TODAY IN history

In 1327, Marsilius of Padua and his copyist, John of Jandun, were forced to flee Paris for asylum in Bavaria after the pope issued a bull denouncing them as ``sons of perdition and fruits of malediction.’’ In his book ``Defensor pacis,’’ Marsilius had denounced the corruptions of the Roman church leadership and called for a radical reformation of the institution.

In 1826, a financial panic hit New Brunswick upon word that banks in London had failed and the timber trade had collapsed.

In 1860, the Pony Express began service between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif. The service became legendary, despite lasting less than two years, giving way to the Transcontinental Telegraph.

In 1882, American outlaw Jesse James was shot to death in Missouri by Robert Ford, his cousin and a member of his own gang.

In 1897, German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms died of liver cancer at age 63.

In 1936, Bruno Hauptmann was electrocuted in Trenton, N.J., for the kidnapping and murder of the infant son of American aviator Charles Lindbergh.

In 1946, Canada paid the United States $108 million for its portion of the Alaska Highway. The sum covered telephone systems, buildings and other assets.

In 1948, U.S. president Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which allocated more than $5 billion in aid for 16 European countries to rebuild after the Second World War and resist Communism.