TODAY IN HISTORY

1531: The Church of England grudgingly accepted King Henry VIII as its supreme head.

1937: A six-week-old sit-down strike against General Motors ended, with the company agreeing to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union.

1979: Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran.

1990: South African black activist Nelson

Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.

2011: Pro-democracy protesters brought down President Hosni Mubarak, whose resignation ended three decades of authoritarian rule in Egypt.

2013: With a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict XVI did what no pope had done in more than 500 years: announced his resignation.