This Day in History
1787: New Jersey enters the Union as the third of the original 13 states.
1916: The longest battle of World War I, the Battle of Verdun, ends with 750,000 casualties.
1917: The 18th Amendment, establishing Prohibition, is submitted to the states by Congress.
1956: The UN General Assembly votes unanimously to admit Japan to the UN.
1961: Indian forces invade and annex the remaining Portuguese enclaves on the Indian subcontinent: Goa, Daman, and Diu.
1972: During the Vietnam War, full-scale bombing of North Vietnam resumes after Paris peace talks reach an impasse.
1996: In a controversial move, the Oakland, CA, school board recognizes black English as a distinct language.
1997: South Korean opposition leader Kim Dae Jung is elected president.
Today's Birthdays
1879: Paul Klee, painter (Switzerland; died 1940)
1886: Ty Cobb, baseball player (Narrows, GA; died 1961)
1888: Robert Moses, New York urban planner (New Haven, CT; died 1981)
1913: Willy Brandt, West German chancellor (Lubeck, Germany; died 1992)
1916: Betty Grable, actress (St. Louis, MO; died 1973)
1917: Ossie Davis, actor (Cogdell, GA; died 2005)
1943: Keith Richards, musician/singer (Kent, England)
1947: Steven Spielberg, director/producer (Cincinnati, OH)
1950: Leonard Maltin, film critic (New York, NY)
1955: Ray Liotta, actor (Newark, NJ)
1963: Charles Oakley, basketball player (Cleveland, OH)
1964: Brad Pitt, actor (Shawnee, OK)
1971: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, tennis player (Barcelona, Spain)
1978: Katie Holmes, actress (Toledo, OH)
1980: Christina Aguilera, musician (Staten Island, NY)
