Today in history

In 1892 the Dalton Gang, notorious for its train robberies, was practically wiped out while attempting to rob two banks in Coffeyville, Kan.

In 1902 Ray Kroc, the businessman who built the McDonald’s fast-food empire, was born in Oak Park.

In 1910 Portugal was proclaimed a republic.

In 1921 the World Series was broadcast on radio for the first time.

In 1947, in the first televised White House address, President Harry Truman asked Americans to observe meatless Tuesdays, use no poultry or eggs on Thursdays and eat one less slice of bread a day to provide food supplies for the hungry of postwar Europe.

In 1962 the Beatles’ first hit, “Love Me Do,” was released in the United Kingdom.

In 1969 “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” made its debut on BBC Television.

In 1992 both houses of Congress voted to override President George H.W. Bush’s veto of a measure to re-regulate cable television companies.

In 1993 China set off an underground nuclear blast, ignoring a plea from President Bill Clinton not to do so.

In 1994 48 people were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide carried out simultaneously in two Swiss villages by members of a secret religious doomsday cult; five other bodies were found in an apartment owned by the sect in Montreal.

In 1997 the White House released videotapes of President Bill Clinton greeting supporters at 44 coffee klatches; Republicans seized on the tapes as proof that Clinton had raised campaign donations at the White House in violation of the law.

In 1999 MCI WorldCom Inc. announced a $115 billion deal to take over Sprint Corp.

In 2001 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants set a new mark for home runs in a single season, hitting his 71st and 72nd in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Also in

2001 Mike Mansfield, a former ambassador and Senate majority leader, died in Washington; he was 98.

In 2003 the Cubs won their first postseason series since 1908 when they beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 in Game 5 of the National League Division Series.

In 2004 Americans’ supply of flu vaccine was abruptly cut in half as British regulators unexpectedly shut down Chiron Corp., a major supplier. Also in 2004 Americans David Gross, H. David Politzer and Frank Wilczeck won the Nobel Prize in physics. Also

in 2004 a state judge threw out Louisiana’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Also in

2004 Tiger Woods married Swedish model Elin Nordegren in Barbados. Also in

2004 comedian Rodney Dangerfield died in Los Angeles; he was 82.

In 2011 Steve Jobs, the charismatic and visionary co-founder of Apple Inc. and transformed one industry after another, from computers and smartphones to music and movies, died after struggling for a decade with pancreatic cancer; he was 56.

In 2017 movie mogul Harvey Weinstein took a leave of absence from the Weinstein Co. following a bombshell report in the New York Times about sexual harassment accusations dating back decades; he would be fired from the company he helped found days later, and the story set off a flood of accusations of sexual misbehavior that shook the careers of men in entertainment, politics and journalism.