Today in History

326		Emperor Constantine refuses to carry out traditional pagan sacrifices.
1394		Charles VI of France issues a decree for the general expulsion of Jews from France.
1564		Maximilian II becomes emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
1587		Hideyoshi bans Christianity in Japan and orders all Christians to leave.
1759		British forces defeat a French army at Fort Niagara in Canada.
1799		On his way back from Syria, Napoleon Bonaparte defeats the Ottomans at Aboukir, Egypt.
1814		British and American forces fight each other to a standoff at Lundy’s Lane, Canada.
1845		China grants Belgium equal trading rights with Britain, France and the United States.
1867		President Andrew Johnson signs an act creating the territory of Wyoming.
1850		Gold is discovered in the Rogue River in Oregon, extending the quest for gold up the Pacific coast.
1861		The Crittenden Resolution, calling for the American Civil War to be fought to preserve the Union and not for slavery, is passed by Congress.
1894		Japanese forces sink the British steamer Kowshing which was bringing Chinese reinforcements to Korea.
1909		French aviator Louis Bleriot becomes the first man to fly across the English Channel in an airplane.
1914		Russia declares that it will act to protect Serbian sovereignty.
1924		Greece announces the deportation of 50,000 Armenians.
1934		Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss is shot and killed by Nazis.
1941		The U.S. government freezes Japanese and Chinese assets.
1943		Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini is overthrown in a coup.
1944		Allied forces begin the breakthrough of German lines in Normandy.
1978		The first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, is born in Oldham, England.
1984		Svetlana Savitskaya becomes first woman to perform a space walk.