Today in History

1014		The Byzantine Emperor Basil earns the title “Slayer of Bulgers” after he orders the blinding of 15,000 Bulgerian troops.
1536		William Tyndale, the English translator of the New Testament, is strangled and burned at the stake for heresy at Vilvoorde, France.
1539		Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his army enter the Apalachee capital of Anhaica (present-day Tallahassee, Florida) by force. Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his army enter the Apalachee capital of Anhaica (present-day Tallahassee, Florida) by force.
1696		Savoy, Germany withdraws from the Grand Alliance.
1801		Napoleon Bonaparte imposes a new constitution on Holland.
1866		The Reno brothers–Frank, John, Simeon and William–commit the country’s first train robbery near Seymour, Indiana netting $10,000.
1884		The Naval War College is founded in Newport, Rhode Island.
1908		Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina, sparking a crisis.
1941		German troops renew their offensive against Moscow.
1966		Hanoi insists the United States must end its bombings before peace talks can begin.
1969		Special Forces Captain John McCarthy is released from Fort Leavenworth Penitentiary, pending consideration of his appeal to murder charges.
1973		Israel is taken by surprise when Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan attack on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, beginning the Yom Kippur War.
1981		Egyptian president Anwar el-Sadat is assassinated in Cairo by Islamic fundamentalists. He is succeeded by Vice President Hosni Mubarak.
2000		Yugoslavia’s president Slobodan Milosevic and Argentina’s vice-president Carlos Alvarez both resign from their respective offices.