Today in history

In 1870

the U.S. Weather Bureau was established.

In 1893

Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera, “Falstaff,” was first performed in Milan, Italy.

In 1942

the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II. Also in 1942 Daylight-saving “War Time” went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.

In 1943

the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an American victory over Japanese forces.

In 1950

in a speech in Wheeling, W.Va., Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., charged the State Department was riddled with Communists.

In 1964

The Beatles made their first live American television appearance, on CBS’ “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

In 1971

the Apollo 14 spacecraft returned to Earth after man’s third landing on the moon.

In 1996

the Irish Republican Army ended its ceasefire with a truck bombing in London that killed two and injured 37.

In 1997

Best Products closed the last of its stores, a victim of the diminishing allure of the catalog showroom concept of retailing.

In 2000

Boeing Co. engineers and technical workers began a 40-day strike.

In 2001

a U.S. Navy submarine collided with a Japanese fishing boat off the Hawaiian coast, killing nine men and boys aboard the boat.

In 2002

Britain’s Princess Margaret died in London; she was 71.

In 2004

anti-government rebels took control of nearly a dozen towns in western Haiti as the death toll in the violent uprising rose to at least 40.

In 2005

Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina was forced out by board members, ending her nearly six-year tenure.

Also in 2005

a new postage stamp honoring President Ronald Reagan was issued.

In 2006

British entrepreneur Sir Freddie Laker died in Hollywood, Fla.; he was 83.

In 2008

the shuttle Atlantis, carrying a Europeanbuilt science lab, docked with the International Space Station.

In 2012

federal and Illinois officials announced a $25 billion settlement with the nation’s top five mortgage servicers that promised assistance for a select group of 1.75 million borrowers while setting new standards for how struggling homeowners are treated.

In 2014

Missouri AllAmerican linebacker Michael Sam announced he was gay three months before the NFL draft. (The St. Louis Rams later drafted Sam in the seventh round, making him the first openly gay player in NFL history.)