TODAY IN HISTORY

1854

Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was free of original sin from the moment of her own conception.

1941

The U.S. entered World War II as Congress declared war against Imperial Japan, following the Dec. 7attack on Pearl Harbor.

1980

Rock star John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan.

1998

The Supreme Court ruled that police cannot search people and their cars after merely ticketing them for routine traffic violations.