TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT 1939

Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland; in a radio address, Britain’s King George VI said, “With God’s help, we shall prevail.” The same day, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the British liner SS Athenia some 250 miles off the Irish coast, killing more than 100 out of the 1,400 or so people on board.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1609

English explorer Henry Hudson and his crew aboard the Half Moon entered presentday New York Harbor and began sailing up the river that now bears his name. (They reached present-day Albany before turning back.)

1783

Representatives of the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War.

1943

Allied forces invaded Italy during World War II, the same day Italian officials signed a secret armistice with the Allies.

1976

America’s Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the red planet’s surface.

1978

Pope John Paul I was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

1995

The online auction site eBay was founded in San Jose, California, by Pierre Omidyar under the name “AuctionWeb.”

1999

A French judge closed a two-year inquiry into the car crash that killed Princess Diana, dismissing all charges against nine photographers and a press motorcyclist, and concluding the accident was caused by an inebriated driver.