Today in History

1471		The Earl of Warwick, who fought on both sides in the War of the Roses, is killed at the Battle of Barnet with the defeat of the Lancastrians.
1543		Bartoleme Ferrelo returns to Spain after discovering a large bay in the New World (San Francisco).
1775		The first abolitionist society in United States is organized in Philadelphia.
1793		A royalist rebellion in Santo Domingo is crushed by French republican troops.
1828		The first edition of Noah Webster's dictionary is published.
1860		The first Pony Express rider arrives in San Francisco with mail originating in St. Joseph, Missouri.
1865		President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated in Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth.
1894		Thomas Edison's kinetoscope is shown to the public for the first time.
1900		The World Exposition opens in Paris.
1912		The passenger liner Titanic–deemed unsinkable–strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and begins to sink. The ship will go under the next day with a loss of 1,500 lives.
1931		King Alfonso XIII of Spain is overthrown.
1945		American B-29 bombers's damage the Imperial Palace during firebombing raid over Tokyo.
1953		The Viet Minh invade Laos with 40,00 troops in their war against French colonial forces.
1959		The Taft Memorial Bell Tower is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
1961		The first live broadcast is televised from the Soviet Union.
1969		The first major league baseball game is played in Montreal, Canada.
1981		America's first space shuttle, Columbia, returns to Earth.