TODAY IN HISTORY

1782: The United States and Britain signed preliminary peace articles in Paris for ending the Revolutionary War; the Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783.

1803: Spain completed the process of ceding Louisiana to France, which had sold it to the United States.

1835: Samuel Langhorne Clemens — better known as Mark Twain — was born in Florida, Mo.

1874: British statesman Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace. 1900: Irish writer Oscar Wilde died in Paris at age 46.

1982: The Michael Jackson album “Thriller” was released by Epic Records. 1993: President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill, which required a fiveday waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers. 2000: Al Gore’s lawyers battled for his political survival in the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts; meanwhile, GOP lawmakers in Tallahassee moved to award the presidency to George W. Bush in case the courts did not by appointing their own slate of electors.

2011: The central banks of the wealthiest countries, trying to prevent a debt crisis in Europe from exploding into a global panic, swept in to shore up the world financial system by making it easier for banks to borrow American dollars.

2013: Paul Walker, 40, the star of the “Fast & Furious” movie series, died with his friend, Roger W. Rodas, who was at the wheel of a Porsche sports car that crashed and burned north of Los Angeles.

2018: Former President George H.W. Bush, a World War II hero who rose through the political ranks to the nation’s highest office, died at his Houston home at the age of 94; his wife of more than 70 years, Barbara Bush, had died in April.