This Day in History
1775: The Green Mountain Boys under Col. Ethan Allen capture Fort Ticonderoga, NY, from the British. The Second Continental Congress convenes at Philadelphia, PA.
1849: A riot involving a rivalry between actors takes place at the Astor Place Theatre, New York City. 22 persons are killed and 36 are injured.
1857: The Sepoy Mutiny, an uprising of the native troops employed by the English East India Co. begins near Delhi, India.
1869: The transcontinental railroad is completed as a golden spike is driven at Promontory, UT, marking the junction of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific.
1871: A final treaty is signed ending the Franco-Prussian War. France loses much of Alsace and Lorraine and pays a large war indemnity.
1940: Winston Churchill becomes prime minister of Great Britain.
1948: To avert a nationwide strike, Pres. Harry Truman orders the Army to operate the railroads.
1968: Peace talks aimed at ending the war in Vietnam begin in Paris.
1994: Nationalist leader Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as president of South Africa.
2002: Israeli forces end their 39-day siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem after an agreement is reached with Palestinian forces hiding inside the church.
Today's Birthdays
1838: John Wilkes Booth, actor and assassin of Pres. Abraham Lincoln (near Bel Air, MD; died 1865)
1878: Gustav Stresemann, statesman (Berlin, Germany; died 1929)
1886: Karl Barth, Protestant theologian (Basel, Switzerland; died 1968)
1898: Ariel Durant, historian/author (Prosurov, Russia; died 1981)
1899: Fred Astaire, dancer/actor (Omaha, NE; died 1987)
1902: David O. Selznick, producer (Pittsburgh, PA; died 1965)
1908: Carl Albert, Oklahoma congressman (McAlester, OK; died 2000)
1918: T. Berry Brazelton, pediatrician/author (Waco, TX)
1933: Barbara Taylor Bradford, writer (Leeds, England)
1944: Judith Jamison, dancer/choreographer (Philadelphia, PA)
1946: Dave Mason, singer/musician/songwriter (Worcester, England)
1955: Chris Berman, sportscaster (Greenwich, CT)
1957: Phil Mahre, Olympic champion skier (White Pass, WA)
1960: Bono (Vox), singer and member of U2 (Dublin, Ireland)
1965: Rony Seikaly, basketball player (Beirut, Lebanon)
1966: Jason Brooks, actor (Colorado Springs, CO)
