TODAY IN HISTORY

1778: During the American Revolutionary War, the United States won official recognition and military support from France with the signing of a Treaty of Alliance in Paris.

1788: Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1933: The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the so-called “lame duck” amendment, was proclaimed in effect by Secretary of State Henry Stimson.

1952: Britain’s King George VI, 56, died at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; he was succeeded as monarch by his 25-year-old elder daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth II.

1987: Wall Street Journal reporter Gerald Seib was released after being detained six days by Iran, accused of being a spy for Israel; Iran said the detention was a result of misunderstandings.

1998: President Bill Clinton signed a bill changing the name of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

2003: Edging closer to war, President George W. Bush declared “the game is over” for Saddam Hussein and urged skeptical allies to join in disarming Iraq. ABC’s “20/20” aired a British documentary, “Living With Michael Jackson,” in which the King of Pop revealed he sometimes let children sleep in his bed.

2008: The George W. Bush administration defended the use of the interrogation technique known as waterboarding, saying it was legal – not torture as critics argued – and had saved American lives.

2014: Jay Leno said goodbye to NBC’s “The Tonight Show” for the second time, making way for Jimmy Fallon to take over as host.