TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

1968

The nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1761

The first American life insurance policy was issued in Philadelphia to a Rev. Francis Allison, whose premium was six pounds per year.

1813

Composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany.

1915

The Lassen Peak volcano in Northern California exploded, devastating nearby areas but causing no deaths.

1939

The foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a “Pact of Steel” committing the two countries to a military alliance.

1960

An earthquake of magnitude 9.5, the strongest ever measured, struck southern Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives.

1962

Continental Airlines Flight 11, en route from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, crashed after a bomb apparently brought on board by a passenger exploded, killing all 45 occupants of the Boeing 707.

1964

President Lyndon B. Johnson, speaking at the University of Michigan, outlined the goals of his “Great Society,” saying that it “rests on abundance and liberty for all” and “demands an end to poverty and racial injustice.”

1992

After a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s “Tonight Show” for the final time.

1998

A federal judge ruled Secret Service agents could be compelled to testify before the grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky investigation. Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland turned out to cast ballots giving resounding approval to a Northern Ireland peace accord.