Today in History

1223		In France, Louis VIII succeeds his father, Philip Augustus.
1430		Joan of Arc, taken prisoner by the Burgundians in May, is handed over to Pierre Cauchon, the bishop of Beauvais.
1456		Hungarians defeat the Ottomans at the Battle of Belgrade, in present-day Yugoslavia.
1536		France and Portugal sign the Treaty of Lyons, aligning themselves against Spain.
1789		The Bastille, a fortress in Paris used to hold political prisoners, is stormed by a mob.
1798		The Sedition Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
1864		At Harrisburg, Mississippi, Federal troops under General Andrew Jackson Smith repulse an attack by General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
1900		European Allies retake Tientsin, China, from the rebelling Boxers.
1933		Nazi Germany promulgates the Law for the Protection of Hereditary Health–the beginning of the Euthanasia program.
1938		Howard Hughes and crew set a new world record for an around-the-world flight.
1940		A force of German bombers attacks Suez, Egypt, from bases in Crete.
1941		Vichy French Foreign Legionaries sign an armistice in Damascus, allowing them to join the Free French Foreign Legion.
1945		American battleships and cruisers bombard the Japanese home islands for the first time.
1951		The George Washington Carver National Monument in Joplin, Missouri becomes the first national park honoring an African American.
1964		The United States sends 600 more troops to Vietnam.