Today in History

1500   Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil.  
1509   Henry VIII ascends to the throne of England upon the death of his father, Henry VII.  
1529   Spain and Portugal divide the eastern hemisphere in the Treaty of Saragosa.
1745   The Peace of Fussen is signed.  
1792   President George Washington proclaims American neutrality in the war in Europe.  
1861   Robert E. Lee is named commander of Virginia forces.  
1889   The Oklahoma land rush officially starts at noon as thousands of Americans race for new, unclaimed land.  
1898   In the first action of the Spanish-American War, the USS Nashville, takes on a Spanish ship.
1915   At the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans use poison gas for the first time.
1918   British naval forces attempt to sink block-ships in the German U-boat bases at the Battle of Zeeburgge.  
1931   Egypt signs treaty of friendship with Iraq.  
1944   Allies launch major attack against the Japanese in Hollandia, New Guinea.  
1954   The Senate Army-McCarthy hearings begin. They are broadcast on television.  
1976   Barbara Walters becomes the first female nightly news anchor on network television. 
1995  In Africa, Rwandan troops kill thousands of Hutu refugees in Kibeho.