TODAY IN HISTORY
1581
Francis Drake is knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.
1721
Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first British prime minister.
1768
In London, Philip Astley stages the first modern circus.
1796
Georges Cuvier delivers the first paleontological lecture.
1812
US President James Madison enacts a 90-day embargo on trade with the UK.
1814
Napoleon abdicates for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French.
1818
The US Congress adopts the flag of the US with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (then 20).
1850
Los Angeles is incorporated as a city.
1866
Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in St Petersburg.
1873
The Kennel Club is founded, the oldest and first official registry of purebred dogs in the world.
1905
In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala.
1939
Faisal II becomes king of Iraq.
1949
Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
1958
The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London.
1964
The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
1967
Martin Luther King Jr delivers his ‘Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence’ speech in New York City's Riverside Church.
1968
Martin Luther King Jr is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
1968
NASA launches Apollo 6.
1969
Dr Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.
1973
The World Trade Center in New York City is officially dedicated.
1975
Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1975
Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people.
1976
Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.
1979
Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.
1981
Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft.
1983
Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space.
1984
President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
1994
Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name Mosaic Communications Corporation.
1996
Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
2002
The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.
2009
France returns to being a member of NATO.