This Day in History
1651: At the Battle of Worcester, Charles II of England is defeated by Oliver Cromwell and flees to France.
1658: Oliver Cromwell, leader of the parliamentary forces during the English Civil War and virtual dictator of England, dies. The monarchy is restored less than two years later.
1783: The Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War, is signed by the United States and Britain.
1939: France and Britain declare war on Germany, setting World War II in motion.
1940: The United States announces the transfer of 50 overaged destroyers to Britain to aid the country in fighting World War II.
1943: In World War II, British Gen. Bernard Montgomery and the 8th Army invade the Italian mainland, and Italy surrenders.
1969: Ho Chi Minh (Nguyen Tat Thanh), Vietnamese Communist leader and the principal force behind the Vietnamese struggle against French colonial rule, dies in Hanoi.
1976: Space probe Viking II lands on Mars and begins sending back photographs.
1977: Japanese baseball great Sadaharu Oh hits the 756th home run of his career for the Yamiuri Giants, breaking Hank Aaron's record of career homers.
2002: The International Criminal Court, a permanent United Nations war crimes tribunal, holds its first meeting, in The Hague.
2004: A hostage crisis in the Russian town of Beslan ends in a gun battle between security forces and Chechen guerrillas. Hundreds are killed.
Today's Birthdays
1856: Louis H. Sullivan, architect and developer of early skyscrapers (Boston, MA; died 1924)
1849: Sarah Orne Jewett, writer (South Berwick, ME; died 1909)
1859: Jean Jaures, socialist leader (Castres, France; died 1914)
1875: Ferdinand Porsche, automotive engineer (Maffersdorf, Austria-Hungary; died 1951)
1900: Urho Kekkonen, president of Finland (Pielavesi, Finland; died 1986)
1907: Loren Eiseley, anthropologist (Lincoln, NE; died 1977)
1914: Dixy Lee Ray, WA governor (Tacoma, WA; died 1994)
1915: Kitty Carlisle Hart, actress/TV personality (New Orleans, LA)
1916: Eddie Stanky, baseball player (Philadelphia, PA; died 1999)
1923: Mort Walker, cartoonist and creator of Beetle Bailey (El Dorado, KS)
1925: Anne Jackson, actress (Allegheny, PA)
1926: Alison Lurie, novelist (Chicago, IL)
1935: Eileen Brennan, actress (Los Angeles, CA)
1938: Noyori Ryoji, organic chemist and Nobel laureate (Kobe, Japan)
1940: Pauline Collins, actress (Exmouth, England)
1943: Valerie Perrine, actress (Galveston, TX)
1965: Charlie Sheen, actor (Los Angeles, CA)
1967: Luis Gonzalez, baseball player (Tampa, FL)
