Today in History

296		St. Gaius ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
536		St. Agapitus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
1500		Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil.
1509		Henry VIII ascends to the throne of England upon the death of his father, Henry VII.
1529		Spain and Portugal divide the eastern hemisphere in the Treaty of Saragosa.
1745		The Peace of Fussen is signed.
1792		President George Washington proclaims American neutrality in the war in Europe.
1861		Robert E. Lee is named commander of Virginia forces.
1889		The Oklahoma land rush officially starts at noon as thousands of Americans race for new, unclaimed land.
1898		In the first action of the Spanish-American War, the USS Nashville, takes on a Spanish ship.
1915		At the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans use poison gas for the first time.
1918		British naval forces attempt to sink block-ships in the German U-boat bases at the Battle of Zeeburgge.
1931		Egypt signs treaty of friendship with Iraq.
1944		Allies launch major attack against the Japanese in Hollandia, New Guinea.
1954		The Senate Army-McCarthy hearings begin. They are broadcast on television.
1955		Congress orders all U.S. coins to bear the motto "In God We Trust."
1976		Barbara Walters becomes the first female nightly news anchor on network television.
1995		In Africa, Rwandan troops kill thousands of Hutu refugees in Kibeho.