Today in History

28   The Roman Emperor Nerva names Trajan, an army general, as his successor.  
1547   Henry VIII of England dies and is succeeded by his nine-year-old son Edward VI.  
1757   Ahmed Shah, the first King of Afghanistan, occupies Delhi and annexes the Punjab.
1792   Rebellious slaves in Santo Domingo launch an attack on the city of Cap.  
1871   Surrounded by Prussian troops and suffering from famine, the French army in Paris surrenders. During the siege, balloons were used to keep contact with the outside world.
1915   The U.S. Coast Guard is founded to fight contraband trade and aid distressed vessels at sea.  
1915   The German navy attacks the U.S. freighter William P. Frye, loaded with wheat for Britain.  
1921   Albert Einstein startles Berlin by suggesting the possibility of measuring the universe.  
1932   The Japanese attack Shanghai, China, and declare martial law.  
1936   A fellow prison inmate slashes infamous kidnapper, Richard Loeb, to death.  
1941   French General Charles DeGaulle's Free French forces sack south Libya oasis.
1945   Chiang Kai-shek renames the Ledo-Burma Road the Stilwell Road, in honor of General Joseph Stilwell.  
1955   The U.S. Congress passes a bill allowing mobilization of troops if China should attack Taiwan.  
1964   The Soviets down a U.S. jet over East Germany killing three.  
1970   Israeli fighter jets attack the suburbs of Cairo.
1986   The space shuttle Challenger explodes just after liftoff.