Today in History

1139   The Second Lateran Council opens in Rome.  
1657   English Admiral Robert Blake fights his last battle when he destroys the Spanish fleet in Santa Cruz Bay.  
1769   Ottawa Chief Pontiac is murdered by an Indian in Cahokia.
1770   Captain Cook discovers Australia.  
1775   British troops begin the siege of Boston.  
1792   France declares war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia.  
1809   Napoleon defeats Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria.
1836   The Territory of Wisconsin is created.  
1841   Edgar Allen Poe's first detective story is published.
1861   Robert E. Lee resigns from the U.S. Army.  
1879   The first mobile home (horse-drawn) is used in a journey from London to Cyprus.  
1916   Wrigley Field opens in Chicago.  
1919   The Polish Army captures Vilno, Lithuania from the Soviets.
1940   The first electron microscope is demonstrated.  
1942   Pierre Laval, the premier of Vichy France, in a radio broadcast, establishes a policy of "true reconciliation with Germany."  
1945   Soviet troops begin their attack on Berlin.  
1951   General MacArthur addresses a joint session of Congress after being relieved by President Truman.  
1953   Operation Little Switch begins in Korea, the exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war.  
1962   The New Orleans Citizens Committee gives free one-way ride to blacks to move North.  
1967   U.S. planes bomb Haiphong for first time during the Vietnam War.  
1999  Two students enter Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado and open fire with multiple firearms, killing 13 students and teachers, wounding 25 and eventually shooting themselves.