This Day in History
1900: The United States announces that its troops will join those of other nations in thwarting the rebels in China's Boxer Rebellion.
1917: The first U.S. troops arrive in Europe to fight World War I.
1945: The UN Charter is signed by 50 nations in San Francisco.
1959: Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth II jointly dedicate the St. Lawrence Seaway at ceremonies in St. Lambert, Quebec, Canada.
1963: John F. Kennedy, visiting a divided Berlin, speaks the famous words "Ich bin ein Berliner."
1968: Iwo Jima, held by the U.S. since World War II, is returned to Japan.
1993: In retaliation for an alleged Iraqi plot to kill former Pres. George Bush when he visited Kuwait in March, the United States launches a missile attack on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad.
2000: In a major scientific breakthrough, two teams of scientists announce completion of a basic structural map of the human genome.
2003: The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a Texas sodomy law.
Today's Birthdays
1793: Diego Portales, Chilean statesman (Santiago, Chile; died 1837)
1819: Abner Doubleday, general and purported inventor of baseball (Ballston Spa, NY; died 1893)
1824: Lord Kelvin, physicist (Belfast, Ireland; died 1907)
1892: Pearl S. Buck, novelist and humanitarian (Hillsboro, WV; died 1973)
1910: Roy Plunkett, inventor of Teflon (New Carlisle, OH; died 1994)
1914: Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Olympic champion track and field star and golfer (Port Arthur, TX; died 1956)
1915: Charlotte Zolotow, children's author (Norfolk, VA)
1922: Eleanor Parker, actress (Cedarville, OH)
1933: Claudio Abbado, conductor (Milan, Italy)
1955: Mick Jones, musician (London, England)
1956: Chris Isaak, singer (Stockton, California)
1961: Greg LeMond, champion cyclist (Lakewood, CA)
1970: Chris O'Donnell, actor (Winnetka, IL)
1970: Sean Hayes, actor (Glen Ellyn, IL)
1974: Derek Jeter, baseball player (Pequannock, NJ)
