Today in History

1540		Afghan chief Sher Khan defeats Mongul Emperor Humayun at Kanauj.
1630		Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi sees the belts on Jupiter’s surface.
1681		Louis XIV sends an expedition to aid James II in Ireland. As a result, England declares war on France.
1756		Britain declares war on France.
1792		Merchants form the New York Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street.
1814		Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden.
1863		Union General Ulysses Grant continues his push towards Vicksburg at the Battle of the Big Black River Bridge.
1875		The first Kentucky Derby is run in Louisville.
1881		Frederick Douglass is appointed recorder of deeds for Washington, D.C.
1940		Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium and begins the invasion of France.
1954		The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rules for school integration in Brown v. Board of Education.
1973		The Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings.
1987		In the Persian Gulf the American guided missile frigate USS Stark is struck by 2 Exocet missiles fired by an Iraqi aircraft; only one detonates, but 37 sailors are killed and 21 are wounded. Whether the launch was deliberate or a mistake is still debated.