TODAY IN HISTORY

1519

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands.

1881

Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st president of the United States, succeeding the assassinated James A. Garfield.

1946

The first Cannes Film Festival, lasting 16 days, opened in France.

1962

James Meredith, a Black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Democratic Gov. Ross R. Barnett.

1967

The Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2was christened by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in Clydebank, Scotland.

1973

In their so-called “battle of the sexes,” tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4,

6-3, 6-3, at the Houston Astrodome.