Today in History

628		In Persia, Kavadh sues for peace with the Byzantines.
1367		John of Gaunt and Edward the Black Prince win the Battle of Najera, in Spain.
1559		Philip II of Spain and Henry II of France sign the peace of Cateau-Cambresis, ending a long series of wars between the Hapsburg and Valois dynasties.
1860		The Pony Express connects St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California.
1862		Slavery is abolished in Washington, D.C.
1865		Union forces occupy the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
1882		The American outlaw Jesse James is shot in the back and killed by his cousin, Bob Ford.
1910		Alaska’s Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America is climbed.
1920		F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre are married at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
1936		Bruno Hauptmann, killer of the Lindbergh baby, is executed.
1942		The Japanese begin their all-out assault on the U.S. and Filipino troops at Bataan.
1944		The U.S. Supreme Court rules that black citizens are eligible to vote in all elections, including primaries.
1948		President Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan. It will revive war-torn Europe.
1966		Three-thousand South Vietnamese Army troops lead a protest against the Ky regime in Saigon.
1972		Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States after a twenty-year absence.
1984		Coach John Thompson of Georgetown University becomes the first African-American coach to win an NCAA basketball tournament.