This Day in History
1794: The Reign of Terror ends in France with the guillotining of Maximilien Robespierre and some 70 others.
1821: South American revolutionary José de San Martín proclaims the independence of Peru .
1868: The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing full citizenship rights to African Americans and due process of law to all citizens.
1914: World War I officially begins when Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
1932: The Bonus Army—unemployed World War I veterans who marched on Washington demanding that Congress pay their bonuses in full—is evicted by U.S. Army cavalry, tanks, and infantry upon the order of Pres. Herbert Hoover.
1942: Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin issues his most famous order of the war, "Not a step back!", threatening Draconian punishments and calling for a "patriotic" war against the German invaders.
1984: The Summer Olympics open in Los Angeles, with the Soviet Union and more than a dozen of its allies boycotting the games.
Today's Birthdays
1844: Gerard Manley Hopkins, poet (Stratford, England; died 1889)
1866: Beatrix Potter, children's author/illustrator (London, England; died 1943)
1887: Marcel Duchamp, Dada artist (Blainville, France; died 1968)
1901: Rudy Vallee, singer/saxophone player (Island Point, VT; died 1986)
1929: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, first lady of the United States and widow of Pres. John F. Kennedy (Southampton, NY; died 1994)
1931: Darryl Hickman, actor (Los Angeles, CA)
1941: Riccardo Muti, conductor (Naples, Italy)
1943: Bill Bradley, basketball player, former NJ senator, presidential aspirant, and writer (Crystal City, MO)
1945: Jim Davis, cartoonist and creator of Garfield (Marion, IN)
1946: Donald Evans, transportation secretary (Houston, TX)
1948: Sally Struthers, actress (Portland, OR)
1964: Lori Loughlin, actress (Long Island, NY)
