This Day in History
1453: In a battle that marks the end of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople falls to the Turks, who rename it Istanbul.
1660: Charles II is restored to the English throne, marking the restoration of the monarchy after 11 years as a commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell.
1790: Rhode Island becomes the 13th state to ratify the Constitution.
1848: Wisconsin is admitted to the Union as the 30th state.
1932: World War I veterans launch the Bonus March on Washington, DC, to demand that Congress pay their bonuses in full.
1953: Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first mountain climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
1985: British soccer fans go on a rampage at the European Cup Final in Brussels, Belgium , killing some 40 people and injuring 400.
1919: Arthur Eddington confirms Albert Einstein’s light-bending prediction and consequently his theory of relativity.
2002: FBI Director Robert Mueller III announces a sweeping reorganization of the agency to shift its focus from law enforcement to terrorism prevention.
Today's Birthdays
1630: Charles II, king of England (London, England; died 1685)
1736: Patrick Henry, American Revolutionary leader/orator (Studley, VA; died 1799)
1874: G(ilbert) K. Chesterton, author/critic/religious apologist (London, England; died 1936)
1898: Beatrice Lillie, actress/comedian (Canada; died 1989)
1903: Bob Hope, comedian/actor (London, England; died 2003)
1917: John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States (Brookline, MA; died 1963)
1922: Iannis Xenakis, Greek composer and architect (Braila, Romania; died 2001)
1939: Al Unser Sr., auto racer (Albuquerque, NM)
1947: Anthony Geary, actor (Coalville, UT). V. Gene Robinson, first openly gay Episcopal bishop (Lexington, KY)
1956: La Toya Jackson, pop singer (Gary, IN)
1958: Annette Bening, actress (Topeka, KS)
1959: Rupert Everett, actor (Norfolk, England)
1961: Melissa Etheridge, rock singer (Leavenworth, KS)
1962: Eric Davis, baseball player (Los Angeles, CA)
1975: Melanie Janine Brown (Scary Spice), singer and member of the Spice Girls (Leeds, England)
