This Day in History

1377: Pope Gregory XI brings the papacy to Rome from its "Babylonian captivity" in Avignon, France , where it had resided between 1309 and 1377.

1781: In the Battle of Cowpens during the American Revolution , colonial forces under Gen. Daniel Morgan send the British troops under Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton into a disorderly retreat.

1893: Hawaii's last monarch, Queen Liliuokalani, is deposed and the monarchy abolished by U.S. settlers.

1950: In Boston, masked bandits rob Brinks, Inc., of $2.8 million, $1.2 million of it in cash.

1977: Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed in Utah in the first exercise of capital punishment in the United States since 1967.

1991: In the Persian Gulf War , the allied forces launch a devastating air attack on Iraq .

1994: A predawn earthquake rocks the Los Angeles area, killing 61 and causing heavy damage.

1995: An earthquake in Kobe, Japan kills 5,000

1998: In a deposition in the Paula Jones case, Pres. Bill Clinton denies having had an affair with Monica Lewinsky.

2004: The U.S. military's death toll in the war in Iraq reaches 500.