Today in History

1789		Robespierre, a deputy from Arras, France, decides to back the French Revolution.
1812		Great Britain signs the Treaty of Orebro, making peace with Russia and Sweden.
1830		Uruguay adopts a liberal constitution.
1861		Union and Confederate troops skirmish at Blackburn’s Ford, Virginia, in a prelude to the Battle of Bull Run.
1877		Inventor Thomas Edison records the human voice for the first time.
1872		The Ballot Act is passed in Great Britain, providing for secret election ballots.
1935		Ethiopian King Haile Selassie urges his countrymen to fight to the last man against the invading Italian army.
1936		General Francisco Franco of Spain revolts against the Republican government, starting the Spanish Civil War.
1942		The German Me-262, the first jet-propelled aircraft to fly in combat, makes its first flight.
1971		New Zealand and Australia announce they will pull their troops out of Vietnam.
1994		In Buenos Aires, a massive car bomb kills 96 people.