Today in History

955		Otto organizes his nobles and defeats the invading Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in Germany.
1539		King Francis of France declares that all official documents are to be written in French, not Latin.
1557		French troops are defeated by Emmanuel Philibert's Spanish army at St. Quentin, France.
1582		Russia ends its 25-year war with Poland.
1628		The Swedish warship Vasa capsizes and sinks in Stockholm harbor on her maiden voyage.
1779		Louis XVI of France frees the last remaining serfs on royal land.
1831		William Driver of Salem, Massachusetts, is the first to use the term "Old Glory" in connection with the American flag, when he gives that name to a large flag aboard his ship, the Charles Daggett.
1846		The Smithsonian Institution is established in Washington through the bequest of James Smithson.
1864		Confederate Commander John Bell Hood sends his cavalry north of Atlanta to cut off Union General William Sherman's supply lines.
1911		The House of Lords in Great Britain gives up its veto power, making the House of Commons the more powerful House.
1913		The Treaty of Bucharest ends the Second Balkan War.
1941		Great Britain and the Soviet Union promise aid to Turkey if it is attacked by the AxisPowers.
1950		President Harry S. Truman calls the National Guard to active duty to fight in the Korean War.