Today in history

1540

Pope Paul III issued a papal bull establishing the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, as a religious order.

1779

John Adams was named by Congress to negotiate the Revolutionary War’s peace terms with Britain.

1854

The first great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean passenger vessel occurred when the steamship SS Arctic sank off Newfoundland; of the more than 400 people on board, only 86 survived.

1928

The United States said it was recognizing the Nationalist Chinese government.

1939

Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.

1941

The United States launched the first 14 rapidly built “Liberty” military cargo vessels.

1956

Olympic track and field gold medalist and Hall of Fame golfer Babe Didrikson Zaharias died in Galveston, Texas, at age 45.

1962

“Silent Spring,” Rachel Carson’s study on the effects of pesticides on the environment, was published in book form by Houghton Mifflin.

1964

The government publicly released the report of the Warren Commission, which concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.

1979

Congress gave its final approval to forming the U.S. Department of Education.

1989

Columbia Pictures Entertainment Inc. agreed to a $3.4 billion cash buyout by Sony Corp.

1991

President George H.W. Bush announced in a nationally broadcast address that he was eliminating all U.S. battlefield nuclear weapons.