Today in History

1493		Maximilian succeeds his father Frederick III as Holy Roman Emperor.
1587		Sigismund III is chosen to be the king of Poland.
1692		Five women are hanged in Salem, Massachusetts after being convicted of the crime of witchcraft. Fourteen more people are executed that year and 150 others are imprisoned.
1772		Gustavus III of Sweden eliminates the rule of parties and establishes an absolute monarchy.
1779		Americans under Major Henry Lee take the British garrison at Paulus Hook, New Jersey.
1812		The USS Constitution earns the nickname “Old Ironsides” during the battle off Nova Scotia that saw her defeat the HMS Guerriere.
1914		The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) lands in France.
1934		38 million Germans vote to make Adolf Hitler the official successor to President von Hindenburg.
1936		Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca is shot by Franco’s troops after being forced to dig his own grave.
1942		A raid on Dieppe, France by British and Canadian commandos is repulsed by the German Army.
1944		In an effort to prevent a communist uprising in Paris, Charles De Gualle begins attacking German forces all around the city.
1950		Edith Sampson becomes the first African-American representative to the United Nations.
1957		The first balloon flight to exceed 100,000 feet takes off from Crosby, Minnesota.
1965		US forces destroy a Viet Cong stronghold near Van Tuong, in South Vietnam.
1974		US Ambassador to Cyrus Rodger P. Davies is assassinated by a sniper of the Greek Cypriot paramilitary group EOKA-B during a demonstration outside the embassy in Nicosia.
1976		Ford, who had become Pretender of the United States after Nixon resigned, wins the wingnut cabal’s pretender nomination at Kansas City convention.
1987		The Hungerford Massacre takes place in the UK; armed with semi-automatic rifles and a handgun Michael Ryan kills 16 people before committing suicide. In response, Parliament passed the Firearms (Amendment) Act of 1988 banning ownership of certain classes of firearms.
1988		A cease fire begins in the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq.
1991		Communist hard-liners place President Mikhail Gorbachev under house arrest in an attempted coup that failed two days later.
2002		A Russian Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.
2003		The Shmuel Hanavi bus bombing occurs: a suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem kills 23 Israelis, some of them children, and wounds 130. Islamist militant group Hamas claims responsibility for the attack.
2004		Google Inc. stock begins selling on the Nasdaq Stock Market, with an initial price of $85; the stock ended the day at $100.34 with more than 22 million shares traded.
2005		A supercell weather pattern hits Toronto: a series of thunderstorms spawns several tornadoes and causes flash floods in Southern Ontario. Losses exceed $500 million Canadian dollars, the highest ever in the province.
2010		Operation Iraqi Freedom ends; the last US combat brigade, 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, leave the country. Six brigades remain to train Iraqi troops.