Today in History

254   St. Stephen I begins his reign as Catholic Pope.  
1588   King Henry III flees Paris after Henry of Guise triumphantly enters the city.  
1641   The chief advisor to Charles I, Thomas Wentworth, is beheaded in the Tower of London  
1780   Charleston, South Carolina falls to British forces.  
1851   The Tule River War ends.  
1863   With a victory at the Battle of Raymond, Mississippi, Union General Ulysses S. Grant closes in on Vicksburg.  
1864   Union General Benjamin Butler attacks Drewry's Bluff on the James River.  
1865   The last land battle of the Civil war occurs at Palmito Ranch, Texas. It is a Confederate victory.  
1881   Tunisia, in North Africa become a French protectorate.  
1885   In the Battle of Batoche, French Canadians rebel against the Canadian government.  
1926   The Airship Norge becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.  
1932   The body of Charles Lindbergh's baby is found.  
1935   Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio by "Bill W.," a stockbroker, and "Dr. Bob S.," a heart surgeon.  
1940   The Nazi conquest of France begins with the crossing Muese River.  
1942   The Soviet Army launches its first major offensive of the war, taking Kharkov in the eastern Ukraine. 1943   Axis forces in North Africa surrender.  
1949   The Berlin Blockade ends. 1
969   Viet Cong sappers try unsuccessfully to overrun Landing Zone Snoopy in Vietnam.  
1975   The U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez is seized by Cambodian forces.