Today in history

In 1764 the city of St. Louis was established.

In 1842 a private mail service in New York introduced the first adhesive postage stamps in the United States.

In 1879 President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court.

In 1898 the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor, bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.

In 1922 the Permanent Court of International Justice held its first session at The Hague.

In 1933 President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that claimed the life of Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.

In 1942 the British colony Singapore surrendered to the Japanese during World War II.

In 1971 Britain and Ireland switched to a system of decimal currency.

In 1975 a jury in Boston found Dr. Kenneth Edelin guilty of manslaughter in the death of a male fetus following a legal abortion in 1973. (The verdict eventually was overturned.)

In 1977 Canadians ceased to be “British subjects” under new legislation that made them “citizens of the Commonwealth” as well as of their native land.

In 1978 Leon Spinks won a split decision against Muhammad Ali in a 15-round fight in Las Vegas to claim the world heavyweight boxing title.

In 1992 a Milwaukee jury found that Jeffrey Dahmer was sane when he killed and mutilated 15 men and boys.