TODAY IN HISTORY

In 1795: the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, dealing with states’ sovereign immunity, was ratified. In 1857: a French court acquitted author Gustave Flaubert of obscenity for his serialized novel “Madame Bovary.” In 1904: a fire began in Baltimore that raged for about 30 hours and destroyed more than 1,500 buildings. In 1914: Keystone Film Co. released the silent short comedy “Kid Auto Races at Venice,” Charles Chaplin’s second film, and the first in which he plays the Little Tramp. In 1936: President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized a flag for the office of the vice president. In 1944: Bing Crosby and the John Scott Trotter Orchestra recorded “Swinging on a Star” for Decca Records in Los Angeles. In 1948: Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Army chief of staff; he was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley. In 1962: President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba. In 1964: The Beatles began their first American tour as they arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, where they cracked wise during a chaotic press conference while thousands of their fans were jammed inside the terminal. In 1974: the island nation of Grenada won independence from Britain. In 1984: space shuttle Challenger astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered space walk, which lasted nearly six hours. In 1999: Jordan’s King Hussein died of cancer at age 63; he was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah.