Today in History

1512		The forces of the Holy League are heavily defeated by the French at the Battle of Ravenna.
1713		The Treaty of Utrecht is signed, ending the War of Spanish Succession. France cedes Maritime provinces to Britain.
1783		After receiving a copy of the provisional treaty on 13 March, Congress proclaims a formal end to hostilities with Great Britain.
1814		Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.
1898		American President William McKinley asks Congress for declaration of war with Spain.
1941		German bombers blitz Coventry, England.
1942		Detachment 101 of the OSS–a guerrilla force–is activated in Burma.
1945		After two frustrating days of being repulsed and absorbing tremendous casualties, the Red Army finally takes the Seelow Heights north of Berlin.
1951		President Truman fires General Douglas MacArthur as head of United Nations forces in Korea.
1961		Adolf Eichmann, Nazi Germany’s chief architect of the Holocaust in World War II, stands trial in Jerusalem on 15 charges that include war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against the Jewish people. In covering the trial for The New Yorker, Hannah Arendt coins the phrase “the banality of evil” in reference to Eichmann.
1961		Folk singer Bob Dylan performs in New York City for the first time, opening for John Lee Hooker.
1968		President Johnson signs the 1968 Civil Rights Act.
1974		The Judiciary committee subpoenas President Richard Nixon to produce tapes for impeachment inquiry.
1981		Reagan returns to the White House from hospital after recovery from an assassination attempt.
1986		Dodge Morgan sails solo nonstop around the world in 150 days.
1991		The United Nations Security Council issues formal ceasefire with Iraq.
1996		Forty-three African nations sign the African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty.