Today in History

1861 - First transcontinental telegraph message is sent by Justice Stephen J. Field of California to US President Abraham Lincoln.

1901 - Anna Edson Taylor becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel

1931 - The George Washington Bridge connecting New York to New Jersey opens.

1949 - Cornerstone of the UN Headquarters is laid in New York.

1964 - Zambia gains independence from Britain.

1980 - Polish government legalises labour union Solidarity.

2002 - Bahrain gets directly elected legislature.

2007 - China launches its first lunar probe.

2009 - At least 15 die after passenger trains collide in Egypt.

2016 - India forces kills at least 21 Maoists.

2017 - Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Fats Domino dies at the age of 89.