This Day in History
1782: Provisional articles of peace are signed in Paris between Britain and the United States, under which Britain recognizes U.S. independence.
1864: During the Civil War, the Confederates suffer a costly defeat in the Battle of Franklin, TN.
1939: The Soviet Union invades Finland.
1959: Boxer Floyd Patterson knocks out Archie Moore to take the WBA heavyweight crown.
1966: Barbados, an island in the West Indies, becomes independent.
1993: The Brady Bill, a major gun-control measure, is signed into law by Pres. Bill Clinton.
Today's Birthdays
1508: Andrea Palladio, architect (Padua, Italy; died 1580)
1667: Jonathan Swift, clergyman/satirist (Dublin, Ireland; died 1745)
1817: Theodor Mommsen, historian (Garding, Germany; died 1903)
1835: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), novelist/humorist (Florida, MO; died 1910)
1874: Sir Winston Churchill, British statesman and prime minister (Oxfordshire, England; died 1965)
1924: Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (New York, NY; died 2005)
1926: Richard Crenna, actor (Los Angeles, CA; died 2003). Andrew Victor Schally, biochemist and Nobel laureate (Vilnius, Lithuania)
1929: Dick Clark, TV personality and producer (Mount Vernon, NY)
1936: Abbie Hoffman, political activist (Worcester, MA; died 1989)
1937: Robert Guillaume, actor (St. Louis, MO). Ridley Scott, director (Northumberland, England)
1947: David Mamet, dramatist (Chicago, IL)
1952: Mandy Patinkin, singer/actor (Chicago, IL)
1955: Billy Idol, singer (London, England)
1962: Bo Jackson, baseball and football player (Bessemer, AL)
1965: Ben Stiller, actor/director (New York, NY)
1971: Ivan Rodriguez, baseball player (Manati, Puerto Rico)
