Today in History

558   The dome of the church of St. Sophia in Constantinople collapses. Its immediate rebuilding is ordered by Justinian.  
1274   The Second Council of Lyons opens in France to regulate the election of the pope.  
1429   Joan of Arc breaks the English siege of Orleans.  
1525   The German peasants' revolt is crushed by the ruling class and church.  
1763   Indian chief Pontiac begins his attack on a British fort in present-day Detroit, Michigan.  
1800   Congress divides the Northwest Territory into two parts. The western part will becomes the Indiana Territory and the eastern section remains the Northwest Territory.  
1824   Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony" premiers in Vienna.  
1847   The American Medical Association is formed in Philadelphia.  
1862   Confederate troops strike Union troops at the Battle of Eltham's Landing in Virginia.
1864   The Battle of Wilderness ends with heavy losses to both sides.  
1877   Indian chief Sitting Bull enters Canada with a trail of Indians after the Battle of Little Big Horn.  
1915   The German submarine U-20 torpedoes the passenger ship Lusitiania, sinking her in 21 minutes with 1,978 people on board.  
1937   The German Condor Legion arrives in Spain to assist Fransico Franco's forces.  
1942   In the Battle of the Coral Sea, Japanese and American navies attack each other with carrier-launched warplanes. It is the first time in the history of naval warfare where two fleets fought without seeing each other.Two crucial battles in 1942 marked the turning point of the war in the Pacific.  
1943   The last major German strongholds in North Africa–Tunis and Bizerte–fall to Allied forces.  
1945   Germany signs an unconditional surrender, effectively ending World War II in Europe.  
1952   In Korea, Communist POWs at Koje-do riot against their American captors. 1954   French troops surrender to the Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu.  
1958   Howard Johnson sets an aircraft altitude record in F-104.  
1960   Leonid Brezhnev becomes president of the Soviet Union.