On this date

Thought for today ‘To spare oneself from grief at all cost can be achieved only at the price of total detachment, which excludes the ability to experience happiness.’ Erich Fromm German-American psychoanalyst and author (1900-1980)

1649 — The Maryland Toleration Act, providing for freedom of worship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly. 1789 — John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States. 1836 — An army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring Texas independence. 1910 — Author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Connecticut, at age 74. 1930 — Fire broke out inside the overcrowded Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, killing 332 inmates. 1942 — The first edition of “The Stranger” (L’Etranger), Albert Camus’ highly influential absurdist novel, was published in Nazi-occupied Paris by Gallimard. 1955 — The Jerome Lawrence-Robert Lee play “Inherit the Wind,” inspired by the Scopes trial of 1925, opened at the National Theatre in New York. 1960 — Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro. 1962 — The Century 21 Exposition, also known as the Seattle World’s Fair, began a six-month run. 1977 — The musical play “Annie,” based on the “Little Orphan Annie” comic strip, opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,377 performances. 1986 — A rediscovered vault in Chicago’s Lexington Hotel that was linked to Al Capone was opened during a widely watched live TV special hosted by Geraldo Rivera; aside from a few bottles and a sign, the vault turned out to be empty. 1992 — Robert Alton Harris became the first person executed by the state of California in 25 years as he was put to death in the gas chamber for the 1978 murder of two teenage boys, John Mayeski and Michael Baker.