Today in History

1556		Henry II of France and Philip of Spain sign the truce of Vaucelles.
1631		A ship from Bristol, the Lyon, arrives with provisions for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1762		Martinique, a major French base in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, surrenders to the British.
1783		Sweden recognizes U.S. independence.
1846		The first Pacific Coast newspaper, Oregon Spectator, is published.
1864		Federal forces occupy Jackson, Miss.
1865		The three-day Battle of Hatcher’s Run, Va., begins.
1900		The United States and Great Britain sign the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, giving the United States the right to build a canal in Nicaragua but not to fortify it.
1917		U.S. Congress nullifies President Woordrow Wilson‘s veto of the Immigration Act; literacy tests are required.
1918		The Soviets proclaim separation of church and state.
1922		The Reader’s Digest begins publication in New York.
1922		William Larned’s steel-framed tennis racquet gets its first test.
1945		American and French troops destroy German forces in the Colmar Pocket in France.
1947		The Soviet Union and Great Britain reject terms for an American trusteeship over Japanese Pacific Isles.
1952		New York adopts three-colored traffic lights.
1961		The Soviets launch Sputnik V, the heaviest satellite to date at 7.1 tons.
1968		U.S. troops divide Viet Cong at Hue while the Saigon government claims they will arm loyal citizens.
1971		Two Apollo 14 astronauts walk on the moon.
1972		It is reported that the United States has agreed to sell 42 F-4 Phantom jets to Israel.
1985		U.S. halts a loan to Chile in protest over human rights abuses.