TODAY IN HISTORY
In 1775, Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Mass., warning American colonists that the British were coming.
In 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires. Estimates of the final death toll range between 3,000 and 6,000.
In 1934, the first selfservice, coin-operated laundry was opened by John Cantrell in Fort Worth, Texas. The “Washateria,” as it was called, rented four electric washing machines to the public on an hourly basis.
In 1942, an air squadron from the USS Hornet led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities.
In 1945, during World War II, famed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, 44, was killed by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima, off Okinawa.
In 1949, the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed.
In 1955, physicist Albert Einstein died in Princeton, N.J., at age 76.
In 1983, 63 people, including 17 Americans, were killed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, by a suicide bomber.
In 1995, quarterback Joe Montana retired from professional football.
In 2014, an avalanche swept down a climbing route on Mount Everest, killing 16 Sherpa guides in the deadliest disaster on the world’s highest peak.