TODAY IN HISTORY

1945

With World War II in Europe at an end, Soviet forces liberated Czechoslovakia from Nazi occupation. U.S. officials announced that a midnight entertainment curfew was being lifted immediately.

1962

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology succeeded in reflecting a laser beam off the surface of the moon.

1974

The House Judiciary Committee opened public hearings on whether to recommend the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

1980

35 people were killed when a freighter rammed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida, causing a 1,400-foot section of the southbound span to collapse.

1994

South Africa’s newly elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country’s first Black president.

2012

President Barack Obama declared his unequivocal support for same-sex marriage in a historic announcement that came three days after Vice President Joe Biden spoke in favor of such unions on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Birthdays

Singer Billy Joel is 73. Singer Dave Gahan is 60. Rock singer Pierre Bouvier is 43. Actor Rosario Dawson is 43. TV personality Audrina Patridge is 37.