TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT 1996

Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine followers were handed long prison sentences for plotting to blow up New York-area landmarks.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1806

Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, Martha, gave birth to James Madison Randolph, the first child born in the White House.

1916

The Professional Golfers’ Association of America had its beginnings as department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker hosted a luncheon of pro and amateur golfers in New York City.

1944

During World War II, Allied forces launched the first of four battles for Monte Cassino in Italy; the Allies were ultimately successful.

1953

A prototype of the Chevrolet Corvette was unveiled during the General Motors Motorama at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.

1955

The submarine USS Nautilus made its first nuclear-powered test run from its berth in Groton, Connecticut.

1961

President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in which he warned against “the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.”

1977

Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore, 36, was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.

1984

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc., ruled 5-4 that the use of home video cassette recorders to tape television programs for private viewing did not violate federal copyright laws.