This Day in History
1846: Following a border clash, the United States declares war on Mexico.
1940: As Nazi Germany’s conquest of France begins, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gives his first speech to Parliament, rallying support for the Allied cause.
1943: During World War II, the Allies declare victory in North Africa over the Germans and Italians in Tunis.
1981: Pope John Paul II is seriously wounded by an escaped Turkish murderer, Mehmet Ali Agca, while riding in an open vehicle through Rome's St. Peter's Square.
1985: Police efforts to evict the radical group MOVE from a Philadelphia house result in a shootout and fire, leaving 11 dead and destroying 2 city blocks.
Today's Birthdays
1699: Sebastião José de Carvalho e Mello, Marquês de Pombal, Portuguese statesman (Lisbon, Portugal; died 1782)
1717: Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia (Vienna, Austria; died 1780)
1792: Pius IX, pope (Senigallia, Italy; died 1878)
1842: Sir Arthur Sullivan, composer and collaborator with Sir William Gilbert (London, England; died 1900)
1882: Georges Braque, painter (Argenteuil-sur-Seine, France; died 1963)
1907: Dame Daphne du Maurier, novelist (London, England; died 1989)
1914: Joe Louis, boxing champion (near Lafayette, AL; died 1981)
1923: Beatrice Arthur, actress (New York, NY)
1927: Herbert Ross, actor/choreographer/director (New York, NY; died 2001)
1939: Harvey Keitel, actor (Brooklyn, NY)
1943: Mary Wells, singer (Detroit, MI; died 1992)
1946: Tim Piggott-Smith, actor (Rugby, England)
1950: Stevie Wonder, singer/musician (Saginaw, MI)
1952: John R. Kasich, former US representative (OH) (McKees Rocks, PA)
1961: Dennis Rodman, basketball player (Trenton, NJ)
1962: Julianne Phillips, actress (Lake Oswego, OR)
1968: Darius Rucker, singer and member of Hootie & the Blowfish (Charleston, SC)
