat, David Scannell, launched
• 1911 - Braves pitcher, Cliff Curtis, loses his 23rd game in a row
• 1915 - Local train collides with troop train killing 226 (Gretna Scotland)
• 1916 - French troops occupy parts of Fort Douaumont Verdun
• 1923 - Stanley Baldwin succeeds Andrew Bonar Law as British premier
• 1924 - In Chicago, Nathan Leopold & Richard Loeb kidnap Robert Franks
• 1926 - "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" by Gene Austin hits #1
• 1926 - Chiang Kai-shek replaces communists in Guomindang China
• 1926 - Dutch Communist Party expels David Wijnkoop
• 1927 - 8.3 earthquake strikes Nan-Shan China, 200,000 killed
• 1927 - Dodgers beat Phillies, 20-4
• 1928 - US Congress accept Jones-White Merchant Naval Act
• 1930 - Ruth hits 3 consecutive HR (8th-10th of 60 in 1930)
• 1930 - Yankee "Bronx Bombers" hit 14 HRs in a game
• 1931 - Canned rattlesnake meat 1st goes on sale in Florida
• 1933 - Loch Ness Monster is 1st reportedly sighted by John Mackay
• 1933 - World Trade Day/National Maritime Day 1st celebrated
• 1938 - Dodgers announce contracts to install lights at Ebbets Field
• 1939 - Hitler & Mussolini sign "Pact of Steel"
• 1940 - Dutch Premier De Geer begins working with nazis
• 1940 - Premier Winston Churchill flies to Paris
• 1941 - British troops attack Baghdad
• 1942 - Mexico declares war on nazi-Germany & Japan
• 1943 - 1st jet fighter is tested
• 1943 - RAF scatters 1st copies of "The Flying Hollander"
• 1943 - Stalin disbands Komintern
• 1945 - 6th Marine division reaches suburbs of Naha Okinawa
• 1945 - NSB-FÅhrer Rost van Tonningen attempts & fails at suicide
• 1946 - Yankees turn triple-play & defeat Tigers' 5-3
• 1947 - "Truman Doctrine" goes into effect, aiding Turkey & Greece
• 1947 - 1st US ballistic missile fired
• 1950 - Celal Bayar elected president of Turkey
• 1950 - Dutch poet Gerrit Achterberg wins PC Hooft prize
• 1950 - Richard Strauss' "4 Last Songs" (4 letzte Lieder) in London
• 1953 - President Eisenhower signs Offshore Oil Bill
• 1953 - Yankee Irv Noren hits into a triple-play, Yanks beat Wash 12-4
• 1954 - 80th Preakness: Johnny Adams aboard Hasty Road wins in 1:57.4
• 1954 - KREX TV channel 5 in Grand Junction, CO (CBS) begins broadcasting
• 1954 - Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan is Bar Mitzvahed
• 1955 - Oldest man to drive in the Grand Prix (aged 55) finishes 6th
• 1956 - "Bob Hope Show," last airs on NBC-TV
• 1956 - KRIS TV channel 6 in Corpus Christi, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting
• 1957 - KBTX TV channel 3 in Bryan, TX (CBS) begins broadcasting
• 1957 - Red Sox set AL record by smashing 4 HRs in 6th inning in 11-0 win
• 1957 - South Africa govt approves race separation in universities
• 1959 - Benjamin O Davis Jr becomes 1st black gen-major in USAF
• 1960 - Virtually all coastal towns between 37th & 44th parallels severly damaged by tsunami that strikes Hilo, Hawaii at 01:04 AM
• 1961 - "Mother-In-Law" by Ernie K-Doe hits #1
• 1961 - "Touchables In Brooklyn" by Dickie Goodman hits #42
• 1961 - 1st revolving restaurant (Top Of The Needle in Seattle), opens
• 1962 - 14th Emmy Awards: Bob Newhart Show, E G Marshall & Shirley Booth
• 1962 - Neth telephone net becomes completely automated
• 1962 - Robert A Rushworth, USAF major, takes X-15 to 30,600m
• 1962 - Roger Maris walks 5 times (record 4 intentionally) in a 9 inn game
• 1963 - A C Milan wins 8th Europe Cup 1 at London
• 1963 - Greek parliament leader Lambrakis injured
• 1963 - Mickey Mantle hits a ball off Yankee Stadium's facade
• 1964 - LBJ presents "Great Society"
• 1965 - "Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-docious" hits #66
• 1965 - Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," single goes #1
• 1965 - Mad Dog Vachon beats Igor Vodic in Omaha, to become NWA champ
• 1966 - 18th Emmy Awards: Fugitive, Dick Van Dyke & Mary Tyler Moore
• 1966 - Shirley Englehorn wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open
• 1967 - "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," debuts on NET (now PBS)
• 1967 - Egyptian president Nassar closes Straits of Tiran to Israel
• 1967 - Fire at L'Innovation dept store kills 322 (Brussels, Belgium)
• 1968 - Pitts Pirate Willie Stargell hits 3 HRs, a double & a single
• 1969 - Stafford & Cernan pilot Apollo 10 LEM 9.4 mi(15km) above lunar surface
• 1970 - Arab terrorists kill 9 children & 3 adults on a school bus
• 1970 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
• 1970 - Mel Stottlemyre sets record by walking 11, but wins 2-0
• 1972 - Ceylon becomes Republic of Sri Lanka as its constitution is ratified
• 1972 - Ton Sijbrands becomes world checker champion
• 1972 - US president Nixon begins visit Moscow
• 1973 - Emmy News & Documentaries Award presentation
• 1973 - President Nixon confesses his role in Watergate cover-up
• 1974 - Ruffian begins her racing career as a filly & dies 14 months later
• 1974 - Soccer team Veendam forms
• 1974 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1975 - 8th ABA Championship: Kentucky Colonels beat Ind Pacers, 4 games to 1
• 1976 - NASA launches space vehicle S-179
• 1976 - St Louis Cardinal Reggie Smith hits 3 HR
• 1977 - Final European scheduled run of Orient Express (94 years)
• 1977 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Coca-Cola Golf Classic
• 1977 - Red Sox (6) & Brewers (5) tie single game HR record of 11
• 1979 - Canadians elect conservatives, Joseph Clark replaces Pierre Trudeau
• 1979 - Commencement of 1st ICC Trophy (PNG v E Afr & Singapore v Arg)
• 1980 - Marlo Thomas & Phil Donahue marry
• 1981 - Soyuz 40 returns to Earth
• 1983 - Pat Bradley wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Charity Golf Tournament
• 1983 - Toronto Blue Jay Cliff Johnson hits record 18th pinch hit HR
• 1985 - Pete Rose 2,108th run passes Hank Aaron as NL run scoring leader
• 1985 - Real Madrid wins 14th UEFA Cup at Madrid
• 1985 - US sailor Michael L Walker arrested for spying for USSR
• 1986 - Cher called David Letterman an asshole on Late Night on NBC
• 1987 - 30 killed in a Texas tornado
• 1988 - 34th LPGA Championship won by Sherri Turner
• 1988 - KÝroly Gr¢sz succeeds party leader JÝnos KÝdÝr in Hungary
• 1990 - Andre Dawson sets record being intentionally walked 5 times
• 1990 - Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,852.23
• 1990 - Final episode of "Newhart" airs
• 1990 - Microsoft releases Windows 3.0
• 1990 - North & South Yemen merge to form Republic of Yemen
• 1991 - Inter Milan wins 20th UEFA Cup at Rome
• 1991 - NFL Owners agree to add 2 teams in 1994
• 1991 - Roh Jai Bong resigns as premier of South Korea
• 1992 - Calif Angels, are involved in a bus crash, in NJ
• 1992 - India launches its Agni rocket
• 1992 - Johnny Carson's final appearance as host of Tonight Show
• 1993 - Riddick Bowe TKOs Jesse Ferguson in 2 for heavyweight boxing title
• 1994 - Elaine Crosby wins LPGA Lady Keystone Golf Open
• 1994 - Toronto NBA franchise unveils name "Raptors" & logo
• 1995 - Laverne & Shirley 20th anniversary reunionn special, televised
• 1996 - "Tartuffe: Born Again," opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 29 perfs
• 1996 - Emmy 23rd Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 16th time