Today in History

1347		Six burghers of the surrounded French city of Calais surrender to Edward III of England in hopes of relieving the siege.
1492		Christopher Columbus leaves Spain on his voyage to the new world.
1546		French printer Etienne Dolet, accused of heresy, blasphemy and sedition, is hanged and burned at the stake for printing reformist literature.
1553		Mary Tudor, the new Queen of England, enters London.
1610		Henry Hudson of England discovers a great bay on the east coast of Canada and names it for himself.
1692		French forces under Marshal Luxembourg defeat the English at the Battle of Steenkerque in the Netherlands.
1805		Muhammad Ali becomes the new ruler of Egypt.
1807		The trial of Aaron Burr begins. He is accused of plotting the secession of New England.
1864		Federal gunboats attack but do not capture Fort Gains, at the mouth of Mobile Bay, Alabama.
1882		Congress passes the Immigration Act, banning Chinese immigration for ten years.
1908		Allan Allensworth files the site plan for the first African-American town, Allensworth, California.
1911		Airplanes are used for the first time in a military capacity when Italian planes reconnoiter Turkish lines near Tripoli.
1914		Germany declares war on France.
1914		Less than a week after war breaks out in Europe, nervous depositors trigger a run on the German Savings Bank in New York City by lining up outside its entrance at 147 Fourth Avenue. In 1918, with anti-German sentiment running high as World War I still rages in Europe, the bank will change its name to Central Savings Bank.
1916		Sir Roger Casement is hanged for treason in England.
1945		Chinese troops under American General Joseph Stilwell take the town of Myitkyina from the Japanese.
1958		The first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, passes under the North Pole.
1967		President Lyndon B. Johnson announces plans to send 45,000 more troops to Vietnam.
1972		Former Beatle Paul McCartney announces formation of his new group, Wings.
1975		The Louisiana Superdome is dedicated.
1977		Radio Shack unveils TRS-80 personal computer, which with Apple and Commodore would form the “1977 Trinity.” Its price and Radio Shack’s established retail outlets made it a bestseller for several years.
1990		The US commits naval forces to the Persian Gulf region in the wake of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
2004		Statue of Liberty’s pedestal reopens to visitors after being closed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.